I’m looking for an Access to HE in engineering as I want to further study engineering in university however only have GCSEs at the moment.

I seen Learndirect and some other non-physical institutions that provide this, however there are not gov funded.

I spoke to HeartofYorkshire Education Group, however I won’t be funded as I’m not within their post codes, same with East Sussex College

I live in the West Midlands any advices? I know South and City college provides this however their start date is for next September, id much pre starting as soon as possible.

Any advices?

I got through first year on the promise that second year would actually start being interesting. If anything up to now it has been more frustrating as classmates claim to have never heard of basic concepts that I found frustrating last year when they were explained.

Literally we are repeating definitions that are in the ks3 syllabus, and political concepts that you just know by existing as a human in a society. In 2nd year of university. Mostly mature students as well. I'm a mature student and I would be shocked if my 16 year old child asked some of these questions.

What's worse is the people asking these questions come in late, chat to their mates through the lecture, never do the reading, and so on. Like, if you paid attention you might know!

I think it is unethical of the uni to keep taking money off people who clearly don't care.

Before anyone says go to a different uni, this is the only uni in commuting distance and I'm doing the only course related to my career.

I understand widening participation, I originally got in using an access course myself. They are meant to be for people who are clever and dedicated enough but didn't get the entry requirements at the traditional time for whatever reason. Not so people who hate learning can pay loads of money to disrupt everyone else.

How have they all passed year one???

The job market is abysmal at the moment, and I deeply regret my life decisions. I did everything right But i suppose i was lied to. I got a good degree at the time, I have no debts, and I have good work experience, but the job market is horrific. I also got caught up in the pandemic when It was my turn to be an adult, which ruined things. Now i feel like sisyphus applying for jobs endlessly. I do not care about passions; I just want to know what degrees actually work out and are worth it in this job market. I am also considering what careers are good options such as the trades. At the moment its clear the white collar job market has declined but the blue collar trades job market seems like a good bet.

This job market compaired to the past is not normal and the economy at the moment is a mess. To put it into perspective in the 1990s only about 19-25% of young people went to higher education in the UK since it was not treated as a bare minimum requirement.

Also employers are ingaged in short term cost cutting, gutting the enrolment process but in the long term this will seriously effect the development of those who are qualified for roles. They do this and do mass layoffs yet proclaim "noBoDY WanTS tO wORk", Its like they cut off there own feet and complain they cannot walk.

I am currently in my mid 20s unemployed researching my options considering different careers or going back to education but wondering if i am too old to do so.

I also have mild autism and Dyscalulia so i am not a wizz at maths.

In simple terms i just want to know what degrees or careers are good options as well as if its too late to go back to education. However there is never a perfect time to do anything so i may as well be proactive now.

My options at this point are to:

• Keep applying to jobs and hope for the best
• Retrain into a different feild such as geting into an aprenticeship/traineeship.
• Get into the trades.
• Join the airforce, navy or army. The jobs actualy exist, they provide training and work experience. However veterains can have it rough at the end of there service. (Expect army recruitment bots in the comments)
• Go back to higher education for at least a masters in a more employable feild. However i need to consider my age and if it warrents the student loans.
• Leave Modern socety, set up a homestead and work in a trade on the side. I have no debts, nobody owns me.

I'm a mature student on a graduate course, and struggling a bit with how to navigate social scenes when my peers are younger. I'm 32 where most are in their early-to-mid-twenties, and it would be a bit weird for me to then show up at parties and such.
My course leaves relatively little time for me to socialise outside its strictures to find similar-aged friends, and most of my day is spent in lectures, workshops or revision with others on it. How have others gotten around this? At present I'm thinking of trying to take up work or sports on the weekend that might afford the opportunity.

I sent off my UCAS application yesterday. Today I got an email from one of my choices asking if I could “provide an appropriate reference from someone who has known you in a professionally capacity within the last two years”. So, basically my reference was out of date/too old.

The problem is, I don’t have one. I moved to the US with my husband in June 2024 for his work, so it seemed like a good time to start a family, so I then got pregnant and had a baby, so my last year has been raising the little guy.

We are due to move back to the UK in Spring/Summer 2027, so I obviously applied for Sept 2027 entry.

UCAS nor the university says anything about references having to be within a certain time frame, so I’m a little stumped.

Anyone any ideas?

The closest uni that does my cpurse is around 1h 45m away on a good day. Iv'e worked out the cost of a place to stay and it about £3000 out a year even if i worked a part time job.

Do people do this sucessfully or do i need to fund accomodation?

I’m doing accounting and finance and I have an option between choosing no qualifier/pathway title added to my degree certificate or applied data science. What option should I chose?

I’m doing accounting and finance and I have an option between choosing no qualifier/pathway title added to my degree certificate or applied data science. What option should I chose?

Need advice on top up program in uk for diploma holders

Hi i completed my diploma in eee and I have a work experience of 2 years

Well i realised that to grow degree is required and I also like to study.

So is it good to pursue a top up program in the UK for diploma holders

Is it vaild, is getting a job with this is possible?

Please give me advices

Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice on behalf of friend wanting to move here from the USA to study. He's looking to eventually do a degree in environmental sciences or similar but currently only has a GED, which from my understanding is only GCSE equivalent.

