Decided to return to college, need help!
Hi everyone,
My brother did some A-levels and a BTEC a few years ago but he didn't really care and never thought he would want to go to uni. Now he has decided that he wants to go to uni to do mechanical or civil engineering, preferably at Manchester. The entry requirements are AAA but he got a B in psychology, C in drama and a distinction in BTEC music when he finished college 2 years ago. He knows he needs to go to college now and pull the finger out to get some fresh A-levels but he works full time at the moment and will find it hard to adjust to having no money if he were to re-do his education.
From my research I think his options are:
- Re-do his A-levels in Maths, Physics/Chemistry and another A-level over two years and apply to uni.
- Do an 'access to higher education' course and apply to uni, although I think he needs an A in A-level maths too.
- Apply for engineering with a foundation year, although I think he needs BBC in 'relevant' science A-levels as well.
- Do AS and A2-levels all in one year, this would be preferable in terms of time but I don't know if he would be able to adjust to the very high workload straight away.
The question is, would it cost money to re-do his A-levels after having already attempted them once? Also, is the access to higher education course worth considering? How many hours of paid work do you think would be possible alongside three science A-levels? Any advice on returning to education would be welcomed.
Thanks for any help.
My brother did some A-levels and a BTEC a few years ago but he didn't really care and never thought he would want to go to uni. Now he has decided that he wants to go to uni to do mechanical or civil engineering, preferably at Manchester. The entry requirements are AAA but he got a B in psychology, C in drama and a distinction in BTEC music when he finished college 2 years ago. He knows he needs to go to college now and pull the finger out to get some fresh A-levels but he works full time at the moment and will find it hard to adjust to having no money if he were to re-do his education.
From my research I think his options are:
- Re-do his A-levels in Maths, Physics/Chemistry and another A-level over two years and apply to uni.
- Do an 'access to higher education' course and apply to uni, although I think he needs an A in A-level maths too.
- Apply for engineering with a foundation year, although I think he needs BBC in 'relevant' science A-levels as well.
- Do AS and A2-levels all in one year, this would be preferable in terms of time but I don't know if he would be able to adjust to the very high workload straight away.
The question is, would it cost money to re-do his A-levels after having already attempted them once? Also, is the access to higher education course worth considering? How many hours of paid work do you think would be possible alongside three science A-levels? Any advice on returning to education would be welcomed.
Thanks for any help.
Original post by cchilstonev1
Hi everyone,
My brother did some A-levels and a BTEC a few years ago but he didn't really care and never thought he would want to go to uni. Now he has decided that he wants to go to uni to do mechanical or civil engineering, preferably at Manchester. The entry requirements are AAA but he got a B in psychology, C in drama and a distinction in BTEC music when he finished college 2 years ago. He knows he needs to go to college now and pull the finger out to get some fresh A-levels but he works full time at the moment and will find it hard to adjust to having no money if he were to re-do his education.
From my research I think his options are:
- Re-do his A-levels in Maths, Physics/Chemistry and another A-level over two years and apply to uni.
- Do an 'access to higher education' course and apply to uni, although I think he needs an A in A-level maths too.
- Apply for engineering with a foundation year, although I think he needs BBC in 'relevant' science A-levels as well.
- Do AS and A2-levels all in one year, this would be preferable in terms of time but I don't know if he would be able to adjust to the very high workload straight away.
The question is, would it cost money to re-do his A-levels after having already attempted them once? Also, is the access to higher education course worth considering? How many hours of paid work do you think would be possible alongside three science A-levels? Any advice on returning to education would be welcomed.
Thanks for any help.
My brother did some A-levels and a BTEC a few years ago but he didn't really care and never thought he would want to go to uni. Now he has decided that he wants to go to uni to do mechanical or civil engineering, preferably at Manchester. The entry requirements are AAA but he got a B in psychology, C in drama and a distinction in BTEC music when he finished college 2 years ago. He knows he needs to go to college now and pull the finger out to get some fresh A-levels but he works full time at the moment and will find it hard to adjust to having no money if he were to re-do his education.
From my research I think his options are:
- Re-do his A-levels in Maths, Physics/Chemistry and another A-level over two years and apply to uni.
- Do an 'access to higher education' course and apply to uni, although I think he needs an A in A-level maths too.
- Apply for engineering with a foundation year, although I think he needs BBC in 'relevant' science A-levels as well.
- Do AS and A2-levels all in one year, this would be preferable in terms of time but I don't know if he would be able to adjust to the very high workload straight away.
The question is, would it cost money to re-do his A-levels after having already attempted them once? Also, is the access to higher education course worth considering? How many hours of paid work do you think would be possible alongside three science A-levels? Any advice on returning to education would be welcomed.
