By: Claire Wilson BSc. Last Updated: March 2024

UCAS is the application system that traditional universities use to gather and process student applications for full-time courses.

It is a system that is very heavily weighted towards dealing with applications from 18-year-old school leavers. As a mature student there are several parts of the process that can be a little frustrating.

The BSc (Hons) programme that GetReskilled offer in conjunction with University of South Wales is exclusively for mature students and does not use the UCAS system for applications.

Instead, mature students apply directly via our website, talk to members of the course coordination team during the application process and complete telephone interviews to demonstrate their suitability.

This level of interaction with each and every student we enrol is something that could never happen in a traditional university setting. We deliberately keep our student numbers low to be able to provide such tailored systems. We believe in giving our mature students the very best service, and that starts with the application process.

We think our intake process offers several key benefits for mature students who are applying…

You’re not a brand new school leaver.

You’ve got an employment history and you’ve gathered skills in the workplace.

Our intake system places an emphasis on giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your personal strengths.

We don’t care about your high school academic achievements or how long ago they were, as long as they meet our baseline criteria.

The baseline is that students meet ONE of the following criteria:

• A-Levels (or an equivalent Level 3 qualification) or anything higher
  OR
• GCSEs (or any equivalent Level 2 qualification – minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C/Grade 4 or above) – and work experience
  OR
• You have taken GetReskilled’s Conversion Course into Pharma Manufacturing

Please note – these do not need to be recent qualifications.

The UCAS personal statement is one of the most time intensive parts of their process, where applicants get one chance to highlight all the information relevant to their application that doesn’t fit elsewhere.

Instead, all our mature students go through a telephone interview with one of the Course Coordinators.

This effectively turns the personal statement into a conversation.

We believe this gives you a much better chance to explain the details of your strengths and why you want to study this degree with us.

Of equal importance is that it also lets you ask us questions to really get a feel for whether this programme is a good fit for you and your current circumstances.

We don’t ask you to provide references.

We believe the one-to-one conversations we have during the intake process are far more valuable in assessing you as a candidate.

A large percentage of traditional university courses will require mature students to complete an access course, just to be eligible to apply. These access courses can add months to your degree journey.

We don’t believe your qualifications are any less valid because you got them more than a couple of years ago.

Our programme presents information in a logical, accessible and bite-size manner and you’ll have full support from your course coordinator with weekly check-ins on your progress.

Your Course Coordinator will be your single point of contact from enrolment to graduation.

We only take small classes so that we can give you the personal service you need as a mature student coming back to education.

We are as invested in your education as you are.

You pay a fee to submit a UCAS application.

Our pricing is totally transparent. You will see a course price per year (and be given the option to pay in interest free monthly instalments).

There are no additional application fees, enrolment fees, certificate fees, etc.

When applying to UCAS, you are typically applying months before the academic year starts in September.

With our direct admissions process and multiple start dates throughout the year, the time between initial enquiry to beginning the course can be as short as a week or two.

If you’ve found yourself in the position of having the motivation and time to be able to take on a degree course – don’t put it off.

You have 4 years of study ahead of you. The sooner you get started, the sooner you graduate.

Check out this page for more course details and click the big red “apply now” button if you’re ready to get started!

You can always contact us or click on the blue circle at the bottom of the screen on this page if you’ve got any questions – we look forward to hearing from you!