Access Course

[constantlywingingit]

Hi

I wondered if anyone else was currently completing an access course and applying for university as a mature student?

I am currently working on assignments and struggling with time management and would love some tips on how others get this done with young children (managing housework/cooking/childcare/family time and time for yourself in balance with completing essays and studying at home).

At the moment my grades are fine, all D's and M's, but I find in order to get things done I'm staying up very late, some nights till past 3am. There must be a better way?

Hello
I’m currently completing an access course -science (chemistry, biology and psychology). I go to college for 3 full days a week. I’m not even working at the moment but I’m finding it very intense, so I don’t know how people who are working are managing to fit all of the coursework in. So far I’ve managed to get mainly D’s with a couple of M’s but it’s really hard work, especially as I didn’t even do my science GCSEs at school. Yesterday I worked all day to complete a biology assignment (14 hours!) 😳. I’m a mature student (43) with 2 children at home, usually I do my coursework in the evenings as that’s the only time I can concentrate, but I am lucky this weekend as my youngest has gone away. The housework has to slide unfortunately, and I feel like I have no life - no more shopping days or coffee shops, or even relaxing to watch tv/film, but at the moment it’s more important to get the grades I need (30 distinctions and 15 merits). I sent off my UCAS application at the end of November and I have an interview at my university of choice in January. Just keep telling yourself it will be worth it. I have heard, from a few sources, that the access course is actually a lot harder than the first year at university! Good luck

I done an access course a few years ago to get I to uni to study nursing. I found it so intense and the work load overwhelming. To be honest it was harder than my full 3 years at uni. I used to only get merits and needed a 1 distinction to get in, I just scrapped by. I came out of uni with a 2.1.
Keep at it itll be worth it

Thank you, this gives me so much hope. I'm so excited about everything but it's a really overwhelming amount of work. I'm self employed too, and it really is so much on my plate. I feel like I never see DH any more.

Roll on end of May

Hi, I'm doing an Access course (biochemistry, physiology, physics and maths) 2 evenings a week. I don't work, and have 2 children (1 not in school). I find it really hard to find a balance. I either spend all day completing work, and then feel guilty for not spending time with my family. Or spending all day with my family and then worry about not having done work! Plus housework isn't really getting a look in these days. Which I've accepted. Coursework and family are coming first!

I'm a very all or nothing person. So struggle to do a couple of hours here and there. Hoping next year is easier!

Just echoing the struggle really, and like others have said it will all be worth it! Well done so far.

*spend

I'm doing an Access course on History of Art and Classics at a Russell Group Uni. The tutors are excellent and basically have told us that, (on completion of our course to a strict Uni standard of marking), we will be very good indeed in first year. Drop-out rates for Access students are very low compared to the others, and this initial year of "training" if you like is going to pay us back in spades next year. At our Uni there are rooms in the library where you can even bring your little ones in, so you can have them playing etc whilst you are in there, doing some work and meeting your friends or study group, with all the resources right there for you, and that's all free of course. You could check your Unis to see if they do this too. This will all be worth it for us, and just looking at some stories here of what you are all accomplishing at the moment tells me you are very very capable women, who will hit that first year of undergraduate degree study right out of the ballpark x