Integrated foundation years

[NotOnlyMercutio]

DD is in year 12, just starting to go to university fairs and think about next steps.
She definitely wants to go to university, and knows what she wants to study.

She came home with an armful of prospectuses for unis that look achievable (if all goes well). They all have similar entry requirements, but some of them have options with an integrated foundation year with much lower entry requirements.

We have no experience of this and we’re wondering how it works.

Is it sensible to apply for one of the foundation course options as one of the 5 choices to be the insurance choice?
Or would unis that offer a foundation be likely to offer it anyway on results day if they were your firm or insurance?
Or the other way round - if you had put the foundation course as your firm or insurance and then the uni in question was actually accepting people with the same grades onto the standard course, would they be likely to trade you up? Or at least offer to do so?

Why would you do a Foundation year if you are able to go straight to Year 1? Extra costs and loss of time for nothing.

You have to ask the individual unis what to do. For the science/engineering courses my sons looked at, some said the foundation year was only for people who didn't have the right subjects at A level. Others said it was for people who didn't get high enough grades but not to bother applying to it separately. And others said yes, apply to both and put the foundation one as your insurance.

Unis are all different. There's usually an email address you can send questions to, or you can ask at open days.

She's not suggesting that

OP it will depend on the uni as the previous poster said. Some would automatically offer a firm applicant who missed their grades a FY place (we would). Others will have fixed targets for FY and Y1 entry and may not have any FY space left to offer those that missed their offer.

Those are things you can find out at open days though, or by emailing admissions teams.

Thanks, that’s helpful.

@Ceramiq because when you initially apply you don’t know what will happen with your results, and having a more certain insurance option can be reassuring.

Same point of view. It's important to know what you need and want.

Good luck on your chosen path.

Edited by Stickman Hook 1 day ago

When DD got her A level results the key one she needed for her course was lower than her offer at her 1st choice Uni but she was offered the same course with a Foundation, which she hadn't applied for
She would have taken it but got in through clearing instead
If this happens frequently then I would think its not necessary to apply for any with Foundation as they may offer it automatically

I also agree with @JellyBabiesSaveLives and @titchy

At my university, each FY programme has its own targets. All the Schools, including Foundation, within a university do cooperate. So if the FY is not meeting its target, relevant Schools will offer FY to suitable candidates.

Good FYs tend to attract lots of their own applicants, though the visa changes may be having an impact.

Even when the FY is integrated, it is definitely worth checking what the progression criteria and statistics are. Also be aware that after completing a good FY a student is s desirable candidate elsewhere, and free to apply. I would always encourage doing that as backup.

I’ll get Dd to write it on her list of important things to find out at open days!

It’s an arts/humanities degree and only one place we’ve looked at so far (Reading, I think) has a specific subject requirement , so I doubt people would be doing the foundation because they studied irrelevant A levels. Most of them do seem to be pretty general and can automatically lead on to multiple different degrees.

I didn’t know you could apply elsewhere after the foundation year, wouldn’t that affect your student loan? Or can you just transfer it?

@NotOnlyMercutio the answer is it depends! A lot of foundation years can be used as entry to other universities if you wanted to change but not all. You can just update your student loan it wouldn’t be an issue.

For foundation years I would also say look at where they are taught - some are not on the university site and can be quite a different (and not necessarily good) experience.

I didn’t know you could apply elsewhere after the foundation year, wouldn’t that affect your student loan? Or can you just transfer it?

You can transfer the loan.

If that is a route your dc goes down, bear in mind she would be applying through UCAS in the first half of her FY, and would need references and transcript from her FY tutors - she may not be comfortable telling them effectively 'I don't like your FY and can't wait to leave...'

Usually a foundation year is for those who need to make up gaps having not taken the required entry subjects to A level, change of direction or miss grades. It is possible to apply for full degree entry but be offered foundation on results day.

@titchy is certainly correct that this may not be comfortable. Honestly, though, that is a student issue rather than a tutor issue. Tutors see this all the time, from both sides, and think nothing of it.