Any mature students on here who have gone back to study A-levels??

Nah the book I've been using Trigonometry doesn't come in until over half way through. Are we still considering doing Skype sessions for Maths every so often?

Hey hey looks like somebody here may know. Will share my story just in case it helps any of you out.

I'm 24, I did an Access to Medicine course last academic year, came out with 39 distinctions 6 merits. Had an offer for Medicine, wanted straight distinctions, missed it and lost my place. Really gutted.

I'm now doing an accelerated Chemistry A-Level this year to supplement my course as that's the subject I got the merits in. I attend the A2 classes in the day with all the 17/18 y/os and the AS classes at night. Was supposed to be doing A2 on one night of the week and AS on another, but the A2 was undersubscribed so they cancelled it, I had to put up a real fight to get onto the day timetable.
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I feel very fortunate I was able to do this, it was only possible because I live in a fairly big city and I'm a bank HCA so I just pick and choose my own shifts out of those available on the system, and there's always something available. I generally do 2 nightshifts and one weekend shift per week.
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Thing I'm wondering now is, if I get A-Level Chemistry this summer and then took accelerated A-Level Biology and another linear A-Level next summer ... does that count as 3 A-Levels taken over 2 years? i.e the standard A-Level requirement from all medical schools? I really don't want my Access course to count for nothing, but without straight distinctions most medical schools won't entertain me :-( even though an Access + an accelerated A-Level is technically achieving the criteria within 2yrs, like they expect from A-Level students ... wish they would be more flexible, but I guess with such competition they have to be really stiff :-(*

Cheers*

Any thing is possible. But can I ask why you specifically want to apply to Cambridge or Oxford? You have to consider that you will be up against applicants/students that are the best in the country, but also the best in the world!! Many students from abroad also apply to these universities so you are really narrowing your chances.

Definitely worth a try. Cambridge is a very wel equipped to handle mature students. Plus people why usual backgrounds. I would recommend getting in touch with one of their mature colleges.
I had originally planned to apply to Lucy Cavendish for vetmed as it was just a fantastic college. Unfortunately I am terrible at physics, and vet med at Cambridge required an A grade at least in alevels physics!
I had the opportunity two years ago to have a long talk with one of he admissions tutors at Cambridge, and he was very positive about unusual applicants. If you can get the grades, go for it

aww well thats good. yeah maths was always going to create a challenge. wouldnt be maths otherwise lol. yeah mines going well i think. further maths is cracking my brain but is working out with more practise. luckily c3 and c4 is being taught at the college and the teacher there is amazing. i think also his order of topics makes it alot easier to learn. he statrted with differentiation first in c3 as opposed to trigonometry which ull find in most books.

which forum are you gettig your maths help from out of
curiousity?

How do Access and A levels compare to one another? Is access easier?

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My Access was basically a concise version of the 3 science A-Levels (as in both years) plus maths, crammed into 12 hours a week. The content wasn't too hard, but I had to do a lot of self-study, I'm talking like what you would expect to do on a degree.*I easily worked 30hours extra on it every week, and managing that with employment was true hell. It definitely prepares you for uni.

I normally had 3 assignments (Bio, Physics, Maths) due in for the same day every 4 weeks, each assignment being around 8000 words, plus a Chem exam every 6 weeks too.

In contrast if you can afford to sit 3 A-Levels you will get much better support from your teachers and the workload will be spread out in a more manageable way, if you have the option to do 3 A-Levels, do 3 A-Levels.

You are also limited with the universities/courses you can apply for with the Access. & finally, you can't resit any modules or re-hand in assignments to bump up your mark. Your first mark is your only mark. You can re-sit things in A-Level so long as it's within the 2 year duration of study.

Edit: quick look through your posts I can see your current circumstances, if you're already on the Access then just give it 100% you will be ok, and I applaud you for what you're doing.

Right now I actually think the content of what I need to know and understand in my Chem A-Level is much harder than what I needed to know for Access, but I'm also much better able to manage my time and get the right support now, so I have confidence it will be ok and I'll get my A* :-)*

So are you self-teaching A-level Chemistry?

No no I do the AS content for 3hrs on a Thursday night, and A2 content spread across 4.5hrs in total 3 days a week, I'm with the 6th-formers on the A2 timetable ... bit awkward, but the A2 Chemistry night-class was cancelled because it was only me and one other than signed up to it! So I argued with them until they put me onto the day timetable because that's what grown ups do, right :-) ha ha

I'm self teaching further maths and am a few pages into Fp1, some of it is incomprehensible to me at the moment. What topics are you doing ?

Hey There. I felt the same at first however once you grasp topics 1 and 2 (basically roots of quadratic equations and imaginary and complex numbers that should set
you on your wait to find it easier to understand the rest. Although, not all of them are linked but those are pretty daunting considering there is no other way of easing into them. What I've realised so far is that doing the Core maths modules beside FP1
(especially C2 and C3) makes it easier to grasp. Matrices would probably be the
only exception which is a topic in its own right. Im following the AQA syllabus if that helps.

Before I leave you i'll summarise the key points I've had to remember so far

1. For an equation y=ax^2 +bx + c where G and F are roots

a) Sum of roots - (G+F) = -b/a (the negative value of whatever b is in the equation divided by whatever the value of a is)
b) Product of roots - (GF) = c/a

2. You will also need to remember the following identities:

G^2 + F^2 = (G+F)^2 - 2GF
G^3 + F^3 = (G+F)^3 - 2GF(G+F)

Remember this things and everything else can be solved by applying these.
Also if you can try and enrol in a further college or get a tutor, depending on which exam board, the exams nowadays ask you to apply principles a lot, a tutor may come in handy.

I'll be applying to Cambridge and LSE just to give you an idea.

Just want to build a community of mature students who are studying A-levels. Anyone?

State your age, what you were doing previously, and what A-levels you are studying

Yes!

29! Maths Chemistry and Physics - wanting to study Natural Sciences!
Any support network would be much appreciated!

Hello! I'm in my early 40s, just started studying biology and chemistry independently and hoping to study a neuroscience related degree. I went along to a uni open day at the weekend and I'm starting to feel like this is really possible.

Hi guys. 33 years old here, 2 children and and a wife. Didn't do well at school. Was kicked out at 15 so no GCSE's. Last year I did return to learn. A pre-access course. I did level 2 functional maths (passed) and GCSE English (grade c). 1 mark away from from a B. Doing access science this year and have already been accepted onto foundation year of biology next year at Plymouth Uni. Also doing my GCSE Maths this year.

Access to HE biology and chemistry are great courses. Depending how good your tutors are, they can be really excellent foundation to degree study. Thing I like most about it was that it was modular. You sit like a dozen mini-exams as you go along completing modules. No need to cram a whole years worth of material for one final do or die pressure exam.

Yayy, another self-studier like me!! Yes, as long as you stay motivated through-out the year you'll be fine!! So much respect for you! Are you working full-time whilst studying these subjects?

Hi guys. 33 years old here, 2 children and and a wife. Didn't do well at school. Was kicked out at 15 so no GCSE's. Last year I did return to learn. A pre-access course. I did level 2 functional maths (passed) and GCSE English (grade c). 1 mark away from from a B. Doing access science this year and have already been accepted onto foundation year of biology next year at Plymouth Uni. Also doing my GCSE Maths this year.

I'm home educating my son through his GCSE years, so I have a lot of flexibility, but also his needs come first so if there's a conflict for my time, he wins.

Hi tazpafc! Well done on your results so far! Let me know if you need any help with maths, either questions or finding resources.

I'm home educating my son through his GCSE years, so I have a lot of flexibility, but also his needs come first so if there's a conflict for my time, he wins.



Hi tazpafc! Well done on your results so far! Let me know if you need any help with maths, either questions or finding resources.