UK uni qualifications for home educated US student

[ThisWarmOliveQuail]

Hi all. Have read through the many replies on expatmum's recent thread and they were helpful. My DD wants to attend a UK uni due to the dreadful political climate in the US and not wanting to do unrelated general courses before specialising. She works hard and has no trouble fending for herself academically or socially. She's looking at Exeter for drama possibly with combined honours for employabilty. The issue is she is home educated so has no APs or academic references. She got high marks on all but maths on her GED and ACT. Can someone please advise if there are additional requirements for home educated international students?

Why didn't they take A levels?

It will depend on uni and course though. Drama has limited options afterwards. English and drama might lead to teaching. It’s unlikely to lead to a stage career as it’s not a training course. There’s limited work in this field!

This is nonsense. Drama can also lead to a teaching career (including English) if wanted and the skills required to do well in a drama degree are almost all the exact same skills you need for English. I know quite a number of people from my own drama degree who have gone into teaching and similar careers (including one department head of Eng Lit at a Russell group university so having a first degree in drama clearly did not hold him back).

From the government's own website, this is what you need to be an English teacher:

To train to teach English in England, you'll need:

• GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths (and science if you want to teach primary)
• a bachelor's degree in any subject

Also, the options for someone with a drama degree from a university rather than a drama school are no more limited than those for someone with a degree in History or Philosophy or other arts/essay subjects.

I know lots of drama grads who have gone into things like law, marketing, advertising, sales as well as plenty doing more unusual things, sometimes but not always drama related.

*From the government's own website, this is what you need to be an English teacher:
To train to teach English in England, you'll need:

• GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths (and science if you want to teach primary)
• a bachelor's degree in any subject*

God that's depressing if actually true. Tbf the website does go on to say Having relevant A levels can show your subject knowledge, if you do not have a degree in English. so the implication is that a degree in English is useful. Certs all the eng teachers I know have a degree in it <phew>.

I agree tho that a drama degree is as useful as any other hums degree in terms of getting a graduate role or any job that requires "a degree". But it does sound as if the OP's DD thinks a drama degree will lead to a n acting career. Is that right @ThisWarmOliveQuail ?

@clary Primary school it might be true. Subject knowledge is needed for secondary (hopefully!).

Drama is one of the arts degrees that, according to the IFS, is paying grads less than they would have earned without the degree. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that there’s few lawyers starting in 2025 with drama degrees. It’s fiercely competitive. Maybe years ago but times have changed. They have very much changed for arts grads and jobs and most research is showing this. It’s not rubbish to say employment is a challenge for arts grads these days. Evidence, as opposed to anecdote clearly backs this up.

To train to teach English in England, you'll need:
GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths (and science if you want to teach primary)
a bachelor's degree in any subject

OP's DD doesn't have a GCSE or equivalent in anything. But no indications she's interested in teaching which is lucky I suppose.

OP: if she's interested in American politics, American Studies might be a degree subject to consider.

But it doesn't solve the issue of not having any standardised tests.

@TizerorFizz it must mean to teach secondary as a primary teacher teaches all subjects; never heard of a subject-specific English teacher at primary.

Looking at the website I think it means that these are the basic requirements to teach secondary – it’s clear from the extra sentence I quoted that in fact and in practice most successful applicants will actually have an English degree or something along those lines. And English A level.

They do point out that you need a related degree (drama degrees involve a lot of language and writing analysis for obvious reasons, just like English degrees do). And if your degree is more than five years old they want you to do a subject knowledge thing to make sure your actual subject knowledge is up to date. But I looked into teaching a long while back and would have been able to apply to teach any of six subjects based on the qualifications I had (five A levels and a degree). I decided not to and have found something that suited me better and is better compensated. Still, who knows? I've had tons of different jobs in my career and will maybe change career again some day in the future. I love learning new things.

With respect to drama graduates earning less than others that is perhaps because some are actually trying to be actors etc in the early years. I'm guessing those stats don't go much beyond the first few years after university. Of those I know some decades on, most are not actors and most are earning similarly to other arts and humanities degree-educated friends.

UK universities generally require a strong GPA and 4-5s in at least 2 APs, obviously more APs for more academic courses at more competitive universities. The SAT/ACT is not always necessary. However because the US system is so different to the UK system and because not all public schools in the US offer AP courses it’s recommended to contact the admissions departments individually. As a previous pp said they are crying out for full fee paying overseas students so they can sometimes take other achievements into account.

On another note, drama at Exeter is not an acting training course - you need to go to a drama school for that. But reading drama at uni can be a good arts degree leading to an unrelated career just as classics or English or history can.

@clary It just seemed rather basic and not very subject specific. I know DDs friend had a degree in MFLs but had to add a MFL to make him an employable teacher. You can have all sorts of A levels and subjects but it doesn’t mean you will get a job.

From memory ifs study was 5 years post degree. What people post 50 are doing is besides the point these days now degrees are ten a penny. Employers are not employing English grads either!

Hi, OP -

I am not sure whether DD can go directly on to a Foundation Year. If she can, it is an excellent pathway.

If she cannot, she could look into Access courses. The entrance requirements are much more flexible as they cater to a broader intake. Sometimes you can go from Access directly to University YeR 1, sometimes a Foundation Year is recommended as a bridge.

Good luck to her

I don't think (I may be wrong!) the Op's daughter will be able to do an access course as a US citizen. She won't get a VISA to do an access course, and I don't think would be eligible for a place on one anyway as a US citizen with no previous ties to the UK.

