Ok. I graduated in 2004 and have worked in mental health as a support worker ever since. I know my stuff and I enjoy the area and I want to stay in it. But I want something more. I saw this Msc Mental health studies course at king college london and I think its a pretty good route into Clinical Psychology or CBT. But I am fearing applying for it. I graduated with a 2.2 but with all my experience I think they 'may' accept me despite them asking for a 2.1. but because I have been so long out of higher education I am a bit nervous about my ability.

Has anyone else returned to higher education and how did it feel?

I also want to apply for a post-graduate mental health nursing course, which I have to apply via UCAS but it is not listed on UCAS website so how can i?

Also..if I was to do the Msc then I would finish at the age of 29. There is much more I want to do, like get a house, travel the world etc but doing this course will make me poor so thats one other thing which is getting in the way. I know the masters will be hard work but am I too old?

__________________
"I'm getting fucking tired of you fucks" - Trent Reznor - toronto 1994

I am the hate you try to hide and I control you - Mr Self-Destruct.

I did a masters straight out of undergraduate, but there were lots of people returning after a lengthily break. Plenty of funding exists for masters, so if you are interested I would look up stuff on funding like the MRC. Having a 2:2 isn't so bad if you have plenty of experience in the field you want to do the masters in (which it sounds like you do).

If you want to do the post-graduate nursing course, look on their website. The course code for UCAS is often listed in brackets after the title of the course. Or contact the institution direct and ask what the UCAS course code is. I didn't even realise the UCAS website listed any of them!

I say do it!

I am also a psychology graduate, and have been considering mental health/clinical routes.

If there are asking for a 2-1 straight out of Uni, surely a 2-2 will be fine with your experience?

What other ideas have you had? Have you considered an assistant clinical psychologist job (maybe moving up from support worker) as a way to get into clinical?
From what I hear its a good area to go into, as I'm sure you know, due to the possibility of whole new careers being opened up in therapy. With a Mental Health Studies Msc you'd be a shoe in for anything like that, surely - if you didn't actually do a Clinical postgrad course at the end. Because that would mean even longer before being out of education, even if the grant money is pretty sweet.

Actually, a question for you... you've done Mental Health Auxiliary nursing you mean? Whats that actually like to do? Because I've heard job descriptions but often they don't describe the majority of what happens. I've casually applied for a couple of jobs because I saw them advertised but nothing worked out.

Back to topic, I don't see how it would be a problem really. I always heard that for mental health and clinical they actually prefer people who have been away from uni and got some real life experience. As for the work, I'm sure it would be ok, but I suppose it depends how easy you found academics in the first place.

Graduate schools routinely accept people with holes in their transcripts. It's more important to make sure that your GPA, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation are good. If they don't think you're up to snuff when you get there, they'll have you take some undergrad courses to catch up. This is common even with people who didn't take any time off. Different unis have different degree requirements, so everyone goes to grad school with the same degree but not necessarily having taken the same courses as undergrads.

That doesn't seem to be unusually long, when I was at uni the masters students in my department all seemed to average late 20s.

I would be interested to see how your experience affects getting on the course though, I'm also thinking about going back but worried about my 2:2.

__________________
His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

I'm not taking a Master's until I can afford to spend two years not working and not completely live on the breadline, so I imagine my gap, currently at two or so years, will be up to at least six by the time I go back.
I think it's pretty natural for Master's students to be "mature students". At the university where I studied, I'd imagine it'd be around 50/50 "mature" students and straight-out-of-undergrad.

__________________
Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter