As part of its Widening Access Strategy, St Mary’s University College held an information evening for mature students recently. Mature students from a range of educational backgrounds that included students from regional colleges came to find out more about undergraduate courses, entry requirements and, indeed, all aspects of life at St Mary’s. Currently enrolled mature students hosted the evening beginning with refreshments and a chance to chat in the College staffroom.
The second half of the evening included a PowerPoint presentation about the College and the undergraduate degree programmes on offer. This presentation explained the teacher education programmes—the BEd Honours Primary and Post-primary degrees—and the BA Honours Liberal Arts degree programme. Trevor Abbott, the College’s academic registrar, spoke about entry requirements, application procedures, interviews and finance.
Three current mature students, (Lukas Arkinson, BEd Post-Primary; Aisling Johnston, BEd Primary; and Neal McGrath, BA Liberal Arts) shared their stories regarding their pathways into higher education, the challenges they faced and the help and support they received. They also reflected on their experience of College life as mature students and the joys of achieving their dream.
This was followed by an open question-and-answer session in which applicants engaged openly with staff and students and had questions answered. The evening concluded with a tour of the campus facilities including a visit to the library, the Writing Centre, the Careers Guidance Centre, the Open Access Suite and other ICT facilities, the college chapel, the Performance Enhancement Centre/Sports Hall and, of course, the Students’ Union and the Student Centre.
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