uni

[blanky12!]

is anyone able to go to uni?

I'm doing 4 years at college. a gap year, then 2 years at university..

can anyone go?

[dirrty]

whatcha mean by "can anyone go"?

if you get the required grades for that uni, then of course you can.

[kk.]

anyone can go to uni as long as you fulfil the course requirements so grades wise, you may need an ABB in A levels or similar with scottish highers (?) or you speak to the uni about what your plans are

[Wayne]

I'm not going, I think it's too expensive and I'd rather stay close to home. I can't afford to rent a place, pay for courses etc. Instead I'm doing a Computeach course after college.

[alexxxxx]

if you have the £s and the Grades then yes.

[LoveToStack]

anyone can go to uni as long as you fulfil the course requirements so grades wise, you may need an ABB in A levels or similar with scottish highers (?) or you speak to the uni about what your plans are

In scotland for Medicine or Vetinary practice you need 5 A's in your final exams (Highers we call em).

[Ramones]

I'm going next year, i don't think money's a restriction, the amount of loans and grants about nowadays. And it's really not difficult to get into a uni, some are the requirements are very low.

[camera]

yes you can go. u dont necessarily need money. theres always loans. and err if you ask me, i dont know coz itll depend on my mood lmao

[kk.]

depend on your mood? lol, thats a new one. if you stay at home, youll see taht your living costs and total fees will decrease by about 7000 a year compared to if you move out. thats, in a typical 3 year course with a normal room, a saving of 21000 lol. Still, i suspect you would be working so thats reduced a bit.

[Ramones]

depend on your mood? lol, thats a new one. if you stay at home, youll see taht your living costs and total fees will decrease by about 7000 a year compared to if you move out. thats, in a typical 3 year course with a normal room, a saving of 21000 lol. Still, i suspect you would be working so thats reduced a bit.

You make that sound like alot, but you don't start paying back loans until your earning over a certain amount, so your living costs for while you're at uni could be even cheaper than home, and interest on the loans is minimum.
Wouldn't you much rather live the life for 3/4 years? I plan on staying out of full time employment for as long as i can ;). All of my mates are going to different uni's this year so if i stayed at home and got a job i'd just be bored i think.

[FlyingJesus]

I'm really intellectual and all that but I've actually decided not to go. I've finished college now and I'm having a year of just general work but long term I'm looking to join the police and get right into a career that way. The mix of tuition fees, a massively growing number of people with degrees (making them less important) and a lack of any idea what else I might do helped with that decision lol

[Barmi]

Going to university really is worth it. It's expensive (trust me), but I don't care how much debt I will have upon graduation (I guess anywhere between £12,000 and £20,000). It is paid off in a very manageable way, and graduate salaries are appealing. In the line of work I am looking at, training salaries are between £30,000 and £38,000 in the first year, up to £35,000 to £45,000 in second year of training, and ~£60,000 thereafter. See, 20k of debt can pay itself off many times over in a matter of years.

Your education is an investment.

[JackBuddy]

Hoping to go next year to do an Advertising/ Marketing course.

[Soka]

sent off application 2 weeks ago :P

Applied for MMaths (4 Year masters in mathematics degree)

Applied to: Oxford, Durham, Wawrick, Nottingham, Sheffield
If Oxford consider me i'll have interview, and have to pass their admissions test, and Wawrick require me to pass a STEP paper. :D

I am not going to think about the debt, Ramone made a good post - you don't have to pay it until your earning above a certain level, and then its paid off gradually - Barmi has phrased it well - education is an investment :eusa_clap

I am not sure where i am going 100% , but I have applied so that i can either get an apprenticeship in accountancy and defer entry at Uni for a year (if allowed) - or go straight to Uni, or stay in the apprenticeship.

[Barmi]

sent off application 2 weeks ago :P

Applied for MMaths (4 Year masters in mathematics degree)

Applied to: Oxford, Durham, Wawrick, Nottingham, Sheffield
If Oxford consider me i'll have interview, and have to pass their admissions test, and Wawrick require me to pass a STEP paper. :D

I am not going to think about the debt, Ramone made a good post - you don't have to pay it until your earning above a certain level, and then its paid off gradually - Barmi has phrased it well - education is an investment :eusa_clap

I am not sure where i am going 100% , but I have applied so that i can either get an apprenticeship in accountancy and defer entry at Uni for a year (if allowed) - or go straight to Uni, or stay in the apprenticeship.

