Advice on route to Uni

[sixthyear]

Hi, this is my first post and I'm not exactly sure if this is the right place to ask but thought I might get the most relevant advice from people who know more about university requirements than I do.

Unfortunately I missed a lot of school during third and fourth year resulting in me missing out on all of my National 5 exams apart from English. In fifth year I sat 3 National 5's and Higher English, I am now in sixth year and wondering what the best route would be for me to take to get into university.

I know that I will have to go to college after sixth year and I was thinking of sitting the Highers that I need at a Glasgow college but I am wondering if it may be more beneficial to me to sit an HNC or something similar and how this may affect my chances of getting into university.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm sure more experienced people in this area than me will come along, but you can absolutely go onto Uni from college. You can go into the 2nd year with an HNC - or even, I think, 3rd year with an HND.

Alternatively, it might just given you enough confidence and UCAS points to do one of the "start from scratch" degrees at a Uni - like Politics and International Relations.

It depends on what you want to do.

What are you doing in S6?

Some of the Unis also do a sort of Access course that if you complete successfully, will lower your exam entry requirements.

Good on you for working to get beyond the difficulties you had. Good luck

@prettybird

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am hoping to possibly study Pharmacy or Pharmacology at university.

This year in S6 I am taking Higher Biology, National 5 Chemistry and retaking National 5 Maths. I have also applied to study a course online at the OU which is about medicines and drugs in relation to Chemistry.

If I was to continue my highers at college I would be hoping to study Higher Chemistry, Maths and possibly History as I have my National 5 already. I am just concerned that Universities will not accept my results as it means I will have sat my highers over 3 years.

Thanks

There are proper careers advisors and teachers around but until they come along as far as I know, the fact that you've taken them over 3 years can be explained in your personal statement.

You might just be expected to get more/better results - but the extra OU module you're doing should help

People get to Uni get there via surprisingly varied routes. With determination, I'm sure you'll get there.

@prettybird

Thanks very much for your help you’ve been very reassuring.

Might this be of use?

www.glasgowclyde.ac.uk/courses/609-swap-access-to-medical-sciences/1352

@sassanach - can you help here? I know there is another careers adviser on here too, just wracking my brains as to who it is. :)

Access courses are a great pathway into further education and don't use up one of you "free" years as they are non advanced. Establishments like candidates who have came through their own access programs as they are familiar with systems and approaches. Just watch that you filter out ones for adult returners.

Go to applicants days and get in touch with admissions officers to explain your situation and find out what their preferences are as there are many options and pathways.

Good luck!

I was going to mention Access courses - but wasn't sure if someone immediately post school could access () them

Thanks Wax for remembering Sassanach - couldn't remember the names of the careers advisors to tag.

Sixthyear - it's worth reading back through some of the SQA results/Going to college threads within Scotsnet as I'm sure that you'll find both relevant advice and also the names of the careers advisors who've posted on them and you could maybe tag them on here to get them to see your specific questions. (They may not see the notification though).

Thanks for the help, the link above looks good and that was actually the college i was looking to study my highers at so that could be a good alternative. I will definitely look into that.

I’m a Pharmacology graduate. Pharmacy and Pharmacology are actually quite different degrees and the entry requirements are different.

It’s worth contacting the individual unis you want to study at - each course should have an admissions contact who can advise. Watch out for the SWAP access courses. Some have quite stringent criteria around widening participation and you need to live in a postcode that meets the SIMD criteria or time away from formal education. Another option is an HNC as that should give you direct entry to 2nd year for Pharmacology. I believe pharmacy is now a masters programme rather than a BSc and so entry criteria are stricter.

@cazzyg

Thanks I have looked into some of the access courses and unfortunately don’t think that I qualify for them. But I will definitely talk to the unis and to my school careers advisor about what’s the best route to take.

I'm really late to this thread, I don't get alerts when I'm tagged and I change between usernames often

OP I hope you did okay in your exams and that you saw your careers adviser in school.

College is definitely a good route for you as you will not have the number of Highers required to go straight to university. You should be looking at courses around 'health care' and work your way up.

An alternative is to look at NHS Scotland apprenticeships and also Boots apprenticeships. I recall NHS had a pharmacy apprenticeship advertised a few months ago, I wish I'd seen this thread sooner so I could have tagged you but do keep an eye on NHS Scotland careers. their apprenticeship pay is great.

There's some great advice here. The only thing to add is think about what you have on your personal statement. Lots of people may have grades but often there statement is bland. Think about getting some work experence, for example a weekend job at chemists. You could join a club or volunteer somewhere. Getting a bit of experience shows you are a well rounded individual who can manage your work, and team player.