not enough points

stumblina

i'm 20 hoping to go back to college and would love to do applied pyschology but dont have near enough the points for it. i started in ucc in 2007 doing early childhood studies but have decided not to finish the course. at the moment i'm taking a year out to mind my son and am doing a home course in pyschology that will award me with a fetac level 5. is there any chance if i put it on cao form would i get a place?

Byron85

stumblina wrote: »

i'm 20 hoping to go back to college and would love to do applied pyschology but dont have near enough the points for it. i started in ucc in 2007 doing early childhood studies but have decided not to finish the course. at the moment i'm taking a year out to mind my son and am doing a home course in pyschology that will award me with a fetac level 5. is there any chance if i put it on cao form would i get a place?

Nope. There are no links with fetac and Applied Psychology. I know as I looked into it myself. The only way to get into Applied Psychology, without the necessary points, is to apply as a mature student and even then there are only 4 places set aside for mature students. I applied as one and didn't get in.

There is somewhat of a compromise though. I got my second choice, which was Arts. In Arts you can study Psychology but only as a Minor. If you want to go on and do a Masters in Psychology after the initial 3 years in Arts, you have to do a 2 year Higher Diploma first. It pretty much converts your Arts Degree to a Psychology Degree. That's the road i'll be taking.

Papa_Lazarou

T.W.H Byron wrote: »

Nope. There are no links with fetac and Applied Psychology. I know as I looked into it myself. The only way to get into Applied Psychology, without the necessary points, is to apply as a mature student and even then there are only 4 places set aside for mature students. I applied as one and didn't get in.

There is somewhat of a compromise though. I got my second choice, which was Arts. In Arts you can study Psychology but only as a Minor. If you want to go on and do a Masters in Psychology after the initial 3 years in Arts, you have to do a 2 year Higher Diploma first. It pretty much converts your Arts Degree to a Psychology Degree. That's the road i'll be taking.

Tis quite a long road to take though,especially as a mature student.But OP if its what you realy want then you should go for it.

Byron85

Papa_Lazarou wrote: »

Tis quite a long road to take though,especially as a mature student.But OP if its what you realy want then you should go for it.

It is a long road alright. I'll be 29 going into the Masters Degree Program. To be honest though it'll be worth it.

Faith

If you have any undergraduate degree, you can apply for the H.Dip in applied psychology. But speaking from experience, I honestly cannot recommend that course in UCC to anyone.

Max001

Faith wrote: »

If you have any undergraduate degree, you can apply for the H.Dip in applied psychology. But speaking from experience, I honestly cannot recommend that course in UCC to anyone.

What makes you say that Faith? Askin cause I plan to start a Phd shortly and was hoping to build up my psych knowledge by informally sitting in on applied psych lectures. PM if you prefer

Faith

If you're just planning on sitting in on lectures, you should be fine. It's specifically the H.Dip course, and the way it's run, that I have a problem with.

That being said, the undergraduate AP students have a lot to complain about too. I obviously can't go into details on thread though.

Byron85

Faith wrote: »

If you're just planning on sitting in on lectures, you should be fine. It's specifically the H.Dip course, and the way it's run, that I have a problem with.

That being said, the undergraduate AP students have a lot to complain about too. I obviously can't go into details on thread though.

I've heard from a few different sources that the Psychology Department is one of the most underfunded in UCC.

Faith

T.W.H Byron wrote: »

I've heard from a few different sources that the Psychology Department is one of the most underfunded in UCC.

This is probably true. Tutorial times have been halved compared to last year, and removed from some subjects altogether. It might be worth your while looking into universities where the subject isn't so underfunded, and where you might actually get an adequate amount of support.

stumblina

Faith wrote: »

It might be worth your while looking into universities where the subject isn't so underfunded, and where you might actually get an adequate amount of support.

unfortunately that's not an option for me though as i have a 7 month old son and wouldn't be able to afford to bring him anywhere else plus wouldn't want to take him away from his father

Reggie09

Stumblina,

I'm doing the 2 year conversion course with the Open University and it is honestly the best move I've made. I did psychology as a minor in UCC, am now in the middle of my HDip with the OU and am working too- this giving me money to keep up with day to day living, plus the flexibility - especially applicable as you have a child! I spoke to the coordinator of the UCC HDip conversion course about doing it in UCC, and because I didn't have the relevant work experience/volunteer experience, I was recommended by the UCC coordinator to take on the OU instead. It is FAR cheaper too, and accredited by the BPS etc...totally legitimate - DO IT!

Byron85

Reggie09 wrote: »

Stumblina,

I'm doing the 2 year conversion course with the Open University and it is honestly the best move I've made. I did psychology as a minor in UCC, am now in the middle of my HDip with the OU and am working too- this giving me money to keep up with day to day living, plus the flexibility - especially applicable as you have a child! I spoke to the coordinator of the UCC HDip conversion course about doing it in UCC, and because I didn't have the relevant work experience/volunteer experience, I was recommended by the UCC coordinator to take on the OU instead. It is FAR cheaper too, and accredited by the BPS etc...totally legitimate - DO IT!

What kind of work experience were they looking for??? It's kind of difficult to get work experience in an area that you're not qualified to work in.