I think you are right. The DD can get a visa for a Foundation Year at university, but not an Access Course. This is something I never needed to pay attention to and I apologise, OP

Scottish students begin university after 12 years of school and the first year is somewhat more general, but nothing like to the extent of the American system. I wonder if that would be a better fit for DD, with or without a Foundation Year? Not to discourage an application to Exeter by any means.

Admissions Tutors are generally happy to advise, and someone potentially on Overseas fees with English as her first language is the unicorn. It might be a good idea for DD to email the admissions teams of Departments or Schools that interest her, briefly explaining her situation and asking their advice. Using the public facing Admissions email is fine, as whoever reads it will route it properly.

As DD will have a big adjustment, to life in the UK as well as to the whole idea of formal education, IMO there is much to be said for a Foundation Year anyway, simply in terms of providing an adjustment period. But if it isn’t mandatory she has plenty of time to think about it. Best wishes to her.

Thank you to all who have replied. She participates in amateur productions. No paid roles as yet. UK drama schools are highly competitive from what I understand. She knows as I do her chance of being accepted is slim. Exeter drama BA is quite well rounded depending of course on which modules the student selects. Students get experience in writing, directing, set design, etc. She likes this as it gives her other options within the industry in the likely event the acting doesn't pan out. There are also several student societies which appeal to her. I'm gently encouraging involvement in those but a different degree for the reasons many of you have stated, though drama does have many transferable soft skills. She's not opposed to teaching. Typical offer is ABB. She emailed admissions for clarification on what exactly she would need to provide but wasn't told anything but to go through UCAS.

There is a forum called thestudentroom where she may find others who have attended from us and faced a similar situation. Is she set on Exeter specifically? Royal Holloway is near Heathrow and has a strong reputation for its drama course and an international student population.

She doesn’t have high enough qualifications though as several of us have pointed out - before the discussion inevitably digressed into the uses or otherwise of a drama degree. She has scraped the equivalent to our GCSEs - taken two full years before our uni-level exams.

Exeter is one of the more selective in the UK, not struggling as much financially as others, so not as desperate for the overseas fee so I can’t see them flexing on this.

She needs APs.

Information here, aimed at home-educated UK students, but some applicability. Can take a while to load due to side adverts, but content is good. Also, might be worth asking on the UK Facebook home-ed pages:
he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/University_(Higher_Education)

I’m another one about to suggest Scottish universities as they don’t require A- levels. There are articulation routes from FE colleges onto degree courses in Scotland too that are useful for those without standard qualifications, in fact could she not do Community College for a year in the US and then apply to the UK?

As pointed out though, she doesn't have the qualifications to get in. Nor does she have the equivalent of ABB. There needs to be a better plan because without APs she's not able to be selective at all.

I would say if she wants to get into acting it does no harm to have a BA in Drama or Theatre (with English is a good option, 50/50 joint honours)
You will get lots of practical skills which will help you going forward if you want to do more than act (eg direct/produce/write as well)

You can then do a Masters at Drama School if still keen on acting (but they are still very competitive like the BA).

I would say that Exeter is not an arts hub, might be better to look at Manchester or Bristol where they have great theatre/film scenes.

I can't comment on the likelihood of getting in with the Home Ed thing I'm afraid.

I cannot emphasise this strongly enough @ThisWarmOliveQuail a drama course at a UK university that offers drama as a combined honors option does not prepare students for a career in acting. It needs to be viewed as studying drama for the enjoyment and the transferrable skills into another career rather than preparation for an acting career. It's a different course to a vocational acting course. It's not like in the States where you get vocational acting schools within colleges, and you can double major with a non-arts discipline. In the UK you're either looking at a drama course that can be done as combined honors but isn't adequate training for an acting career (unless the student is exceptionally talented in a way that doesn't need to be taught), or a vocational acting course that prepares students for a career in acting. That may be offered at a vocational school that's part of a wider university, eg GSA. But the course won't be offered as combined honors with a non-vocational arts discipline.

Rather than email the general admissions team with your questions I would see if you can contact the International Team for your country at the University. For Exeter if you go into Contact Us/Course Enquiries/Enquire online you fill out a form with your name & nationality & then I think someone from the Americas admissions team should contact you. My daughter applied to Exeter from the US last year (and got offered a place) so I know we dealt with a specific America dedicated team. You should find them all extremely helpful and responsive once you dig out their contact details. You mentioned that she has taken the ACT so depending on the score/university being applied to this can sometimes be counted instead of the APs but you would need to check with the universities.

I agree with @thechicks @ThisWarmOliveQuail that a combined hins drama degree (with what btw?) will not in some way qualify your DD to become an actor. It’s not super clear, but your posts suggest to me that you or she think it will.

The people I know who have gone into a career in the theatre have gone to drama school post A levels (places like RADA and LAMDA) rather than doing a regular degree in drama at a uni like Exeter. Nothing wrong in a general way with a drama degree as I and others have said.

I wonder why she is so fixed on Exeter btw? I agree a bigger city with a stronger drama scene might be a better bet.

How old is she btw? I assume this is a plan for Sept 2026 – if so, could she take the relevant qualifications in the US between now and then?

I'm going to have to be a little vague to avoid outing myself here, but a million years ago I did a major in an arts discipline and a minor in a non-arts discipline at a US college in a city with a thriving arts scene for my arts discipline. The major program was great, but in no way prepared me for a career in that arts discipline. I ended up going straight to NYC to do a conservatory program in my arts discipline, which I could have and should have done right out of high school and avoided the student loans from the 4 year college. The arts scene in my college city was also great, but completely surpassed by 2 years in NYC at the conservatory. This is why it's important to check that the route you're opting for is going to open the doors you want it to.