Access course route at 18 yrs old?

Hi So my situation is that i did 1 yr sixth form last year, completed 1.5 a levels and then spent this past year studying and working abroad. I really want get into a Bsc Adult Nursing degree so i applied for college (and was accepted) however they advised me that since their routes were two year courses (either redoing alevels or a BTEC ext diploma) i may want to look into an Access course instead - although they dont provide this for under 19's.

So i was wondering does anyone know of any colleges in the manchester area ( or even further if theyre offering long distance) that will allow 18 yr old on an access course for health/nursing?

Also do all uni accept access courses, because they don seem to have UCAS worth so how does that work? And also would i be looked down upon by the uni for not completing the conventional a levels and doing the access route when im not categorised as a mature student?

Thanks so much in advance for any advice!

I have never come across a university that accepts Access courses for under 21s, but that does not necessarily mean there isn't. Just like with A Levels and BTECs, different universities will have different pass levels for Access courses, but again generally only for mature students (over 21s). The best you can do is to write to all universities you may want to go to and ask them if they will accept. The reason it is only for mature students is that they look at "life experience" in addition to the course. An 18yr-old will not be considered to have enough "life experience" to count towards admission. Good luck in your quest.

Three people I did my Access course with were only 18 at the time, and they all got accepted in to various universities (Glasgow, London Met, Lincoln).

I, however, was turned down by Greenwich University (twice!) and the only thing I can think it would have been was that they didn't understand the Access Course, because I was accepted to University of London, BPP Law School, Westminster and a couple of other universities... all whom stated I had a really good PS, and extra curricula's.

Where do you do your Access course? (I just noticed I live relatively close to you!)

I did my Access Course where I used to live (Essex) so nowhere near where I'm living now unfortunately. I do know that Bromley College runs various Access Courses which are apparently pretty good.

Ah okay, never mind. Yes, I go to Bromley College at the moment and I can honestly say it was the best decision of my life (so far!)

Haha no way! I started a course there in September, but didn't finish it as I already have the Access Course so going to University in September instead.

I'm 18 (17 when I started the Access course) and have applied with an Access course with 2 A Levels and received offers from all of my universities. I've not had any problems with it. It provides a much more holistic background before starting uni. Honestly to the OP all I would say is if you can find a college to take you, go for it. I've absolutely loved it.

A university cannot simply say no to you because you did an Access course younger than usual. They can (and sometimes will even for a standard Access student) make it difficult by asking for ridiculous numbers of distinctions or higher GCSE grades than the course already allows for. Fortunately I've not had these problems but many of my classmates have.

All universities have to accept Access students as it is a widening participation scheme. You can find that on most university website they will mention Access as an alternate qualification and each person under Access tends to be looked at in terms of their individual merit.

I chose to do the 2 A Levels because my Access course didn't include History and so I needed an aspect of it to enable me to apply for History and Politics. This was no problem as I'd already completed my AS in History. I chose to do the other A Level (Politics) to fill my time. Th biggest barrier I have found with Access is that many universities (in my experience) do not understand the qualification (I spent the majority of one interview explaining the course).

If you have a good enough personal statement and reference, then you may be asked for more information or an interview, but you are likely to get an offer.

If any college gives you **** about not being over 19, then you can tell them that the legislation for that changed in 2007:

http://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/home/publications/AdmissionGuidanceStudents/default.asp
http://www.ocner.org.uk/assets/0000/1223/2_-_OCNER-Access_Centre_Approval_Criteria_v2_JAN_2012.pdf

These documents helped me to get onto my course.

If you want to know anything else, I'm happy to share my experiences!

Sorry for the late reply, but firstly thank you so so very much to eveyone who took the time to respond! Given thumbs up to all

Looked at these documents which are awesome, bookmarking them incase need in future reference so thanks for that! Like most of you advised, i've contacted the universities im looking at and yes both of them actually prefer me entering with an Access course as opposed to BTEC regardless of age.

My only thing now is actually finding a college / online means which would provide an access course for an 18 year old? As mentioned i live in Manchester, ive contacted the bury, salford and Manchester college and all stick to the age 19 boundary Anyone can direct me to a college who actually offers this?

Thank you so much!

I thought you could apply to do an access course under 19? But I thought you had to send a letter to the uni/college? However that could be just the London school of arts, so in that case ignore me :P
I'm applying to do a access course this September - so nervous about applying cause all I keep thinking is that I won't get in.
Good luck with looking for a course though