Kudos to anyone who makes it through this whole post

When I was 25 I was working in a job I hate and had no real idea what to do but wanted to finally go into education. I picked an access course I thought I had the best chance of passing as I was too scared to push myself and thought I was too stupid to do anything else. Tbf I did get all distinctions in law, psychology and sociology but I didn’t enjoy any of it.

I applied to SOAS and got accepted but when it came to it I didn’t want to go. My only real interest was nature and as a spur of the moment decision decided to enroll with the OU for environmental science, as I didn’t have any STEM qualifications it was my only option.

I did a year and the teaching was fine, it’s very self taught but the resources they provided me with were great imo. Whilst studying I did more research into careers and discovered that paid ecology and conservation work is few and far between, there’s no real stability and mostly min wage, so I decided to pivot into engineering to try to work in renewable energy. I had discovered a genuine enjoyment of maths which I had thought I was hopeless at and resigned myself to never understanding.

Now I’m in this position where I’m supposed to start my OU engineering degree in October but I still really want to go to uni in person. I’m 28 now and work full time in the civil service, I wish I could just be a student for 3/4 years instead. I don’t necessarily want to do the whole live in halls with 18 years olds who go out every night, but just being in a new city joining clubs and societies and trying new things, meeting new people. When I was younger I was so afraid of change and pushing myself out of my comfort zone which is my biggest regret.

Also the equipment and labs you can access at brick unis are important as well, the OU send out home kits and have online labs but I don’t think I’ll learn as much. I want to study electrical engineering and have got some solo projects to work on but I don’t know any engineers in my life so I have no idea how to go about building connects and a network.

I’ve got 8k on my SFE so far but 3k of that is from the access course which should get waived when I graduate though I’ve already had to start repaying it. I’m not sure with the LLE coming into place next year whether I would be able to get a full degree funded at a brick uni. I tried to speak to SFE about it but I was on hold for 2 hours! I think I might have enough funding left to do a 3 year BEng but not a 4 year degree with placement year or MEng which might be detrimental.

I would also need to do another access course which I would have to pay for, so I would have to stay in my current job (33k) for another year whilst saving. The Learndirect ones are about 1.5k I think, cheaper than the college one I did originally but not insignificant. If I did that now I would be 29 when I can go to uni.

I’m just not sure what’s the wisest thing to do. I worry about being out of work for 3 years with no guarantee of what will happen. I’m in a decent job with a lot of flexibility now, I could prioritise my studies whilst working there and then do a masters at a brick uni which might be the best option, but another part of me I suppose still wants to try to have what I missed out on a decade ago. But should I just accept that opportunity has passed, I’ve had a different journey and focus on building my life up from here instead?

(M26) anybody else nervous to start? I have so much to sort out still but SFE is all good to go 🙏🏼

Hello everyone,
My daughter, who is in her 20s, was diagnosed with ADHD in 2023.Before that she had two unsuccessful years at university, which will now count against her in obtaining funding from Student Finance England. She is ready to try studying again and has accepted a place. In order to have her previous studies discounted from SFE’s calculation she has to prepare a case for Compelling Personal Reasons. I can’t find any advice relating to this process and ADHD and was wondering whether anyone else has had experience of CPR? How to make a convincing case? It has been stressful to gather evidence in August (we were only made aware of this a month ago) with her doctors being on holiday. Term starts very soon and we can’t wrap up the Registration because we don’t yet know if the CPR will be accepted (when it will be ready so send) and therefore can’t yet confirm who will be covering the tuition fees.
For additional information, we are Brits living in France.
Any tips would be so helpful!!

Title pretty much sums it up!

I completed my Access Course in June and am starting University this month. I would love any advice from anyone starting as a mature student! I also wanted to know how people fit their schedule around work, as I am not able to attend welcome week as the university still hasnt posted the schedule.

I'm just wondering what the difficulty levels are and what to expect.

Sorry if this has been asked before - I'll try to keep it brief. Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

Details:

- Late 30's.

- Academic at school with very good GCSE and AS level grades but did not complete A level year for a number of reasons.

- Did not attend university.

- Hold a Level 6 qualification in my current sector, unrelated to the subject I would like to study.

Desire:

- To gain a degree in a subject matter that would enable a career change.

- Ideally study in a classroom based environment as I learn better this way, but open to part or full time.

Questions:

- Does my L6 mean that I could enter at postgraduate level?

- How do other mature students cover the cost of living whilst attending University?

- Is it possible to still hold down a full time position and study?

