Starting a degree at 35

In case it’s of interest to later posters who may have missed the link above, here’s the Mature Study and Retraining board (under the Education topic).

great! Keep us updated!

You posted this…

Ok-I am going to book an interview with the local college to see if i can get on evening course to do the GCSE'S

Are you still going to do that? It seems like the best idea now-you could probably start in September if you ring now. It will give you the basic qualifications to springboard into other courses and give you an insight into how you enjoy studying as well.

Ok, so get your English and Maths GCSEs via evening classes and sign up for FutureLearn unlimited to try out loads of courses which might interest you. When you know what you really want to study, someone can advise you.

@Gem8701

Maths. I know I'm wierd.

Mental health nursing is a degree, by the way, but one where you will be able to get a job afterwards; you could always choose to take further qualifications after if you enjoy it. Psychology is very popular and it's hard to get a career just from the psychology degree.

What about doing something like mental health nursing if you're interested in psychology? If you take this route you could do an access course first- but you may still need maths and English and science gcses so I'd check first. Also, 35 is still young to start a career where experience is important - like mental health work, teaching, social work; they like older students.

You might be able to do an access course through a local college or uni to bypass the gcse/a level stage.

I studied law in my 40s and there were older than me there. Age shouldn’t be a barrier but you may not get the student lifestyle you’d have had at 18

I did a BSc psychology degree with the OU and I don’t have GCSEs. It’s the only way you can do a degree without needing prior qualifications. I enjoyed doing it but it hasn’t led to me being able to better my career at all unless I do further post grad study which I can’t afford. I wish I had chosen a different subject which could have taken me down a more specific path such as doing primary teaching

OP I just checked our local college and University and they

1. don't require GCSEs to be accepted onto the Access course as you study the Functional Skills alongside the Access Courses (they do Computing, Nursing / Social Sciences and Education)

2. Local Universities accept applicants with Functional Skills and a relevant Access into HE qualification (and no GCSEs)

Good luck 😊

But you had a plan this morning

Just focus on English and maths gcse in the short term.

I'm doing a second 'first degree' with the OU.

If you are not sure what you want I'd start by looking at the free courses.

You might like th e'Open degree' where you study things you are interested in.

You don't neee GCSEs or an access course to do a degree with the open university. They didn't even ask which GCSEs I had when I signed up. Look at the open degree, you can pick and choose modules to suit your preferences. They also have free courses through open learn, you could try a few to try and find a direction to go in.

I would thoroughly research teaching before heading down this path; I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Recruitment and retention are at rock bottom, morale is low, work is pointlessly time-consuming, micromanaged, highly scrutinised and inflexible.

It’s not the easy option with 9-3 days that some people believe. If you are serious about this-search for some posts on here (or the ‘Exit the classroom and thrive’ Facebook group) about people wanting to start (and leave) teaching and read the replies carefully; so many people do the degree, PGCE and the don’t even make it through the training years!

@Flipflipmania you don't need any qualifications to an open university degree.
OU degrees are just as valid as a degree from a brick based uni.

Hi OP, speak to the college. You can do GCSEs alongside your Access Course. Depending on what degree you want to do, you could even do GCSE equivalent (although some degrees like nursing require actual GCSE).

Definitely not too old. I know lots of people who got their degree over 30/40 and it opened lots of doors for them.

I'm 36 and starting a law degree with the open university in October.
I was never able to sit my exams due to health issues but was predicted all A*s and have been working in a very law based heavy job for some time now.
Personally I say go for it.

Dont bother with GCSEs! Just focus on Functional Skills.

When applying for work they ask for GCSE or equivalent. Functional Skills will suffice at the right level! And you'll be given support to do them alongside your studies. No need to do it separate

I did a degree without GCSEs in English and Maths (well they were grade E!). Mine was a computer science degree. First of all I did an Access Course in Computing and was on my way.

I did do functional skills in maths as part of the Access Certificate. Highly recommended. 😊

Turns out I'm crap at maths but shit hot at coding. A welcome surprise!

It'll take seven years. You'll be 42. That's not old Ffs.