Foundation year or straight to uni?

[Fishoutofcoffee]

Looking for advice, especially from any admissions officers.

DD started a course at a top uni last year but suspended her studies at Christmas as she wasn't coping well at all (mental health issues/hadn't settled) and had realised the course wasn't for her. She managed to switch courses (despite her A level grades not meeting the entry requirements) but has to restart in Sep 2023. She has since been travelling a bit and working.

The uni was a long way from home and she's not sure if she's ready to move so far again. She's also been looking at apprenticeships but many of the ones she's interested are now closed for 2023.

Our local uni does a foundation year in her chosen subject (they won't take her straight onto the degree course with her A level grades). This could give her a bit of breathing space (she would live at home) and could also look good on apprentice applications and maybe enable her to apply for other uni courses for 2024.

The question is - would this be a waste of a year (and money!) if she already has a place at an excellent uni? Or is her mental health the most important thing? Would a foundation year help her get onto a degree course at a different uni if her A level grades didn't meet the requirements?

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I thought you could only get funding for four years undergraduate studies.
If they were to do a foundation year that would be four years but they've already had a years tuition at the first uni, regardless of the fact they didn't complete the year.
If that wasn't the case then a foundation would be great to ease them into the degree, and as you say a year to rebuild their MH

We'd save quite a bit on rent etc if she's at home for a year so could possibly fund the final year of a degree or the FY.

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies

...You can calculate the amount you will get by taking the total number of years of the course you are applying for and adding one year.

(That section is about when you have studied before, and continues Then take away the number of years you studied for. If you studied for part of a year you should count it as a whole year. But the initial calculation is the same).

My understanding is also that the FY plan will leave your DD a year short of funding.

Having said that, years of participation on Mitigating Circumstances panels and the experiences of my own tutees have me firmly convinced that MH is the priority. Also, if the local university’s FY is a good one, it will open doors currently closed to your DD ( assuming she does well). My emphasis there is because quality varies, and not just by the reputation if the university - the FY will have statistics on how many of their students go on to Y1. A good one will share them. If the FY is good and you can afford it, I would go for it.

(Former admissions tutor)

@poetryandwine Thanks for your message. I've had a chat with SFE and there does seem to be leeway for the FY and a full degree to be covered so that's good. Even if she doesn't continue onto the degree afterwards, I think it could help her mental health and let her mature a bit more.