Studying for an Access course and working.H

Hi,

I was hoping I could get a little advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I am starting an Access course in Social Sciences and Humanities in September this year and I am wanting to go on to study Sociology and Criminology. I have been looking on university websites and I'd roughly need 45 credits at Distinction to get in.
I have to work full time, as my rent alone is £390 per month plus all the other expenditure which comes along with living alone. Therefore, I will need a job which gets my hours in but in a shorter amount of time.
I am working full time over the summer in a HR department, so I am planning on saving up to get in front with rent as that is the biggest bill I have to contend with.
I have experience working in the care sector, in a care home but I didn't really enjoy it all that much but I know I will be able to do 3 12 hour shifts per week and get by.

Has anyone been in the same situation and still been able to commit and exceed in doing their access course while working full time hours?

Any advice will help!

Reply 1

Pearlfection1

About thus, try to space it out depending on your schedule. Working from home may seem like a better option for you as you need some cash at hours you can work. I used to teach English and psychology and it suited my hours esp whilst studying.

Reply 2

ynahtebrnx13

Original post by Pearlfection1

Thank you for your reply.

I've looked in to work from home, but I can never find anything I would actually be able to do as most of I've seen is comission based.
What kind of work from home opportunities are out there, where I could actually earn a decent wage?

Thanks again,
Beth

Reply 3

irishlion

I think I'm going to do the same course so we could be study buddies! :smile:

Where are you doing your course? I'm thinking distance learning centre as I have to work alongside it too but im worried because I can't find anyone thats done the social science pathway. Theres been a-lot of mixed reviews too so Im not sure what to do. I'm considering doing 3 A levels over 2 years but cant imagine trying to memorise everything for the final exams

Reply 4

TheJohnM

I’ve just completed my access course and heading to uni in September. I lived with my parents and just quit. My job and got job seekers allowance. With you living alone, they should also pay or help towards rent if you did the same.

Morally acceptable? Gray area. However, I know that the access course has a high drop out rate and the majority of them were dropping out due to stress and money. I decided I would rather “play the system” for 8 months and not have to worry about money then risk not going to university.

Reply 5

jessie222

Original post by NiniTanya

I think I'm going to do the same course so we could be study buddies! :smile:

may i ask how are you paying for this? as far as i know 'distancelearningcentre' do not give the option for the advanced learner loan, whereas I've seen other distance learning access courses on other providers who do allow the advanced learner loan, surely you'd rather not pay in full with no way of it ever getting written off?! thanks

Original post by TheJohnM

did you study via distance learning or at a college?

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 6

TheJohnM

Original post by jessie222

did you study via distance learning or at a college?

At college for 3 days a week. I looked into DL but the reviews weren’t great. I also never did a levels or any other lvl 3 so didn’t need to pay anything(think you also need to be younger than 23 or 24)

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 7

irishlion

Original post by jessie222

I planned to work fulltime and pay in instalments! I'm actually considering the west London college instead.. it looks way better and it's an actual college! but they do distance learning. I don't know if I can get an advanced learner loan living IN northern Ireland but hoping I can.