You’ve got your goal. You’ve done your research. You’ve narrowed things down to particular courses or subjects.

Now it’s time to talk to colleges and universities about the qualifications you hold and the work experience you have.

You may get competing advice around course entry requirements depending on which university or college you talk to.

The following considerations may help.

GCSE English Language

If you don’t already have a pass grade, get in touch with one of the further education colleges in Greater Manchester. You may have the option to take GCSE subjects again or study towards an alternative, such as Functional Skills.

• An Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is an option for those who do not have the Level 3 qualifications (eg. A-Levels, BTECs) needed to go straight on to a higher education course.
• A Foundation Year course is an additional year of study, offered directly by a university or college, which will prepare you for degree-level study.

Always look at more than one option and don’t simply settle for something that sounds good. Be prepared to ask the questions that matter to you.

You should be asking key questions about the outcomes from the course (eg. how many people complete it, employment outcomes etc).

If you are looking at university degrees, this website will help:

discoveruni.gov.uk/