Applying to university as a mature student

[spugglers]

I have just spoken to the admissions officer at my local university regarding the tariff required to study History. It is 300 points or ABC. I thought they made allowances for mature students but apart from accepting Access qualifications he didn't seem to think they would. I'm not entirely sure he knew what he was talking about.

Has anyone been accepted with a lower tariff than the standard?

TIA

[Mytholmroyd]

It depends on the Uni and how popular the course is. Did you speak to the admissions officer in the department or a general University one? Go direct to the department - lots of departments will consider mature students with lower grades if they are enthusiastic and show promise that they will get up to speed quickly as generally they are excellent swotty students, sit at the front, answer questions, engage and set a good example!

[AnnaThePenguin]

AFAIK as well it depends how long ago you did your qualifications - if it's over a certain length of time ago they don't count.

I would second calling the course tutor and speaking to them directly - general admissions will stick to the rules but a tutor may make allowances.

It does also depend on how popular the course is though.

[bluebump]

You can also check on the ucas website www.ucas.com, if you go to course search and find one that interests you click on it to bring up more information and go to the 'entry requirement section' and then 'course specific requirements' and it will tell you what qualifications are accepted.

[Cheeseandharps]

If it's more than five years ago, the qualifications won't count. I got into university for a course that requires AAA (360 points) with less than that. If you want details, I can PM you.

[drcrab]

I think I general yes the admissions tutor will make some allowances but this year was a v tough year and they might have filled them all up... Even students with v good grades get turned down because there's no apace and if they go over the quota the university gets penalized.

[spugglers]

Thanks for advice everyone. After I started thread I spoke to an Access Tutor from my local college and he said usually mature students are accepted with far less than the usual tariff and thinks that the person I spoke to was probably misinformed.

I haven't actually started the A levels yet, thinking of doing English Lit and History. I could do an Access course which is the usual route for mature students but it will delay everything by a year as childcare for the course is a issue at the moment. Also, I really regret not doing A levels when I was young so I think it would be good for my confidence. If I fail them I will take that as a sign that perhaps a degree isn't right for me!

Cheese if you could PM that would be great.