Is there anything like community college in the UK?
December 8, 2015 12:13 AM Subscribe
Does the UK have any type of remedial post secondary system, and can it be accessed by foreigners?
I'm 30 years old and from the US. I am considering moving to the UK to be close to a loved one. I want to earn a B.A, but I know my high school transcripts aren't competitive enough (it's been awhile since high school anyway). Does the UK have any type of remedial post secondary system, and can it be accessed by foreigners?
I'm 30 years old and from the US. I am considering moving to the UK to be close to a loved one. I want to earn a B.A, but I know my high school transcripts aren't competitive enough (it's been awhile since high school anyway). Does the UK have any type of remedial post secondary system, and can it be accessed by foreigners?
For many years The Open University has been the classic route into tertiary education for those who arrive with unconventional backgrounds - they have a great deal of experience in helping people get such degrees (and they have the highest student satisfaction level of any British university).
Till the early 90s the UK had 3 levels of places to study: universities, polytechnic colleges and other colleges. Now all polytechnics have been converted into universities. The other technical colleges are the closest analogy to the community colleges, I believe.
If there is a particular place or a particular course you want to study then, as a mature student from outside the UK, I'd highly recommend you get in touch with somebody at the department you are are interested in to ask them. Admission is much more flexible for students such as you than it is for those on the standard route.
posted by rongorongo at 12:57 AM on December 8, 2015 [9 favorites]
Till the early 90s the UK had 3 levels of places to study: universities, polytechnic colleges and other colleges. Now all polytechnics have been converted into universities. The other technical colleges are the closest analogy to the community colleges, I believe.
If there is a particular place or a particular course you want to study then, as a mature student from outside the UK, I'd highly recommend you get in touch with somebody at the department you are are interested in to ask them. Admission is much more flexible for students such as you than it is for those on the standard route.
posted by rongorongo at 12:57 AM on December 8, 2015 [9 favorites]
Yes we do, and the magic words to google for are foundation course.
posted by emilyw at 1:38 AM on December 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by emilyw at 1:38 AM on December 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
Best answer: There are what are known as further education colleges, usually doing vocational courses in specific, usually technical subjects. But they are not generally considered a precursor to a university course.
In terms of your high school transcripts, those are likely completely irrelevant to your possible entry to a UK university, as you are more than a decade out of high school. Most UK universities have an 'Access' or 'credit for entry' or similarly named programme that will allow you to take courses for a year or so before applying for an undergraduate. If you do well enough in the Access programme, you will be able to get an undergraduate place as a mature student. Check the UCAS page on tips for mature students, specifically the entry about alternative ways to meet entry requirements.
My American wife followed precisely this route - credit for entry as a new immigrant from the US, then a four year MA at the University of Edinburgh. Note that the Scottish and English systems are different, specifically around fees and length of study. Feel free to MeMail if you have any questions about going this route. You might also want to check out the excellent forums at UK Yankee, which are invaluable for asking questions about visas, settling in and so on.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:39 AM on December 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
In terms of your high school transcripts, those are likely completely irrelevant to your possible entry to a UK university, as you are more than a decade out of high school. Most UK universities have an 'Access' or 'credit for entry' or similarly named programme that will allow you to take courses for a year or so before applying for an undergraduate. If you do well enough in the Access programme, you will be able to get an undergraduate place as a mature student. Check the UCAS page on tips for mature students, specifically the entry about alternative ways to meet entry requirements.
My American wife followed precisely this route - credit for entry as a new immigrant from the US, then a four year MA at the University of Edinburgh. Note that the Scottish and English systems are different, specifically around fees and length of study. Feel free to MeMail if you have any questions about going this route. You might also want to check out the excellent forums at UK Yankee, which are invaluable for asking questions about visas, settling in and so on.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:39 AM on December 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding Foundation Courses. These are great for people who in the UK, didn't do very well on GCSEs.
Access to FE (FE = Further Education) may also work, and there's no upper limit on those.
Some colleges also teach Adult GCSE classes, and those may work for you too.
There are many foreign people at colleges in the UK, many are there to learn English, but take other courses as well.
Here's more information: Routes into University. If you have any questions about moving to the UK, PM me.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 1:46 AM on December 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Access to FE (FE = Further Education) may also work, and there's no upper limit on those.
Some colleges also teach Adult GCSE classes, and those may work for you too.
