To do a degrees with a foundation year or not

[fireyunicorn]

Hi

Just after a bit of advice and other view points as don't have many opinions to consider. My DS wants to do Liberal Arts at Nottingham. The course requirements are AAA, which he knew he wouldn't achieve so decided to go for LA with a foundation year which he got accepted on (he got BBB in his A levels). Was very pleased with his results and outcome.

Yesterday, the uni messaged him saying he can go straight onto the 3 year degree and he doesn't need to do the foundation year.

We, his parents, think he should continue with the foundation year for a number of reasons. DS has a physical disability, there are bound to be issues that crop up and doing the foundation year gives him a year of settling in, getting used to being at uni (he's still living at home), his scribes and note takers getting used to working with him etc. The cost of doing the extra year is not an issue.

Does anyone have any views or experiences please? Many thanks.

Speaking as a former RG admissions tutor, I also think the FY is a good idea. The A level results your DS achieved means he will very likely be one of the least prepared students in Y1 if he goes for direct entry. This can quickly lead to loss of confidence. That tends to spiral and be difficult to recover from. I am speaking from experience with my personal tutees, and there is no guarantee he will be assigned a PT with a lot of time to help him. It is very much the exception, as everyone is so overworked, although Notts has a good rep for student support.

I also agreed that taking the FY to adapt to new ways of working given his personal situation is important. Frankly I think this offer may have been more about the School’s need to hit targets than the best interests of your DS. It is very unusual for an RG School (in my experience) to make an offer to someone who is off by three grades. Good luck persuading him that this is actually the most efficient path to success, which I firmly believe.

Thank you for replying - this is just the kind of response we needed to hear!