University Options

One of the progression opportunities I have after this year is to go on to university; I have researched into possible universities and the courses that they have available which if I chose this progression route, I would be interested in.

Starting off close to home, I looked into Grimsby Institute and the courses that they had available which I may be interested in. The courses I found where; Special Effects Make-up Design and Prosthetics, Design, Business Management with Marketing and Business Management with Accounting. I think that the course most beneficial to me would be BA (Hons) Business Management with Marketing; this is a Level 6 credit with a 360 value, and it is a full time 3-year course. To get onto this course I would require a minimum of 80 UCAS points (which is at least a Merit on the course I'm currently studying) as well as an English and Maths GCSE (or equivalent) grade 4 or above. If I don’t have the traditional entry requirements then I would be interviewed, set an appropriate piece of work and then a judgement would be made considering my academic potential and relevant experience. The annual tuition fee for a new full-time higher education course at this university is £8,500 per year, so the full course would cost a total of £25,500. I would have to apply for student finance to pay for the tuition as I am not in a financial situation where I would be able to pay for it myself. With my child I may also need to apply for parents learning allowance and a childcare grant in order for me to be able to provide for my family and attend the education itself.

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The next university I looked at was the University of Hull, this is not too far away from home and having visited myself know it's a beautiful and resourceful university to study at. The courses that I was interested at this university were; Digital Design, Marketing and Management, Business Management and Marketing and Business Management with Entrepreneurship. The course that I think would be most beneficial to me I'd the BA (Hons) Business Management with Entrepreneurship, this is a 3-year course. To get onto the course I would need 112 UCAS points with at least 80 from a selected range of qualifications, one being an Extended Diploma which I will have after my current course although I don’t have any other form of UCAS points so I would have to get a Distinction to gain the full 112. The tuition fee is £9,250 per year so £27,750 for the whole course, which I would have to take out student finance to pay for; there are also scholarships available for students with a low household income. I would have to look into the cost of commuting as I have a family at home so I wouldn’t be able to stay in student accommodation and it isn’t too far from my home town anyway. I would also have to look into childcare and a childcare grant as well as parents learning allowance to help me support my family.

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The final university I looked into was the University of Hertfordshire. This would be a big stretch for me because as a mother I would probably have to relocate with my family or research into if there is a form of student accommodation available which I could live with my family. The courses that I was interested in upon looking on their website were; Design Crafts (Ceramics and Glass), Fine Art and Photography. This university website had supporting videos for the facilities and reviews of each course and after watching the ones I was interested in, if I was to chose university as a progression route, I would definitely choose BA (Hons) Fine Art. This is a 3-year course with a tuition fee of £9250 per year making it a total of £27,750 which I will have to take a student loan out for. There are also £740-£1020 of other compulsory fees attached to the course for things such as study trips, workshop materials and studio equipment. The entry requirements for this course are 72-168 UCAS points, formal or informal qualifications in art and design, evidence of skill and experience in a portfolio, GCSE Maths and English Language at grade 4 or above (C for English and D for Maths if taken before 2015), and a portfolio interview.

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