Aimhigher Surrey

1. Straight into Higher Education [university or college] - Many students go straight onto university after they finish their 2-year further education college or 6th form course. Usually, you will start to plan ‘what next’ towards the end of your first year at college or sixth form. This can seem very early to be thinking about your future, but there are lots of decisions to be made and the earlier you start thinking about them, the easier it can be. Your college or sixth form teachers will give you lots of support in applying to university, but there are also other good sources of information that you can investigate through the internet or your College Library. see Note 1

2. A year out [Gap Year] - Some young people do not feel ready to go straight onto Higher Education after college. Many students take a Gap Year and do some travelling, perhaps gain some work experience and generally take the opportunity to gain some experience of life. see Note 2

3. Straight into work - You may choose to get a full-time job after college. However, it is worth remembering that by 2012 over 50% of UK employers will want their employees to have higher level qualifications such as a Degree or Foundation Degree. You may also find it difficult to progress in your job without higher level qualifications. Talk to Connexions about what you want to do and look at local papers to see what jobs are out there.

4. Work and study [Higher Education] - Some employers may offer you the chance to work full-time and give you time off to study for a professional qualification such as Accountancy or Retail Management. Talk to your local Connexions Centre and look in local papers to see what’s on offer.

5. Foundation Degree [Higher Education] – These are relatively new vocational qualifications that can be studied part-time over 3-4 years or full-time over 2 years. Although they are a qualification in themselves, you can ‘top-up’ to a full degree usually with just one year’s additional study. Colleges and universities both offer Foundation Degrees so you can also study locally if you want to. Subjects on offer include Engineering, Motorsports, Child Care, Health Care and Teaching & Learning. Visit www.foundationdegrees.org.uk for more details.

6. HND/HNC [Higher Education] - These are similar to Foundation Degrees offering two years full time study [HND] or a part-time route [HNC]. They involve work-related study and are available in a wide range of subjects from Accounting and Nursing through to Engineering, Public Services, Video Production, Business Management, Motorsports and Sports Coaching. As with a Foundation Degree, you can progress onto a degree programme – with an HND you can often go straight into the second or third year of a degree programme.

7. Part-time study [Higher Education] - If it is difficult for you to study full-time, perhaps because you are in employment or have a young family, you may want to consider doing some part-time study or distance learning using web-based courses. The Open University offers many higher education courses through distance and part-time learning.

Visit their website at www.openuniversity.com for more details.

Funding for Foundation Degrees, HNDs and Part-time study is available but it is worth talking with individual colleges or universities to see what’s on offer.

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Where do I go for advice?

Go to Higher Education Fairs and Careers Events at your local colleges where you can find out about different universities/colleges and the courses they offer.
Talk to your local Connexions Centre.
Go to Aimhigher Higher Education activities or events.
Attend university Open Days to see what university life is like and find out about the course you want to do. See if a friend will go with you – it always helps to have someone to share the experience with.
If you know someone who has been to university or is at university now, ASK them what it’s like.
Go on the internet -there are many excellent websites with information about Higher Education
Visit the national Aimhigher site at www.direct.gov.uk/uni

INFORMATION

REMEMBER

Note 1 Many local colleges offer Higher Level courses so you don’t have to go away to study in Higher Education. Check out their websites for details or ask at your school or college. Look out for Aimhigher Surrey’s new ‘Foundation Degrees in Surrey’ booklet which lists Foundation Degrees on offer in 2008/2009 at local colleges.

REMEMBER

Note 2 It is best to apply to university for a ‘deferred entry’ place when you are still at college – you can apply during your Gap Year, but the process is made that much easier if you apply whilst still at college.

JOANNA'S JOURNEY

Joanna is 23 and she is in the final year of a Social Work Studies Degree at Edge Hill University. Joanna left school with low GCSE grades, but still got a place at college to do A Levels. She left after completing her AS Levels ‘cos she thought work was a better option. She did various jobs, including temporary work with the Police who told her she was capable of much more.

Joanna found out she could do an ‘Access to Higher Education Course’ over 1 year at a local College. She then started a teaching degree, but after one year realised it wasn’t the right route for her. She re-applied for university through Clearing and got a place at Edge Hill to study Social Work and hasn’t looked back.

Finances aren’t always easy, but she got a university bursary of £750 this year which really helped.

Joanna got really involved in university life; - she’s an e-mentor to children in care in Lancashire and works with Aimhigher Greater Merseyside to promote Higher Education for young people in Care.

It took Joanna a while to find the right route, but she persevered and is now looking forward to working with the Children’s Services when she finishes her degree in June 2008.