DS - wants to go to uni as a Mature student, but How?

[ciderhouserules]

He's 25, got 11 good GCSEs (all A) and BCC at A level - we think he picked the wrong subjects, but hey ho. He didn't want to go to uni at 18, got a job.

He also has a DIP, gained in his job since then.

He's now thinking about going to uni, to do Law. He's concerned that his A levels aren't going to be good enough, even tho he's got 7 years of life experience and a DIP!

How does he go about looking into/applying for uni for next Sept? Where can he find the help he would have got at 18 in college?

He can apply the same way as he would have at 18 but it is worth having some conversations with his preferred unis first. Is his job or his diploma anything to do with law? That would help.

With mature students it seems to be dependent on the institution and degree subject. A lot of universities do place quite a bit of emphasis on life experience and life skills as well as academic qualifications.
Time to do a bit of research, it will pay off.

I did law at Warwick and there were lots of mature students there. They didn’t apply to same criteria and focus on A level grades and valued other experiences. Agree have conversations with admissions and go to open day. Don’t just apply on basis of the unis normal required grades.

BCC are good A Levels, and will get him into lots of places. Unis also like life experience, and most like to accept a certain number of mature students, which may be on his side too.

How do you find a good uni? How does one start the process? A lot of this would have been done at college with help from them - obvs the boat has sailed on that! I don't know where to start helping him - google?. Does he need to have actual conversations with the admissions? Emails OK? Is there a type of League-table of good Law Courses and which Unis?

He wants to do Law - his job and DIP are in Marine Insurance, based in Lloyds of London, so not a million miles away in terms of abilities.

He just needs to apply through UCAS. He'll need a reference - someone, maybe from work, who can attest to his work ethic and say how suitable he is. Is he thinking of moving to study? If so he needs to think about where he'd be happy living for three years. Town/city/more rural. England? Wales? Complete university guide will have subject league tables, but these can be a ranking of how the students assess their uni, rather than how rigorous it is. Lots of MN will tell you only a Russell group (google it) university is worth considering. Although there are plenty of other very good unis, Law as a profession tends to be a bit stuck in the past/ not open to diversity so plenty of Law firms will select from only RG unis. Don't worry about entry grades too much - they're for green around the gills 17 year olds, not mature students with plenty of professional work experience.

He's probably got all this covered though

He needs to apply through UCAS like all other students. He needs to consider carefully how he's funding it (loan won't be affected by your income) and type of housing - I say this as location makes a huge difference on housing cost eg in Leicester you can get decent bedsit whereas that amount per month won't get you a share house for 8 in other cities. Nottingham, Cardiff, Sheffield, Newcastle also are more reasonable for housing

He can also look on the UCAS website at all the law courses offered by Unis, and narrow down by grade offers- though I think he could apply to those offering a bit higher eg BBB as his experience and maturity will count.

once he sees a few courses that he likes, go to the Uni websites and order prospectuses.

book onto open days. Personal statement is not as complicated and daunting as it’s made out to be, and there’s always good advice on the UCAS website or Uni websites.

With Law it's a bit different from other degrees because even when you get the degree you need to get a training contract at a law firm afterwards. He would be better applying to better unis. I have known a student who got a first from a lower uni and couldn't get a training contract because the best law firms do the milk round with the better unis. Why not try Warwick as previous poster said they are good with mature students. Warwick have the milk run.

Has he thought about studying part-time?

I studied at Birkbeck, University of London and worked full time. Attendance was 2 evenings per week, 3 hours each evening.

It's hard work, especially after a full day in the office, but I enjoyed it. All mature students from various professions on my course. Take a look at their website.

For law he should look at degree apprenticeships before making a decision. They are a great way to qualify without too much financial commitment.

What does he want to do with the law degree afterwards?

@gapattachment I think he thinks he can go back into Marine Insurance - or at least back into Lloyds of London. I don't think he'll be looking at 'normal' legal firms, but maybe. It's slighty worrying, because he does have a good, well-paying job right now, just I think he thinks he's in a bit of a cul-de-sac.

Thanks to all who've contributed, it's very helpful.

Okay. I think he needs to be very clear on his plans afterwards, how the degree will support those plans, and what he needs to do/achieve to be a competitive candidate afterwards. That will then guide which courses at which universities he shortlists.

If it's just that he's feeling stuck and doesn't actually have a clear and well-researched plan for how a law degree is going to enable him to achieve his specific goals, then I'm not sure that spending tens of thousands of pounds is a good plan or something that will generate return on his investment.

Just having a degree won't change much on its own.

What is his long term plan? What would he want to do with his degree?

How mature is he if he can't actually find this out himself?! He is 25, ffs!!

If he wants to do another course maybe find an access to uni course at your local further education college

Thank you all for your input.

@Anisty , He might be 25 but he is still my baby, and if I can help him out i will, thanks.

There is a lot of very helpful input in this thread which I hope will help him clarify what he wants to do.

Can he find a uni that has a foundation year with the degree? I'm 38, never did A levels and am now on year 2 of a Management degree, I just did the foundation year to get me up to speed. The student finance will fund all 4 years. Personally i think quite a few students would benefit from the foundation year as you learn how to write academically and learn skills such as referencing etc. Good luck to him.

I was going to chip in with degree apprenticeship as well.

Has he tried calling up a local law firm and asking for advice?

There is also Open University which I have huge respect for.

Has he considered staying in work but doing law at Birbeck or the OU?

You don’t need to go the university (or apprenticeship) route to qualify as a lawyer you can go the legal executive route. This would probably take the same time. Does he employer allow people to for eg work 4 days and study a qualification.

He could do law A level first. That will give him a taster of whether it is for him. If he gets a very high grade in that it helps show he can do well academically. He can do that outside working hours.

He also needs work experience to see if it is really for him. He can get that in all sorts of ways, but an A level will help show he is serious.

Does his current workplace have any legal connection at all, so that he could move teams there.

@Buddrinker84 he has A levels. And a Diploma.

I'll ask him to look at an apprenticeship degree - I like the idea of him staying in work! His work do have a legal side; he might be able to inquire about that. They have been v good about him doing his Dip during work hours.

I'm seeing him this weekend, we'll have a chat.

Cider, with his profile I would try approaching solicitors firms with a shipping specialism to see if they might take him on as an apprentice. He would probably do other seats in other areas as well during training, but his shipping experience might help get a foot in the door. https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/solicitor-apprenticeships/. Good luck to him!