Going to uni with 2 GCSEs?

It really depends. Some courses have GCSE requirements, such as 4s in English and maths, but some might not. You just have to check each course and uni individually.

What exactly would you like to study at university if you go? I suspect your uniformed services qualification might not be suitabl, but depends on what courses you're looking at.

Hello, Im not entirely sure where to post this so I have just put it in this section. Im 19 and have just finished the first year of a level 3 course in college (Entry Into the Uniformed Services) I only have 2 GCSEs, a 4 in English language and and 4 in science. I only managed to get a 3 in maths after a “resit” which was graded due to exams being cancelled and still somehow got a fail despite attending most if not all lessons. I also have a level 2 diploma in public services and a level 3 certificate in entry to the uniformed services (1st year qualification so not the full one).

I did really bad in high school because I had very poor attendance due to a huge amount of mental health issues and problems at home which I fully regret and feel ashamed of. My plan was to finish my course then hopefully apply and attend uni, if possible with that qualification and if I did or didn’t pass maths, still attempt. I lost interest for a short while due to issues with my ex girlfriend who left me in a very bad spot which ended up really affecting my mental health, so I quit and now work 12 hour night shifts in a manufacturing lab. After some time I realise I’ve made a bad decision as I hate the job, the people there and it’s really putting more load onto my anxiety and depression. I’ve always wanted to go to uni and seeing all of my friends be successful in a levels and hearing about uni life aswell as the aspect of finally challenging myself and achieving something worthwhile with many paths open afterwards really inspires me and I really want to work towards this while I’m still young. Would any of this be possible? As I say I have two GCSEs, not having maths seems to be a major issue, but is it worth going back to college and working part time or something? I just need some general advice and any tips aswell as any assurance I could go to uni in the position I’m in now, thank you.

Yes, you'd really need to retake the maths GCSE and achieve a pass (grade 4) - if you've got a grade 3 already, you've not got far to go.

You don't mention what degree you might want to do - what subject areas interest you? An Access course would probably be the easiest way for you to get to university: they are technically free (so long as you complete your undergrad degree), and they exist in most areas of academic study. They're delivered by local FE colleges, and probably the college where you did your Uniformed Services course offers Access courses too.

I thought as much, I got a 3 but I’m still really bad at it. I really don’t remember anything from school either so it’s going to be very difficult to get a passing grade. Access courses and he courses would be absolutely perfect but they all seem to require 4 in English and maths, whether there’s any leniency to that I have no idea but I doubt it.

It's a pretty global requirement, but you say you've already got a 4 in English, so it's just the maths you need. Access courses usually run maths/English GCSE retakes alongside their courses, so you wouldn't have to take any extra time 'out' to do them.

I understand what I have now wouldn’t be sufficient which is kinda the reason I’m asking around. I just don’t know if what I want to do is attainable ive looked at he and access courses but I’m unsure if I’d be accepted. Finishing the next year of the course I was on seems to be the only plausible possibility, the certificate was worth 16 or 20 ucas points and the full diploma was 60 or 80. As for what I’d want to study I’m not fully decided yet but policing, criminology and psychology are all very interesting to me no idea if that would be a stretch though.

Hello, Im not entirely sure where to post this so I have just put it in this section. Im 19 and have just finished the first year of a level 3 course in college (Entry Into the Uniformed Services) I only have 2 GCSEs, a 4 in English language and and 4 in science. I only managed to get a 3 in maths after a “resit” which was graded due to exams being cancelled and still somehow got a fail despite attending most if not all lessons. I also have a level 2 diploma in public services and a level 3 certificate in entry to the uniformed services (1st year qualification so not the full one).

I did really bad in high school because I had very poor attendance due to a huge amount of mental health issues and problems at home which I fully regret and feel ashamed of. My plan was to finish my course then hopefully apply and attend uni, if possible with that qualification and if I did or didn’t pass maths, still attempt. I lost interest for a short while due to issues with my ex girlfriend who left me in a very bad spot which ended up really affecting my mental health, so I quit and now work 12 hour night shifts in a manufacturing lab. After some time I realise I’ve made a bad decision as I hate the job, the people there and it’s really putting more load onto my anxiety and depression. I’ve always wanted to go to uni and seeing all of my friends be successful in a levels and hearing about uni life aswell as the aspect of finally challenging myself and achieving something worthwhile with many paths open afterwards really inspires me and I really want to work towards this while I’m still young. Would any of this be possible? As I say I have two GCSEs, not having maths seems to be a major issue, but is it worth going back to college and working part time or something? I just need some general advice and any tips aswell as any assurance I could go to uni in the position I’m in now, thank you.

I'm not familiar with policing so can't help there.

In terms of Criminology, that won't really get you into, say, forensics or the like as you'd want to do some heavy science for that. Obviously degrees aren't all about jobs, the skills are useful generally, but I would be a little wary of those degrees. You could do it combined with another subject too.

Psychology could be a problem with maths. Psychology courses should be accredited with the British Psychological Society if you want to be able to progress onto routes to become a psychologist (my sister is on this so!). There are always statistics components in those degrees and you will regularly see them requiring a grade 5, 6 or even 7 at GCSE maths. If Maths is not a strong point, you might not have the happiest time on that kind of degree, but this is where you need to also look at the course content bc how maths/science heavy the course is will vary from uni to uni.

Thank you for the info then, I’d really be willing to do anything at uni that’s interesting enough but I’m unsure I will look more. Are there any courses you could recommend?

From my experience why not try an access course. During the course some colleges allow you to sit for a gcse and maths exams since an access course wants you to get into a uni so they provide gcse resits for those doing a course.

Access courses last 1 year and are worth 3 alevels. Pretty much every uni accepts them even some russel universities! attendance for my one was 2 1/2 days a week so the rest of the week could be dedicated to working part time if that works out for you.

It's hard to do so without knowing you I'm afraid.

If it's these sorts of subject areas you might also like to explore things like sociology, social anthropology. There's a huge range of courses, so you should think about what it is you enjoy reading about, watching and listening to in terms of topics etc and do as much as you can over the next few months to explore stuff that interests you. That should help guide you to what areas genuinely interest you to the point you want to keep doing more and more around it.

I’ll definitely try applying to some then, I’ll just have to see if they take me on and see if they will allow me to resit if I even manage to be accepted.

If you want to get your Maths on track there's these: https://www.missbsresources.com/teaching-and-learning/mathspassports

In passport one the last question on page 8 should read 'area' not perimeter.

Would you recommend missbs more generally for online maths lessons - are there any others you think are better (eg Dr Frost etc)? I've been meaning to ask you this for ages!

Dr Frost teaches in a high ability school so his GCSE revision resources are brillinat for 7 - 9 students:
https://www.drfrostmaths.com/sow.php?year=Full%20Coverage%20Revision%20Worksheets&term=GCSE

So a lot of his GCSE resources are more suitable for able students. For A level they are helpful for anyone.

The Missb passports are great for all abilties and people who are coming back to learning as they are easy to access with video links explaining the topic.

Avoid anything costing money as there's always good free resources! Like Mr Barton: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/students/

Thanks so much, Muttley A worried parent friend was asking me on the phone yesterday for some ideas, and all I had was 'umm, Dr Frost is great...umm'. I shall let her know these other options too.