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Access course

At the moment i am doing an access course. After, i would like to apply for Cambridge to study english. Has anyone got in to Cambridge via an access? x

Reply 1

eve_22

18

xMissxKittyx

At the moment i am doing an access course. After, i would like to apply for Cambridge to study english. Has anyone got in to Cambridge via an access? x

I did not get in to Cambridge, but I applied to Oxford for law and got an offer. I did a Certificate of HE in Legal Methods at Birkbeck, which is not the same as access course, but works pretty much on the same principle. I think your best bet would be to email mature student colleges at Cambridge (see below)

Four Colleges - Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund's and Wolfson - only admit mature undergraduates and postgraduates, so are particularly experienced in meeting their needs:-

Hughes Hall - 520 students (95 undergraduates). Mixed sex. Offers all undergraduate subjects except medicine, veterinary medicine and architecture.
Lucy Cavendish College - 215 students (120 undergraduates). Women only. Offers all undergraduate subjects.
St Edmund's College - 368 students (131 undergraduates). Mixed sex. Offers all undergraduate subjects.
Wolfson College - 640 students (138 undergraduates). Mixed sex. Offers all undergraduate subjects except maths.

In terms of entry requirements:
Mature applicants may be offered places on the basis of Access qualifications or other evidence of their ability, although they must still show they meet Cambridge's high academic standards. Adult learners thinking about applying to Cambridge are advised to contact a few different Colleges to discuss their particular circumstances in relation to each College's admissions criteria.

I heard of a girl who studied on an Access course at Westminster Kingsway College and got an offer from Cambridge, however, I don't know her personally. A girl on my course applied to Cambridge for law, got an interview, but was rejected. It might be worth noting that she applied to one of the most competetive colleges, Trinity. She admitted that she really underperformed on her interview though.

Overall, I don't think it's impossible. However, you will still need to show evidence of good academics, have a good personal statement, references and perform well on any academic tests you may be asked to sit.

Reply 2

smilepea

Miss Prankster Pixie

so you'll see this

I think you might be able to give some advice :smile:

Reply 3

xMissxKittyx

OP

Thanks

x

Reply 4

Miss Prankster Pixie

8

smilepea

I think you might be able to give some advice :smile:

who? me? what?

fetch me a coffee then

:p:

Reply 5

Miss Prankster Pixie

8

xMissxKittyx

At the moment i am doing an access course. After, i would like to apply for Cambridge to study english. Has anyone got in to Cambridge via an access? x

I got in on an access course.

:smile:

I knew of another woman who got into Wolfson to study English on an access course. So it is very do-able. Many of us mature students get in on an access.

The college you apply to will want to know a little about your course from your referees, for instance, is there a serious examined component? Where do you come in your year/class ranking? Are you able to cope with the high workload of a Cambridge course, as you will be expected to keep up with the standard age students.

One piece of advice that I will give you is, go along to the open days. I went to both St. Edmunds and Lucy C. They also run a mature students application day in september (usually at Lucy). The advice they give on those days is awesomeness. :biggrin:

I hope this helps, feel free to message me with any other info you may want, or ask in this thread.

Pixie x

Reply 6

xMissxKittyx

OP

Thanks for the help :smile:

x

Reply 7

Miss Prankster Pixie

8

xMissxKittyx

Thanks for the help :smile:

x

this may be of use to you:

http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/pages/admissions/undergraduates/how-to-apply.php

Reply 8

lauren_lfc

3

hey, just wanting some info on what people think.

Is it possible for a person to be accepted onto an english degree at cambridge with an access course at the age of 19 (20 when the academic year starts)

Any advice would be great :smile:

Reply 9

Scary Monster

6

It would be unusual.

Not to say impossible, but very unusual.

Your best bet, as with every unusual applicant would be to get in touch with the admissions office at a college or two that you might be interested in, or pick a couple at random.

Reply 10

lauren_lfc

3

Scary Monster

It would be unusual.

Not to say impossible, but very unusual.

Your best bet, as with every unusual applicant would be to get in touch with the admissions office at a college or two that you might be interested in, or pick a couple at random.

hey thanks for the reply.

My chances are slim but worth a shot getting in touch!

Reply 11

Scary Monster

6

Your best bet is to always get in touch and ask.

Most admissions offices are really friendly and helpful and up front.

If by chance the first one you call is dismissive then try another one, they should at least listen to your question and background and explain the case.

I'd also suggest leaving it a week or so until A level malarky is sorted.

