Free admissions support for UK students
For UK adults without A-Levels
Yes — and it is far more common than most people realise. A-Levels are one route into a UK degree, not the only one. This page explains the routes that actually exist for adults already living in the UK, what each one involves, and how funding works.
Free · takes about a minute · no documents needed
Free. We are paid by the institutions we work with, never by students.
No documents. Nothing to upload, no application to fill in to talk to us.
An honest answer. If a route is not realistic for you, we say so.
If you left school without A-Levels, or you did not finish them, you have almost certainly been told at some point that university was not for you. That advice was wrong then and it is wrong now. UK universities admit adults without A-Levels every year, through routes that are designed for exactly that situation.
This page is written for people already living in the UK. If you are applying from overseas, the rules on visas and funding are completely different — our country guides cover that instead.
Four genuinely different ways in. They are alternatives, not steps — you need one of them, not all four. What separates them is where you study and how many times you apply.
An extra year attached to the front of a degree, taught at the university itself. Pass it and you continue straight into the first year.
Suits you if you want one continuous course at one institution, and would rather not apply twice.
A standalone qualification built for adults returning to education, studied at a college and regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency. You then apply to university with it.
Suits you if you want a qualification in hand before committing, or want to apply to several universities.
Some universities will consider substantial, relevant experience in place of formal qualifications. More common on vocational degrees — business, computing, health and social care, construction — than on traditional academic subjects.
Worth knowing: there is no universal rule. It is assessed case by case, and the answer genuinely differs between institutions.
BTECs, NVQs, T Levels, HNCs and HNDs are recognised entry qualifications in their own right, not consolation prizes.
Suits you if you already hold one — you may not need a foundation year or an Access course at all.
Choosing between the first two is the decision most people get stuck on, so we compare them properly on our Access to HE vs Foundation Year page, and ask whether the extra year earns its place on is a foundation year worth it?.
The route you take and the subject you study are separate decisions, and entry requirements differ more by subject than most people expect. We cover the three asked about most often in their own detail:
Already working? The format you choose matters more than the decision to study — see doing a degree while working full time. Returning after a long gap, or wondering whether you would be the odd one out, is covered on going back to university as a mature student.
This is the part that stops most people, and it is where you should be most careful about what you read online.
Student Finance England decides whether you can be funded. Nobody else can tell you that you qualify — including us.
What we can tell you accurately is what the decision depends on:
The only authoritative source for any of this is the government itself. Check your own position at GOV.UK: student finance and, for eligibility specifically, GOV.UK: student finance eligibility. Current loan amounts, thresholds and repayment terms are published there and change year to year, which is why we do not reproduce figures on this page.
Foundation years and Access to HE courses are treated differently from each other for funding purposes. That is one of the practical reasons the choice between them matters.
There is no upper age limit for a UK undergraduate degree, and no upper age limit for a Tuition Fee Loan. Maintenance support and some other elements can be affected by age, which is another reason to check your own position on GOV.UK rather than relying on general advice.
Most adults who ask us about this are somewhere between 25 and 50. Almost all of them assume they are unusual. They are not.
StudyUKToday is a free admissions support service. We help you work out which routes are genuinely open to you, and we do not charge students for that.
For UK-based adult learners we work with a UK admissions partner whose team places students on in-person degree courses at partner institutions in London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. They are a separate organisation from StudyUKToday. If your enquiry looks suitable and you tell us we may, we will pass your name and mobile number to their admissions team so they can talk to you directly. We will tell you who they are first, we share nothing else, and we will not pass anything on unless you tick that box.
Their admissions team, and the university, make the actual decisions about eligibility and a place. We do not, and we will not tell you that you have either.
You answer a few short questions below. We come back to you and talk through the routes that fit your situation. Nobody asks you for documents at this stage, and there is no application to fill in.
If a route looks realistic and you have said we may, we introduce you to the admissions team who can offer you a place. If it does not look realistic, we tell you that instead.
Not sure which of these applies to you? Answer a few questions and we will tell you which routes are realistically open — including if the answer is none of them.
Check your optionsYes. Foundation years, Access to HE Diplomas, BTECs, HNCs and relevant work experience are all recognised routes into UK degrees. A-Levels are the most familiar route, not the only one.
There is no upper age limit for an undergraduate degree in the UK, and no upper age limit for a Tuition Fee Loan. Some elements of maintenance support can be affected by age, so check your own position on GOV.UK.
We cannot tell you that, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Student Finance England makes that decision. It depends on your residency and immigration status, whether you have studied at university before, and the course and provider. Check GOV.UK for your own position.
No. Foundation years and Access to HE courses exist specifically for people returning to study after a long gap, and most of the people on them are in exactly that position.
Not to talk to us. If you go on to apply, the admissions team collects what is needed at that point. We do not ask for passports or certificates in order to answer your questions.
No. StudyUKToday helps you work out which routes are open to you; the courses are run by a UK admissions partner and the universities they work with. They are separate organisations from us, and we only share your details with them if you explicitly tell us we may.
Answer a few short questions and we will tell you which routes are realistically open to you. It takes about a minute, there is no application, and it costs nothing.
StudyUKToday is not Student Finance England and cannot confirm your funding. We are not a university and do not make admissions decisions.