Return to Education for Early School Leaver

katharinewheel

I'm not sure whether this is more suited to this forum or the studying abroad forum, I apologize if I've put it in the wrong place!

I a 25 year old, currently unemployed, early school leaver looking a returning to education. I was hoping to do a degree course but I was wondering would my lack of a leaving/junior cert would destroy any hopes of this and I am better off just accepting my lot and not wasting the time of universities and HEIs by applying. I have a shortlist of three different courses (subject wise not institute specific) I would like to study but I honestly don't know if I would be qualified enough to even THINK of studying any them.

My schooling is rather checkered. The reason I am without a JC is that I moved to Ireland in my GCSE year and was told by my new secondary that it would be impossible for me to do the exam without studying the course (fair enough) and I was put into Transition instead. There were many extenuating circumstances on why I do not have a Leaving Cert and it would suffice it to say (without this becoming a PI thread) personal, financial and family problems that made this not at possible.

The long and short of it is that I did transition year 3 times over and 5th year once before dropping out at the end of 5th year aged 19.I should say that I was reasonably capable student until this point and in fifth year was in higher level/honours level classes for 5 subjects.

Basically after a few years in the wilderness, I return to education to do a workshop style course accredited by NUI Maynooth which resulted in Level 7 Certification. (The course itself was not run by NUI Maynooth or was it in the campus but the exams and assessments were graded by them and qualifications issued by them.)

To further complicate this my partner and I are looking to move to UK either later in the year or early next year. He also plans to return to education and study in Scotland where the fees won't be an issue. He cannot study here as he intends to study a subject which requires Honors Irish but obviously doesn't have the same requirement there. We are both Irish citizens but I lived in the UK for about 13 years but have been back in Ireland for the last 10.

To be honest I'm a mess of questions on how to go about this.

Where do I even start looking for an institute that will accept me, given the incredibly poor state of my previous education. I feel like many of the routes open to more traditional mature students wouldn't be open to someone like me. I'm also wondering if I stand a chance of getting in somewhere with the single qualification I have?

What would be the best way to apply for courses? How should I contact universities/HEIs? And what should I say to explain my education history?

My Would I be best off taking another two years and sitting for either the Leaving Cert or A Levels or doing an Access course? (But this would mean I would be 27/28 and I've read on other forums that Access courses are sometimes not accepted or treated with much tolerence by all/most HEIs)

What financial aid would I be able to avail of if any whether studying in UK (Scotland or England) or here?

Any help would be much appreciated.

paperclip2

Hi KatherineWheel
You have so much going on in your post that I think it might be a good idea to talk to an adult education guidance service. This website has contact details for all adult guidance services across the country.http://www.aegai.ie They should at least be able to give you application and eligibility criteria for the courses you are interested in doing.

At your age if you do want to go to third level then a Leaving Cert may not be strictly necessary but most colleges like to see mature applicants with some recent education completed before they will offer them a place.

The National courses database http://www.qualifax.ie has course information on almost all courses in the country and can be a useful place to start looking.

Specific careers information is also available on the website http://www.careersportal.ie

Do a bit of research, make a few enquires before deciding what to do.
Good luck

spurious

Your local VEC has people employed who deal specifically with people in your situation. They may even have a course for people returning to education after a long time.

Your level of literacy is way above many current Leaving Cert. students.

katharinewheel

Firstly, thanks for the responses! :-)

I'll check those links out. Looking for an adviser through that guidance service is something I'll definitely be looking at, I've also had a look at qualifax before but again struggle with working my situation around the course entry guidelines.

To be honest I'm reluctant to hit up my local VEC for advice or help as my experience with them hasn't been on the whole positive. When I first inquired about returning to education, I went to them and after meeting them a couple of times all they offered me was a place on a basic adult literacy and numeracy course or on a place on a hobby type course. If I'm totally honest I would be more looking at returning to the United Kingdom to study as opposed to staying in Ireland (most of my family have/will be returning there and with my partner also looking at moving there to get onto his course it just seems like it might be a better fit). So I don't know if the VEC would be willing/able to help me with that at all.

I've been doing online research but i'm finding it incredibly hard to make heads or tails how the particulars would apply to me. I was thinking of contacting several of the Universities, (mostly ones abroad) I was interested in studying with and explaining my situation and asking their advice on what would be the correct procedure for someone in my situation to follow. If I were to do this would I contact the admissions department or someone else?

Am I right or wrong in thinking that even though I have HETAC Level 7 Certificate awarded by a university it is essentially a "nothing" qualification without a Leaving Cert and won't be entertained by other colleges/universities when I am applying?

paperclip2

A lot of UK colleges have specific requirements for Mature or non standard applicants. What might be useful would be to identify a few courses in the UK that interest you and then speak directly to them as regards specific entry requirements. Theres lots of info and links to colleges on the UCAS website: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/

You could also check out the UK's adult guidance services. Details here: http://egsa.org.uk/

Hope this helps