University help..

Spitfir3

Spitfir3

Spitfir3

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Hello all,

Rightyho.. firstly I know this is incredible late in the day and that there's little time left and secondly i'll start off with a bit of background.... I left Sixth Form 2 years ago this summer with a E in Physics and a D in Applied ICT. Reasons for the dissmal results and lack of a 3rd subject include: WoW (i'll be honest and put this in), hatred of school (I struggled with Physics due to me hardly ever being in School during GCSE - more specifically GCSE Maths) and general immaturity... I didn't like the idea of going to Uni back then. 2 years on and i've been working nonstop for a year now and feel I am more than capable of completing a degree.

About a year ago I was talking to a friend who did Engineering at Liverpool and then on to do a PhD at UCL doing his thesis on autonomous aircraft... I found this pretty interesting and he basically convinced me to look at going. So I was thinking about it for about 1/2 a year and only recently decided to investigate... I discovered it'd be unlikely that i'd get onto a course at pretty much any university for obvious reasons :p So I decided to leave it but then in the last few weeks I found this course:

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/search2010/atoz/course/?code=00428&pg=1

Now, this looks pretty good and i'm wondering about how I go about applying for it... I literally have no experience with UCAS or uni applications... I understand it's too late to apply normaly and will have to apply through clearing...?

Will this course even be avaliable through clearing? Looking at the news it doesn't look like there's many places avaliable but seeing as this is a foundation course I guess it'll be different?

Cheers guys :)
 
Only way you will be able to find out is by emailing the Uni. Some courses get oversubscribed and others are desperate to find people. Hopefully it will be the latter. :D

Good luck!
 
You could do a foundation year to ensure entry to your degree if your A levels aren't upto scratch. I did this due to having my A levels in IT and Computing yet im doing a biomedical science undergraduate masters lol.
 
StewartMG said:
Manchester Uni with a D and an E? Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but...
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Indeed, but i'm looking at the foundation courses they offer ;)

James J said:
You could do a foundation year to ensure entry to your degree if your A levels aren't upto scratch. I did this due to having my A levels in IT and Computing yet im doing a biomedical science undergraduate masters lol.
Click to expand...

Yep! That's what i'm looking at:

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/foundationyear/
 
Moses99p said:
It's entirely possible, TBH. I left school in the summer of 2005 with a four D grades at A level (lol), I'm currently on a law course which has a ~standard entry profile~ of AAA.

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A foundation year's the way forward... just email the admissions tutor :).
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How is that possible and what Uni?
 
Go and speak directly to the university admissions tutor for the department in question. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need to do, and how likely it is you will be accepted or not.

If you can't go directly there then as mentioned above, consider a foundation course which will give you access to the degree. I know several people who have done this and even people who have completed a degree simply to then go on a do another.

Good luck and don't give up!
 
If you want to go to do engineering at a PROPER University, think again with those grades.

Engineering foundation year at Loughborough Uni requires C's iirc (basically you got C's but in the wrong subjects - ie not maths and physics).

However, a foundation year is just doing your Alevels maths and physics again, with some extras chucked in that you would cover in first year of a regular engineering course anyway.

My opinion, redo your Alevels as doing a foundation year costs the same as a normal year at uni - ie a hell of a lot!

PLEASE NOTE: Engineering at good unis doesn't need awesome grades, as everyone these days wants to do time waster subjects like sports science (3 A's required to do it at Loughborough, but they don't do much when on the course - high grades simply due to high numbers applying).
Engineering is EASY to get on due to low numbers applying, HARD to stay on as the material is hard and there is a lot of it. Trust me - I speak from experience, I messed up a year of mech eng. I got an enourmous kick up the back end and now I am top of the class, but being a year behind with all that debt is not nice.
 
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StewartMG said:
Manchester Uni with a D and an E? Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but...
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It is possible. These foundation courses allow people with grades like that. However there needs to be a very good reason for why and secondly you need to demonstrate you're interest in the subject. So OP, I hope you have been doing something in the last two years which shows that you are serious about the course and not simply a 'chancer' just trying his luck.
 
With 2 A levels of such a low grade that decent uni's wouldn't even take them into account I imagine your chances of getting in to a foundation degree scheme are slim.

Moses99p said:
Redoing A levels would be a bad idea, imo - it takes two years and you're stuck with kids. An Access to HE course would be better, in my opinion (and experience!)
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You do realise that you don't actually have to go back to school to do A levels right? That and they can be done in one year no problem allowing you to apply for a standard 3yr degree course.
 
Moses99p said:
Redoing A levels would be a bad idea, imo - it takes two years and you're stuck with kids. An Access to HE course would be better, in my opinion (and experience!)
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Perhaps, I do wish I had stayed in 6th form another year though as it is cheaper. I am on a Beng and with a placement year and changing course, my degree is taking 5 years!
I got into Loughborough with Maths (C) Physics (D) ICT (B) as I started in 2006 when the fees went up and the application numbers dropped a bit.
I was nowhere near up to speed and I was lazy.

All I can say to the OP is that if he wants to do an engineering degree somewhere prestigous then he must do some further learning (Alevels or Foundation Year) before starting the normal course, otherwise when the **** hits the fan, it is going to make one hell of a mess:p.
 
Moses99p said:
I was under the impression that finding somewhere to sit the exams, if not taking the course at whatever institution, is difficult (especially if doing a science course with a practical paper).
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There are loads of adult colleges, and you will have no problem getting into the course no matter what your past grades are. A physics practical doesn't require any special equipment anyway, it's using standard household materials.
 
Moses99p said:
Redoing A levels would be a bad idea, imo - it takes two years and you're stuck with kids. An Access to HE course would be better, in my opinion (and experience!)
Click to expand...

What kind of people are on the Access to HE course? And how do uni's consider it? Can you apply to any course (degree) with it?
 
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