Non RG or Ex Poly ucas applications - Come out come out wherever you are

[eatyourveg]

I'm sure there are some dc out there applying to places which don't often get mentioned on here. Hoping this will be a safe place to discuss these much overlooked (by mn) but still wonderful universities. Sometimes middle ranking institutions in the overall tables often trump over several of their more famous cousins when it comes to subject tables and don't really deserve the silent treatment.

Yep! DS applying to Huddersfield, Leeds Beckett and UCLAN. His course (music production) is run at the ex polys (largely). My DD is at a RG Uni doing a very academic course but I will be just as proud of my DS for achieving his degree in his chosen subject at a former poly.

Most Scottish unis are non-RG even old established educational institutions.

DS graduated with a First in May from Teesside. spent three very happy, fun filled, years there. Now working in a good job on a good starting salary. Good luck!

DS is at Surrey, in the end he chose it over Southampton after long deliberation,even though Southampton had given him a low offer. DD is looking at Oxford Brookes and UEA for her course and the facilities far outstripped Liverpool for her particular course.

ds1 considered UEA but plumped for Goldsmiths. ds3 is going for Hull, Northumbria and Nottingham Trent.

DD keen on Royal Holloway and Oxford Brookes. Went to Plymouth this weekend, off to Reading this Saturday coming and she's also off to Bournemouth in Nov.

She's fretting though because she thinks she should have applied to a RG. It seems the school push how great they are, an awful lot. I noticed on their new school year newsletter that they only congratulated the kids who went to Exeter, Bristol, etc. and did not mention one child who went off to an ex-Poly or non-RG. This is just a regular state 6th form too.

DD has just started at Aston in Birmingham and really enjoying it. Also applied to Hull, Hertfordshire, Swansea and Strathclyde.

She went to a high-achieving sixth form where there was great emphasis on Oxbrige and RG. She phoned me in the first week of university and said 'I've realised I'm not stupid'.

My son's at Strathclyde and loving it. I think the only RG uni he applied to for engineering was Ed and that was fairly low down in his choices. For more vocational courses RG seems irrelevant.
All my kids/ stepkids have gone for vocational courses at non RG unis so can't comment on the situation if you do history MFL etc although for languages Heriot Watt has particular courses in translating and interpreting that look good to me but I like vocational sounding courses.

DS is keen on Cardiff Metropolitan. It seems very competitive so am very worried. He's doing BTEC extended diploma and will have more than enough UCAS points. What worries me is that he doesn't have GCSE English yet and if there is so much competition they may not even look at him

Gas is it S&ES your ds is going for? See here where it says 82% of applicants get an offer. PA is the most competitive course as its not run anywhere else but 70% get offers so there is every chance your ds will be one of them especially if he has more than enough points.

Thanks eatyourveg and yes it is. I am a worrier and since it's his first choice I am just twitchy.

He had to do functional skills last year so at least this will be his second attempt at GCSE rather than his third.

Is your son wanting to study sport? We went to the Nottingham Trent open day in the summer. I was impressed and thought the campus was great. DS still trying to decide his order of preference (although am I right in thinking you don't have to order them on the UCAS form?)

DS2 is at UEA. It's his first year but so far he's loving it. He had an offer, and the grades, to go to Birmingham but liked UEA better. His insurance choice was Derby.

There was a lot of emphasis on going to a RG uni at his school. They ran a RG group for the most able students. DS1 and DS2 were meant to go but neither wanted to. They were brainwashed about how good degrees from RG unis were, they were helped to write their personal statement so they'd get in to RGs. I got fed up with hearing about it at parents evenings. DS2 is doing nursing so it wasn't as simple as writing a personal statement. I trusted him to choose what was best for him.

Yes Gas it is S&ES. The choices go in any order - ucas arrange them alphabetically when you look at the application. Ds is going for 2 courses at NT, one a slight variant of the other.

Fingers crossed they get a place where they want.

It's more stressful than choosing schools and colleges!

DDs favourite is still Aberystwyth. She is even more sure after the Open Day visit. She just needs to finalise her other choices.

DS looked at Bristol before he got his AS level results and West of England both for engineering courses. He actually liked West of England better and thought they had better facilities for his subject. He did manage to get an offer from the one RG he applied to and got a place even though he dropped a grade. He said he would have been more than happy to go to WoE which was his 2nd choice though.

when DS did the rounds of open days he fell in love with Coventry; the course, the lecturers, the contact time, the high percentage of graduates in employment and firmed their offer. He is now in his 2nd year and is still loving the uni, the area, the course and the academic scholarship awarded due to his BTEC Extended Diploma result and does boast that Coventry is moving very quickly up the rankings

Unfortunately, schools/colleges are judged on the numbers who go to RG (who have also brainwashed the masses that they are superior) and therefore other unis are considered not worth bothering with despite the top 20 not being filled with RG unis latest table here.

What I advise my 6th form students is to look at the subject, not the name but most importantly - will they be happy studying and living there for the next 3/4 years

My DS college do not offer 'A' levels so there's none of the must go to a RG uni.

Our local uni offers 'a £1,000 grant for those who achieve at least ABB at A Level, or the equivalent qualification (such as distinction, distinction, merit at BTEC) and who are responsible for paying their own tuition fees (including those paying with a tuition fee loan from Student Finance England)'.

DD is at Bangor, She got A*ABB and would have sailed into the RG uni's that DH and I went to.
She loves it, it's fairly close to home, has the largest collection of Arthurian Literature in the world and has beaches, lakes and mountains nearby (she loves surfing and climbing).
She is very happy with her choice.

DS will be but has found that the course he wanted at Cardiff Met is now not running this year.

Best Is your DS looking at something different at Cardiff Met or will he be having another look at other unis?

We're going to look sit down and have another look at courses tomorrow. He had been set on this one for a couple of years so is a bit disappointed.

DS has applied for a mix of RG and non RG, he's looked for his course, Physics, and the best fit for him. He one he really wants isn't RG

Rocky, , my DD went to Aberystwyth and loved it.

Oh that's good to hear, how long ago was that?