Has anyone got into university without having the qualifications

[TravellingSpoon]

Trying to find advice for my best friend, who is thinking of applying for a part-time Health and Social Care degree. She doesnt any qualifications that attracts UCAS points, but she has some level 2 and three courses that are relevant to the job she does (she works in home care). She can write a good personal statement and has loads of experience but has anyone been able to do this?

For what its worth, the course was in clearing last September, so it looks like its not that popular, so have told her it might mean she is more likely to get accepted.

Entry requirements are partly in place to act as a filter for popular courses, and partly to ensure that students can cope with the academic side of studying.

The best thing your friend could do would be to call the admissions department and ask - they will likely be open again tomorrow. Ideally she would speak with someone who selects for the course so she can impress upon them her experience etc.

If they were to make an exception they might ask her to do an OU module or similar as a condition of her offer.

Access course first? Does the pt degree offer a foundation year?

I had a friend who got into nursing in a similar position and she really struggled academically with the course. She got through 2nd year on 3rd attempt but dropped out after failing 3rd attempt in our final year. Sadly it wasnt just one module she failed either, she failed all but the group project. If there was an access course through college then I would recommend doing that first or taking the degree slow (not so many modules at once).

Yes. I did a foundation year though.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to get into university without qualifications.

My ex got onto a BSc course by doing a foundation year, and I got accepted onto a 2-year MSc having just A-Levels, relevant industrial experience, and letters of recommendation from qualified work colleagues (so skipping the BSc altogether).
Best thing to do is call the institution and see what they say/recommend.

Yes, I did to do Sociology. I had offers from 2 middle of the road universities, not highly regarded ones but not terrible either.

I did a year at the Open University first, not an access course but a module in Sociology.

I had a very good personal statement and "life experience".

She will not be able to get in unless she meets the UCAS points requirement for a degree.

I’d suggest your friend does an Access to HE course - as well as helping to get her in, it’ll give her a understanding towards the day-to-day demands of her degree as it’s quite different to vocational level 2 or 3 courses. Having worked in university admissions in an area that had a vocational element, I saw a lot of people in a similar situation and Access courses seemed to give the most success.

Yes, as a mature student. They are usually much more focused on experience for mature students. They may also have an access course that is suitable for her.

for mature students, most courses also want to see some evidence of recent learning, rather than just qualifications from years ago.

I did with similar qualifications as your friend, plus very good GCSE's (not for nursing but a science heavy course).
I had a interview with the subject leader and had to take a test before I was allowed on the course. That was about 15years ago and the course wasn't easy. I had clear gaps in in my level of education and had to work double to keep up. Something that for your friend has to consider. has
Plus point is, I know I can achieve anything I put my head to.

Very very unlikely. Once worked in admissions for a very low in the tables university in the school of health. You needed to at least come close to the required UCAS points before we would pass your personal statement on to the admissions tutor. You also needed recent study within the last 5 years - this couldn't be just any study either, some thing that attracted UCAS points. I'd recommend a access course or a foundation year first.

Yes as a mature student with good work experience. Did very well in the undergraduate degree and went on to do a masters and professional course afterwards.

The first admissions person I spoke to said there wasn’t a chance in hell they’d let me on the course. So I called the course leader and explained how passionate I was about it and she set up a meeting. We had a good chat and I started a few weeks later.

My DS did, via an access course. Different type of course, though. He's doing very well & loves it.

OP, your friend should contact the institutions she's interested in and ask for advice. Entry requirements are usually more flexible for mature students and I think they apply through a different route, not through UCAS.

I have no qualifications, no UCAS points, bit a little work experience in the degree I wanted to do. I applied for a foundation year, was told I needed level 3 qualifications or 60 UCAS points.

I worked hard to produce an excellent personal statement on my UCAS application and received an unconditional offer.
Received full student loan and full maintenance loan.

I wanted to do the foundation year rather than an access course simply because I would not have been able to do a full time course plus work full time, and with an access course you do not get any maintenance loan.

If your friend can convince a university she can do the course and they have space then she will be in. That doesn't necessarily mean its worth her doing the course though.

Well that's a mixed bag of responses

if she is over 25, and has relevant work experience, she should contact the institutions directly, curse leader, admissions office. and keep trying,
sometimes it depends who answers the phone. but it wont be easy.
has she really researched whether the time, effort, money of doing that degree will be advantageous. what does she hope to do with it. has she read around the whole subject, job prospects etc. does she need that specific degree to enter or advance in a particular job. in some jobs its better to keep working and advance by promotion, taking any in service training as available.

If she's unsure about study skills them an access course/foundation year or OU module will really help.

I would really recommend she does an Access course first as it will prepare her for academic study. She might find it hard otherwise as uni is a very different kettle of fish from either school or work!

It does really vary.

My DH got in but he was from the University town so that acted in his favour and had the Welsh Baccalaureate (we went to a Welsh university) and that’s how he got into his university place. He was also 20 at the time but had only worked for 2 years.

He got a D, E & U in his A levels and so was massively under the entrance requirements... but they still accepted him. He got a better final grade than I did and I was over the entrance requirements

This was an average university with average entrance requirements. It certainly isn’t in the top universities. It would depend on which university you apply to as well.

I got into medicine without biology or chemistry A-levels and very ordinary grades with the A-levels I did have!
Things change once you are a mature student. Entry requirements are often (usually) different and many courses will take experience and unrelated qualifications into account. Speak to the admissions for the University you want to apply to.

Not having the entry requirements did not stop me completing my degree with distinction...and this is one of the reasons universities really value their mature students, they work hard and are very frequently successful at their studies...definitely encourage your friend to go for it!!

She has worked in social care for a number of years, thats how we met. However I stayed within nursing homes and she went into Domiciliary care about 5 years ago.

I will tell her to contact the admissions tutor. The worst they can say is no!

Tell her to go for it!! My mum has domicillary carers. A mixed bag, some excellent, some not so great. Spoke to a particularly good carer and asked why she didn't go into nursing. She couldn't afford it, reAlly really sad.

I did an access course aged 24 went on to a science degree and PhD. I wouldn't recommend going straight to uni without recent learning though. Uni was a massive culture shock!