No qualifications

Hi,
Basically to cut a long story short I'm 19 and have functional skills level 2 in english and maths, and thats it so basically no education. I understand I'm behind everyone else right now but I really want to go to either exeter uni or warrick (1st choice) to study finance and accounting. I know ill probably have to do a foundation year I'm currently planning to resit my GCSEs this year privately for English and Maths and do an Access to HE course in business to try get myself a foot in the door but I cant help feeling like I don't have a shot at all. For context I left school at 15 due to struggles with my disability and people being cruel towards me for it, left home to go into care at 17 and I have tourrettes syndrome which greatly affected me in my education in younger years (issues have mainly subsided now) I just want some advice and guidance on what to do and if its even worth trying as I don't want to get onto a sinking ship.

Reply 1

UoL Students

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Original post

by TLJ4905

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about all of your struggles, I can completely understand where you are coming from having once been in a similar situation myself. The most important thing for me to tell you is that you should not ever give up on your goals, nor listen to anyone who says you cannot do it. I was once told I would never sit my GCSEs, but I did and then went on to A Level achieving top grades and I am now at University studying Law, something I never thought would be possible. Because of our situations, it will not always be easy, you will encounter many challenges along the way but if you stick to it that sense of achievement at the end is the best feeling ever and I cannot describe just how amazing it is. This is particularly the case when you have had to overcome additional challenges that your peers have not had to overcome.

In terms of how to get to University, it is completely different to any other type of education that you would have ever had and it is much more difficult in a number of ways, but that does not mean you cannot do this! After achieving your GCSEs you will need to work on doing some Level 3 qualifications. Because you want to go to Warwick or Exeter, these are quite prestigious universities and so you will likely need to do some A Levels and aim towards the higher grades. But you should be advised also to pick some safer insurance options with lower grades just in case you don't get into your top choices.

Ultimately, a university education is a truly life-changing opportunity and I am so grateful to my university for giving me this opportunity. I would therefore strongly encourage you to work hard towards your goals and never give up, especially when times get hard.

I hope this helps, if you have any further questions or want to talk about this in more depth please do not hesitate to reach out either on here or through our private messages. I would be delighted to help in any way I possibly can! Good luck with everything, you can do this! And remember, Impossible = I'm Possible!

Charlie
Law LLB Student