Too late this year to go to uni ?

RadoX

RadoX

RadoX

Associate
Joined
24 Oct 2006
Posts
1,752
Location
Sheffield
So i went to the pub today for my dinner then it starts, all of my family that attended were seriusly talking to me about how the army is a bad idea and a waste of my potential. So ive decided i may go back to collage or to uni if i can problems are:

0 gsce's ( thrown out of school in year 10 for being a idiot was predicted As and Bs and 1 C) but i do have ccna semester 1 passed and another 2 collage qualifications for it support and install test and configure networks + a few key skills. a lot of knowlage about security know some C and a small ammout of C++.

so i could go back to collage and carry on with CCNA but i found it not very time consuming, it took me about half a day to do all my work and revise for the exams and i was getting 90%+ every one.

If i could by some miracle go to uni at this time of year and with my gcse results etc. I wouldnt have a clue what would be good to do?

id like some advice please.

thanks

Andy
 
figure out what you want. Not what your family want.

Why would the army be a waste of time or a bad choice.
No point going to uni unless you really want it, it simply costs to much. You could go through clearing. But you would probably have a extremley hard time with no gcse or a levels.
 
You're not too late for Clearing, however if you've not got decent exam results then you might struggle (and by that it is generally taken to be A Levels/Scottish Highers/International Baccalaureate sort of level). The only way to know is to apply and explain (probably directly to the universities admissions department) what exams/experience in lieu of results that you have and see what they say.

Good luck if it is what you want to do but you don't seem to be at all sure going on the limited information you've given.
 
Depends what you want to study and where. If you want to do a well respected course at a good uni you may need A levels.
 
Radox,

You sound like a pretty intelligent guy from what you've said. It's just a pity you didn't realise what you were throwing away back in Y10.

I'll be going through clearing this year myself, but as far as I understand university admissions, you will stand no chance of of obtaining a place on any sort of higher education course without A Levels or equivalents.

If you do want to get some qualifications and continue your study to higher education, you're in for a hard slog! The main option would be to go back to college, get yourself a BTEC/Diploma etc (something that equates to 5 GCSE passes), then sit your A Levels. After this you'll be able to go to university as a mature student.

But at the end of the day you really just have to ask yourself WHY? What do YOU want to achieve through this? What are your aspirations? You might as well think of an answer to these questions sooner rather than later as this will inevitably be asked in any admissions interview given your history. And more to the point, with answers to these questions, you should be able to motivate yourself to achieve your desired goal.
 
Voltar said:
Depends what you want to study and where. If you want to do a well respected course at a good uni you may need A levels.
Click to expand...

if i actually get to speak to them about anything related to networking or anysort of security on any scale i think they would be reasonably impressed with my knowlage.

to the other person above saying having not done a levels and i might find it hard, theres nothing ive failed to understand yet when ive put my mind to it and its intrested me. Id say im about 70% quicker than the avarage person at absorbing information and understanding it. Im not trying to have a massive head but i more than likley people can be talking about stuff trying to explain it to me and ive heard about it before and probably know more than them about it XD
 
Last edited:
go finish your CCNA with a part time job if its not taking up much timr

will give you time to think about what you definetly want to do and it will always be handy to have a qualification to fall back on
 
RadoX said:
if i actually get to speak to them about anything related to networking or anysort of security on any scale i think they would be reasonably impressed with my knowlage.
Click to expand...

Your qualifications will get you the interview - the interview will get you the place. No qualifications, no interview. :(
 
what course to apply for ? some kind of network security ? my ideal job would be a penetration tester but i think i would find all the stuff they teach me i already know, same as CCNA i knew everything they were telling me apart from a few bits. im getting so bored of anything security based i do now ive resorted to setting up the securest home network ever and i try to steer myself away from all black hat activities since im coming up to prosecution age and ive had the police round before ( it was too much effort to forward ports through 4 proxies so i could netcat back so i didn't and got pawned by a small co with only like 1000 users).


any suggestions ?
 
Last edited:
Moses99p said:
Hi there,



Just no! He could just do an Access to Higher Education diploma (I've just finished one)... that would take one year.





No, a foundation degree must be an option he looks at. I looked at foundation degrees for a friend (science foundation), and the "typical entrance requirements" were 40 UCAS points (that's basically nothing)... soooooo I'd wager that if he's reasonably bright he could get himself onto a foundation degree programme... he just needs to contact admissions tutors at different universities, and then explain himself in a reasonably coherent fashion.
Click to expand...

Very fair point mate. As I'm sure you can tell, it's not an option I've personally researched. But if that's the best way, then by all means he should give it a go I guess!

@OP: If you do indeed want to enter onto a foundation course this year, as Moses mentions, you will have to speak to admissions tutors. They are not careers advisors, and will likely not take too kindly to being used as such. The point I make is that you should be very firm about what you want to do before you approach a university directly. Or if not, at least have an idea of a subject area and WHY you want to study it. What will YOU get out of it?

With all due respect, OCUK forum cannot tell you what subject you should study, just as your parents can't. I suppose we can give you suggestions, but this is going to need you to really sit down at some point with pen and paper and go through all of your options. This really does need to be your choice. At the end of the day, if you go and start a 4 year foundation course on someone else's recommendation, you might come a bit unstuck as soon as you realise that it possibly isn't as right for you as you first thought. Maybe you should think of a subject that you would ENJOY most to start with, then work from there. After all, enjoyment will give you motivation - something you sound as if you're lacking in at the moment.

MAYBE the army is the right path? This should still be an option to consider. You just need to figure out what you would personally get out of it. If the army is what you want to do, then join and enjoy it. Who's to stop you?
 
tim80bwi said:
MAYBE the army is the right path? This should still be an option to consider. You just need to figure out what you would personally get out of it. If the army is what you want to do, then join and enjoy it. Who's to stop you?
Click to expand...

my mum is getting seriously upset about it. i don't want to make her upset i think she wouldn't cope when i go to Afghanistan.
 
AcidHell2 said:
:rolleyes:

why?
Click to expand...

You might die, I expect.

RadoX said:
my mum is getting seriously upset about it. i don't want to make her upset i think she wouldn't cope when i go to Afghanistan.
Click to expand...

Her position is understandable. I don't expect others to share my opinion, but I can't see myself allowing my children to join the forces. If I let them go and they died, I couldn't live with myself.

My brothers friend, Dale, was a marine and went to Afghanistan. All the training in the world cannot prepare you for when your vehicle drives over a landmine, killing you instantly. RIP.
 
stop being a girl and just join the army imo. your mum will be proud of you once your in anyways she can't have you under her wing forever. go to uni after the army, get more grants and a better uni as mature student. if you want to join and don't you will regret it later as often people in there 40-50s say.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom