The Student Room Group

Foundation offer and/or Insurance

My daughter’s firm choice has stated they will offer the foundation course if she misses the grades for entrance onto firm choice course. If she hits the grade for insurance choice will both offers be then on the table. Foundation and/or insurance. Can some please explain how this works. Thank you.

Reply 1

No.

If she meets her Firm offer, or they accept her anyway, her Insurance choice automatically disappears and she cannot get it back. If she would prefer to have her current Insurance as her Firm because of the Foundation possibility, she can usually switch the two offers over - but she should organise this now as she can't do that on Results Day.

Whilst its a decision for the 2 Unis concerned, she needs to phone UCAS first to ask for the switch - but she needs to be certain that this IS what she wants to do before she makes the call.

Reply 2

Original post by McGinger
No.
If she meets her Firm offer, or they accept her anyway, her Insurance choice automatically disappears and she cannot get it back. If she would prefer to have her current Insurance as her Firm because of the Foundation possibility, she can usually switch the two offers over - but she should organise this now as she can't do that on Results Day.
Whilst its a decision for the 2 Unis concerned, she needs to phone UCAS first to ask for the switch - but she needs to be certain that this IS what she wants to do before she makes the call.


So if she hits the grades for the insurance choice she may end up on the foundation at the firm choice??
The firm choice will always have first refusal, regardless of what grades are achieved or what the insurance choice wants to do.

Reply 4

Sorry - my misinterpretation of your original message!

She cannot hold both offers and decide on Results Day.
If her Firm accept her - even if thats for the Foundation course - her Insurance disappears and she cannot get it back.
Only if her Firm rejects her completely would her Insurance come into play and then its up to the decision of that University about whether they accept her or not.

Reply 5

This is concerning news. The foundation course is a science foundation that does not guarantee entrance onto the course she has applied for. She has an insurance offer with lower grades so seems unfair that this could be effectively be withdrawn if the firm choice puts her on another course that might lead to the firm choice course. Hope this makes sense. Thank you for your input.

Reply 6

She could email/phone the Firm Uni and say that she doesnt want to be considered for the Foundation if that happens.

Reply 7

Original post by Tinksmum
This is concerning news. The foundation course is a science foundation that does not guarantee entrance onto the course she has applied for. She has an insurance offer with lower grades so seems unfair that this could be effectively be withdrawn if the firm choice puts her on another course that might lead to the firm choice course. Hope this makes sense. Thank you for your input.

Can you please provide the link to the Uni's foundation course page please so I can read it?

I went through the foundation route after completely failing my A levels and, IMO, actually made it easier for me to understand the course as it taught me the dos and don'ts of uni (plagiarism, how the uni IT system worked, got to know a new city and what's around campus) in a less stressful situation. So, Foundation years can present some benefits to a certain extent (main benefit being I got first choice of my course of choice before they started filling in spaces for BMS i.e. I was guaranteed a slot for my degree of choice should I pass the foundation year).

I went to UWE and done the Foundation year in science before progressing onto Biomedical Science (IBMS accredited i.e. I can work in diagnostics as opposed to someone who did not do an accredited degree) for context.
(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 8

Original post by Scienceisgood
Can you please provide the link to the Uni's foundation course page please so I can read it?
I went through the foundation route after completely failing my A levels and, IMO, actually made it easier for me to understand the course as it taught me the dos and don'ts of uni (plagiarism, how the uni IT system worked, got to know a new city and what's around campus) in a less stressful situation. So, Foundation years can present some benefits to a certain extent (main benefit being I got first choice of my course of choice before they started filling in spaces for BMS i.e. I was guaranteed a slot for my degree of choice should I pass the foundation year).
I went to UWE and done the Foundation year in science before progressing onto Biomedical Science (IBMS accredited i.e. I can work in diagnostics as opposed to someone who did not do an accredited degree) for context.


