Tips on applying as a Mature Student

agreenyblue

I don't know that I don't like science, I shouldn´t have said ´dislike´, I am worried about it. I didn't do Chemistry/Biology in school. I was weak at Physics and Maths but I was weak at everything in school, Maths was my best subject results-wise now that I think of it.
If I don´t ace the access course I won´t get in. If I don´t like it I won´t ace it and it would be a cheap lesson at nearly 2 grand.
I won´t go for it if I´m not sure and I have til February.

Cheers.

Liamu2

Does anyone know, If im 23 on the 9th of Jan can i apply as a mature student? I seen its the 1st of jan but surely theyd let me away with 8 days?

paperclip2

Liamu2 wrote: »

Does anyone know, If im 23 on the 9th of Jan can i apply as a mature student? I seen its the 1st of jan but surely theyd let me away with 8 days?

Sorry Liamu2, but you wont be considered a mature student until the following year.

mamaehinoh

Hi all! its been a while since i posted on here..
How did you all get on?
Well i'm delighted to anounce that i passed the NCC exam..
And i had an offer of Intellectual Disability Nursing in DCU!!!
Its been a couple of weeks since the offer (5th of july..) and i have managed to sort a few bits
out.. the grant, and some other things..
Hilariously i didn't expect to receive any offers and i booked a holiday to Nigeria in September lol...
And ofcourse it had to be a non-refundable ticket..
Anyway i phoned the college and they said it would not be a problem.. as orrientation will be on the 17th of september.. the date i'm traveling. I will miss the first 2 weeks of college.. but anyway it's not going to be an issue.. as mature student orientation will be the 11th and 12th of september. I will definately go there.. so i can get used to the college..
Sorry for the long post.. but i didn't expect that i would be posting positive news here

antkeane

agreenyblue wrote: »

Cheers folks,

That makes a lot more sense, I misunderstood the information I was given, I think.

Yeah, I'll find out after volunteer work and the access course if it is for me, If I've no ability there'd be no point. I only did Physics in school, sucked at it, but I sucked at everything in school.

Very grateful for the input.

Do a PLC course. If you want to go into science.
I did a PLC course last year. I sucked in school but did well in my fetac level 5 laboratory techniques. i got accepted for astrophysics Bsc (Hons) at DCU. Starting september after 15 years out of school. its the same as a leaving cert but a bit higher. it gives you a great feel for college. also well cheaper than the access programs.

antkeane

agreenyblue wrote: »

I don't know that I don't like science, I shouldn´t have said ´dislike´, I am worried about it. I didn't do Chemistry/Biology in school. I was weak at Physics and Maths but I was weak at everything in school, Maths was my best subject results-wise now that I think of it.
If I don´t ace the access course I won´t get in. If I don´t like it I won´t ace it and it would be a cheap lesson at nearly 2 grand.
I won´t go for it if I´m not sure and I have til February.

Cheers.

I did my foundation science at Killester College in Dublin for 550 euro.
Then got my first choice in my CAO for this year. Check it out dude.

agreenyblue

UCD is one of the few colleges that offers my course, doing the access course through them will be a big plus: If I ace the course they´d only have to back themselves.

I did a PLC course before and know they can be hit or miss depending on the lecturers you get. I want to make sure there is good support if I am finding it tough going. Also, I need the part-time schedule as I am looking to do work experience.

Cheers.

antkeane

agreenyblue wrote: »

UCD is one of the few colleges that offers my course, doing the access course through them will be a big plus: If I ace the course they´d only have to back themselves.

I did a PLC course before and know they can be hit or miss depending on the lecturers you get. I want to make sure there is good support if I am finding it tough going. Also, I need the part-time schedule as I am looking to do work experience.

Cheers.

Work experience was a module at Killester every tuesday. I got a placement at DIT in Nanotechnology reserch labs and then the Medical Physics labs. It helped with my CAO I think.

gstack166

Hi everyone,

Great post & extremely helpful.

I'm looking for help re: a Culinary Arts course I'm hoping to enroll in in ITT Tralee next year. I've emailed the section head of Hotel Tourism & Culinary at the college & was advised to pass my time until the interviews by completing a FETAC or FAS Course in Food Hygiene or something related. I'm doing a one day course in Primary food safety on Nov 13th at Cater Care Limerick.

Basically, I'm just looking for more advice on how to better my chances as its a course that's hard to find information about online. I have no Leaving Certiificate but having been working in a kitchen at a relatives Bar/BDinerin Spain the last few years & now have a passion for cooking, even though it was the basic simple things cooked in the diner. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Larianne

Hiya gstack166,

You're building up experience which is good.

I would maybe contact the course director again and ask about any open days the college may have. Open days are a really good chance to find out about the course from lecturers and students. Have a list of questions to ask them.