Your post just motivated me to have a flick around the University of Oxford's website. I thought it curious that it doesn't list sitting the STEP as an entrance requirement, but merely encourage candidates to take the papers if available to them.

Good luck with your application! I hope you get a chance to shine at interview. (Oh, and two of the universities I applied to (this time last year??) were Durham and Nottingham... my second and third choice places respectively.)

[Soka]

Your post just motivated me to have a flick around the University of Oxford's website. I thought it curious that it doesn't list sitting the STEP as an entrance requirement, but merely encourage candidates to take the papers if available to them.

Good luck with your application! I hope you get a chance to shine at interview. (Oh, and two of the universities I applied to (this time last year??) were Durham and Nottingham... my second and third choice places respectively.)

Yeah your right about that - oxford have their own entrance exam not STEP - but having spoke to my maths tutor about it he says that for oxford i'll be required to take their entrance exam due to only doing an AS in Further Maths (this year) - and not an A2 in Further maths - regret doing so, so i'll be at a disadvantage without it thus need to sit entrance at oxford, only Cambridge and Wawrick use STEP i believe. Wawrick will most likely require a II in Step I and Step II as i'm not doing A2 in Further Maths. He said at oxford its like a 1:2 tutor to student tuition - how good is that.. And thanks :P

What uni you at & what you studing?

[Barmi]

Yeah your right about that - oxford have their own entrance exam not STEP - but having spoke to my maths tutor about it he says that for oxford i'll be required to take their entrance exam due to only doing an AS in Further Maths (this year) - and not an A2 in Further maths - regret doing so, so i'll be at a disadvantage without it thus need to sit entrance at oxford, only Cambridge and Wawrick use STEP i believe. Wawrick will most likely require a II in Step I and Step II as i'm not doing A2 in Further Maths. He said at oxford its like a 1:2 tutor to student tuition - how good is that.. And thanks :P

What uni you at & what you studing?
I'm at "the other one", studying law. Yeah, the bulk of your quality learning will be through tutorials where you have two or three people per tutor(?). (I think that's what they get called? We have supervisions with supervisors, which are essentially are the same. It just gets really confusing because we have tutors as well!) A really intense learning experience when you are sat learning from experts in the subject, the people who write the textbooks... and you probably will feel like your head is going to burst sometimes. They are fellows, doctors and professors, not teachers... you will go through some material you have already prepared and go through anything you have difficulty with... and your knowledge and understanding will feel like it has been lifted about 10 floors higher when you leave the room an hour later. But it's exciting! :)

Lectures give you the course material, but you are expected to do a lot of preparation for your tutorials. I have to spend at least 20 hours preparing for each supervision... of which I have four a fortnight, on top of the 22 hours of lectures a fortnight I have, and any essays I may be given. Then when you factor in any extra-curricular activities or societies you want to join (and the number of events that take place!!), you will soon want more time, and want to cut into your sleep.

Some Cam colleges require potential mathmos (in addition to their STEP) answer some maths questions an hour or so before their subject interview, on which you then get grilled. Just a note on the further maths thing though: the first week of lectures will basically recap the whole of the A-level Maths and Further Maths courses.

I think all of your choices are excellent ones. I have friends at each of those institutions. Best of luck. :)

If you don't mind me asking, which Oxford and Durham colleges did you apply to? Or did you do an open application?

[lastbreath]

You need the correct amount of 'ucas' points to go. My uni asked for 280 (if you don't get the right amount of points, its ok, sometimes they still offer you the place, more likely that they don't though). The 'ucas' points are different for every uni. 280 is a ABB i think or something along those lines.

You don't necessarily need the dosh, but its good if you have it. tbh i don't have the dosh, and many of my friends don't either, but obviouslky thats why the loans are there. I have a loan for fee's and i'm about to take another out to get a matinence loan. I chose to live at home, good idea as its £90 a week less than some of my uni mates have to pay, but i've got to pay about £50 a week in petrol, so it all adds up. The big reccomended thing is to get a job whilst your at Uni. Fee loans go straight to uni, matinanece is used on travel/accomodation for most people at uni. Food is another thing though?.. Job is always good.

