Access to Science course

Hi guys,

Can anyone give me some info on the Access to HE Science please.
I start in September and wondering about work load, assignments and exams. Also how hard is it really? I've heard mixed reviews about access courses.
Roughly how many hours of study do you need to put in? Excluding the hours i'll already to doing in class.
Thanks

Reply 1

999tigger

Original post by layla_may93

You should really be contacting your provider about that. Ask them for the syllabus as to whats available.
If you are after a specific degree then make sure your access course or choices contain enough to meet meet the requirements.

https://www.ocnlondon.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Access%20to%20HE/RoC/nextAC/Diploma%20Specification,%20RoC%20&%20Approved%20Unit%20List%20-%20Science%20(2018-2019).pdf

Reply 2

layla_may93

I wanted honest opinions from people that had actually studying access science themselves. Not tutor opinions. But thanks for the link. Gives me an idea on modules 😊

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 3

adam277

From what I've heard it assumes you already know gcse science.

Reply 4

layla_may93

Original post by adam277

From what I've heard it assumes you already know gcse science.

That was over 10 years ago. I don’t remember everything! 😭

Reply 5

adam277

Original post by layla_may93

That was over 10 years ago. I don’t remember everything! 😭

Yep but there will also be people there who did the pre Access course/ GCSEs which covered all the GCSE science 😅

Reply 6

ozzyoscy

You're asking how long a piece of string is. It depends which Access Science course you're doing, where it is, which subjects and modules, how they're assessed, how many hours of class you're doing... all differ with each college and course.

Reply 7

Rustin

Original post by layla_may93

I know someone who completed the course last year. They hadn't studied any science in the 10+ years since High School. They told me they barely remembered anything going into the course. There were some people with a strong science background and some with none at all.

From what I was told, it seems the stress of the number of tests/exams was worse than the difficulty of them. That's not to say that the course was easy. My friend found Biology fairly straightforward, where as quite a few extra hours of intensive study were required to stay on track with Maths and Chemistry.

Reply 8

layla_may93

Original post by adam277

Yep but there will also be people there who did the pre Access course/ GCSEs which covered all the GCSE science 😅

Didn't even know there was a Pre Access course.

Reply 9

layla_may93

Original post by ozzyoscy

Original post by Rustin

Thanks

An actual useful response haha

Reply 10

username4902282

I studied an Access to HE: Biomedical Sciences. The workload was the main thing that was tough. Having to complete four assignments in two weeks and each would require atleast just under 4k words to be distinction level. I would recommend grabbing scientific textbooks for biology, look for ones that have information for the modules you will be studying. I was in college all day Monday and Tuesday and I spent Wednesday relaxing but then I would spend Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday doing my assignments or revising for a test. Breadth an depth is what you need, don't just include scientific words in an assignment, explain them and say why they are important in whatever the assignment is asking. Make sure to go the extra mile for everything. I got 14 distinctions out of 15 units, that means I got 42 credits at distinction out of 45. I could have got 45/45 if I had gotten my scientific textbooks earlier.