There are many foreign people at colleges in the UK, many are there to learn English, but take other courses as well.
Here's more information: Routes into University. If you have any questions about moving to the UK, PM me.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 1:46 AM on December 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Access to Higher Education page has information on Access courses in England and Wales - if you're moving to Scotland, these exist here as well, but you'll have to look at local institutions' websites as there isn't a central information site.
But I'd really agree with rongorongo - work out where you want to go and what you want to do your degree in, and go and ask them what they want for entry. It does vary from place to place (I say this from experience, having gone into a medical degree as an older student - different universities had very different requirements for people coming in via a non-traditional route).
posted by Vortisaur at 1:59 AM on December 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
But I'd really agree with rongorongo - work out where you want to go and what you want to do your degree in, and go and ask them what they want for entry. It does vary from place to place (I say this from experience, having gone into a medical degree as an older student - different universities had very different requirements for people coming in via a non-traditional route).
posted by Vortisaur at 1:59 AM on December 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Seconding the Access-course route, which is how I got to university as a mature 25-year-old (my then-wife got into medical school via one as well, now I come to think about it). Also seconding the suggestion to contact universities direct; there is a lot of flexibility in the admissions system for mature students.
posted by cincinnatus c at 2:12 AM on December 8, 2015
posted by cincinnatus c at 2:12 AM on December 8, 2015
Access and Foundation courses are what you describe. (FE colleges do deliver these; other qualifications they offer are usually related to trades and other vocational subjects [e.g. hairdressing] - they're not designed for progression to university courses, they're intended to get people working immediately after they complete their qualification.)
But you might get into a degree program with your existing transcript, you never know*. You could apply through UCAS now, if you think you can hustle to make your choices and get everything together. Deadline is Jan 15, though direct applications from international students are sometimes accepted on a rolling basis*.
Because if you apply through UCAS by the Jan 15th deadline and aren't offered a place, there's another opportunity to apply directly, in late summer, through Clearing (info for international students applying through Clearing).
If that doesn't work, do an Access or Foundation course. I think you'll probably get into a degree program somewhere, though, if you don't choose a wildly popular course.
(*There's sometimes a bit of leeway for international students, even if the grades aren't 100% there and the application's a little late. A strong application letter and international fees can go a long way, if there's room in the quota for internationals.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:29 AM on December 8, 2015
But you might get into a degree program with your existing transcript, you never know*. You could apply through UCAS now, if you think you can hustle to make your choices and get everything together. Deadline is Jan 15, though direct applications from international students are sometimes accepted on a rolling basis*.
Because if you apply through UCAS by the Jan 15th deadline and aren't offered a place, there's another opportunity to apply directly, in late summer, through Clearing (info for international students applying through Clearing).
If that doesn't work, do an Access or Foundation course. I think you'll probably get into a degree program somewhere, though, if you don't choose a wildly popular course.
(*There's sometimes a bit of leeway for international students, even if the grades aren't 100% there and the application's a little late. A strong application letter and international fees can go a long way, if there's room in the quota for internationals.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:29 AM on December 8, 2015
Best answer: I'm a bit worried by people suggesting you go straight into undergrad if your academic record is as bad as you say. I am assuming "terrible high school transcript" equals "literally no GCSEs" here; if you actually just mean "wouldn't get me into Harvard" then ignore the rest of this.
Direct entry to undergrad, which is certainly possible if you aren't picky about institution or subject, may be setting yourself up for expensive failure. Depending on subject, it might be worth taking a few A-levels at a sixth form college / FE college first. A-levels seem to be roughly equivalent to a 100- or 200- level US college course. You may well get accepted onto a pretty decent undergraduate course because you're a mature student with non-standard overseas qualifications, but you will flounder if you are doing, eg engineering or accounting with a shaky maths background, or can't structure an essay for humanities subjects. At a good institution, it's expected that you'll have picked up those skills at A level and can hit the ground running.
Where foundation and access courses exist they are brilliant, but they aren't available in all subjects or at all universities, and they are often restricted to people from disadvantaged backgrounds (or at least, all the ones I know about are). There have been a lot of cuts to the FE budget in recent years, and a lot of foundation courses have either been closed down or forced to change focus drastically (my in-laws work in this area).