I’m sorry. Links are a bit beyond me. The course is the Mpharm at Huddersfield. I’d appreciate your take on this. This is all worst case mum panic. The required grades for first choice are well within her capabilities. 🙏🏽

Reply 9

Original post by Tinksmum
I’m sorry. Links are a bit beyond me. The course is the Mpharm at Huddersfield. I’d appreciate your take on this. This is all worst case mum panic. The required grades for first choice are well within her capabilities. 🙏🏽

I'm running on an assumption that this link here is the course your daughter has been offered if she does not meet the requirements? Link: https://courses.hud.ac.uk/full-time/undergraduate/science-extended-degree-leading-to-a-bsc-hons-degree

It states on the page "On successful completion of this year (you must pass all five modules), you'll be able to continue onto the first year of your degree in the following science subject areas: 

Biological Sciences*** 

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering* 

Forensic Science 

Geography 

Optometry** 

Pharmacy**"

I am working on the assumption, based on this phrasing that, when you graduate from the Foundation year, you will be offered a place on the Pharmacy course on the understanding that you obtain a minimum of 70% on the Foundation year with at least 70% in chemistry and maths. I can't say I've attended Huddersfield and so can't say on the difficulty of the course but, if it's similar to UWE, it's not particularly difficult and compared to A Levels, an absolute walk in the park, note I said IF. At UWE, on the chemistry section, I was achieving some 80-100% in parts of the coursework offered in Chemistry (I didn't do so well in psychology but I didn't care about it so didn't put much effort into it as I knew what I was going for), note I wasn't particularly great in Chemistry (despite ironically my degree specialism in Biomedical Science at Masters level being in Clinical Biochemistry but it's looking at it in a diagnostic sense as opposed to how chemical compounds are formed, reactions and their shapes). It just isn't so heavy on many aspects A Level is, which is why I did better and university isn't exam heavy as your coursework can carry a significant portion of weight.

Please factor into account as mentioned previously the minimum pass mark of 70% for Pharmacy and the interview should she meet the pass mark criteria. That being said, you can speak with the lecturers beforehand and discuss the course with them in order to learn a few things, unlike mine which was an automatic in for BMS at UWE.

Benefits of Foundation Year:
Foundation year allows you to learn the university's procedures like the university's internal system such as how the IT works as at UWE, we have a system called BlackBoard which is where you download your work assigned to yourself and submit work you've produced.

The benefits are also to learn plagerism in a less stressful situation as when you first start uni, you will be given smaller stakes work at the beginning incase you don't cite properly and by default, cause plagiarism and/or understand where to site properly as you're meant to use it in situations where what is not deemed common public knowledge (basically everything in diagnostics or science) to act as a reference. You will also be told where to source references, how old the references should (for the most part) be (for me it's ideally no older than 5 years but it's not absolutely fixed, there can be older ones if it's relevant).

Where the work is easier than in your first year, it's easier to digest the information too as you aren't trying to digest the academic content as well as the rules and regulations of academic offences. You can also use this time to join societies to make friends with similar interests as, in my Foundation year, I joined the LGBT society and the anime society to meet new people as I learned the stakes weren't particularly high.

It also teaches the benefits and ability of self study (VERY, VERY important at university as you're only taught perhaps 40% of what you actually need to know, the rest is self taught in revision purposes as putting something down you're not taught in class raises you to first class standard as opposed to just parroting what you've been taught in class). You are also not expected to use books but look into published literature (journals), particularly in years 2 and 3 as it's more emphasised as this is what actually counts towards your mark.

Downside of Foundation Year:
If for whatever reason, your daughter does not pass the Foundation year (plagiarism offence, not attaining a high enough mark etc...), they will not be permitted to progress onto the course they wish, which will in turn mean accruing student debt and effectively a "wasted" year. However, if you know what you're doing, this risk is fairly minimal.

An extra year in education can be seen as a downside for many, but as said previously, provides you many benefits as mentioned in a less stressful environment meaning you're more prepared going into the following first year of your course meaning you're more likely to attain higher marks as you're more prepared.

I have attached several screenshots of something I produced this year (please note this is only the first page of a 1,500 word essay on a Masters Level as it's all I have on hand right now) showing how to appropriately cite your work (according to my university as it has its own referencing system) as this prevents your work from getting rejected for, what's effectively theft. It also shows how important it is in a field of diagnostics to rule things out as 90% of your marks comes from the ability to rule out diagnosis instead of just giving the correct one,

I have anonymised my lecturer's names for the sake of privacy but kept the work the same (minus the very poor watermark), this piece of work (this is maybe 25% of what I submitted) achieved a distinction and was a 1,500 word essay for a case study.

EDIT:
I have removed one screenshot of the work produced as my work has not yet been signed off by an exam board (should be shortly though).

