Would an access course be enough?

Jacknaw

Hi

I'm looking for some advice from the kind folks of boards:)

I never sat either the junior or leaving cert(looooooooooong story) I would like to get back in to education and I'm really not sure what my best option would be.

I don't really feel I would benefit that much from studying for the certs only to end up back where I am now, I would hope to do an access course and to enter a third level institute as a mature student.

Here's where the dilemma is, I'm not sure if an access course would be enough to equip me with what I'd need for college/uni, although I don't have the certs I apparently do have a very good level of intelligence although I would think I would have large gaps in certain areas.

So do you guys think an access course would be enough for someone who has such a small amount of formal education?
And is there anyone here who has gone a similar route with little education behind them?

I understand it'd depend a lot on which type of course I'd end up taking but this is also something I'm not quite sure of as I have quite diverse interests although science in one form or another would be a possibility.


On a slight sidenote, what type of hours/days would be involved in an undergraduate course?

Ciderswigger

Hi Jacknaw. I did the access course last year to gain entry into a full time degree course (currently 3 weeks in on a 4 year course. Woohoo) I'm 25 and sat the Leaving Cert 8 years ago. So I'm not exactly the best person to answer your question as I had different circumstances but I'll try.

My access course was 2 nights a week from Oct to early May. Classes were usually an hour and a half long and we covered 6 subjects during that time. (Obviously it'll vary depending on the college that's offering the access course) There were people of all ages and educational ranges there. A good few hadn't sat their leaving and just as many hadn't even sat their Junior Cert. (both young and old) There's no need to worry about not having academic experience as it's a given that we're all new to the asscessment/essay/pressure process that college is all about.

We had two nights of Academic Writing and were taught the basics in constructing and referencing essays. We were treated the same as full time day students and marked accordingly. There was no special treatment which soon had us on our toes and saw our grades improve.

I'm doing the Arts course in the college now and have 4 subjects along with mandetory practical writing & I.T classes (a saviour as all 1st years are dire at putting together a decent essay that is of university standard) I have about 15 hours a week and a very handy one at that. Obviously if you were to go down the science route you'd have labs to attend so you'd more than likey have a few more hours.

Honestly though, if you're considering the access course then I'd defintely say go for it. By the time you're in 1st year you'll have had that extra bit of practice under your belt.

Hope I was of some help. Best of luck.

Jacknaw

Thanks for replying Ciderswigger, definitely a help.

Its good to hear the access route worked out well for you.