I need help. Seriously.

Here is my situation:

I came to UK when I was 16. I had no idea how the education system worked here, so I just followed what my mother told me. She told me to apply for GCSEs and A Levels, since that is what I needed to get into a university. (Before that, I should mention I already have my high school diploma from my home country, but apparently the standard was not high enough for it to be counted as a qualification for a university course)

So I went to a local college and I consulted them as for what I should do, and they told us (I was with my mother) that I have to take English and Maths GCSEs (which I then passed, with a B & a C) and at least three A-Levels, which I did. I took Business, Psychology and English Literature and unfortunately for me, I got Ds for them all.

Even before I got the results, I applied for UCAS and entered my qualifications. Of course, for all my choices I got rejected. I phoned up one of my choices's admissions office and they told me that I had to have stayed here for at least 3 years (I've only been here for two) before applying for ANY university. Also, they told me to get at least one more GCSE, preferably Science. They didn't tell me, but one of the reasons why I got rejected was most likely due to my grades that sucked big time.

Now I'm 18. I don't know where I stand. I have tried searching the internet as for what to do with my situation and I've never found any helpful information. I'm lost now and I honestly don't know what to do next. If you needed to know, I'm looking to take up Adult Nursing.

Please, I really need help. I have to sort my life out, and this has become a really heavy burden to me and I don't want to be stuck in this dilemma.

Reply 1

DiaanaE

Ask for predicted grades, learn in order to achieve them and apply to uni that has those admission requirements.

Reply 2

Simply93

My suggestion is for you to go to your local adult education centre (Google it) and do 1 GCSE, so science. Then after doing your GCSE's and hopefully getting at least a C, I think you should go for the BTEC option because you might just find it easier, so doing BTEC in business for 2 years which is equivalent to 3 a levels and then go on to apply at university. If you talk to your local adult education centre, you might be able to do your GCSE and BTEC together so in 2 years time you should be able to apply to university with your qualifications. Best of luck for everything.

Reply 3

nerdcake

Original post by Simply93

A BTEC in something Health related would be better as OP wants to be a Nurse.

Reply 4

Simply93

A BTEC in health and social care would be pretty useful because they cover a lot in their units of what you might learn in your first year of a nursing degree.

Reply 5

nerdcake

Original post by nerdcake

A BTEC in something Health related would be better as OP wants to be a Nurse.

Oh and you'll also need work experience, not only with a nurse in a hospital (ok if it's a shorter placement) but also regular volunteering or work with vulnerable adults such as in a care home.

Reply 6

Klix88

The three year residency rule is standard. Most aspects of graduate/postgraduate level study state that you need to have lived in the UK for a full three years before the start date of your course. Only then will you be considered a Home/UK student for fees, funding etc. That is set in stone and not something that you can work around. You need an extra year's residency at least.

That also assumes that you didn't come to the UK purely for educational purposes e.g. You didn't come to boarding school, but you followed your parents who came here to work. If you did, then you will never qualify for anything other than International student status.

As for your rejections, your grades will probably be the only reason. You are very unlikely to get into a uni-level course with three D grades. You will definitely need to improve these before reapplying for an Adult Nursing course. An alternative is that you could work for a few years and apply later as a mature student, for which good grades in a one year Access to Higher Education course could over-ride your A Level results.

Reply 7

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

I disagree with the other posters, a BTEC would not be your best option. You should consider doing an Access to HE course (either in Nursing or Science), check your local college website to see if they do them. Access courses are much better preparation for university than BTECs and they are respected by far more universities. If you do an Access Course, you probably won't need to do a science GCSE.

Reply 8

BellaPembers

Access to Higher Education in Nursing can be done in one year, with your current maths and English gcses you would meet some unis requirements for adult nursing. :smile: