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deathstarkiller

Hi,
Ok, before I begin I'll apologise in case this goes on a bit. I, like a lot of people at the moment am feeling a little unsure of my future and just a little bit lost. I'm a 36 year old guy who never passed his leaving or even stepped foot into a college before. I have a decent enough job but we are very quiet at the moment and I almost lost my job on Monday. I've been here (office work) 8 years and they let 2 people go and they did it by last in first out. If they had let 3 go I would have been the third. I looked into leaving the country for a year but I'm too old to go anywhere I'm interested in and it had always sort of gotten to me that I have no qualifications whatsoever. I'm single, have no debts and have been saving for years for a mortgage which I don't really have an interest in getting anymore, have approx 40ish thousand. Before this begins to look like a personal issue I'll get to why I'm posting here.
I was thinking of doing a BA in film, literature, drama or something related or a BA in IT. I could do it as an evening course which takes about 4 years or full time which takes 3. The thing is can I do it seeing as I never passed my leaving? I wouldn't know where to even begin as far as applying is concerned. I don't remember or know what CAO is or if I need to go through that. I'm scared to death that if I did do it that I'd bottle it the first time I got to a question where I had to write thousands of words on a subject. Would I end up using all of my savings if I went? Is it even worth doing?
I'm rambling now.
I guess I'd like to know other than peoples opinions here, is there somewhere I can go and ask what exactly are my options as far as college is concerned? or even my future in general?
I think I need to see a careers/future/figure out life/learn to get women/be a better human counseller if they even exist. Why didn't I pay attention in civics?

hayser

I think you can apply to Irish colleges and they hold interviews for mature students. You could study with the Open University. They don't require any previous qualifications and you can take as much time as you need to earn your degree.

soccerchick

I would advise that you get some career guidance to see what you are good at etc. There are plenty of people out there doing it, I paid 400 for a session to be reassured that the degree I was chosing would suit!
I know you can do the Access course which is like an introductory course for uni which allows you to get in without the leaving cert. I have heard good reports about it. You learn how to write essays, do maths, english, computers etc. I know mature student applications for degrees are assessed based on previous experience, interests etc, which I feel is a good way as I know plenty of people who did not get a good leaving cert as they were not good at exams but were still very bright.
As you do not have a degree already you would be entitled to free fees and could be entitled to back to education allowances. This information you will get on line if you google it. Also try daycourses.com its a great website and the moderator of the forum will give you all the information you need to know. Cannt speak highly enough of it. I pay full fees as its my second degree so my life savings will be gone! But thats the price of happiness to be working in an area I love. Also I work part time and you will find that you will be able to do that too. If you do a course part time you will have to pay fees but if the course is full time you won't have to pay fees.
Best of luck...I love to hear people aiming to achieve a dream!

Tom Dunne

deathstarkiller wrote: »

I was thinking of doing a BA in film, literature, drama or something related or a BA in IT. I could do it as an evening course which takes about 4 years or full time which takes 3. The thing is can I do it seeing as I never passed my leaving?

Your Leaving Certificate would have no bearing on the matter as you would be enrolling as a mature student. Don't let that stop you!

The only thing I would say is that that is a very wide range of subjects you are considering. Try and hone in on something that would interest you and be of use to you 3-4 years down the road.

deathstarkiller wrote: »

I I wouldn't know where to even begin as far as applying is concerned. I don't remember or know what CAO is or if I need to go through that. I'm scared to death that if I did do it that I'd bottle it the first time I got to a question where I had to write thousands of words on a subject. Would I end up using all of my savings if I went? Is it even worth doing?

If there is one piece of advice I could give it is as follows - don't be afraid. It sounds like you have nothing to lose, only lots to gain.

We've all been there.

deathstarkiller wrote: »

I guess I'd like to know other than peoples opinions here, is there somewhere I can go and ask what exactly are my options as far as college is concerned? or even my future in general?
I think I need to see a careers/future/figure out life/learn to get women/be a better human counseller if they even exist. Why didn't I pay attention in civics?

Try ringing the college and see if they can help. Also look at the various college websites and come back here with any questions.

I used to lecture a bit, both day and evening courses, so if there is anything specific you want to ask, fire ahead.

paperclip2

Hi OP,

The LC is not a requirement for applying to college once you are aged over 23. Your application as a mature student is based on different things.
However all colleges prefer to see some evidence of a mature students academic ability and having a LC and /or some other formal learning or training is no harm. As mentioned in a previous post Access courses courses are a good way to get a foot in the door to a lot of colleges and can act as a gateway into degree programmes if you get the required marks. A PLC FETAC level 5 course can also be a good staring point if you are moving into a completely new area.

You have named a wide range of interests, so it would be a good idea to find out as much as you can about courses in those areas so you can decide exactly what it is you want to spend potenially 4 years of your life, and longer, doing. A good website for looking up course information is http://www.qualifax.ie. Also all colleges have open days which are really great opportunities to find out about the the nitty-gritty of a course or college. A list of dates is on the CAO website.

As a general rule, you do not have to apply to CAO for part-time courses, though the Evening Arts degree in UCD is an exception to this afaik.
Applications to many other full-time courses are to CAO, however there can also be other restrictions on applications for mature students. e.g. for Mat. Stu applicants to NUI Maynooth, Pontifical Uni Maynooth,Trinity and DCU you need to apply to both the CAO and the university by 1st Feb. Additonally there are some other colleges where application is direct to them and not to the CAO at all. Details of these colleges are on the CAO website. www.cao.ie

Another poster mentioned Miriam, the moderator on day-courses.com and she is really excellent and well versed in queries from adult students.

There are a national network of adult guidance services which can also provide you with information on courses and funding etc even if they cannot provide you with one-to-one educational guidance. These are free services. Contact details are available from the NCGE : http://www.ncge.ie/adult_details.htm.

Theres a lot in all this and I've probably waffled so post any queries you might have. Oh and the very best of luck with whatever you choose to do OP.:)

KittyeeTrix

1st off deathstarkiller, I hear you have 40thousandish, enough said, my address is ............
only joking, but seriously, first of all stop worrying...
I don't have any real practical advice for you with regards who to contact.
I would say probably get in touch with the 'mature students officer' of whichever college you might be thinking of going to. They have a wealth of info and are only too willing to help. Just ring up the particular college or get their info from the college's website.
I started college last year and am doing 1st year science at the age of 35. I am a mum of 4 with no particular background in science other than the biology I took for leaving cert and I am doing fine.
You will be great.
I have a friend who is a lecturer in the college who has said that the mature students underestimate their abilities whilst at the same time overestimating what the college expects of them.
The two things together is a win-win situation for the mature student..........:)

Larianne

UCD have access courses in science and arts. Thomond in the Adult Education Centre is extremely helpful. Maybe have a chat with her?

UCD also run day/evening classes is various things which might be of interest to you.

http://www.ucd.ie/adulted/index.html

I would definitely contact the university's mature student office / course departments themselves to find out about courses and what the entry requirements are etc. Helpful as Miriam is on daycourses.com, the information she gave me turned out not to be useful at all!!

GALWAYINDOOR

well it seems to me from wha i got told was you do need to have maths in the leaving cert esp for science subjects so it is relevent to have some kind of lc !!!!! so been a mature is just as complicated . so i couldnt do what i would have loved to do and was told the access course was for people wanting to do arts

KittyeeTrix

GALWAYINDOOR wrote: »

well it seems to me from wha i got told was you do need to have maths in the leaving cert esp for science subjects so it is relevent to have some kind of lc !!!!! so been a mature is just as complicated . so i couldnt do what i would have loved to do and was told the access course was for people wanting to do arts

NUIG run an access course in conjuction with GMIT for mature students interested in going on to do either a science or engineering degree. The course is taught very well and is definitely passable. What's more is that the maths covered is enough to get you through the 1st year of a science degree. It runs on Tues and Thurs nights in Nuig from 7pm to 10pm from October to May and also there is 4 lab sessions. These 4 sessions run in March in GMIT on Saturday mornings and cover 2 chemistry labs and 2 physics labs.

GALWAYINDOOR

hi fluffy
can i ask have u done one ??? i was told thats its more for people wanting to do arts tho ? that a foundation science course wud b my option

KittyeeTrix

GALWAYINDOOR wrote: »

hi fluffy
can i ask have u done one ??? i was told thats its more for people wanting to do arts tho ? that a foundation science course wud b my option

I did the one in Nuig (foundation science and technology course) It is specifically aimed at mature people looking to gain entry to either GMIT or NUIG. The subjects covered were Maths (3 hours) each Tuesday from October till May. Biology (2 hours) each Thursday from October till Xmas. In January you then commence Chemistry and Physics till May again for 2 hours each thurs evening. Tuesday maths class ran from 7pm - 10pm and thurs class from 7pm - 9pm. At some point in March you attend the 4 lab sessions run on Sat mornings in the GMIT.
In order to go on to do a science degree you needed a 40% overall pass and to do an engineering degree you need a 60% pass in the maths.
Contact the mature student officer in the NUIG. Her name is Trish Hoare. She will have all the details for you and is very approachable.
If I remember correctly there is a fee of 300-400 euro but this is waivered if you are unemployed.....
If you pass the course and I guarantee you that you will as it is set up to ensure you pass, you are automatically given a place in the science undenominated or engineering undenominated degree. If however, you are looking to specialise in any of the other undenominated degrees you may need to have a chat with the department head.
From what I can see tho' this seems to be more of a formality than anything else.
Hope this answers your question!!!!!!!!!:)