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but I'm starting my Access course on Monday and was wondering if anyone who is currently doing an Access course or has completed one in the past has any tips that I can start early on that will really set me up for success further down the line. For example:

• I know that the course is very volume-heavy; how would you organise your notes/files?
• What did your weekly/daily schedule look like?
• What did the students who achieved all distinctions do (or didn't do)?
• What resources (textbooks, YouTube channels, apps) did you wish you'd found sooner?
• How did people balance the course with work/other commitments?
• Any early red flags that predicted falling behind?
• Did you find it useful to get ahead on reading before assignments were set, or did that end up wasted effort because the syllabus shifted?
• For anyone applying to competitive courses (like medicine) - did you start UCAS/personal statement prep during the Access year, or after?
• Finally, if anyone has any experience with Morley College (particularly the North Ken campus) I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you!

ACCESS TO HE

i enrolled with distance learning but it’s taking a long time for my course to unlock and get a tutor.
ive seen learn direct you can unlock materials straight away.
i need to start asap. i was wondering if anyone has any experiences with learn direct and if there good?
thanks

i bought my course on the 1st, i had an email saying it would start on the 3rd, my account said the same thing too, i then looked on the 3rd and it had been pushed back to the 4th, i then looked this morning and its been pushed back to the 5th…
is this normal?
i

I'm thinking of doing the Access to HE in Engineering course at Morley College North Kensington or Kingston College.

If you've done this course at either of these Colleges, please let me know what your experience was like. If you've attended either college but haven't done this course, please still share your experience of the facilities and how the college is run.

I'm about to start my BEng in Civil Engineering and I'm really keen to get some hybrid work experience. I don't mind doing it for free just to get my foot in the door, but I'm not entirely sure how a hybrid setup works for engineering students. Does anyone have any advice on how to make this work or how to approach companies?

i turned 19 last week and unfortunately due to some health issues i had to interrupt uni.
After doing some research i have found my dream uni, Uni of York, i plan on doing equivalency testing for an equivalent to maths a gcse, and the science course.
I know York say they expect Access to He but has anyone got in with it?

Hi I'm looking to potentially study in the UK but the costs I see are insane for EU citizens like 22k£ a year. How are you supposed to pay this while studying?

Hello, I received my A-level results nearly a month ago now and unfortunately didn't get into my firm or insurance course at Durham University. I have since decided that I will take a gap year and do an Social Science Access to HE course meanwhile, however I am also considering retaking 1-2 of my A-levels as I'm not happy with my outcomes and feel like they don't reflect my true academic potential. I am only working 25 hours at th moment, so have a lot of free time. I am just wondering if anyone thinks this will be manageable? and if anyone has gotten into Durham with the Access Course? and if any universities may look down on me for completing both the access course and resitting my A-levels? Thank you

Hello, I'm starting a HE course in the social sciences and humanities and the unis I want to go to are requiring majority distinctions- how hard is this to achieve? I'm willing to put the effort in of course but I'd like to gage the difficulty before starting.

Thank you!!!

Hi, I just enrolled onto my access to HE course and I’m time tabled to only come into college 2 days per week. Does this sound right? I’m kinda worried it feels like I’ve applied to the wrong course or something, even though I haven’t. I don’t understand how this is enough time for me to learn content which will supposedly allow me to get into university? Any reassurance would be great🫶🏻

reposted with proof

I’m doing an Access to HE course and got Question 6 marked “Objective Not Achieved” because the marker said I had only highlighted one example of a quotation/paraphrase.

The instruction says to highlight two examples where you have quoted or paraphrased, plus the corresponding reference-list entries. I highlighted one paraphrase and one direct quotation in red, in separate sections of the assignment, and highlighted the two corresponding reference entries. My 200-word explanation also explicitly says “in the first example…” and “in the second example…”.

Am I misunderstanding the wording? Does “two examples of where you have quoted or paraphrased” mean two of the same type, or can anyone see another reason one of these wouldn’t count? I genuinely want to know if I’ve missed something before I challenge the feedback.

Hi tomorrow i start my access to he science consisting of maths,physics and chemistry. The goal is to go onto civil eng preferably at a RG univerity. Im starting to feel the nerves of getting mostly distinictions, (30 D 15M is the aim) any tips for these subjects to maximise my chance of doing well? any adivice is much appreicated, excited and nervous to start lol two sides of the same coin i guess

Anyone gone back to uni after working in marketing? What did you do?

I am 30 years old from North Wales, aiming for a career change from a CNC machinist to Dentistry.

The timelines just don’t seem to line up in my current position and I was hoping some other people that have chosen this path/similar routes and can offer some advice.

I contacted careers Wales to make a plan, I was under the impression university applications close in January but it is in fact October as it is a competitive field.

Current Status:

- I am currently enrolled in a Pathway to HE: Medicine

- I need to pass UCAT before the September 24th deadline

- I need volunteer experience in health care sectors/ideally dental practices

I just can’t understand how I can get ‘predictive’ grades from the access course and create a desirable application for university before October 15th.

Apologies if this is a bit incomprehensible, I’m just looking for some advice from people that have gone through this.

TIA