Category Archives: Student Experience
Go Higher – or Go Home? By Amy McDaid
My name is Amy, I am 27 and today is the day I got my overall grade for Go Higher and I got 70%! I could not be any more ecstatic with myself if I tried. However, I could not possibly take all the for credit for my final grade, the lecturers and the other students played a massive part in my studies and achievements and I do not think I could have got such a great grade without the support from them all! But enough about me boasting about how intelligent I think I am (or now know) It is the journey that I and so many others took to get to this point that really matters and in the words of Drake “We started from the bottom, now we here”
Steps, by Marie Court, Go Higher 2017-18
After recently completing Go Higher at the University of Liverpool, I can honestly say it is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made and I am so pleased I decided to take up the offer of a place. I am a mum of two children (22 and 17, now grown up). I left school at 16 with a couple of qualifications O level/CSEs, yes that long ago! By the way I am 48. I went on to find myself in many different jobs that were very much without opportunities and once I had my children I suppose I was content to work part time to fit around bringing up the kids.
From Small Acorns Mighty Oaks Grow! By Gary Stevens, 3rd year psychology student
Before I began this journey, I was fortunate enough to get a job straight out of school. My exam grades were far from overwhelming and, at 18, I had no real work experience yet it seemed I had landed on my feet quite successfully. I remember people telling me how I could forge a great career in the civil service. As time went on I remained in my job but I was never truly satisfied. I always felt as if something was missing but could never put my finger on it. I would try and discuss this with my family and ask their advice which was simple… “You have a good job, don’t throw it away”. Or… “It’s a safe job, so stay put and get a pension.” Stupidly, and against my gut feeling, I listened and stayed put.
Layers: Poetry and my breakfast by Barbara Milne, ex-go higher student and current tutor
Go Higher literature students are sometimes asked to carry out a close reading of a text. One of the most frequently voiced questions, when this happens, is ‘How can I get xyz or even wxyz number of words out of a single line of written language? One way (inspired by my breakfast) would be…
Autumn: the season, the title of the Man Booker Prize 2017 shortlisted novel by Ali Smith, and a poem by the 18C poet John Clare.
SO? By ex-Go Higher student & current tutor, Barbara Milne
So, we’re on the middle day of Go Higher induction week, here at the University of Liverpool. ‘So’ seems an apt word for today. Any initial nervousness, on all sides, I think, has abated a little and our new students have settled down to some group work. So, why am I so hung up on this word “So”? It’s nostalgia if I’m honest. I’m a former Go Higher student. One of the narratives I was lucky enough to study during my time on the course, was Seamus Heaney’s translation of the epic poem Beowulf.
Mature students: Why there’s NO NEED TO PANIC on your way to university… By Devon Motte (class of 2017)
For anyone who is toying with the idea of heading back to university, the idea of combatting a cavalcade of fresh young faces just off the ‘A level’ belt can sound daunting and ill prepared. However, lucky for mature students, there is something called Go Higher!
I found Go Higher when I was looking for a solution to my entrance into main university problem. I didn’t know where to start, nor did I know what I would be getting myself into. Especially with the gap between school, studying, and the organised life of a student. I wasn’t sure if I had enough credits and I panicked at the thought of transitioning from the life I had to the life of a student. But when I called up, I was met with a team of organised and reassuring people.
Reflections on Go Higher by Lauren (class of 2017)
I was really lucky to get onto Go Higher because I only found out about its existence within a few days of the application closing date. I had applied for another Access to Higher Education course and was dreading the childcare implications (I’m a single mother) since it ran over three days. Go Higher, however, is one full day a week and much more manageable, and I’ve had time to organize childcare for when I start my degree full-time in September. To be honest, I couldn’t believe my luck at having discovered Go Higher for another reason –
A Go Higher Student’s Personal Story by Dominic Henry
I’ll start with some information about me. In school I made the same cocky mistakes a lot of teens do; i.e. I decided there was no point going to school because, well, what could they possibly teach me that I didn’t already know? So, I spent all of 3 hours a day there before deciding that that was enough. As you can imagine my exams didn’t go great, in fact I failed them all. But that was okay as I started working in a hairdresser’s a week after I finished school and was going to college to train as a stylist. I did this and qualified as planned – but that’s when life hit me full time.
A personal story by Graham Moran…
After leaving my degree studies at 18 years old, feeling like I never wanted to return to any form of higher education ever again, I felt wrung out, tired and wanted to explore the other side of the pavement. As the years passed, I felt a sense of disappointment at myself for not pursuing education further. I had always enjoyed it, at school and at A-Level, and aged 31, felt the time was right for me to take action and stop pondering ‘what if?’ After hitting the proverbial glass ceiling working within hospitality, I made the decision to apply for Go Higher at the University of Liverpool in the summer of 2015 with the aim of furthering myself academically.
Twelve months later – by Lisa Hopkins, class of 2016
Twelve months ago I was lost. Having left school at 15 I had no GCSEs, I found myself turned away from many institutions and possible career paths because of this. As taking GCSEs as an over 25 is no longer funded I was caught between a proverbial rock and a hard place. I had almost begun to believe that this was my lot in life… But then I found Go Higher, an Access to the Humanities course at the University of Liverpool. What’s more, my lack of qualifications did not exclude me from entry.