You could post in the Tralee IT forum and see if there is any current or past students who'd be able to answer questions you have.

The main things you have to inform yourself of before interview is -
the course structure - modules, assignments, work experience.
the area/industry you can work in following the course - what type of job you can get out of it.
Whether the course is for you - you'll know from the information above plus any work experience, course work related you've undertaken previously.

You just have to politely annoy people to find out information!

gstack166

Larianne wrote: »

Hiya gstack166,

You're building up experience which is good.

I would maybe contact the course director again and ask about any open days the college may have. Open days are a really good chance to find out about the course from lecturers and students. Have a list of questions to ask them.

You could post in the Tralee IT forum and see if there is any current or past students who'd be able to answer questions you have.

The main things you have to inform yourself of before interview is -
the course structure - modules, assignments, work experience.
the area/industry you can work in following the course - what type of job you can get out of it.
Whether the course is for you - you'll know from the information above plus any work experience, course work related you've undertaken previously.

You just have to politely annoy people to find out information!

Thanks Larianne, just I don't know anyone in this industry so that makes it hard for me too plus as I've said, it was just the very basic food we were serving, cooking for myself is no problem but for a group would be! Would need a lot of training I know that's what the course is for but don't want to be caught off guard with questions. I've posted in the ITT section here 3 weeks ago, but no reply as of yet. Thanks for the advice about opening days, I'm going to Email the College first thing tomorrow morning about that.

Larianne

You could approach a local hotel or large restaurant and ask could you shadow someone or even just interview a chef or banqueting manager about their role. I found a lot of people quite helpful when you show your enthusiasm for the industry you want to work in. The worst they can say is no.

gstack166

I was thinking, if I got the course, to approach a Hotel or Restaurant and offer to work 1 day a week, perhaps a Sunday for free just to get a feel of it. I thought they're wouldn't be much point in asking now until I got the course in case they wouldn't do it with me having no qualifications etc

Larianne

gstack166 wrote: »

I was thinking, if I got the course, to approach a Hotel or Restaurant and offer to work 1 day a week, perhaps a Sunday for free just to get a feel of it. I thought they're wouldn't be much point in asking now until I got the course in case they wouldn't do it with me having no qualifications etc

You'll probably get a chance to do work experience once you start the course, no??

Going out now and looking for some work experience shows initative and willingness to learn before you even start the course!

gstack166

Yes, after 6 months I think it said. Do you reckon a kitchen would take me n for experience? Obviously it would be without pay, that doesn't bother me, anything just to push up my application is what I'm after. I'm sure the Cater Care place I'm attending in 2 weeks would be able give me more advice regarding this wouldn't they? Perhaps I'm better off waiting until then because I'm pretty sure until you get a Food Hygiene or Safety certificate I could not work in a kitchen anyway could I?

Larianne

gstack166 wrote: »

Yes, after 6 months I think it said. Do you reckon a kitchen would take me n for experience? Obviously it would be without pay, that doesn't bother me, anything just to push up my application is what I'm after. I'm sure the Cater Care place I'm attending in 2 weeks would be able give me more advice regarding this wouldn't they? Perhaps I'm better off waiting until then because I'm pretty sure until you get a Food Hygiene or Safety certificate I could not work in a kitchen anyway could I?

I wouldn't know tbh. Best contacting people in the know, whether its the course provider or by just going into a restaurant/hotel and asking. Best of luck!

antkeane

Larianne wrote: »

You'll probably get a chance to do work experience once you start the course, no??

Going out now and looking for some work experience shows initative and willingness to learn before you even start the course!

You will probably be assigned a day that you do your work experience. From my experience anyways.

Weekends arent academic time so it would be a day in the week for Fetac assigned to you.
the college will be insuring you during those times. so it has to be in college hours.
i had problems because I wanted to work for an observatory (the stars obviously are out at night). Couldnt be done because of insurance reasons with Fetac.

isa_891

This is actually very handy, thank you sooooo much.

I would like to apply for TCD for the course starting 2013, for the degree of European Studies (+french & german) and I am a bit scared with all the dates and information that needs to be sent.
I am originally from Spain but did my leaving Certificate in Cork in 2006 where I lived for more or less 5 years.
I am currently living in Berlin trying to improve my language skills so I am not even in Ireland which makes things even more complicated as I can't attend all the open information events etc due to work.
So far I know I will have to sit the MSAP test the 23rd of February.......
Currently preparing all the docs before I register at the CAO as after there is only one week max time to send them.