Thanks for any help.
To be honest, returning to A levels and doing courses such as physics and chemistry and to achieve an A whilst working probably wouldn't work out for him, especially achieving AAA. Unless he looks at universities with lower entry requirements.
I think the best option would be to do a foundation course. I'm in year 13 and hoping to do civil engineering, I'm not actually sure how competitive it is but the people I met at the universities who wanted to do it were all predicted A* to As. I have a friend who does physics, biology, maths and further maths and he's going to do a foundation year in civil engineering as well. (Though I'm not sure why because he probably would have got into the degree course).
Thanks for your replies.
Problem with this is that he wants to move away from home when he goes to uni, you know have the 'uni experience.'
As for a foundation year that sounds like a good plan, all depends what he gets in his A-levels really.
Original post by TheRealJT
Study with the OU! There are no entry requirements! And he wouldn't have to give up work either.
Problem with this is that he wants to move away from home when he goes to uni, you know have the 'uni experience.'
As for a foundation year that sounds like a good plan, all depends what he gets in his A-levels really.
Original post by cchilstonev1
He knows he needs to go to college now and pull the finger out to get some fresh A-levels but he works full time at the moment and will find it hard to adjust to having no money if he were to re-do his education.
How does he know that? Has he checked with the universities he's considering? Entry requirements for mature students aren't necessarily the same as those for school leavers, and he may find that subsequent work experience and other qualifications will count in his favour.
Don't assume that more/better A Levels are required. There are other routes for mature students which won't be publicised. My advice is that your brother should try and narrow down his choices to maybe half a dozen courses. He should then email the uni's Admissions Office, explain his situation and ask for their entry requirements for a mature student in his situation.
It's worth bearing in mind (at least for those at or near school leaving age) that many unis will now insist that their specified grades/UCAS points were all gained at the same time and not gathered piecemeal from qualifications taken over a number of years. This is generally not possible for mature students with lower A Level grades, and unis recognise this and may accommodate students who can't practically meet the requirements in the prospectus. Many will actually prefer an Access course to A Levels, as an Access course is geared towards preparing you for uni-level study. Not only does it give the uni confidence that the student is ready, but it gives the student an idea of whether they really want to go to uni.
It would be awful for your brother to work for a year or two to get more A Levels and then find that this is not what his target unis actually want. Do get him to check direct with the unis before he commits to additional study.
Original post by Klix88
How does he know that? Has he checked with the universities he's considering? Entry requirements for mature students aren't necessarily the same as those for school leavers, and he may find that subsequent work experience and other qualifications will count in his favour.
Don't assume that more/better A Levels are required. There are other routes for mature students which won't be publicised. My advice is that your brother should try and narrow down his choices to maybe half a dozen courses. He should then email the uni's Admissions Office, explain his situation and ask for their entry requirements for a mature student in his situation.
It's worth bearing in mind (at least for those at or near school leaving age) that many unis will now insist that their specified grades/UCAS points were all gained at the same time and not gathered piecemeal from qualifications taken over a number of years. This is generally not possible for mature students with lower A Level grades, and unis recognise this and may accommodate students who can't practically meet the requirements in the prospectus. Many will actually prefer an Access course to A Levels, as an Access course is geared towards preparing you for uni-level study. Not only does it give the uni confidence that the student is ready, but it gives the student an idea of whether they really want to go to uni.
It would be awful for your brother to work for a year or two to get more A Levels and then find that this is not what his target unis actually want. Do get him to check direct with the unis before he commits to additional study.
Don't assume that more/better A Levels are required. There are other routes for mature students which won't be publicised. My advice is that your brother should try and narrow down his choices to maybe half a dozen courses. He should then email the uni's Admissions Office, explain his situation and ask for their entry requirements for a mature student in his situation.
It's worth bearing in mind (at least for those at or near school leaving age) that many unis will now insist that their specified grades/UCAS points were all gained at the same time and not gathered piecemeal from qualifications taken over a number of years. This is generally not possible for mature students with lower A Level grades, and unis recognise this and may accommodate students who can't practically meet the requirements in the prospectus. Many will actually prefer an Access course to A Levels, as an Access course is geared towards preparing you for uni-level study. Not only does it give the uni confidence that the student is ready, but it gives the student an idea of whether they really want to go to uni.
It would be awful for your brother to work for a year or two to get more A Levels and then find that this is not what his target unis actually want. Do get him to check direct with the unis before he commits to additional study.
This is the advice i would take. I have 4 C's and and the equiv of 2 a levels but also have experience in site, shutdown and workshops job roles in the industry. This was enough to get me into the course in level 3 Subsidiary diploma in engineering. Which is a basic level course which iam grabbing with both hands.
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