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No idea what to do

I'm 19 years old and I am looking into an access course because I Did an NVQ and regret it as I now want to go to uni to do something in science, I know alot of stuff about access courses and was going to apply for one but now ive seen foundation years in uni and have learned that you can transfer after your foundation year to another uni, but as i only got a merit in my NVQ which is 48 ucas points I could only go too a bad uni such as Solent would I even be able to transfer to a top 50 uni this way or would they just refuse straight away? or would the access course be the better choice, id rather spend a year in uni rather than a local college. Thanks.
Original post by ElNiño
I'm 19 years old and I am looking into an access course because I Did an NVQ and regret it as I now want to go to uni to do something in science, I know alot of stuff about access courses and was going to apply for one but now ive seen foundation years in uni and have learned that you can transfer after your foundation year to another uni, but as i only got a merit in my NVQ which is 48 ucas points I could only go too a bad uni such as Solent would I even be able to transfer to a top 50 uni this way or would they just refuse straight away? or would the access course be the better choice, id rather spend a year in uni rather than a local college. Thanks.


Access course as it doesnt use your HE funding up plus you can do it locally. If your grades are good enough on access then you can use it to get on more courses and at better unis than solent. be patient, make a succes of Access and then you cna get on a good course at a good uni.
Access sounds like a better option, and is cheaper.
Original post by 999tigger
Access course as it doesnt use your HE funding up plus you can do it locally. If your grades are good enough on access then you can use it to get on more courses and at better unis than solent. be patient, make a succes of Access and then you cna get on a good course at a good uni.


okay thanks :smile: just trying explore all my options first
Original post by Conconz
Access sounds like a better option, and is cheaper.


yeah definetly, yeah the foundation is expensive which is what shocked me
Original post by ElNiño
yeah definetly, yeah the foundation is expensive which is what shocked me


With access you might need to take out a learner loan if you've already got a level 3,but it gets wiped if you go to study at University. And it would give you a chance of attending somewhere better
Original post by Conconz
With access you might need to take out a learner loan if you've already got a level 3,but it gets wiped if you go to study at University. And it would give you a chance of attending somewhere better


Dont know if it may be too late to apply for the advanced learner loan now, so I may do the Pre-Access to get my head in the game and get used to writing essays and stuff as the Pre-Access only cost 1k
Original post by ElNiño
Dont know if it may be too late to apply for the advanced learner loan now, so I may do the Pre-Access to get my head in the game and get used to writing essays and stuff as the Pre-Access only cost 1k


Should be fine, I didn't apply for my course till like end of August and managed to get everything sorted
100% access course. Most colleges have a science pathway and it will allow you to go to 99% of unis as long as you get the grades. You’ll also feel more confident compared to a foundation year(access course is also free if you complete uni degree).
Original post by Conconz
Should be fine, I didn't apply for my course till like end of August and managed to get everything sorted


That eases my mind I was panicking cause I saw people who had already decided they wanted to do an access course 1 year before it started and here I am a few months before trying to research everything with enough time to still apply, how did you find your access course and how did you do if you dont mind me asking?
Original post by ElNiño
That eases my mind I was panicking cause I saw people who had already decided they wanted to do an access course 1 year before it started and here I am a few months before trying to research everything with enough time to still apply, how did you find your access course and how did you do if you dont mind me asking?


I don't mind. My loan didn't get finalised till after I started it, but I was doing it late August so you're gonna be a couple of months ahead of what I was so should be fine. I found it really helpful. I hadn't been in education for 10 years, and before that did a practical trade so hadn't really done written work since school. I worked hard at it and was supported by teachers and I've done better than I thought I could have, and got accepted onto all of my university offers. It really helped prepare me. It was difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it it's fine, just make sure you don't leave things last minute. The people that did that didn't do as well!
I also think you would be fine for funding.
Foundation courses can mess uo your funding as well plus restruct what degrees you cna apply for.
Uve alreayd responded to a nuimber of threads on this issue where that situation has happened.
Original post by Conconz
I don't mind. My loan didn't get finalised till after I started it, but I was doing it late August so you're gonna be a couple of months ahead of what I was so should be fine. I found it really helpful. I hadn't been in education for 10 years, and before that did a practical trade so hadn't really done written work since school. I worked hard at it and was supported by teachers and I've done better than I thought I could have, and got accepted onto all of my university offers. It really helped prepare me. It was difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it it's fine, just make sure you don't leave things last minute. The people that did that didn't do as well!