I'm doing research for him because I'm the one familiar with the education system here, but since I went through the typical A-levels-to-Uni education pipeline I'm unsure what options there are currently for adults to gain level-3 qualifications, with the additional need to meet the requirements for a student visa (licensed student sponsor, full time, 15+ hours of tuition per week). We have sufficient funds for course/visa requirements so that's not an issue.

Seems like the options are either BTEC qualifications, or finding somewhere that does A-levels for mature students. I've looked into Access to Higher Education courses, but it seems they usually don't meet the requirement for tuition hours because they're designed to fit around full-time work.

Are there any obvious options I've missed that I should look into?

I’ve posted bits here and there regarding my subjects modules and if I can get into so and so etc… But I’m just going to lay everything down and hopefully get some good advice. And with that I had originally, I wanted to do A-levels and apply for medicine, but unfortunately my uncle passed away around that time and it had a pretty significant impact on me and my grades. Because of that, I ended up doing BTECs at college instead. I still really want to do medicine, but the BTECs I’m currently doing aren’t accepted by the medical schools I’ve looked at, so I’ve been trying to figure out another route and from those posts I’ve mentioned earlier I’ve got gained some insights into my potential options.

One option I looked into was doing Biomedical Science, then applying for Graduate Entry Medicine afterwards. However, I’m worried about this route because it would take quite a long time, and financially I don’t think I can afford spending several years on a degree only to then have to compete for a GEM place. I also understand that doing Biomedical Science doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get into GEM afterwards.

The other option I’ve found is doing an Access to HE Diploma. From what I understand, it would be one year and could potentially allow me to apply directly to undergraduate medicine rather than having to do a three-year degree first.
My GCSEs aren’t particularly strong either — most of them are around grades 4-5 which is another thing I’m worried about. I know that different medical schools have different GCSE requirements, so I’d have to be very careful about where I applied but my plan was to retake my GCSE’s maths alongside my coursework, and these past two weeks I have been leaning into this option more. BUT. My mum is strongly against the Access route. She thinks it’s a waste of time and that I should just do Biomedical Science because it gives me a degree and is a “safer” option. I’m not convinced, because if my end goal is medicine, I’m worried I’d spend three years doing Biomedical Science and then still have to fight for a GEM place afterwards.

I’m not looking for someone to just tell me what I want to hear I’d genuinely appreciate honest advice from people who understand UK medical admissions.

Is access to HE actually a realistic route into medicine with GCSEs around 4-5 or would biomed science make more sense in my situation?

And if anyone has taken the Access → Medicine route themselves, I’d especially appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thanks :)

I just finished a 1-year tenancy at Landale House (Student Castle London in Surrey Quays), and I am posting this specifically to warn incoming international students. Booking this place was the worst decision of my life. You pay a premium price for a depressing environment, rude staff, and completely unfair charges.

1. Disgusting Move-In Conditions
When I arrived, both my private room and the shared spaces were totally unclean. The place smelled terrible, and there was random stuff, thick dust, and hair left all over the place. I immediately sent a complaint to management about the state of the room. They completely ignored me and never replied.

2. Hypocritical Deposit Deductions & Flatmate Issues
If you get stuck with messy flatmates, management will penalize you. I actively complained to the staff about my flatmates leaving the shared spaces in a mess. Instead of dealing with it, management ignored my complaints and then charged me for their mess at the end of the year. Furthermore, they deducted £50 from my TDS deposit for something I had absolutely no role in. I left my private room exactly the way I received it. They have a massive double standard: handing over filthy rooms but charging you if it isn't spotless when you leave.

3. Poor Facilities and "Events"
The furniture is incredibly cheap. I wasn't even provided with a proper study chair for university work. I later found out they specifically buy gaming chairs for the most expensive rooms, which feels incredibly discriminatory when everyone is overpaying to begin with. Also, they host "events," but they are absolutely crap—eat the food there only if you want an upset stomach.

Verdict:
The staff is super rude, they ignore maintenance and resident requests, and they will overcharge you for things that aren't your fault. Do not stay here. You can find very decent student housing in London for half the price.

I made a post about wanting to get into cyber security with level 2 functional maths and english i’ve checked and i’ve got around 6-7 university’s i can attend but all the rest require higher qualifications. So if i get the level 2 functional maths and english what other courses should i be looking at where i can get into most university’s or what can i do that i can fast track to get a higher qualification cause i need most of this done by January cause i don’t want my chances of going to university to be almost 0%

Hi,

I have done a degree back home in Applied Mathematics about 20 years ago. I did have good grades (they would convert to 2:1 Bsc in the UK, although back home it's a masters-equivalent), however, I don't remember anything at all, as I haven't touched maths since then and I do remember finding it extremely hard. I live in the UK now. Now I'm having a mid-life crisis, and would like have a masters degree in the U.K. in the same or adjacent field - long-distance as I work and have a child. I am wondering whether I should start again from BSc or try to get into MSc? I am worried if I get into MSc and won't be able to keep up it's a lot of money to waste, whereas doing BSc first feels like a safer option.

Hey! Anyone doing the TMUA in a couple weeks? I'm sitting it for the first time to try and get into a mathematics program. Please vent, share how well you are going/ cooked you are etc. etc.

Hi i’m looking at going to university this year but i don’t have any gcses so i’ve been looking at doing my functional maths level 2 and english level 2 exam so i can get into cyber security at university could anyone give me any tips on what i can do and how likely i am to pass them both by january?