I can tell you, that if you live in a small town. Everyone else goes to uni, and your left on your own :P
I mean i go to uni, but its 50 miles away, so i live at home still, for my age, my town is like a ghost town.

[Abbie.]

if get 280 - 300 ucas points - yes lol

primary school teaching course i think

idk.. i cant stay in northern ireland, because its too competitive to get into stranmillis, but its alot easier to get into unis in england

and 280 ucas points is BBC

OMG. thought it was 3 Cs :| LOL.

[GommeInc]

I'm doing a foundation degree course with the open university, which looks pretty good from all the documents, guides and booklets I've read through. Not too expensive either. It's more of a personal challenge than a means to get a job, but I will use it to get one after the course is over :)

[FlyingJesus]

Going to university really is worth it. It's expensive (trust me), but I don't care how much debt I will have upon graduation (I guess anywhere between £12,000 and £20,000). It is paid off in a very manageable way, and graduate salaries are appealing. In the line of work I am looking at, training salaries are between £30,000 and £38,000 in the first year, up to £35,000 to £45,000 in second year of training, and ~£60,000 thereafter. See, 20k of debt can pay itself off many times over in a matter of years.

Your education is an investment.

That's all very well and good luck to you, but it does depend on actually getting a placement in training or in whatever job you're looking to do after uni. Graduate salaries are great yeah... for those who get the jobs. Most of the time that's based on contacts and who you know not what you've got to offer, and that's the sad truth of most high earning careers. Also if you're not 100% certain of what you want to do, uni is a waste of money and time really, especially with degrees meaning a lot lot less than they did a decade ago.

[luce]

Im doing GCSE, 2 years A level, Uni (training to be a doctor) then go out to Africa to work for a bit then come back and settle down ;)

[Barmi]

Good luck Lukey, that sounds like a really good future. (Loving the work in Africa especially!)


I'm doing a foundation degree course with the open university, which looks pretty good from all the documents, guides and booklets I've read through. Not too expensive either. It's more of a personal challenge than a means to get a job, but I will use it to get one after the course is over :)
Go for it! I did an OU finance course on the side at college, and it really is a good way to learn. Requires a lot of self motivation, but working in the OU is flexible and rewarding. Good luck!

That's all very well and good luck to you, but it does depend on actually getting a placement in training or in whatever job you're looking to do after uni. Graduate salaries are great yeah... for those who get the jobs. Most of the time that's based on contacts and who you know not what you've got to offer, and that's the sad truth of most high earning careers. Also if you're not 100% certain of what you want to do, uni is a waste of money and time really, especially with degrees meaning a lot lot less than they did a decade ago.
Then I'm pretty suckered because I don't know anyone. No, serious. State school kid, whose secondary school was a state school which is now closing, and whose college was a perfectly run of the mill college. Don't know anybody in high places. Will that stop me from trying for a high-flying job? No. The majority of mainstream jobs nowadays are based on merit. All I need is a good 2:1.

If you don't have any idea of what you might like in the future, then of course it's a waste of time. Wait until you decide what you want to do, then go forth and act. But for anyone who puts the effort in on their degree course, I would never say it is a waste of money, nor would I devalue their degree and say it doesn't mean anything.

Can you explain why "degrees [mean] a lot less than they did a decade ago"? Seriously, I'm intrigued.

[Virgin Mary]

Essentially degrees are impractical unless the job is very specialised, e.g. science where you need specific textbook knowledge. But most people need one nowadays because more and more people are getting degrees meaning there is more educational competition and saying you went to university on your CV has less prestige.

[Holofoil]

I'm going next year, i don't think money's a restriction, the amount of loans and grants about nowadays. And it's really not difficult to get into a uni, some are the requirements are very low.

That was the case until the Credit Crunch... Our generation will find it seriously hard to borrow money because of what's happening...

