In Part 1 you’ll remember I set about the personal statement that has to go with the application, and how it presented me with problems due to the length, that it wasn’t long enough! Having got over that challenge, I moved on to other parts of the application which gave me pause for thought…
Exam results.
Now, most people applying to do a degree are in their late teens, in the middle of studying for exams, A Levels here in the UK. They can get predicted grades from their school, and previous exam results are fresh in the memory.
It’s not quite the same for a 45 year old! I did my A Levels in 1984, and the previous exams in 1982 – so we’re talking best part of 30 years. I can remember the subjects and the grades, which were good enough to get me into University the first time around, but trying to remember the name of the exam boards was different ballgame!
I’ll be honest, I know the certificates do still exist, but I don’t know where they actually are, so there was some guesswork involved. It’s not as important for me as a mature student as it might be for a 17/18 year old (I hope!)
My next problem came with the reference – I had someone in mind to do mine, someone who knows my background, interests and skills, which seems sensible for someone doing my reference, right?
However, I quickly spotted that the reference was not allowed to be done by a friend or personal contact, it either had to be a school or employer.
Hmm…D’Oh!…hmm…
Getting a school to do it is hardly an option, anyway I imagine a lot of my teachers will be dead by now. Going through previous employers didn’t really produce anything for me, until the old grey cells clicked into gear.
The person I had originally thought of, had in fact employed me before in a performance capacity – Ah HA!
That meant I could still use that original choice, and tick the ‘previous employer’ box.
I remember at the open day they said that well over 3,000 people would apply for the 30 places, but that a good chunk of those would be rejected at the application stage. Having set about it myself, it is a bit of a challenge in places, but that could be viewed as part of the whole process, and if you can’t solve the issues, then the degree itself might be a stretch too far!
So, once that reference is done, all that’s left is going over the whole thing to check, and hitting the ‘submit’ button – the adventure continues!
‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
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