The alternative is you get accepted at a less prestigious university which has lower expectations, but I would be wary of what type of experience you'll have going that route. Some are very supportive in the Community College mould, some just want bums on seats for their funding (like US for-profit institutions). Look into drop out rates (correlated with the amount of support you will get), and contact hours (varies between 40hrs a week to less than two hours a week for some courses). I'd also check out where graduates end up working - one south London university makes a big deal out of the fact that 94% of its students are in employment one year after graduation, but a lot of its students are from low income backgrounds and were in employment before and during university, and have just continued in the same job. That's a positive when it's nurses taking their part time Advanced Practitioner MScs, less positive when it's their business studies undergrads who are still in zero-hour Tesco jobs.
It may not matter much if you just want a BA in anything so that you can apply for jobs that 'need a BA' back in the States (where they won't have a clue that Oxford Brookes University is different to Oxford University proper), but it's three years and a lot of money so you might as well get the best experience you possibly can.
posted by tinkletown at 6:56 AM on December 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Direct entry to undergrad, which is certainly possible if you aren't picky about institution or subject, may be setting yourself up for expensive failure. Depending on subject, it might be worth taking a few A-levels at a sixth form college / FE college first. A-levels seem to be roughly equivalent to a 100- or 200- level US college course. You may well get accepted onto a pretty decent undergraduate course because you're a mature student with non-standard overseas qualifications, but you will flounder if you are doing, eg engineering or accounting with a shaky maths background, or can't structure an essay for humanities subjects. At a good institution, it's expected that you'll have picked up those skills at A level and can hit the ground running.
Where foundation and access courses exist they are brilliant, but they aren't available in all subjects or at all universities, and they are often restricted to people from disadvantaged backgrounds (or at least, all the ones I know about are). There have been a lot of cuts to the FE budget in recent years, and a lot of foundation courses have either been closed down or forced to change focus drastically (my in-laws work in this area).
The alternative is you get accepted at a less prestigious university which has lower expectations, but I would be wary of what type of experience you'll have going that route. Some are very supportive in the Community College mould, some just want bums on seats for their funding (like US for-profit institutions). Look into drop out rates (correlated with the amount of support you will get), and contact hours (varies between 40hrs a week to less than two hours a week for some courses). I'd also check out where graduates end up working - one south London university makes a big deal out of the fact that 94% of its students are in employment one year after graduation, but a lot of its students are from low income backgrounds and were in employment before and during university, and have just continued in the same job. That's a positive when it's nurses taking their part time Advanced Practitioner MScs, less positive when it's their business studies undergrads who are still in zero-hour Tesco jobs.
It may not matter much if you just want a BA in anything so that you can apply for jobs that 'need a BA' back in the States (where they won't have a clue that Oxford Brookes University is different to Oxford University proper), but it's three years and a lot of money so you might as well get the best experience you possibly can.
posted by tinkletown at 6:56 AM on December 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Good points from tinkletown, if you think you do need additional support to get reacclimated (and great advice on evaluating claims made by HE institutions, and avoiding bums-on-seats-oriented universities).
But, key questions - what is your timescale and visa situation? I don't know what things are like at the moment, but there might be some complications with switching from a tourist visa to a student visa (though not impossible - I did that, but years ago. But check - triple check). Should be ok to take courses on a spouse/partner visa.
Because my thought is that if you've got a months-long wait for a visa anyway, and want to prepare and address gaps, and possibly save some time, another option is to take an academic bridging course (or equivalent) course at a community college where you are now, from Jan to April, while your university and visa applications get processed. (Or if you're self-directed, take an online course; or if very self-directed and highly motivated, grab a couple of textbooks and work through them, but agree that structured support is very much worthwhile if you've been out of school for a long time.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:45 AM on December 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
But, key questions - what is your timescale and visa situation? I don't know what things are like at the moment, but there might be some complications with switching from a tourist visa to a student visa (though not impossible - I did that, but years ago. But check - triple check). Should be ok to take courses on a spouse/partner visa.
Because my thought is that if you've got a months-long wait for a visa anyway, and want to prepare and address gaps, and possibly save some time, another option is to take an academic bridging course (or equivalent) course at a community college where you are now, from Jan to April, while your university and visa applications get processed. (Or if you're self-directed, take an online course; or if very self-directed and highly motivated, grab a couple of textbooks and work through them, but agree that structured support is very much worthwhile if you've been out of school for a long time.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:45 AM on December 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by flink at 12:54 AM on December 8, 2015