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Nearly a mature student

3 replies

havenlady · 16/05/2016 21:41

DS1 has been working for a couple of years and has seen a foundation degree he wants to do, and he has good relevant work experience.. The college says if he applies now he will be rejected because he hasn't quite enough UCAS points. And they won't consider him as a mature student as he isn't 21 at the time he applies. He will be 21 however before the course starts in September. UCAS on the other hand defines a mature student as one who is 21 when the course starts. My question is, if he makes this point in his personal statement (as well as selling himself generally) would it make it more likely that they will consider his application rather than reject it? Otherwise he could wait until clearing, but that is obviously more risky. There are still places on the course.

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titchy · 16/05/2016 22:10

There's nothing particularly magic about the age of 21. It's the age at which students are considered to be mature (!). It doesn't mean automatic offers to anyone who doesn't otherwise qualify. Mature students still have to demonstrate their suitability for university level study.

Offers are always discretionary. Hence why some kids get unconditional offers and some AAA offers for the same course.

Having said that, foundation degrees are not popular, and many places struggle to fill them. The university may well be slightly more desperate to fill places at Clearing than they are at the moment, so I'd wait till then simply for that reason.

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titchy · 16/05/2016 22:13

Work experience on its own doesn't make him suitable by the way. Academic qualifications are what makes someone suitable for academic study. Though clearly it's great to have relevant experience.

What's the course and what are his tariff points?

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havenlady · 17/05/2016 08:43

Thanks for the reply. It is of course up to him to demonstrate that he is capable of studying at that level. The course is Live and Technical events - so pretty vocational and hands on, an HND really. He has only got 80 UCAS points from 2 AS levels, when he left to go to work. He is dyspraxic and now says he will use any support offered (in the past he has just tried to ignore his problems). Should he include this on his personal statement - or would this not be a good idea?