Thanks again, all the best to everyone

Isabel

newgirlinkk

Hi, Larianne (and anybody else reading). Firstly, thank you for all the information. I'm hoping you can help me a bit more. I want to apply as a mature international (US citizen) student for a BA. I've been living here for the past year on a stamp 3/spousal visa which, of course, prevents me from working. Additionally, the last time I was an active student was 3 years ago at a community college in the states. I'm concerned about being able to provide an adequate reference. I have no idea who to ask or who is appropriate as I have not kept in contact with any former professors or employers. Any advice on what kind of action I should take? Also, are there any extra steps I should take because I would be a mature international student? I've tried emailing and writing to a few admissions offices of colleges I was interested in but they were completely unhelpful to say the least. Any responses will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Mr.Saturn

Hi, Thanks for all the info thus far, it's made a daunting task somewhat less so.

I've got a ningling issues in regards to the personal statement, that being, is an application fatally hindered by the lack of relevant life/work experience to your degree of choice?

I'm looking to do Arts in UCD, namely English and Sociology, and my work/life experience barely relates to it, if at all. My desire to pursue them at degree level is based entirely on the fact they're subjects I've had something of a passion for many years, but I fear my chances may be torpedo'd on the fact I've got no history with either, coupled with a pretty flimsy academic record.

Also, in the instance of providing supplementary information for the online CAO application, do you just leave the relevant boxes blank on the form and stick a referral for the corresponding document?

Oh, and in the Final secondary level qualifications awarded section, I leave this blank and post a copy of LC results, is that right? It only asks if it's for pre-1985 results, so I'm guessing. Thanks in anticipation, if anyone's got a notion. I'm very confused.

byrner51

Hi id really appreciate it if someone could help me with two sections of the cao form that im struggling to fill out(mature student application)

First section is:

Further Education [ Other than FETAC Level 5/6 (NCVA Level 2/3) ] Help?

Brief Description: ( You may enter up to 200 characters. ) Characters left:

Ive completed a electrical apprenticeship which was awarded with a fetac level 6 advanced certificate so does this mean i leave this section blank??


second section:

Final secondary level qualifications awarded
e.g. Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate (pre-1985 only), GCE, etc.
( You may enter up to 200 characters. ) Characters left:

If the space available is insufficient, you may include the extra information with your postal documents.

Do i also leave this blank as it says in brackets pre-1985 only


Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks guys

paperclip2

byrner51 wrote: »

Hi id really appreciate it if someone could help me with two sections of the cao form that im struggling to fill out(mature student application)

First section is:

Further Education [ Other than FETAC Level 5/6 (NCVA Level 2/3) ] Help?

Brief Description: ( You may enter up to 200 characters. ) Characters left:

Ive completed a electrical apprenticeship which was awarded with a fetac level 6 advanced certificate so does this mean i leave this section blank??

This section refers to courses like City& Guilds, old trade exams and the pre-FETAC vocational qualifications. If your further education qualifications are FETAC level 5 or 6 only then you don't need to fill in this section.

byrner51 wrote: »

second section:

Final secondary level qualifications awarded
e.g. Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate (pre-1985 only), GCE, etc.
( You may enter up to 200 characters. ) Characters left:

If the space available is insufficient, you may include the extra information with your postal documents.

Do i also leave this blank as it says in brackets pre-1985 only
Thanks guys

If your final secondary qualification is a Leaving Cert that you achieved after 1985 then you can leave this section blank. Just make sure you indicated elsewhere on the application that you have a LC by including your exam number in the relevant section.

wilwood

Hi there.
Great thread, very helpful.
Im just wondering how long roughly should my personal statement be???
Im in my late 20's iv been working as a lab assistant in a very busy micro lab for almost 2 years but im being let go shortly, so iv decided I want to get a science degree, Im applying for undenominated science in nuig and gmit,
My question is should I focus on my work and experience in the lab in my personal statement, and will it be an advantage. I have a good understanding off all the different tests in the lab and a genuine reason for wanting to study science.
Will this be any use to me.????

byrner51

thanks very much for your help paperclip

Much appreciated

byrner51

Ok I hope you guys can do me one more favour Im applying for a science in computing course and have just finished my cover letter would like to see what you guys think dont mind the grammar as ill have all that sorted before its sent off but just want to see if the layout and structure to it is ok for its purpose.

Appreciate all your help

Since the age of eight, when my mother bought a windows 95 gateway 2000 computer I realised my fascination with computers. As I grew up and technology developed beyond most expectations my fascination only grew stronger.All through out my youth from computers to laptops on to gaming systems such as the nintendo, playstation and sega my intrest seemed to grow and grow. My friends and family realised my intrest and potential in computers as from a very young age I began learning about computer components how to update them and fix software problems.Whenever someone had a computer related problem they seemed to come to me for a solution. My intrest in computers didnt stop here as technology and gadgets developed my fascination with them lead to me always being up to date with the latest computers, gaming systems, mobile phones and laptops. As a hobbie I liked to update computer hardware and experiment with diffrent operating systems.I also liked to learn about diffrent operating systems and applications on apple and samsung mobile phones.

