DS fixated on going to Imperial College..

[BaconAndAvocado]

He's currently in Year 10 doing his GCSEs and wants to go on to do a Chemical Engineering course at Imperial College.

I know very little about it, apart from it being one of the top universities for Chem Eng courses (I think!)

DS is now talking about re-taking a Chemistry module, for which he got an A, because "Imperial College only want A* s at GCSEs"

Is this true?

DS has Asperger's Syndrome and Imperial has become a bit of a recent obsession. Whilst I'm incredibly proud that he already has a path drawn out for himself, I realise that the likelihood of him gaining a place there is small.

Should he put pressure on himself and re-do the module to try and get an A* or would it not make any difference if he already has an A.

Thanks in advance

[Pleaseandthankyou]

I know several students who have received offers from Imperial who do not have straight A*s though they do have a high proportion. The offers at A level are very high. The fact that it is chemistry may be relevant. You can always call them and ask . You should bear in mind that the grade requirements may have changed by the time he applies. Is his school able to offer any advice.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Thanks pleaseandthankyou (!)

I think I might call them and ask, though they'll probably think I'm a bit premature!

[Chottie]

I think it is great that your DS has a goal and a purpose to his studying. I wish him the best of luck. There is nothing wrong in aiming for the stars.

[alreadytaken]

Introduce him to the student room where he can look at what has happened to a few current applicants www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Imperial_Applicants_2013_entry_stalking_page

[exoticfruits]

No harm in being premature. They are a top university, so the competition for places will be intense.

[boomting]

There's no such thing as premature - some unis start working with kids in year 5.

As a general rule of thumb, unis are far more interested in A Level grades than GCSE grades, so long as you meet any minimums stated on their website.

There are some uni open days coming up (mostly around June and October ish), so it might be an idea to take him to Imperial and a couple of others so that you can compare and contrast. //Www.opendays.com collates them all

[BaconAndAvocado]

Thank you all for such positive feedback

DS has only recently begun to thrive (academically) at school and we are so very very proud of his recent achievements and attitudes, especially as his Asperger's has held him back in the past.

I like the idea of taking him to an Open Day too, I didn't realise he could do that prior to being in the UCAS system. He would love to do that. He popped in to Imperial whilst on a day out in London last weekend just to have a nose and was very impressed with it!

Thanks again

[alreadytaken]

quite a few parents take children along to open days in year 11 and younger siblings often go along. There is no harm in visiting the university for the general talks but there are a few courses where places on subject talks are very limited. Sometimes you can just turn up on the day and find a vacant seat even in subject courses.

[MelanieCheeks]

Good luck to your son!

My niece was able to get a place at Imperial where she's currently studying Maths (and loving it). AFAIR it was only her A levels that counted (and yes they had to be gob-smackingly good). But worth asking them to see if any weight is given to GCSEs.

Happy to ask my neice for info if there's anything specific you're interested in.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Thanks melanie DS's specific concern was whether an A grade GCSE in Chemistry would be a problem as opposed to an A*.

Very specific I know,guess that's his Asperger's speaking!!

[alreadytaken]

the student room is probably the best place to ask, baconandavocado, as there will be people who are in the process of applying and may be people currently on the course. Information on mumsnet can sometimes be out-of-date. If you look at the stalking page you'll see applicants don't have all A*s at GSCE. Generally A levels matter much more than GSCE but I don't know this course and for all courses admission tutors look at GSCE and AS grades to see if the projected A level grades are realistic. They know that more projections are overestimates than underestimates. He'll be in a better position to assess his chances when he has his AS grades.

Imperial offer good bursaries but it is London so very expensive.

[sandripples]

My DS is in 1st year of Chem Eng at Imperial. He had to get 2 As and 2 As at A-level and one A had to be in Maths.
I don't know how important the A in CHemsitry is - tbe I think Maths is more important. DS says the course is Applied Maths really.

He wishes he'd done Further Maths as well as Maths, at A-level. (he did 3 sciences + maths)

Excellent university - extremely demanding course - and yes expensive!
Good luck.

PS I liked Newcastle, Bath and Manchester for the same course - all very good. Newcastle struck me as very friendly. Bath would be great for sporty types. Manchester is very good and was DS's insurance. I'm not sure how pastoral care is at Imperial.

[TheFallenMadonna]

I went to Imperial back in the days when they made BBC offers!

As a Science teacher now, I'd get him to look carefully at UMS rather than grades. If he has a high A UMS, then good results in his other modules and in his CA will pull him over the boundary, without him having to dilute his revision efforts by retaking a module.

It's not grades for modules, it's UMS that counts!

[BaconAndAvocado]

thefallenmadonna, what is UMS?

[TheFallenMadonna]

It's sort of the points for the exam. A raw score (the actual mark) is converted into UMS. The UMS for each component of the course are added together, and need to exceed a certain boundary for an overall grade.

[TheFallenMadonna]

His chemistry teacher will be able to explain it to him. And you! Easier to see when you have the actual numbers in front of you.

They'll be on his results slip, if you have it.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Oh, I think I know what you mean. The fact that he only needs to get a certain grade in one module to get an overall good grade? If that makes sense?

[sandripples]

I've had two DCs go through High School to uni and never did get the hang of UMS points! (I'm not suggesting they don't matter - clearly they do. I just found it all a bit baffling.)

[BeckAndCall]

But it's not quite true for Imperial that UMS at GCSE are what count ( which is the stage the OPs DS is at).

My recollection from DS's year ( so may be out by 4 years) is that they ask for UMS scores for AS level, but not GCSE, (same as cambridge) and that their offers can also be expressed as UMS scores for each module - even requiring 100 UMS for each module. My recollection is that this is what one of DS's friends was offered. But that was for maths, not chem eng.

I don't think UMS at GCSE are declared.

[TheFallenMadonna]

No, they're not. My point was that you can get an A without getting an A in every module, as long as tour UMS total is over the A* boundary. So there might be no need to retake the module.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Thanks fallen I think I get it now.

DS is revising hard for his Biology exam in his room as I write this. He really has pulled out all the stops recently

[musu]

I would check how many overseas students they take. I can't remember the course but I know someone whose dc was unhappy on their course because they found it hard to integrate with the majority (who were Chinese).

[BaconAndAvocado]

DS isn't big on "integrating" due to his Asperger's.

[musu]

But I assume he'll want to make friends on his course? That was the problem. Chinese students just didn't mix and spoke amongst themselves in class, unless they had to address the class. Wish I could remember the detail but I think the student ended up moving courses because of it.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Yes, that's true. We're quite a long way off!