The Reasons For Studying A Access Course Education Essay

I have joyned the Access Course because I believe it will give me a chance to realise my ambitions and fullfill my dreams about studying at University.I’ve been off from education for many years and I feel strong need of developing my study skills by gaining more practice in study methods and Access Course provides this opportunity. Qualification which I have gained in Poland were not meeting the entry requitments for Psychology course as well, wich was stopping me from applying to higher education.I believe an Access Course will equip me with qualifations needed to study at University and it will give me huge boost to my self-confidence.I have chosen Humanities path mainly because as a part of it I have a chance to study Psychology which will give me a huge foundation to study this subject at higher degree.English Language and English Literature will deffinitely improve my language abilities which I think is required to progress for a person speaking english as a second language.

I want to study Psychology because of my strong interest in discovering and analysing the complexity of the human mind. I am intrigued how Psychology is using scientific methods to research the ways in which our feelings and thoughts are influencing the way we act and how we behave with others. Occupational Psychology is one of the areas which have especially captured my attention. I am very interested in how organisations and workplaces function and how people as individuals and in groups behave in work environments. It would be very rewarding for me to expand the knowledge of using psychological principles and research methods and apply them to the workplace in the matter of improving the quality of worklife.

Just before I moved to England I had a chance to study Psychology as a part of my Economics course at University in Poland and there mainly I studied the psychological aspects of the economy and how they affect people’s behaviour. I left the country after completing first year due to financial circumstances, but my desire to study was pushing me forward since then and for the last few years I have mainly concentrated on studying the English language. I have gained lots of confidence in communicating with other people and it was great experience to learn with students from different cultural backgrounds and to learn about their cultures, religions and different views on many aspects of their lives.

Currently I am studying Psychology, English Language and English Literature on Access Course to Higher Education at Bury College. In Psychology I found very interesting studying social perception and how attitudes and stereotypes can develop towards another person or group. In English Language it was interesting to investigate how dialects work and persist and to discuss attitudes to language and how these affect the media and education. In English Literature I have really enjoyed reading and analysing short stories.

I work part time as a Shift Manager in a Restaurant and I enjoy being a member of a team and dealing with different customers everyday which has remarkably improved my interpersonal skills. As a Manager I need to lead by example and act as a role model so I demonstrate a positive attitude and I am always trying to build team spirit by motivating and encouraging staff. My position requires from me to be very organised and creative and prioritise my work effectively. I am flexible and open minded and have the ability to solve problems and make decisions very quickly. I have taken many courses, including a Time Management Course and First Aid.

I have always had a passion for reading books. For the past couple of years I have been mostly reading in English which improves my vocabulary and grammar and is a perfect way to relax at the same time. I particularly enjoy reading psychological novels and psychological thrillers. I admire them for the concept of having an insight into characters feelings, thoughts and motivations.

I believe studying Psychology at degree level will be challenging for me but I am very passionate about the subject and I believe it will be exciting and inspiring experience. I have an ability of fitting in with groups and I enjoy team work as well as I can work on my own initiative. I am very good time keeper and I am always completing tasks on time and always meeting deadlines. I have management abilities so I am very reliable and I can handle problems and issues very well. It will be a pleasure for me to learn and extend my experiences at degree lever and I believe that with my mature attitude, skills and experiences I will be an asset to your University.

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Psychology is the path which I would like to pursue and I believe I own skills and qualities to be succesfull in this field.I am particularly interested in Occupational Psychology which concentrates on people behaviour in organisations and workplaces.I trust my work experience as a Shift Manager has thought me a lot of skills which will be suitable for future carrer as a Occupational Psychologists.I have great communication and persuasion skills.I am able to communicate effectively and work well with different groups of people and I found easy to gain their trust in order to persuade and influence them.Another important skill for this carrer path is problem-solving skill,ability to identify and solve difficulties effectivelly which I have gained by running shifts at work.One of the skills which I believe I will gain by studying Psychology on Access Course is critical thinking which psychologist need to posses in order to get right conclusions from research and make correct diagnoses.I will gain this skill by identifying types of evidence in literature reviewes and by analysing psychological researches and arguments.

I also believe I am suitable candidate for Psychology career because of my qualities.I am tollerant and open- minded for any kind of sytuations and different types of people which will help me to build their confidence and will make them feel comfortable in expressing their problems and issues.I am very trustworthy which again will help me to inspire trust in people .Being patient,my another qualitie, is very important in this carrer path because of the long therapy process and long period before the actuall results of this therapy are being seen.I am very compassionate towards people as well which helps me to put myself in their position and better understand their sytuation.

I have chosen four different Universities which offer Psychology course and they are Manchester Metropolitan,Manchester,Salford and Bolton.My choice is mainly based on location of those Universitys because I’m planning to stay at home during undertaking this degree.Another reason for choosing them are entry reqruitments as all of them are welcoming applications from mature students who has completed an Access Course.After completing this degree at chosen Universities I will be eligible for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society which is the first step to become professional Psychologist.They all are offering that studying Psychology degree at their institution will give basis for working in a wide range of proffesions like education, the health professions, human resources, marketing, management and social services.As well as Psychology course which I have applied I have chosen Combined Degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University which is Psychology combined with Sociology.I believe combining these two subject opens up a lot of additional career opportunities.

