Applying to university as a mature student can be a very daunting process; in this blog we address the common themes we get asked about to support mature students through the process.
Consider the practicalities of studying a degree
Starting a degree is a big decision, and there are likely some things you will need to adjust in your schedule to make it work, so make sure you really think about the practicalities of the decision.
- How many hours a week can you study?
- Will you need to leave your job or reduce your hours?
- How will you fit your degree around childcare responsibilities?
Consider these questions and write down a rough idea of things you need to consider to ensure it’s the right time for you to start your studies.
Narrow down your university choices
The next step is to research courses and universities – you have 5 choices on your UCAS application, which is usually 1 course at 5 different universities. You can do this on www.ucas.com or directly on university websites. Make a shortlist and record your research in some kind of document so you can keep referring back to it. Make a list of everything you do and don’t like about each university and course. Location is likely to play a big factor in your decision, so make sure you plan your journey to make sure it’s workable for you, particularly if you have childcare responsibilities. Not every university will have childcare options and so you may need to work out schedules and get support from family and friends to help you work out a schedule. This is particularly important if you are applying for a healthcare courses where you will be spending time on placement, as these can be long shifts and a mixture of day and night.
Most universities courses have an academic entry requirement in order to gain entry, which is usually a level 3 qualification and GCSE grades. If you don’t currently have these, you will need to consider doing a course before you can apply. A common level 3 course is a QAA Access to HE Diploma offered at a local college or online; these are 1-year fast track courses for mature learners to prepare you for university. You can find out more about the course and where they are offered at https://www.qaa.ac.uk/access-to-he. You will then apply to university whilst studying the Access course with support from your college. If you need to re-sit your GCSEs, local colleges are also a great help in offering these courses, or you may be able to sit the qualifications online.
If you’re not sure if you meet the entry requirements (you may have qualifications from your own country that you may want to check would be eligible for entry) it’s always best to speak to the university admissions team directly. Check their websites for their contact details or sign up for their next Open Day or online event so you can speak to them. You may need to have your international qualifications compared to UK qualification levels using NARIC to assist universities in assessing your application: https://www.naric.org.uk/
Writing your personal statement
The personal statement is not an easy document to write, but is a vital part of your application. The biggest pitfall we see in statements from mature students is that the focus should be on why you will be a good student and not just about your personal life. You may think you don’t have relevant things to talk about in your personal statement, but you’d be surprised how many of your experiences are actually relevant to the course if you write about them in the right way.
Do
- Write a list of all the skills you think will be relevant for the course you’ve chosen, and consider any examples of where you have shown these skills, either through work history, your studies, hobbies, volunteering roles etc.
- Consider how your career history has given you skills useful for the course you’re applying for. Even if your employment is entirely unrelated, you will likely have gained transferable skills that are relevant for studying at university, such as teamwork, communication, leadership, responsibility etc.
- If you do have relevant work experience, this is the most important thing to mention in your statement. Mentioning anything about your personal life/hobbies should come after you have written about this.
- Mention your academic experiences, especially the recent ones. It’s really common that mature students studying Access to HE diplomas don’t mention anything about their course. Whilst we know you have just started the course, it’s a really important experience in preparing you for university so make sure you mention it. Which content from the course is the most relevant to you? What study skills will be useful for the degree you’re applying for?
Avoid
- Using your personal experiences alone as reasons to be applying for a course. The most common one we see here is that giving birth to your own children is your experience in choosing to become a Midwife. Whilst this might be the reason you decided to become a Midwife it’s not enough on its own; you need to have researched the industry and also need to consider the skills needed for this role and how you have demonstrated these through your work experience and studies.
- Talking too much about your family. It’s okay to mention it briefly, but this being the main thing you discuss in your statement isn’t enough of an indicator for universities to understand how you would be a good student on the course you’ve chosen.
Funding your studies
If this is your first degree, you might be eligible for funding from Student Finance England to help fund your studies. You can find out more about the loans available from www.gov.uk/studentfinance, or speak to the team on 0300 100 0607.
If this is your second degree, then you may not be eligible for funding from SFE unless you are applying for a healthcare courses (as you can usually get further funding for these degrees), so you will need to think about whether you can self-fund a second undergraduate degree. You may need to consider doing a postgraduate degree instead, as there is different funding available for Postgraduate students. Find out more at www.city.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding.
You are allowed to work alongside your studies and this will not impact any loans from Student Finance England. However, for healthcare courses in particular it can be difficult to work and study due to the courses being more intense, especially when you are on placement. If you are applying for a healthcare course (e.g. Nursing, Midwifery, Radiography, Speech and Language Therapy) then it’s also worth looking at the new NHS learning grant which was introduced in September 2020. This is additional funding that does not have to be paid back which supports students studying on these courses. Find out more at https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund
Further support
We hope this has helped guide you through your initial questions around applying to university as a mature student. If you have any other questions, our Schools Liaison team are happy to help. Visit www.city.ac.uk/ask-a-student, click the staff tab and find the Schools Liaison team profile to message us.