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Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Higher education

2 year foundation degree - what level qualification?

32 replies

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 20:04

My dc in 2nd year, and considering changing direction. Will have a foundation degree at end of 2nd year, but thinking about not doing 3rd year which would be the full BA. (Performing arts-related, so entered course by audition and not via UCAS).

What qualification is a foundation degree - is it a level 5 or 6 or something else?

Not very good at understanding all of this or what options there will be, and it has come as a bit of a shock to us!

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badgerhead · 16/02/2017 20:11

A foundation degree is level 5 a full BA is level 6.

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 20:21

Great, thanks. No idea what her plans are yet, she has no idea herself - she loves what she does, but has come to the reluctant conclusion that she doesn't love it enough. Trouble is, she's never wanted to do anything else, and is a bit lost at the moment. Spent her whole childhood on the stage and now this...

Do unis allow you to enter at 3rd/grad year on a course if your foundation is in a different subject? Does it depend on each course?

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Yamadori · 16/02/2017 20:23

Forgot to mention - went at 16, so no A-levels, - GCSEs mostly A's & B's.

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SwedishEdith · 16/02/2017 20:27

She could top up at OU, certainly. I suspect it's possible at lots of other universities - online and brick ones.

titchy · 16/02/2017 20:29

She'd be unlikely to go straight into a top-up course in a different subject. So she'd have to start another degree elsewhere. A lack of A levels might also be an issue, although say a Drama or English degree might be ok. Obviously a degree in a science and some other subjects will need A levels. Entering a foundation year (year before first year) is a way round this though.

How was she funded? DADA or SLC? She'll only have two more years of loan entitlement left if SLC.

katymac · 16/02/2017 20:32

she might get in to Rose Bruford to do technical theatre or something like that if she still wants to be involved

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 20:33

She'll have used up 2 years of student loan.

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Yamadori · 16/02/2017 20:36

It's dance. Not keen on singing or drama. Doesn't want to do choreography and says teaching isn't for her - she's got until Easter to decide whether she wants to stay and do 3rd year really.

We're supporting her, it's taken courage I reckon, for her to talk to us about it now.

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katymac · 16/02/2017 20:39

A lot of courage - every half term I check with DD it's still what she wants to do & so far the answer has been yes

If you don't need to do it with ever breath it's bloody hard work (pretty hard even if you do need to)

Have you asked on NaPM - There is an education guy on there who knows his stuff

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 21:51

every half term I check with DD it's still what she wants to do & so far the answer has been yes same here. Not this time though.

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katymac · 16/02/2017 22:04

It can happen at anytime - assessments are coming up & rehearsals for Move it & DDI exams - this term can be stressful

Does she know what she wants to do? Why not take a year off & do extra/modelling/dance work to earn some money & try to decide what she wants to do then do OU

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 22:31

She's no idea what else to do - only ever wanted to do this, and now the love has gone. Time to crack open Plan B. If only I knew what it was!

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katymac · 16/02/2017 22:36

All the better to take time & have a break

AlexanderHamilton · 16/02/2017 22:37

If she were to top up her degree it would have to be in a related area. She could do an access course to be able to study another subject but I don't know what the situation would be with regards to funding.

I wonder if she would be able to switch to a more academic based perf arts degree. I have a music degree & lots of my peers work niw in totally unrelated fields.

I know it's very difficult. My dd went to Voc school aged just 11. She's now 15 & deciding what to do next & I do worry that it's too much too soon.

Yamadori · 16/02/2017 22:58

To be honest, I'm hoping she will decide to stick it out and stay to finish 3rd year (but we can't make her!). Then at least she'll have a degree, and can do something via OU if she wants to in the fullness of time.

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titchy · 17/02/2017 08:00

She'd struggle to fund 'something with the OU' given that she'll have a loan to pay back.

Don't make her finish it if she doesn't want. Currently finish at foundation degree means she's only lost one year of loan entitlement, finishing to degree means she loses two years. So you/she would have to find two lots of fees, and two lots of maintenance loan.

Yamadori · 17/02/2017 14:17

She'll only have to start paying it back when she's earning over the threshold, so that isn't a worry to be honest. The issue is - does she try to find a 'final year' somewhere and complete her degree in a related subject, or if not, then what? Because she has no A-levels she has shortage of Ucas points so that doesn't help matters either.

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VirgilsStaff · 17/02/2017 15:38

It would be unusual for any decent university to take a student - on a foundation course - into the final year of an Honours degree. Or even for students to transfer from one Hons degree to another at 3rd year. We don't just play games in years 1 and 2!

titchy · 17/02/2017 16:09

Actually having thought about it if she got a degree she wouldn't be eligible AT ALL for any loans as she'd fall foul of the ELQ rule.

Really you only get once chance at a degree if you need the funding - and let's face it most of us haven't got a spare £50k hanging around.

Really I think leaving with a foundation degree, having a year or two to really think about what she wants, then working out ways of achieving that (there are options as long as she isn't an elq student) is the way forward.

Yamadori · 17/02/2017 17:08

Virgils - it isn't an entry-level foundation course it is a 3-year full-time BA. She will have done 2 years of it, so would need to move elsewhere to do the final year. The course is specifically set up so that after 2 years (having to leave is quite common due to career-changing injury etc for performing arts) they can then get a qualification and top up to a full degree in another area with one more year of study. It isn't just a practical course, there is a lot of coursework.

What I was trying to find out was the level of qualification after the 2 years, so she can explore her options.

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beanfilledfish · 17/02/2017 17:10

i did a foundation degree and the university did a top up one years course to make it a BA, lots of people with foundation degrees from different subjects did it!

Yamadori · 17/02/2017 17:19

Virgil I've sent you a message explaining the set-up. It isn't a normal university.

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AlexanderHamilton · 17/02/2017 17:23

Has she got any idea of what she might like to do?

Becca19962014 · 17/02/2017 17:36

I did an online course with rose bruford, many many years ago. I didn't complete - that wasn't to do with them. My education was geared towards one subject. I had one GCSE and everything else was in one subject which I didn't want to do after graduating.

Rose bruford accepted my application to do their opera studies degree - the only thing I had relevant on my application was going to opera! But they accepted me. They were really helpful in helping me find the level of entry I needed and they had bursaries at certain levels.

Your DD would have level 5 for what she has done so far. They do a wide range of courses there, some distance learning some on campus (the one I started was one of their first distance learning courses) some a mix of distance and on campus. A list of their courses is on this site www.bruford.ac.uk/courses/

Becca19962014 · 17/02/2017 17:37

Sorry, I meant level 5 for two years of study not what's she's done so far!

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