access course?

Question

HI, im looking into doing an access course at leeds university in september, I have a few questions if anyone can answer them for me:
is it hard work?
what level is the work at?
is there loads of work to do?
did it get you into university?
thank you so much

Answer 1

hello there!
1) well all the work is condensed in one year. basically access courses are not that much different to a-levels in terms of course content. think of it this way: it's a-levels but for mature students who lack the formal qualifications that university admissions staff expect students such as yourself should have but don't. but yes it takes a lot of persistence, hard work and effort
2) the work is level 3- that is equivalent to grades A-B in A-levels
3) yes there is a lot of work involved. you do practical and theoretical work comprised of writing essays, as well as study skills such as learning to reference your essays, how to write one up, to name. in some access courses there is even an exam involved as well- for mine's i had to do an exam
4) yes i got into university- i passed with 16 level 3's- the minimum needed to get to university but this varies with different universities as some would expect more than a pass to get in

hope this helps. if you intend on taking up an access course then may i wish you well in your studies

Answer 2

I did an access course for Nursing but didn't complete it due to a bereavement. It wasn't hard in fact I found it quite easy, I would say it's no more difficult than O level studying. The course was for 1 year and 16 hours per week at college. Most access courses incorporate Maths and English too if it's required.

Answer 3

I am currently taking an access course at Stirling uni and it is great. There is a lot of hard work involved but it achievable as most courses are sectioned off to make it easier. The levels of work are based around A-level and HNC level and as long as you stay within the criteria of expected grades then you should be offered a conditional place. All my fellow students have been offered this and we are all looking forward to graduation in 2011.

Answer 4

i did an access in welfare at college 9 years ago and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, i completed iit in a year, the level is about A level standard and the work load is great but the support that the staff offer you is amazing, you can choose to do it over 1 or 2 years so if you are concerned about the workload then take it over the 2, it is a great way to get into uni and i was successfully accepted to uni where i went on to study psychology and criminology. go for it, the confidence that it gives you will be worth the work, good luck and hope it helped

Answer 5

Yes it is fairly hard work but worth it because it is enjoyable!!

Completing an Access course is equivalent to 3 A-levels!

The work is at A-level standard, though some parts are to GCSE standard. For instance, I did my Access couse in Social Science and one of the modules was Quantitative Methods (maths) but it wasn't too hard because we did stuff like fractions and percentages which like I said was at GCSE level.

With regards to loads of work, yes there is lots but if you mange your time well it is manageable. For instance the main modules I did was Psychology, Sociology, Criminology and History. And you basically have about two pieces of work for each module in each semester. One piece of work is either an essay, presentation, or test. On top of these main modules there other pieces of work that aim to help you learn about organising time, effective note taking, effective presentation and writing skills, etc, but these are only little pieces of work.

And yes it did get me into University - I am in my final year now and am on course for getting a 2:1 in mydegree!

Answer 6

I did an access course to get into forensic studies. I found it really easy too. It was at around GCSE level I would say.
I had to do 3 subjects relevant to my course and then maths, english and study skills. As I had already done maths and english GCSEs I just took my certificates in and didnt have to do those subjects.
It did get me onto my degree, as I was doing the degree at the same uni, so they kind tagged it onto my degree as like year 0