Did that cause any complications or was the college fine with waiting untill it got finalised? the thought of having to write essays does have me worried specially along with doing tests and alot of other things, I'm interested in the science access so Maths, Biology and Chemistry, I feel as if maths should be fine as I dont believe you could do essays on maths 😂 so that would be all tests hopefully. Yeah alot of people have said its really down to preperation, time management, motivation and stuff
Original post by ElNiño
Did that cause any complications or was the college fine with waiting untill it got finalised? the thought of having to write essays does have me worried specially along with doing tests and alot of other things, I'm interested in the science access so Maths, Biology and Chemistry, I feel as if maths should be fine as I dont believe you could do essays on maths 😂 so that would be all tests hopefully. Yeah alot of people have said its really down to preperation, time management, motivation and stuff


They were fine with it, I think it happens a lot, people deciding last minute to do it. I hadn't written essays since school, and even then I did the bare minimum, but I was shown how, and tried and I managed it. By the end of the course I was totally fine. Practice makes perfect and that. So many people didn't do well with time management, and it showed in their results. Starting an essay the day before isn't a good idea lol. Once you get going it's doable and if you really want to do it you can motivate yourself no problem.
Original post by 999tigger
I also think you would be fine for funding.
Foundation courses can mess uo your funding as well plus restruct what degrees you cna apply for.
Uve alreayd responded to a nuimber of threads on this issue where that situation has happened.


Yeah definitely do not want to mess around with funding cause I heard it can become limited or something and with the cost of housing and stuff i do not want to risk it
Original post by Conconz
They were fine with it, I think it happens a lot, people deciding last minute to do it. I hadn't written essays since school, and even then I did the bare minimum, but I was shown how, and tried and I managed it. By the end of the course I was totally fine. Practice makes perfect and that. So many people didn't do well with time management, and it showed in their results. Starting an essay the day before isn't a good idea lol. Once you get going it's doable and if you really want to do it you can motivate yourself no problem.


Time management is always my problem always leave stuff last minute even for my NVQ I done everything last minute and got an Merit if I worked harder and got a Distinction it would of been pointless for science but would of looked better on my UCAS application in the future. What unis did you apply for anyway and which did you decide on?
Original post by ElNiño
Time management is always my problem always leave stuff last minute even for my NVQ I done everything last minute and got an Merit if I worked harder and got a Distinction it would of been pointless for science but would of looked better on my UCAS application in the future. What unis did you apply for anyway and which did you decide on?


Time keeping isn't my strongest thing but I pushed myself and started my stuff straight away. It gets easier. I applied for Leeds trinity, Wolverhampton, Manchester Salford, Bolton and Bedfordshire. Picked Bolton because they had the best course. The tutors will dedicate time to helping with ucas applications and choices as well
Original post by Conconz
Time keeping isn't my strongest thing but I pushed myself and started my stuff straight away. It gets easier. I applied for Leeds trinity, Wolverhampton, Manchester Salford, Bolton and Bedfordshire. Picked Bolton because they had the best course. The tutors will dedicate time to helping with ucas applications and choices as well


I have no idea what unis I will eventually apply for i'm interested in doing a study abroad but that raises the entryrequirements which sucks, but it seems like its an access course for me and time to prep my personal statement and hopefully do a little bit more research into unis, thanks for your help its much appreciated :smile:,

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