Access course

Are their any mature students here that can tell me their experience and how access went for them? I failed my GCSEs at the age of 16. I only came out with 1 GCSE in maths. At the age of 17 I did 2 more GCSEs which was English and science. I'm now 18 (nearly 19) and I can either take a gcse course that can get me 2 more GCSEs to help me get 5 or take the science access course and go university. Will employers care about my GCSEs after the degree? And is it best to take another year of GCSEs or to just move on and take access. Please help

Reply 1

JGM2016

I did the SWAP access course (Scottish Wider Access Program) it meant doing 4 highers and I did English, Human Biology, Modern studies, and Psychology. I needed to get an ABB for my access grade which was made up of a few measures like course work, attendance and how I participated in class so I only need a pass in the highers to finish the course. I ended up with an access grade of AAA and have completed 1st year of uni.

No one cares about pass marks for high school after you have the degree and unless you are in a competitive field the degree mark won't mater much either (this is really employer dependent though) As for the access course you needed to be out of education for 5 or more years to get on the Scottish one. I did not have a problem with that as I was out of education for 24 years. So it means you will need to do the highers and use those marks to get into uni unless you do a specific access course. I think it will depend on the course you want to get into as the entrance requirements will dictate what you need to get in.

Reply 2

ZEN14

I'm 29 and I finished an access course this year with the distance learning centre. I left school with some GCSES although they weren't very good grades. (C's and D's)

I worked super hard on my access course and got 30 distinctions. I also re-sat my English Language GCSE this year and passed which has enabled me to start University next month.
If you want to go to Uni then I would suggest the access course, I also studied my GCSE English with the distance learning centre at the same time so that's also an option (I know some Uni's will want maths and English GCSE along with the access course). You can also pay in instalments which I found was a huge help.
After getting a degree I don't think your GCSE's really matter.

All the best with whatever you decide to do.
:-)

Reply 3

josh_v

I was working as a chef, had some GCSEs and hospitality btec.

Went to do an access course in 2010-2011. Went to Birmingham Uni for undergrad 2011-2014. Then went and did a masters degree at UCL from 2014-2015. During that time had a few attempts at securing a grad job/internship and got to some assessment centres, but no offer. Then when I finished my masters degree in October 2015, it was already 2 months in to the grad scheme application cycle, I was completely burnt out and had a really bad financial situation so no applications in 2015. When it came to August 2016, I quit my job and spent 3 months doing applications. 5-6 days a week, 4-8 hours a day working on applications, numerical and verbal tests, phone interviews etc. Some time around early 2017, managed to secure a role.

In a weeks time I shall be starting my grad job. I will be 28 when I start, whereas most of the other people starting are around 22. Its taken a while to get there, but its been worth it. My starting salary isn't too far off what you could reasonably expect to make as a head chef in a chain restaurant (at least the one I worked in), so financially it was definitely worth it. And given that I've got 40 years of work left, its much better to be doing it in an area that I actually want to be in.

Access course

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you