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do top unis e.g imperial accept 21+ students

I want to do chemistry and biology a level after i finish y13 because i am currently doing humanities based a levels which are extremely irrelevant to my desired degree.

I will study independently biology and chemistry a level in a gap year and sit the exams, i wanted to know if i still have a chance in applying to imperial etc?
Original post by Salwachemi
I want to do chemistry and biology a level after i finish y13 because i am currently doing humanities based a levels which are extremely irrelevant to my desired degree.

I will study independently biology and chemistry a level in a gap year and sit the exams, i wanted to know if i still have a chance in applying to imperial etc?


Yes, I believe so. There is even an Oxford college for 21+ students only. Aslong as you have the grades etc.. any uni will take you age doesnt matter :smile:

... although I am not 100% sure if its for medicine
get 4A*s predicted and dont come across as retarded in interviews and you'll 99% get in.
Original post by Salwachemi
I want to do chemistry and biology a level after i finish y13 because i am currently doing humanities based a levels which are extremely irrelevant to my desired degree.

I will study independently biology and chemistry a level in a gap year and sit the exams, i wanted to know if i still have a chance in applying to imperial etc?


Your age won't matter but a second sitting of a levels could he a problem for them
Reply 4
Original post by claireestelle
Your age won't matter but a second sitting of a levels could he a problem for them


what if i acheive 2 A*s 1 A for my current alevels , and then also sit the extra bio n chem the following year and acheive top grades also?
Reply 5
Original post by SuperHuman98
Yes, I believe so. There is even an Oxford college for 21+ students only. As long as you have the grades etc.. any uni will take you age doesn't matter :smile:

... although I am not 100% sure if its for medicine


I want to study chemistry at university. It's my lifelong dream.but due to circumstances i was unable to do the required a levels..
Generally all universities accept mature students, although some are more facilitating of this than others. As you're not a "mature" student by just taking an additional year to cover subjects necessary to the course that you hadn't done before, this isn't really relevant though.

I would suggest contacting the universities in question with your plan to see if they will accept that, as some may not accept the A-levels taken in a second exam session, even if they're different subejcts. They may require you to do 3 full subjects for the session, for example...You may want to consider either a course with a foundation year, or an Access Course. In the latter case you should contact unis you're interested to apply to, to ensure the qualification is acceptable to entry for the degree of interest. The former especially is quite a common route and offered by many universities in relevant courses - for example Southampton, Lougborough, and Manchester all have a number of such foundation years last I knew.

Imperial itself does not offer any such foundation courses, and is notoriously unhelpful to actual mature applicants (i.e. those who are above the age of 21 and/or had a gap in their education). They have not accepted more than 5 mature student to any given faculty/department (covering all degrees in that faculty) in the last 5 years with I believe the occasional exception of Maths, and frequently don't take on any mature students - despite having mature student applications in every year to every faculty. Thus, it is fairly unlikely, in any case. I do believe Biochemistry and Chemistry are among the faculties/departments that have taken mature students with some level of consistency over the past 5 years though, which may be relevant to your interests.

Ultimately you should contact the universities before embarking on any plans to avoid potential disappointment.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Salwachemi
I want to do chemistry and biology a level after i finish y13 because i am currently doing humanities based a levels which are extremely irrelevant to my desired degree.

I will study independently biology and chemistry a level in a gap year and sit the exams, i wanted to know if i still have a chance in applying to imperial etc?


tbh it sounds like too much of a risky strategy to me for you to potentially waste a year if top unis dont like it. if you self-study you won't be able to do labs etc properly. my advice to you would be to see if you can find a US-style liberal arts degree programme in the UK. it doesn't mean you'll do arts, but rather you'll do a bit of everything with a 'major' of your choice.

edit: ignore all of that. it's called a foundation course. do a bloody foundation course, they last 1 year and they are what they say on the tin.
(edited 6 years ago)

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