Reply 12

lauren_lfc

3

fumblewomble

Did you get an answer? I'd be interested to know the answer to this.

hey yeh i emailed a few colleges this morning. Got replies from trinity college and corpus today, both saying they would accept an access course =]. Can only apply and see what happens :smile:

Reply 13

eve_22

18

lauren_lfc

hey yeh i emailed a few colleges this morning. Got replies from trinity college and corpus today, both saying they would accept an access course =]. Can only apply and see what happens :smile:

That's great news :yep:

When deciding where to apply (Oxford or Cambridge) I emailed several colleges at Cambridge and they advised me to apply, provided that my Access course is well suited preparation for degree studies at university. Make sure your PS, references and application in general are very strong, and prepare for a grilling interview :smile:

Whether it's Oxford or Cambridge, I think they will all want to make sure you can cope with your studies and are serious about the subject you are applying for.

When I was considering making application to Cambridge, I was told to contact mature student colleges, as they usually tend to have more experience in dealing with non traditional qualifications, i.e. Access courses and etc. However, since you are only 19, this is probably not an option for you.

Either way, best of luck and I hope your application will be successful!

Reply 14

jamespayne

im trying to do that same! but all the colleges access courses are full. apparently there has been a massive increase in applications for access courses this year... like with everything :frown:

Reply 15

lauren_lfc

3

eve_22

That's great news :yep:

When deciding where to apply (Oxford or Cambridge) I emailed several colleges at Cambridge and they advised me to apply, provided that my Access course is well suited preparation for degree studies at university. Make sure your PS, references and application in general are very strong, and prepare for a grilling interview :smile:

Whether it's Oxford or Cambridge, I think they will all want to make sure you can cope with your studies and are serious about the subject you are applying for.

When I was considering making application to Cambridge, I was told to contact mature student colleges, as they usually tend to have more experience in dealing with non traditional qualifications, i.e. Access courses and etc. However, since you are only 19, this is probably not an option for you.

Either way, best of luck and I hope your application will be successful!

aww thanks for the advice, its really helpful! think im just gonna go for it and apply, otherwise ill regret it and think what if. Should be off to some college open days soon so ill be able to get more advice on it.

:smile:

Reply 16

username247300

5

Miss Prankster Pixie

I got in on an access course.

:smile:

I knew of another woman who got into Wolfson to study English on an access course. So it is very do-able. Many of us mature students get in on an access.

The college you apply to will want to know a little about your course from your referees, for instance, is there a serious examined component? Where do you come in your year/class ranking? Are you able to cope with the high workload of a Cambridge course, as you will be expected to keep up with the standard age students.

One piece of advice that I will give you is, go along to the open days. I went to both St. Edmunds and Lucy C. They also run a mature students application day in september (usually at Lucy). The advice they give on those days is awesomeness. :biggrin:

I hope this helps, feel free to message me with any other info you may want, or ask in this thread.

Pixie x

Did you have previous A levels or was that your first level 3 qualification.

Reply 17

sacrilicious

if you are bright, passionate and well prepared then an access course will get the necessary foot in the door. If I were you, I would do any course you can find - Open Uni courses are great because you can do them whilst in work, out of the country, whatever. The standard of work expected on an 'official' Level 2/3 Access course is not very high, and if that is the only experience you have you might struggle at undergraduate level. If you are in London, Birkbeck is brilliant. If not, the Open University is very useful.

IMHO, if you LOVE your subject and you can communicate that, it doesn't matter that your essays are a bit rough around the edges. With mature students I think Cambridge just want raw potential, hunger and intellectual curiosity.

Reply 18

username247300

5

sacrilicious

if you are bright, passionate and well prepared then an access course will get the necessary foot in the door. If I were you, I would do any course you can find - Open Uni courses are great because you can do them whilst in work, out of the country, whatever. The standard of work expected on an 'official' Level 2/3 Access course is not very high, and if that is the only experience you have you might struggle at undergraduate level. If you are in London, Birkbeck is brilliant. If not, the Open University is very useful.

IMHO, if you LOVE your subject and you can communicate that, it doesn't matter that your essays are a bit rough around the edges. With mature students I think Cambridge just want raw potential, hunger and intellectual curiosity.

Did you do an access course?

Reply 19

username247300

5

eve_22

That's great news :yep:

When deciding where to apply (Oxford or Cambridge) I emailed several colleges at Cambridge and they advised me to apply, provided that my Access course is well suited preparation for degree studies at university. Make sure your PS, references and application in general are very strong, and prepare for a grilling interview :smile:

Whether it's Oxford or Cambridge, I think they will all want to make sure you can cope with your studies and are serious about the subject you are applying for.

When I was considering making application to Cambridge, I was told to contact mature student colleges, as they usually tend to have more experience in dealing with non traditional qualifications, i.e. Access courses and etc. However, since you are only 19, this is probably not an option for you.

Either way, best of luck and I hope your application will be successful!

Hi, I'm not sure if I've asked this before or not but did you have any previous A levels or Level 3 qualifications before you did your acess course?

Access course

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