But my first choice is Psychology on it’s own at Manchester Metropolitan University.Mainly because this istitution is highly known as a UK leader in the health,psychology and social work proffesions and 90% of graduates goes into employment or further studies which has atraccted me to the course.This University provides excellent up-to-date facilities like science labs,lecture theaters and superbly equipped teaching rooms.It has extensive library with 800.000 books available including e-books which students can access from their own computers.This course have great links with outside agencies and organisations and provides practice placements for students.The aim of this course is to give students an opportunity to achieve their ambition by helping them to develop the knowledge, skills and values that they will need for their future professional lives.And this is what this course contains.On the first year University explains that students will get introduced to the main units of this course including :cognitive psychology; lifespan development; research methods and data analysis; social psychology; individual differences; biopsychology; practical investigations; and personal development planning. Also students explore research methods,data analysis and statistics on the first year of Psychology degree.In year two students are looking at the core areas in greater depth such as cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, developmental psychology ect. Also in this year students are introduced to more advanced research designs and methods and qualitative data analysis techniques. On the last year University gives an oppurtunity to engage in a supervised reaserch dissertation in form of the journal report and chance to specialise further in area which interests students the most.In my case it will be a ocuppational psychology. Being able to specialize as this type of psychology atraccts me about this course the most because it gives me greater opportunity to work in this field in future which is my ambition.

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I found completing UCAS application easy and very straight forward.Website guides students very well through the whole process.Throughout the system students are able to use help boxes when they unsure about the question and how to answer. Registration process is very quick and generates your username and you are able to create your own password which you use to log in.In personal details section you need to give such informations like your name, adress, date of birth and contact details.UCAS gives you an opportunity to apply for five different courses in different Universities.And again even if you not sure about institution codes website provides you with a list which you can choose from.The only difficulty I found was completing education and qualification section.The reason is that some of the schools and insttutions are not listed in UCAS system and drop down menu.It was especially difficult for me because I have taken formal qualifications in Poland and it was hard to translate the titles of those qualifications and the individual components into English.I believe this would be the only thing I would improve in completing UCAS application for future students.In next section which is employment you need to give details of your work history and employers and if you don’t have any you can leave this section blank.Personal statement section I believe is the most difficult for all applicants because it requires from you to complete your personal statement which is a long process.Once as all sections are marked as completed you need to agree to the declaration and you can send your application to your refferee so the reference can be added.

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JUSTYNA KOZLOWSKA

59 Hurst Street, Bury BL9 7ES, Lancashire

Phone: 07988519855 Email:

Date of birth: 04/08/1983 Nationality: Polish

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

2010- present Access to HE Diploma (Bury College):Core Studies, English Language and Literature, Psychology

2006 – 2008 Bury Adult Education Centre:Adult Literacy Level 2, Adult Numeracy Level 1,ESOL Skills For Life Level 2 (writing, speaking,listening)

1998 – 2003 Secondary School of General Education:Graduation Certificate Of Secondary Education (subjects:Polish Language,English Language, Geography)

WORK EXPERIENCE

2004- present Shift Manager : Norman Murray T/A McDonald’s, Woodfields Retail, Park,Bury,BL9 5BY

Responsibilietes: responsible for bisness performance of the restaurant;maitaining high standards of food quality,service an health and satefy;analysing and planning sales levels; managing, training and motivating staff and responding to customer complaints; checking stock levels and ordering stock.

Skill gained:good time management skills, interpersonal skills,team building skill,organisational skill, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES

Psychology,Music,Reading books,Film,Sport (basketball)

SKILLS

Languages- Polish (native language), English (excellent)

Training Courses: Time Management,First Aid,Shift Management

Knowledge of: Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint

REFEREES

Alan Astin,Student Quality Manager,Woodbury,Bury College,Market Street,BURY,BL9 0BG

SECTION 5

1. Why did you choose this subject?

I have chosen this subject because of my strong interest in discovering and analysing the complexity of the human mind. I am intrigued how Psychology is using scientific methods to research the ways in which our feelings and thoughts are influencing the way we act and how we behave with others.

2. Describe a situation in which you solved a problem.

Solving problems it’s a huge part of my job.My responsibility as a Shift Manager is to have an abilility to identify,prioritise and solve difficulties effectivelly every day.One of the sytuations when I needed to solve a problem was for example a customer complaint.In this sytuation I needed to stay calm,listen to customer carefully and resolve an issue by offering compensation.

3. Describe a situation where you had to plan or organise something.

Again planning and orginising plays a huge role in my everyday life at work and college.At work in order to run effective shift I always need to plan it.Also to meet deadlines in college I need to orginise my work effectively.

4. What interests you most about your course?

What interest me about the course the most is a chance to specialize in Occupational Psychology which is my ambition for the future career.

5. What are your strenghts?

I believe I have great communication skills which helps me in communicating effectively with other people and I’m very open minded.I have great ability of solving problems which helps in understanding,identifying and solving problems in everyday life.

6. What is your greatest achievement?

I think my greates achivement was that I have moved to England from a different country and I’ve managed to get a good job,start course to improve my English and now being able to study on Access Course and applying for University.

Questions for University:

– How many hours of teaching are involved each week?

– How is the course assessed?