Ashford College - Hear from Chloe - Access to HE Student

Hear from Chloe - Access to HE Student

Chloe joined Ashford College last year through our Access to HE (Higher Education) course, with the aim of becoming a midwife. Through our course, she has learnt so much about herself and what she can achieve, and is now going on to a degree in Criminology and Psychology. Read below her story, and see how our Access to HE courses can lead to so many things for your future!

Why did you join Access to HE at Ashford College?

"I studied the Access to HE course in Nursing and Healthcare professions at Ashford College as I originally wanted to get into Midwifery, so this seemed like the best option for me. As I am a mum, I couldn't really travel due to childcare arrangements, so I chose Ashford as it was my nearest college.

What subjects did you most enjoy on the Access to HE courses?

You learn a lot of subjects in the course, not just those healthcare related. I did Sociology for the first year of my A Levels and I didn’t enjoy it. Then I did it here my through Access to HE course and one of my lecturers Lisa really made it. Once you’ve got that teacher that nails the subject and teaches it in the best possible way, as well as relates it back to you it just becomes so much more interesting. It’s very obvious that I like Psychology as it’s half of my degree (along with Criminology) – but I’ve already said to my family that I may do Sociology as a masters degree!

I was in the course with other Mum’s and you do think at times about how am I going to juggle this school run and this childcare thing with this assignment, but you all support each other through it. It helped me learn a lot more about myself as a person, I’m a lot more resilient than I thought.

The support at Ashford that we got along the way was incredible, Katie (E-Hub Coordinator) was so amazing and supportive, even if we felt like we were harassing her. I told her that I wouldn’t have got through my course without her and the rest of the Access team who really drove me to go for my true potential.

I wouldn’t be going to Uni (studying Criminology and Psychology) without this Access to HE course. It gave me the confidence to do it. If you had told me a year ago that I’d go to University to do Criminology and Psychology I wouldn't have believed you. However now I’m like yeah I can do that, like I can go and get a degree, why do I have to do one topic. Why not do two? Why do I have to go into a healthcare profession? It’s given me confidence in my own abilities and stopped me from having limits.

What advice would you give to those wanting to do Access or adult education but think it's too late?

If you are thinking of going to University and don't know how to get there, or feel that it is too late for you to do an Access course, it’s not too late. If you put the work in and the effort in, then Jane and Lisa will put the effort into you and will make sure you succeed. "