College help! Will it be too dificult to swap courses now?

[KayaPapaya]

Dear hair geeks
Please Help!

I wrote a week or so ago and said I was unhappy with my college practical lessons.
I maybe mention I was also doing vrq2 instaed of nvq2 which I orignially thought I was doing
Longest story shorts I went to look at another college near by this week and went to try out their evenign course - nvq2 evening course!

I realy like the atmosphere, the ladies (all slightly older than girls on my course _ I'm 37 too) and so more mature - they just looked like a whole different league to my class - really professional they looked like hairedressers iykwim.What I mean is - they looked really calm, was not yelling for help every 10 minutes, were not waiting for their teacher to finish chatting to her friends. It was just "nice" and I was despearate to be as professional as them.


Bascially the new college has offered to transfer me from my vrq2 to their nvq2 course, but i need to change before Easter (2 weeks)

My dilema is this - do I change classses this late in the day? can I catch up - they say they will help with this. will it be too much?

bearing in mind its not long to the end of the year - I would need to do all the assessmensts, all the exams and catch up. I don't mind haird work at all, but I am scared.

I work fulltime, so my time is precious, but I want it, but I am really unsure. I shoudl just go for it, and get on the best course and just try.

But I'm scared of wasting my £800 for the vrq and ends up with nothing at end of the year. and having to repeat another 2 years for nvq2

What would you do?

I know what I woudl tell someone else - go for best college best class and best teachings, but I am really worried that I may end up with nothign at all. Or I could stay at my original college and hope for a new teacher next year and do my nvq2 there (in 1 year).

Help please I welcome your opinons

thank you for reading.

 

[Jodie4156]

Can't you just move classes in the college your attending now? Maybe a mature class?

I personally think its a lot to catch up on and courses usually finish about may-June anyway?!

Maybe take your level 3 there if you really like that college but I think just stick it out get your work done best as you can and save £800! And soon you can be out of that college your unhappy with

x

 

[LAPirate]

Personally as a salon owner I would say go for the NVQ, vrq's are fairly new an unknown, a lot of the vrq is done on training blocks and this isn't what hairdressing Is about! However at the end of the day you have to feel comfortable in the environment to learn the most! Hth

 

[KayaPapaya]

Can't you just move classes in the college your attending now? Maybe a mature class?

I personally think its a lot to catch up on and courses usually finish about may-June anyway?!

Maybe take your level 3 there if you really like that college but I think just stick it out get your work done best as you can and save £800! And soon you can be out of that college your unhappy with

x

No I am afraid not. I am in the mature / evening class already. It's the only evening course they run this year for the college.

I am not worried aobut the theory work if I swap schools but I am about the practical because we have been taught so badly I am scared. As I say those ladys looked so professional compared to what my class is like.

I feel really torn about whats best.

Would the college (new) recommend I swap if they really couldn't get me trhough? I asked these questions and they said they would give us much help as it takes. But I'm still not sure!

I want to get on the best course at the college with the best repputation (which is the one I'm being offered a place at)

I also said could I not just transfer to 2nd year at the new college, they said no, I would have missed to much by then and would have to start the whole 2 years again :/ dilemmas!

 

[KayaPapaya]

Personally as a salon owner I would say go for the NVQ, vrq's are fairly new an unknown, a lot of the vrq is done on training blocks and this isn't what hairdressing Is about! However at the end of the day you have to feel comfortable in the environment to learn the most! Hth

thank you for replying.

This is my thinking, but I'm so stupid not to have done something sooner as soon as I realized I was doing the wrong course.

I really want this ,but is 2 months enough to catch up on everything I have missed? I don't know the answer to this. I mean I could take double evening classes for nvq2 and I think they'd be ok with this.
I guess I really need to speak with the head of course again and see if she can make my mind a bit easy!

 

[LAPirate]

thank you for replying.

This is my thinking, but I'm so stupid not to have done something sooner as soon as I realized I was doing the wrong course.

