Don't have A levels? Alternative Routes into University FAQ

How long you been doing it? Hope it gets better for you. Sounds tough.

I’m having trouble deciding what to do myself. I want to go to university Sept 2018 so have about a year and a half to prepare. I have BBD (PE, Business, Maths) at A Level which isn’t enough to get me in to a physiotherapy course. The three I’m looking at want AAB, ABB or BBB (KCL,SGUL, UEL) or 45 merit/distinction in an access course. I therefore have two options. If I want KCL which looks to be the superior option then I’ll need to do the access course.

There’s almost no way I’m getting two As at A Level in this amount of time. However if I was to do Biology A level and get an A, it would open the other two unis up for me. Smashing the Access course would open up all three unis. However, am I right in saying Unis will look preferably on A levels to an access course?

What makes my situation a little more complicated is I’m in New Zealand on a working holiday visa until June 2017. I’m thinking about starting a biology A level via distance learning and then seeing where I am come June. Maybe I could still do the access course from Sept 17 if the biology A level isn’t going to plan. It will be good to start studying anyway and I’m sure some of the material I learn will help me.

What do you think? You guys who worked and studied access course did you work part time in the evenings or study in the evenings?

How long you been doing it? Hope it gets better for you. Sounds tough.

I’m having trouble deciding what to do myself. I want to go to university Sept 2018 so have about a year and a half to prepare. I have BBD (PE, Business, Maths) at A Level which isn’t enough to get me in to a physiotherapy course. The three I’m looking at want AAB, ABB or BBB (KCL,SGUL, UEL) or 45 merit/distinction in an access course. I therefore have two options. If I want KCL which looks to be the superior option then I’ll need to do the access course.

There’s almost no way I’m getting two As at A Level in this amount of time. However if I was to do Biology A level and get an A, it would open the other two unis up for me. Smashing the Access course would open up all three unis. However, am I right in saying Unis will look preferably on A levels to an access course?

What makes my situation a little more complicated is I’m in New Zealand on a working holiday visa until June 2017. I’m thinking about starting a biology A level via distance learning and then seeing where I am come June. Maybe I could still do the access course from Sept 17 if the biology A level isn’t going to plan. It will be good to start studying anyway and I’m sure some of the material I learn will help me.

What do you think? You guys who worked and studied access course did you work part time in the evenings or study in the evenings?

I am currenty studying access to social work and i am currently finding it differcult with the amount of content that you have to obsorb in and remember, not to mention the assignments. Acces is very intense and you have to 100% committee to the course. I am having secomd thoughts, as I am writing this message.

hi
My name is aisha,I m 37 years old ,I came from pakistan 9 years ago ,I did BSC from my country 18 years ago.I want to study here dont know what to do,I want to do pharmacy so please tell me what I do can I do gcse first or from where I start .I live in birmingham solihull

hi
My name is aisha,I m 37 years old ,I came from pakistan 9 years ago ,I did BSC from my country 18 years ago.I want to study here dont know what to do,I want to do pharmacy so please tell me what I do can I do gcse first or from where I start .I live in birmingham solihull

This is probably unlikely but at the open university or Birkbeck do they have biomed or medicine courses. How does this work if so? Thanks


Posted from TSR Mobile

This is a list of the various alternative routes into university for people who, for whatever reason, didn't do or couldn't do A levels. If you have any questions which are not covered in the FAQs, post them below! Open the Spoilers to see a list of FAQs.

Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma

Access to HE Diplomas (also known as Access courses) are designed to prepare people without traditional qualifications for university. Access courses are the best established and most common route into university for mature students and students without A levels. Each year more than 20,000 people apply to university after doing an Access course. There is a large community of Access students in the Mature Students forum.



Foundation Year

A foundation year is an extra year of study at the start of a university course. It enables students who do not meet the course entry requirements to fill the gaps in their knowledge. If you pass the foundation year, you automatically move into the first year of your chosen degree. Please note, foundation years are not the same as international foundation years - the latter are courses for international students who want to study in the UK but either don't have the right qualifications or need to improve their English language skills before starting a degree.



Distance learning A-levels

If you want to do A levels but can't attend school or college consider studying them at home. You can either use a distance-learning provider or study them independently. This is a good option if you don’t know what degree you want to do. Doing A levels in different subjects is a great way to keep your options open. Remember to download past papers from the relevant exam board websites, and make use of the Study Help forums and A level study help page.



OpenPlus

OpenPlus is a partnership between The Open University (OU) and other leading universities to create a more affordable and flexible route into a science degree. If you decide to do OpenPlus, remember to visit the Open University forum to talk to other OU students and discuss specific modules.



Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck College offers a number of Certificates of Higher Education (CertHE) which can be used to apply for or transfer into degree courses at other universities.



Foundation Degree

Foundation degrees are higher education qualifications which combine work-based learning with academic study. They are developed with employers and usually focus on a particular career (e.g. Primary Teaching). Foundation degrees are a qualification in their own right, but they're also the equivalent of the first two years of an undergraduate degree. After you've finished your foundation degree you can 'top it up' into a bachelor's degree.

I'm not sure what I would like to do. You answered my thread, I'm just not sure to go for Business Management and start uni this September, or do a foundation or Access to HE in bio science. The Access to HE is a bit of distance away from me, and the course would require me to go in 3 times a week for the year. But it's honestly too far away really to be realistic to travel to everyday.

I feel I'd like a go at bio science or chemistry, cos I don't know if it's the right thing for me or not. Maybe it is. I'd just like a go at it really, to maybe have a taster course/session and to see assignments and teaching to see what it's like and if it is for me or not. But don't know what to do :/ what would you advise?

If you're not sure and want to get a taste for biology/chemistry before making a decision then I would advise you do an Access course (I explained the benefits of doing one in your other thread). You could in theory complete an Access course and then re-apply for business management if you decided science wasn't for you, you can't do that if you do a foundation year.

Hi all, I'm 22, my only formal qualifications are GCSEs (all grade C), and I've decided I want to do a Psychology Degree. My best options appear to be either an Access course, a Foundation year or a CertHE. As they are so similar, my question is, if personal circumstances were to make them equally viable options, would one generally be considered a better option? From what I can gather Access courses are better established, and generally well regarded to get into most Uni's, by far the most popular option, and are also free if the degree is completed. Any advice from those in the know would be greatly appreciated.

Access courses are most definitely the best option. They are more established, college staff know all about the university application process and will be on hand to help, and most importantly, they're effectively free.

Ok thanks, this may sound stupid, but while researching I've seen that it can be better to take certain, less specific courses at A-level, for example, a Science A-level would be more helpful than a Psychology A-level to get onto a Psychology degree. But as access is a diploma, I assume this is not the same, and it would be more appropriate to do Psychology, is this right?

That really depends on the university and the degree you want to apply for (some psychology degrees involve a lot more science than others). If in doubt, email the admission tutors at universities you are interested in and ask if they'd prefer you study psychology or science. The name of your Access course is not important, what matters is the subjects you study within it - if you can find a course than involves both psychology and biology/chemistry, that would be ideal.

I'm taking Psychology and Biology, but for my third choice I'm unsure because I don't like Chemistry or Physics, so I'd really rather not have to take one, but if it would play strongly in my favor when applying for uni courses I would do it, do you think one Science would be enough or would it be good idea to do two? (Human Physiology would be my ideal third choice.) I have no idea what uni's I want to go for at this stage because of all the variables involved now and in the future.