After my leaving certificate I decided to do an Electrical apprenticeship with ***.My cousin worked for this company at the time so it was an easy option for me. As I developed through my apprenticeship my intrest for computers and technology never died. Alot of my apprenticeship involved working with computers as **** was a company that used controllers to monitor and change diffrent management systems in a building from heating to lighting.This involved programming controllers to operate correctly with diffrent components within buildings and feed this information back to computer networks.I always knew in the back of my mind that I was much more suited to working directly with computers than been an Electrician.I have also been in contact directly with people who work in the IT sector and have learned whats involved in it as a career.

Other intrests of mine include fitness, sports, meeting new people, cultures and travelling.Ive spent two years in Australia travelling around whilst working.Ive realised now that ultimately I want to pursue a career in computers and think the course on offer in **** IT would suit me perfectly as it deals with a variety of areas within computing and will help me figure out which path id like to take in it.
I think my ambition to learn and develop along with my desire to achieve will help me with this course .I hope I am given the chance to prove that I am an ideal canditate for this course and follow my dream of developing a career within the computer industry.

paperclip2

wilwood wrote: »

Hi there.
Great thread, very helpful.
Im just wondering how long roughly should my personal statement be???
Im in my late 20's iv been working as a lab assistant in a very busy micro lab for almost 2 years but im being let go shortly, so iv decided I want to get a science degree, Im applying for undenominated science in nuig and gmit,
My question is should I focus on my work and experience in the lab in my personal statement, and will it be an advantage. I have a good understanding off all the different tests in the lab and a genuine reason for wanting to study science.
Will this be any use to me.????

There are some key points to cover when doing a personal statement.

Think about the following questions:

• What interests you about the field you have chosen?
• How have you developed your interest?
• How does your previous work and/or education relate to your chosen courses?
• What are your long terms aims?

Also consider:

• How do you propose to fund your studies?
• What financial support can you avail of?

General

• Give specific examples linking your experience to the chosen fields. Generalisations don’t give the colleges a good sense of your abilities and aptitude.
• Remember that your written communication skills are on show.
• Most personal statements require at least 2 drafts and most require 3 or 4. So allow yourself plenty of time to complete it.
• It is vital that you have someone else read over it before you send it. It’s amazing how many mistakes we can miss in our own work.

Having extensive work experience relating to the course area is really valuable. You should have a good degree of insight into the reality of your chosen field and colleges like to see that. But they also want someone who is capable of meeting the academic demands of the course so its important to try and convey your ability in relation to that also.

paperclip2

byrner51 wrote: »

Ok I hope you guys can do me one more favour Im applying for a science in computing course and have just finished my cover letter would like to see what you guys think dont mind the grammar as ill have all that sorted before its sent off but just want to see if the layout and structure to it is ok for its purpose.

Appreciate all your help

.

Some good stuff there. Just watch the spelling, (especially the word 'different' ) and grammar. Also start the names of things like Nintendo, Sega, etc in capitals. I would also change the reference to your cousin as a reason for doing the apprenticeship. You could say something that you felt at the time that it was the best option for you, that it was more practical, that it gave you local job opportunities, etc

I rejigged your intro paragraph to take out some of the repetition. Hope you don't mind

Since the age of eight, when my mother bought a windows 95 gateway 2000 computer I started to become fascinated with computers. As I grew up this interest only grew stronger through watching the development of technology from computers to laptops to gaming systems such as the Nintendo, Playstation and Sega.

From this young age I began learning about computer components, how to update them and fix software problems. Whenever someone had a computer related problem they seemed to come to me for a solution. As a hobby I liked to update computer hardware and experiment with different operating systems. I also tried to stay abreast of developments which meant I was always up to date with the latest computers, gaming systems, mobile phones and laptops. Additionally I liked to learn about different operating systems and applications on Apple and Samsung mobile phones

There's some really good practical stuff in your second paragraph linking your work experience to the field you want to study in which you could maybe expand on a little more.

Hope that helps a bit.

LD 50

Do all mature applicants have to come in to the universities for interviews? Im currently on a visa in NZ, and had planned on coming back in June, but if I have to come back for interviews in March, would be better to change my flight sooner rather than later.

I suppose a skype interview is out of the question!

LD 50

Where can I get copies of my LC results? Damned if I still have them at home.

peacock169

LD 50 wrote: »

Where can I get copies of my LC results? Damned if I still have them at home.

Can be ordered online through www.examinations.ie
I got them here last year, and you'll definitely need them. Can't remember the price. Less than €20 i think.