I really want this ,but is 2 months enough to catch up on everything I have missed? I don't know the answer to this. I mean I could take double evening classes for nvq2 and I think they'd be ok with this.
I guess I really need to speak with the head of course again and see if she can make my mind a bit easy!

At the end of the day vocational college departments are run on a business model and don't want students who won't pass! Also you seem driven enough to make up any lost time! I say don't delay it any longer!

At

 

[KayaPapaya]

At the end of the day vocational college departments are run on a business model and don't want students who won't pass! Also you seem driven enough to make up any lost time! I say don't delay it any longer!

At

Thank you. I do want it, I am just terrified I will make the wrong choice :/ and regret it. My lack of Confidence is not helping this descision.
I just know I would tell someone in my position to go for it,but doing it is another matter.

 

[LAPirate]

Know that feeling!! Be brave! Keep your desire to be the best! good luck!

 

[KayaPapaya]

Know that feeling!! Be brave! Keep your desire to be the best! good luck!

Thank you

 

[alexandra.]

Id go for the nvq if i was you it will be well worth the hard work, and they wouldnt want to take you on if they thought they couldnt get you through it

Alexandra x

 

[lea2721]

see i confused now ive been told that nvqs are no longer availble for just college training and that nvqs are solely for apprenticeships and vrq s are for just college training... :-/ im studying vrq i thought it was going to be nvq2 but when i started i got told its no longer availble unless you are a apprentice

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[Jodie4156]

see i confused now ive been told that nvqs are no longer availble for just college training and that nvqs are solely for apprenticeships and vrq s are for just college training... :-/ im studying vrq i thought it was going to be nvq2 but when i started i got told its no longer availble unless you are a apprentice

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This is true last year I was doing a nvq and this year we was told its the same kind of course regards to the theory and practical just a different name now! A slight change to the exams system and log book but nothing completely different about the course as a whole x

 

[laurakate]

Dear hair geeks
Please Help!

I wrote a week or so ago and said I was unhappy with my college practical lessons.
I maybe mention I was also doing vrq2 instaed of nvq2 which I orignially thought I was doing
Longest story shorts I went to look at another college near by this week and went to try out their evenign course - nvq2 evening course!

I realy like the atmosphere, the ladies (all slightly older than girls on my course _ I'm 37 too) and so more mature - they just looked like a whole different league to my class - really professional they looked like hairedressers iykwim.What I mean is - they looked really calm, was not yelling for help every 10 minutes, were not waiting for their teacher to finish chatting to her friends. It was just "nice" and I was despearate to be as professional as them.


Bascially the new college has offered to transfer me from my vrq2 to their nvq2 course, but i need to change before Easter (2 weeks)

My dilema is this - do I change classses this late in the day? can I catch up - they say they will help with this. will it be too much?

bearing in mind its not long to the end of the year - I would need to do all the assessmensts, all the exams and catch up. I don't mind haird work at all, but I am scared.

I work fulltime, so my time is precious, but I want it, but I am really unsure. I shoudl just go for it, and get on the best course and just try.

But I'm scared of wasting my £800 for the vrq and ends up with nothing at end of the year. and having to repeat another 2 years for nvq2

What would you do?

I know what I woudl tell someone else - go for best college best class and best teachings, but I am really worried that I may end up with nothign at all. Or I could stay at my original college and hope for a new teacher next year and do my nvq2 there (in 1 year).

Help please I welcome your opinons

thank you for reading.

I would transfer to the more professional course if it were me. You sound like you would prefer this in terms of the course and qualification.

If it feels like hard work now it will be worth it because getting the right start can make a real difference when it comes to doing trade tests and finding work.

I hope you change because it sounds like you feel you need to be taken seriously and this is a good thing

Best of luck with it

 

[laurakate]

thank you for replying.

