Michael Heath

Law - LLB (Hons)

Michael didn’t think he could afford to go to university, let alone be successful academically after struggling with exams at school. But just before he wrote off the idea completely, he learnt about student loans and different types of assessments at an Open Day. Now he’s determined to prove everyone wrong and is getting top grades! 

“I always thought that university wasn’t for me. I am very money conscious, and I couldn’t understand how I would be able to afford the cost of university. At school, I was never told about how student loans work, so I didn’t realise that these loans were normal and would be paid off in small amounts in the future. After attending a BCU open day and finding out answers to my financial questions, I was shocked that this information wasn’t shared with people sooner. I felt that I needed to action this so I have been working with UCAS on this to make sure that students are provided with more information on the cost either on the UCAS websites or from schools and colleges, as I would hate for this to put people off as it did to me.

I always had the impression that university would involve doing lots of exams. This made me feel like I couldn’t go to uni as I don’t work well under exam conditions and thrive more when doing coursework. My teachers told me that I wouldn’t achieve my goals of becoming a lawyer as I wasn’t academic enough. However, BCU’s website made it so easy to see how each course was broken up and how it was assessed which law is based mostly on assignments.

As soon as I experienced BCU for the first time, I knew that it was the university I wanted to go to. The unique courses, facilities and support on offer made me feel more confident that I would prove everyone wrong. BCU is one of the only unis in the UK that offer high acceptance rates into internships in the U.S. and the only one that offers a complete American legal studies module. Not all universities provide the chance to get this, and it can make you more employable when applying for a job.

All my lecturers really put themselves out there and made me feel that if I need any help and support at all they would all be there for me. They are always more than happy to sit with me and explain topics in further detail, as well as how they can be applied in the real world. As somebody who learns through real-world examples, this is perfect for me. This was extremely reassuring for me as I usually thrive in a classroom environment but with everything going on I couldn’t be in face-to-face lessons, so this gave me the reassurance I needed throughout this time.

The support and facilities that are provided are second to none and because of that I was able to achieve high-level firsts in my assessments.

‘I AM BCU’ is a statement that shows I am part of a team and represent BCU in my actions outside the university too."