>>6098 Worthwhile is a highly subjective term. What are you applying for, where do you want to go in the future? What qualifications do you have at the moment?
>>6100 You're better off learning by yourself at home rather than saddling yourself with debt. It's one of those things that would be more easy to learn inside a university but it's just not worth the money you're going to be putting in.
Well most worthwhile universities don't care about UCAS points specifically. They're a bit useless because you can boost your score by getting mediocre grades in more subjects. Also they don't differentiate between harder subjects. Unis have a list of subjects they respect, if your subject isn't one of them you're wasting your time flung it.
But yeah, if your grades are naff you probably want to look at doing a foundation year. A quick Google shows that Manchester offers one for compsci but you'll want to do your own research on what the requirements are exactly. I only know of entrance exams in addition to A levels where the subject isn't covered in enough depth at A level (e.g STEP, BMAT etc) I've not heard of it as a replacement for A levels.
A very peculiar sort of debt that is repaid as 9% of your income over £21,000 and is automatically forgiven after 30 years. For all practical purposes, it's a graduate tax.
Not necessarily. Most universities have a very flexible admissions policy for mature students and will take your work experience into account.
The Access to HE diploma is good preparation for a degree course and is well worth considering. A degree course can be quite daunting if you've been away from education for some time. The fee loan for the access course is waived completely if you complete your degree, so it might not cost you anything. You can study for the diploma as an evening course at a local college or as a distance learning course, so it's not too difficult to fit around a full-time job.
>>6115 This, with 20% income tax, 12% NI and 9% student loan it's only 1p in the £ behind 40% income tax and 2% NI for higher rate taxpayers without the student loan but without the benefit of things like more tax relief on pension contributions.
>>6103 >But yeah, if your grades are naff you probably want to look at doing a foundation year.
That isn't possible. I've been and failed once, and I blew through two years of funding doing it. I might be able to fund one year, but I cannot fund two.
>>6118 It doesn't quite work that way. For a start, you have a considerably higher allowance on your student loan deductions than income tax and Class 1 NI. Under the new-new system, the threshold his high enough to make it an effective tax in that many will be forgiven before the balance is cleared.
>>6125 I failed for personal reasons, and by a very small margin. I don't think I'm being delusional or dishonest with myself when I say that getting a degree is not beyond my intellectual capacity.
>you'll never have a university degree.
But I do think this is the case.
>>6100 >I have mediocre A-levels, and it seems that even average universities want better grades than I have.
Bollocks. Mid-table universities won't give a fuck and I'm proof of this.
>>6105 No, for mature students they like to see experience. That said this whole idea of a foundation degree sounds like a scam to me - do a year part-time at the OU in a relevant subject and you are golden.
>>6119 I didn't borrow another penny at uni (the interest free overdraft did help at some points). You'll need a part-time job to pay for the weed but I made do even without a scholarship which I find out at the end of the final year I was entitled to.
You'll need to have a serious think about what you are doing with your life but its still possible if you use every resource out there. Talk to your bank and UCAS while remembering that you get a free year of funding for fucking up/combined.
So you will need to find funding for your final year - work every summer without being a twat with your wages.