Case Study Page 1.PNG
Case Study Page 2.PNG
(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 10

Original post by Scienceisgood
I'm running on an assumption that this link here is the course your daughter has been offered if she does not meet the requirements? Link: https://courses.hud.ac.uk/full-time/undergraduate/science-extended-degree-leading-to-a-bsc-hons-degree
It states on the page "On successful completion of this year (you must pass all five modules), you'll be able to continue onto the first year of your degree in the following science subject areas: 

Biological Sciences*** 

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering* 

Forensic Science 

Geography 

Optometry** 

Pharmacy**"

I am working on the assumption, based on this phrasing that, when you graduate from the Foundation year, you will be offered a place on the Pharmacy course on the understanding that you obtain a minimum of 70% on the Foundation year with at least 70% in chemistry and maths. I can't say I've attended Huddersfield and so can't say on the difficulty of the course but, if it's similar to UWE, it's not particularly difficult and compared to A Levels, an absolute walk in the park, note I said IF. At UWE, on the chemistry section, I was achieving some 80-100% in parts of the coursework offered in Chemistry (I didn't do so well in psychology but I didn't care about it so didn't put much effort into it as I knew what I was going for), note I wasn't particularly great in Chemistry (despite ironically my degree specialism in Biomedical Science at Masters level being in Clinical Biochemistry but it's looking at it in a diagnostic sense as opposed to how chemical compounds are formed, reactions and their shapes). It just isn't so heavy on many aspects A Level is, which is why I did better and university isn't exam heavy as your coursework can carry a significant portion of weight.
Please factor into account as mentioned previously the minimum pass mark of 70% for Pharmacy and the interview should she meet the pass mark criteria. That being said, you can speak with the lecturers beforehand and discuss the course with them in order to learn a few things, unlike mine which was an automatic in for BMS at UWE.
Benefits of Foundation Year:
Foundation year allows you to learn the university's procedures like the university's internal system such as how the IT works as at UWE, we have a system called BlackBoard which is where you download your work assigned to yourself and submit work you've produced.
The benefits are also to learn plagerism in a less stressful situation as when you first start uni, you will be given smaller stakes work at the beginning incase you don't site properly and by default, cause plagiarism and/or understand where to site properly as you're meant to use it in situations where what is not deemed common public knowledge (basically everything in diagnostics or science) to act as a reference. You will also be told where to source references, how old the references should (for the most part) be (for me it's ideally no older than 5 years but it's not absolutely fixed, there can be older ones if it's relevant).
Where the work is easier than in your first year, it's easier to digest the information too as you aren't trying to digest the academic content as well as the rules and regulations of academic offences. You can also use this time to join societies to make friends with similar interests as, in my Foundation year, I joined the LGBT society and the anime society to meet new people as I learned the stakes weren't particularly high.
It also teaches the benefits and ability of self study (VERY, VERY important at university as you're only taught perhaps 40% of what you actually need to know, the rest is self taught in revision purposes as putting something down you're not taught in class raises you to first class standard as opposed to just parroting what you've been taught in class). You are also not expected to use books but look into published literature (journals), particularly in years 2 and 3 as it's more emphasised as this is what actually counts towards your mark.
Downside of Foundation Year:
If for whatever reason, your daughter does not pass the Foundation year (plagiarism offence, not attaining a high enough mark etc...), they will not be permitted to progress onto the course they wish, which will in turn mean accruing student debt and effectively a "wasted" year. However, if you know what you're doing, this risk is fairly minimal.
An extra year in education can be seen as a downside for many, but as said previously, provides you many benefits as mentioned in a less stressful environment meaning you're more prepared going into the following first year of your course meaning you're more likely to attain higher marks as you're more prepared.
I have attached several screenshots of something I produced this year (please note this is only the first page of a 1,500 word essay on a Masters Level as it's all I have on hand right now) showing how to appropriately cite your work (according to my university as it has its own referencing system) as this prevents your work from getting rejected for, what's effectively theft. It also shows how important it is in a field of diagnostics to rule things out as 90% of your marks comes from the ability to rule out diagnosis instead of just giving the correct one,
I have anonymised my lecturer's names for the sake of privacy but kept the work the same (minus the very poor watermark), this piece of work (this is maybe 25% of what I submitted) achieved a distinction and was a 1,500 word essay for a case study.
EDIT:
I have removed one screenshot of the work produced as my work has not yet been signed off by an exam board (should be shortly though).
Case Study Page 1.PNG
Case Study Page 2.PNG


Thank you so much for taking the time to answer so fully and give a first hand account of your experience of a foundation year. This has given me reassurance that it would be a very good option should my daughter not get the required grades. Good luck with your studies and future career.

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