[Loqo]

yes you can go. u dont necessarily need money. theres always loans. and err if you ask me, i dont know coz itll depend on my mood lmao

I think loans is the last thing people want to be taken at the moment, especially if your 19, 20. But yeh, Of course you can go to University, if you have the right qualifications for the right thing then yes. :)

[Bun]

and whose college was a perfectly run of the mill college
smallest sixth form in the country :8.

[Barmi]

smallest sixth form in the country :8.
But will it really be that small with your new building coming? And is it truly a sixth form now, given the merger?

And how are you Dan? Will you be coming down in two weeks as well? There are some good clothes shops!!

[Bun]

But will it really be that small with your new building coming? And is it truly a sixth form now, given the merger?

And how are you Dan? Will you be coming down in two weeks as well? There are some good clothes shops!!
I don't know to the first bit.



And of course I'm coming down, I almost miss you :P. It's funny, I was thinking about the shops :$...

[lastbreath]

That's all very well and good luck to you, but it does depend on actually getting a placement in training or in whatever job you're looking to do after uni. Graduate salaries are great yeah... for those who get the jobs. Most of the time that's based on contacts and who you know not what you've got to offer, and that's the sad truth of most high earning careers. Also if you're not 100% certain of what you want to do, uni is a waste of money and time really, especially with degrees meaning a lot lot less than they did a decade ago.

i have guarenteed job placement with the bbc or sky with my course ;)

[Zak]

Ok first off 280 Ucas points is DMM or ABB..

Also you don't have to pay back the loan until you are earning £15,000+ a year. Also the monthly repayments are stupidly low, depending on how much you borrow.

:eusa_danc

[Fifteen]

Most courses need so many UCAS points

i'm planing on going to uni after i finish college:)

[JackBuddy]

Most courses need so many UCAS points

i'm planing on going to uni after i finish college:)
most of the unis im applying for needs around 300, which is basically straight C's. (3 a levels 2 as levels)

[Mitch4?]

im doing 4 A levels, at physics chemistry, maths and further maths
no idea what i want to do. :(

[Suspective]

I have a long time to go , so alott can change - for when its my time to go to uni. So hopefully, yes I will go and hopefully will!

[RandomManJay]

I started at Staffordshire University on September 15th, I'm doing Psychology and Criminology BSC (Hons), its a three year course so I'll be finishing in 2011 hopefully :P

[Ramones]

That was the case until the Credit Crunch... Our generation will find it seriously hard to borrow money because of what's happening...

The student finance system is government run, i'm pretty sure the government aren't gonna go bust. And are gonna be pretty happy to give out student loans and keep kids in education and get skillz and all that economics rubbish.

[FlyingJesus]

Can you explain why "degrees [mean] a lot less than they did a decade ago"? Seriously, I'm intrigued.


more and more people are getting degrees meaning there is more educational competition and saying you went to university on your CV has less prestige.

^ For that reason. It's like anything really, if more people have something then its value is decreased. If you get a specific degree that goes right into a certain area of work like medical or engineering degrees then sure, you're going to have a good chance of placement somewhere, but in less specific job lines experience or connections will serve you far better. I'm not saying degrees are useless, but they guarantee nothing.

[Ramones]

^ For that reason. It's like anything really, if more people have something then its value is decreased. If you get a specific degree that goes right into a certain area of work like medical or engineering degrees then sure, you're going to have a good chance of placement somewhere, but in less specific job lines experience or connections will serve you far better. I'm not saying degrees are useless, but they guarantee nothing.

Couldn't you also look at it and say, degree's are getting more common so most employers expect them nowadays. Therefore if you don't have one you're less likely to be employed?

The university course i'm hoping to get on is a sandwich course with a year in industry, 92% of graduates are in full time employment after 6 months on that course. I'm pretty hopeful :)

[Abbie.]

Ok first off 280 Ucas points is DMM or ABB..

Also you don't have to pay back the loan until you are earning £15,000+ a year. Also the monthly repayments are stupidly low, depending on how much you borrow.

:eusa_danc


no.. 280 ucas points is BBC.

and 300 = BBB

[JackBuddy]

no.. 280 ucas points is BBC.

and 300 = BBB
you're forgetting 2 AS levels.

[kk.]

points tend to only use A2s and other activities otherwise it would be too easy to get into top unis.so say it was 300, your grades could go down from BBB to DDDaa

[Bef]

I cant, didnt get the grades as i didnt do any exams and i cant afford not to work.

