Mature student low UCAS points.

Hi guys, im 23 and I plan on getting into accounting by first going back to college and getting a HNC/HND in accounting and then going to uni to get a degree in accounting and finance and then applying for grad schemes, the ideal would be Big 4.

However when at school after 4th year when selecting my highers I dropped everything I had taken other than history (im assuming it was the only option I liked in that column), and the rest were a bunch of random subjects because, well, i didnt care and wanted an easy year, not thinking it would affect anything at all.

However now I've matured and Im looking to change my life/career and so can now see what a stupid idea that was. Having had a look at the big 4's grad scheme and several others I can see that they all seem to have UCAS minimum requirements which I am obviously nowhere near.

Is that the end of that dream? Or will me being older and more mature, aswell as having life skills/experience possibly let them overlook that by blagging my way through the extenuating circumstances box?

Or will networking be my only chance? Obviously having life experience, I know that "its who you know" really does ring true. I will be attending any events and opportunities that the companies hold and will be doing my best to network yet are the people you meet at these events going to be able to get me a chance with such a low UCAS total?

Sorry for the long post, any help would be appreciated.

Reply 1

Hedgeman49

Original post by Two

For graduate entry you're pretty screwed with low UCAS. However if you go into a smaller firm first, qualify and get some quality experience you would be able to apply as an experienced hire if you still want to do it further down the line.

I also wonder, why go to uni? You're already 23, after a year of college and 3 years of uni you're 27. THEN you start at most likely entry level. You could skip this out altogether by joining a local firm and studying AAT with them at the level appropriate to your accounting knowledge. This way you will be debt free and they might pay your training costs for you. If you wanted, you could then go onto further qualifications after AAT like ACA/ACCA/CA.

Reply 2

AW1983

I think you should follow Hedgeman's advice. You're not all that old ('mature') or experienced so that won't count for much. You're way up is small firm, AAT then ACCA or ICAEW, hard work and then try and reach Big 4. University will just leave you in debt (or subject to a 'wealth tax' until you've paid off your student loan if you want that shaky interpretation) and competing against other graduates with better A-Levels.

Reply 3

Two

Well i wouldnt have any debt due to being scottish. But yeah, someone mentioned to me AAT but didnt know much about it, have spent today looking into it and it does seem like the best route. Will need to find out if my my current job will pay for it (they have a scheme for people learning new skills/qualifications). If they do I'll do it from home and then look for jobs in the meantime.

Has anyone gone, or know someone who has the gone the AAT route? What was your/their experience like?

Reply 4

M1011

Wish I was Scottish... still beyond me how you guys get free education and we don't.

Reply 5

Hedgeman49

Original post by M1011

Wish I was Scottish... still beyond me how you guys get free education and we don't.

Well they can't really afford it. Various politicians have tried and failed to find a way to palatably take it away

Reply 6

JS2014

I don't know about accountancy, but I'm a 22 year old mature student who applied to university, for the first time, this year.

When I originally took my A levels in 2010 I got A* AA with an additional A in an AS. There were two problems: 1)My A* is in General Studies so in theory I am an A level short and 2) my exams were 4 years ago meaning they are viewed as "out of date"

I spoke to an admissions tutor before applying, who suggested I did another AS and A2 in a year to help boost my application, as the universities would expect evidence of recent academic work.

I'm not sure how easy you will find "blagging" the extenuating circumstances part, as I had to provide medical evidence, in the form of my medical records from the time, regarding my extenuating circumstances. I am not sure how easy it will be to get a doctor to write a letter about something that is so far in the past without them having previous knowledge of the illness or situation. (Obviously I appreciate that you may well have circumstances justifying extenuating circumstances).

I thought that the universities would be more lenient on me as I had "life experience" and my original results were pretty good. Since leaving school I set up and run my own business, which I've been doing for the last four years. This experience helped me get my offer, but didn't make the offer any easier!

My offer that I am working for at the moment is an A* in the subject I have self-taught myself over the six months. This has meant I have had to balance a part time job, my own business, charity work and the difficulties of trying to teach yourself both the AS and A2 course in such a short space of time.

Depending on what universities you are applying for, I was advised it was better to do A levels compared to access courses, although not sure what the situation is for accountancy.

Good luck with your return to education!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

AAT Advisor

Official Rep

Original post by Two

Hi, so I've had a read through and can see you've been recommended for the AAT- If you haven't already done so you can order your free AAT information pack here: https://www.aat.org.uk/contact-us/info-pack/student/form

If you do have any questions about the AAT then fire away here and if you want a quicker reply you can call us (The AAT student recruitment team) on 0207 397 3002.

Also in addition I saw you mentioned about having low UCAS points and our level 3 Diploma in Accounting if completed will give you 160 UCAS points, so that may be something worth noting if you are interested in studying.

Otherwise good luck in your studies and future career! :smile: