Applying as a mature applicant for BA English
Has anyone else applied or is applying as a mature student to the Cambridge English undergraduate degree? If so, did you do an Access to HE course? What advice would you give to someone who has been out of education for a while and been working? I am aiming to get all Distinctions in my Access to HE graded units. What would anyone recommend for getting my brain back into study mode?
Reply 1
Hi. I’m not sure if it’s 100% relevant but I am a mature student and I recently finished an access course in law with all distinctions. I’m set to start my foundation year at the University of Cambridge in the autumn. I know that the foundation year application process and admissions is slightly different. And typically for undergraduate direct admissions access courses are not common, but some have been admitted with the access course into Cambridge.
I’m 23 and I’ve worked only retail jobs my whole life such as server, shop assistant and assistant manager so getting back into education when my only prior level was GCSE was a little bit of a struggle but not impossible. I worked 30 hours a week and was still able to get 45 out of 45 distinctions so it’s definitely achievable. relevant to the access course the best piece of advice that I can give is to start early with your assignments and read your assignment briefs very thoroughly before during and after your assignments. It’s not like coursework that you can keep on handing it in and getting it back and handing it in again, so you need to make sure that it is precise articulate and in the full structure of the assignment brief. Time management is also very important. I personally worked 30 hours a week which is still part time and then went into college three days of the week for my access course. I still achieved all distinctions while working and being a carer.
In terms of Cambridge with the admissions, I did a lot of reading with history, politics, philosophy, and law. This was only because the foundation year is a disciplinary year so I wanted to be able to think critically across a range of subjects before the interview interviews. However, in your case it would be focused on English, so that’s what I would recommend.
I really wish you all the best in your endeavours and I’m sure wherever you do end up, you will thrive (:
I’m 23 and I’ve worked only retail jobs my whole life such as server, shop assistant and assistant manager so getting back into education when my only prior level was GCSE was a little bit of a struggle but not impossible. I worked 30 hours a week and was still able to get 45 out of 45 distinctions so it’s definitely achievable. relevant to the access course the best piece of advice that I can give is to start early with your assignments and read your assignment briefs very thoroughly before during and after your assignments. It’s not like coursework that you can keep on handing it in and getting it back and handing it in again, so you need to make sure that it is precise articulate and in the full structure of the assignment brief. Time management is also very important. I personally worked 30 hours a week which is still part time and then went into college three days of the week for my access course. I still achieved all distinctions while working and being a carer.
In terms of Cambridge with the admissions, I did a lot of reading with history, politics, philosophy, and law. This was only because the foundation year is a disciplinary year so I wanted to be able to think critically across a range of subjects before the interview interviews. However, in your case it would be focused on English, so that’s what I would recommend.
I really wish you all the best in your endeavours and I’m sure wherever you do end up, you will thrive (:
Reply 2
Original post
by AnonymousHi. I’m not sure if it’s 100% relevant but I am a mature student and I recently finished an access course in law with all distinctions. I’m set to start my foundation year at the University of Cambridge in the autumn. I know that the foundation year application process and admissions is slightly different. And typically for undergraduate direct admissions access courses are not common, but some have been admitted with the access course into Cambridge.
I’m 23 and I’ve worked only retail jobs my whole life such as server, shop assistant and assistant manager so getting back into education when my only prior level was GCSE was a little bit of a struggle but not impossible. I worked 30 hours a week and was still able to get 45 out of 45 distinctions so it’s definitely achievable. relevant to the access course the best piece of advice that I can give is to start early with your assignments and read your assignment briefs very thoroughly before during and after your assignments. It’s not like coursework that you can keep on handing it in and getting it back and handing it in again, so you need to make sure that it is precise articulate and in the full structure of the assignment brief. Time management is also very important. I personally worked 30 hours a week which is still part time and then went into college three days of the week for my access course. I still achieved all distinctions while working and being a carer.
In terms of Cambridge with the admissions, I did a lot of reading with history, politics, philosophy, and law. This was only because the foundation year is a disciplinary year so I wanted to be able to think critically across a range of subjects before the interview interviews. However, in your case it would be focused on English, so that’s what I would recommend.
I really wish you all the best in your endeavours and I’m sure wherever you do end up, you will thrive (:
I’m 23 and I’ve worked only retail jobs my whole life such as server, shop assistant and assistant manager so getting back into education when my only prior level was GCSE was a little bit of a struggle but not impossible. I worked 30 hours a week and was still able to get 45 out of 45 distinctions so it’s definitely achievable. relevant to the access course the best piece of advice that I can give is to start early with your assignments and read your assignment briefs very thoroughly before during and after your assignments. It’s not like coursework that you can keep on handing it in and getting it back and handing it in again, so you need to make sure that it is precise articulate and in the full structure of the assignment brief. Time management is also very important. I personally worked 30 hours a week which is still part time and then went into college three days of the week for my access course. I still achieved all distinctions while working and being a carer.
In terms of Cambridge with the admissions, I did a lot of reading with history, politics, philosophy, and law. This was only because the foundation year is a disciplinary year so I wanted to be able to think critically across a range of subjects before the interview interviews. However, in your case it would be focused on English, so that’s what I would recommend.
I really wish you all the best in your endeavours and I’m sure wherever you do end up, you will thrive (:
Thank you for your response. It was really helpful and positive. I'm doing an Access to HE course online so while that will prepare me well in terms of getting used to independent study, I am a bit nervous about not having as much support. The fact that you got into Cambridge whilst working and being a carer is really inspiring. Thanks again! 😀
Reply 3
Original post
by anxiousforbetterHas anyone else applied or is applying as a mature student to the Cambridge English undergraduate degree? If so, did you do an Access to HE course? What advice would you give to someone who has been out of education for a while and been working? I am aiming to get all Distinctions in my Access to HE graded units. What would anyone recommend for getting my brain back into study mode?
Cambridge will accept an Access course to a Foundation Year, and may accept it for an undegraduate tripos in any arts subject - but you do need to speak to someone in undergraduate admissions at a college. I'd recommend you speak to someone at a 'mature' college, as they have more experience of dealing with non-standard entries, so Wolfson, Hughes Hall or Lucy Cavendish would be good choices.
My advice would be to dedicate more time to the Access course than you think you need: they are full-on and much more intensive than most people think. For instance, the attrition in the first month is often >20%, as people realise just how much work (and time) it involves.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Mature student
- Mature student - BA degree at University of Edinburgh or UAL
- Applying for psychology in Oxbridge
- University of Reading Applicant Thread 2026
- UAP or Falmouth?? Mature student
- Msc OT Brookes
- LIPA MA Acting/ 21+ BA Actors
- City St George’s 2025
- How to know if you meet the entry requirements
- Official Mature Students Uni Applicant Thread 2026
- Courtald Institute's MA History of Art
- What to study??
- English at uni but bad gcse grades
- Gap Year while auditioning for Drama School
- Is my IGCSEs good enough for Durham?
- Access to HE for Russell Group unis
- UCAS Application - GCSEs and Access to HE
- Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art
- Us student
- Business Analytics Postgraduate Offer
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 month ago
University of Cambridge applicants' thread for 2026 entryCambridge Undergraduate
245
458
Last reply 4 months ago
Cambridge - Computer Science application and college?Last reply 5 months ago
University of Cambridge offer-holders' thread for 2025 entryCambridge Undergraduate
186
353
How The Student Room is moderated
To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.
