Chemistry: alternative routes to success

If asked to describe a typical first year student starting a chemistry degree, many would envisage an 18 year old with 3 or 4 A-levels, typically in chemistry, maths and another science. However, not everyone who wants to study chemistry fits the stereotype. Some potential applicants may not have had the opportunity to study A-levels after completing their GCSEs, or perhaps took alternative qualifications that seemed more appropriate at the time. Others might have left school at 16 to join the workforce, before realising later in life that they wanted to pursue studies in higher education. A big issue is a lack of awareness about the routes into chemistry for those with non-traditional backgrounds, and the right advice isn’t always available to those who are seeking it. Here, we try to rectify the problem by discussing some of the options open to potential applicants without the usual pre-requisites required to study chemistry at degree level. We focus on foundation year courses, where our experience is, but consider some other options too.