The Student Room Group

Foundation year or Access to HE (september 2014)

So I've got a bit of a dilemma to deal with and I need to make my mind up ASAP

I've just finished my A levels and now have an unconditional offer to study on the foundation programme (interdisciplinary science) at the University of Leeds, however, during the summer I was worried I wouldn't make it so I enrolled myself onto an access to HE (combined science) incase I didn't get in.

The dilemma for me is that now I'm considering taking the access course even though my place at Leeds has been confirmed. The way i see it, both the access course and the foundation year lead to the same place (the same degree) except that the foundation year is specific to access a degree at Leeds and isn't a qualification, whereas the access course is classed as a level 3 qualification and could be used to apply for other universities such as Manchester (my first choice).

Also doing the access course would save me money in the long term because I can stay home for an extra year and avoid an extra year of student loans since the foundation year costs nearly as much as a first year (but I will probably have to work at least PT as I won't get any maintenance grant/loan).

On the other hand I'm aware that the foundation year will most likely prepare me better for my degree than the access course because it actually within the university rather than a college...

Taking the access course does seem like a more rational choice to make in the long run even though it feels like I'm wasting an opportunity many would grasp straight away... plus all the effort this year to apply and traveling to interviews etc. (but I don't mind too much about that)

any advice on this issue would be much appreciated.

thanks

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