This is my thinking, but I'm so stupid not to have done something sooner as soon as I realized I was doing the wrong course.

I really want this ,but is 2 months enough to catch up on everything I have missed? I don't know the answer to this. I mean I could take double evening classes for nvq2 and I think they'd be ok with this.
I guess I really need to speak with the head of course again and see if she can make my mind a bit easy!

If they say they can help you then go for it.

If you don't feel confident now then this is all the more reason to transfer to somewhere where you feel that your skills and thus confidence will be improved.

The worst that could probably happen is having to finish you nvq2 with the new college next year but surely this is better than finishing you vrq at your current college and feeling that you haven't gained the skills that you seek to aquire.

 

[KayaPapaya]

Id go for the nvq if i was you it will be well worth the hard work, and they wouldnt want to take you on if they thought they couldnt get you through it

Alexandra x

thank you. I really hope so.
Can you remember what units you covered in nvq2 first year - i am really stressed and wonder if it really is realistic to do it.

To Lea - I thought I had been enrolled in nvq2 -it is what i apply for - but when we start doing assessments we asked why they had vrq on the forms. It seems the difference is vrq you can do assessment on head blocks. and you do assignments and no exam.

all i know is the Nvq must be done in relistic work enviroment - the new college has a commercial salon and you do your work on paying clients not friends or whatever. My college now also has commerical salon but we do assessments on each other or friends. so this is why its different i think???

Well anyway, I don't know... there's also nvq city and guilds and nvq vtct... I don't know if that makes any difference either!

it's nuts!

thank you to eveybody who has given their opinions....I want to hear from many as possible before making decision. I'm 95% sure what to do

 

[KayaPapaya]

O dear the weekend has made it worse. I thought I'd chose to swap college but today am completely freaking out. Talking to friends who are split 50:50 has confused me more.

 

[lea2721]

This is true last year I was doing a nvq and this year we was told its the same kind of course regards to the theory and practical just a different name now! A slight change to the exams system and log book but nothing completely different about the course as a whole x

if you look at nvq2 there is a huge diffrence theres 3 sections completly missed out on vrq we only learn four cuts where as nvq2 its something like 10 and also they have to be timed e.g when doing full head of foils.. on vrq you are not and on nvq 2 everything has to be passed on a person .. there is quite a big diffrence but my tutor said its not of importance although she likes to remind us of the things we are not learning on vrq2 lol x

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[lea2721]

oh and id defo change to nvq2 .. i am trying to fina a college or apprentice to do a nvq2 but still no luck :-( .. i think if you are intrested and theyve offered to take you i think it could be worth it x

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[Jodie4156]

To be honest I don't know the actual ins and outs of the differences other than what I've already said from experience lol..

This year I've had to learn about 18 cuts and they don't have to be "timed" as such just as long as you can complete it during lesson time or at a reasonable commercial time and thoroughly understand the cut.. The why you use it, what the benefits of the cut is etc to be able to make a detailed write up in how to achieve the cuts

Also Just because the logbook says you only have to complete 3 kinds of cuts on a client not mannequin (if that's how you spell it lol)to complete that unit doesn't mean there's only 3 cuts to learn, in practical I have a further 7 cuts to complete and I've covered all the classic cuts

As for exams nvq has E3 and E4 questions and on vrq they've just made one whole exam instead of 2 per unit making it less time spent on 'exam lessons'

I think it's a lot better this year taking a vrq just my opinion, and I don't see much major changes in this course, maybe it's just my college making it easier to make no complications to students and staff lol

Also because it's hard to find colleges that still do nvq's in this subject.. Wouldn't that mean because they are proved more beneficial for some reason? I don't know just a thought

If anything in this message seems bitchy I honestly don't mean it that way just speaking of experience xx

 

[lea2721]

no of course not im glad to hear it but ive just seen so many people saying that vrq is no way near as good as a nvq.. i personally dont feel like im not learning as much as i would be in a salon thats all xx

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