[Immenseman]

I will go, providing I achieve good grades of course. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, we'll see.

[whoooosh]

you can get into uni with any grades really
some uni's will take you even if you get like Ds

[kk.]

well yes, but if you want a good uni, i think youll need to aim a bit higher

[whoooosh]

well obviously yh
but asking the question 'can you go'
pretty much everyone doing a levels can

[Frodo13.]

well obviously yh
but asking the question 'can you go'
pretty much everyone doing a levels can


Unless you get straight U's, then your A Levels are kind of void :P My personal statement is done now, just got to wait until payday so that I can send it off.

[Soka]

some universities don't let you have the point equivalent.. you have to have the exact grades required

eg Oxford want AAA = 360 points..
say i got AABC = 420 points they would not accept this because they like specific grades and not the equivalent in any form.
my mate who has applied for durham needs AAB, and thought that he could have the equivalent in points.. but they will only accept round about the exact grades needed... also many universities specify certain grades in certain subjects dependant on the course because they wouldn't want your worst grade on a subject your continueing at degree level :P so its not always about the amount of ucas points you can get..

sorry for late reply barmy.. i've only visited oxford once on the summer camp thing, sheffield once - but i've being a few times due to brother being there, nottingham once.. haven't actually visited wawrick or durham
so with all the rush of things i was going to apply to pembroke but in the end just banged down open application - hopefully won't regret this.
you must have done really well to get into cam for law - isn't it like really competitive?

if your thinking of not going to uni because of the finance - then you should go, if its because of other reasons eg. want to get a job straight away then don't go
finance should never be the reason for not going though because its an interest free loan from the government that you pay back once earning about 15k ... and it get cleared completely after 25 years

[kk.]

some universities don't let you have the point equivalent.. you have to have the exact grades required

eg Oxford want AAA = 360 points..
say i got AABC = 420 points they would not accept this because they like specific grades and not the equivalent in any form.
my mate who has applied for durham needs AAB, and thought that he could have the equivalent in points.. but they will only accept round about the exact grades needed... also many universities specify certain grades in certain subjects dependant on the course because they wouldn't want your worst grade on a subject your continueing at degree level :P so its not always about the amount of ucas points you can get..

sorry for late reply barmy.. i've only visited oxford once on the summer camp thing, sheffield once - but i've being a few times due to brother being there, nottingham once.. haven't actually visited wawrick or durham
so with all the rush of things i was going to apply to pembroke but in the end just banged down open application - hopefully won't regret this.
you must have done really well to get into cam for law - isn't it like really competitive?

if your thinking of not going to uni because of the finance - then you should go, if its because of other reasons eg. want to get a job straight away then don't go
finance should never be the reason for not going though because its an interest free loan from the government that you pay back once earning about 15k ... and it get cleared completely after 25 years
warwicks really nice. I went yesterday. Modern buildings, a campus uni. Bus into town. I heard durhams nice aswell from friends.

Great reply btw

[Ramones]

you're forgetting 2 AS levels.

if you look at a majority of the uni's entry profiles, they'll say 280 points in 3/4 A levels, like people have said, it's only really the pretty poor ones that accept As levels.

[Inseriousity.]

I'm going to have a gap (I mistyped there and typed gay LOLOL) year after college just so I know for definite if teaching is what I want to do before I dash into a degree...

[Pyroka]

Hopefully gonna do a Computer Networks Course, which is a 4-year Sandwich course. The likeliness of which Uni I'll be going to is Sheffield Hallam University, however Salford Uni also offer the course and I aint been up there yet.

I'll see what my other 3 choices are, but I'm not sure yet tbh. I'm gonna write out my personal statement on Friday, hopefully I'll get a conditional after Crimbo!

[Fehm]

Im completing sixth form (Music, English literature English Language and Business and Communications) and then i hope to get a degree in English Literature, an NVQ so i can teach and then finalise with a one year degree on Teaching English all at the university, a 3 minutes walk away from where i live :)

money isnt an issue nowadays

[Grippz]

If you have the grades for the course then yeah i don't see why your not able too. Im hoping to go to uni (: