Top Unis - am I missing something?

You/your daughter’s mindset is very off. If she goes through life expecting the very best of everything because she’s ’put the effort in’ she’s going to get a very rude awakening.
she has lazy reasons for rejecting two great northern universities, and social ones for rejecting great city universities. She seems to want everything on her terms.
about time she grew up, no?

YABVU. She should work hard to fulfill her potential, not to get into one of two specific universities.

I got 4 A* and went to Oxbridge. When I got there I really struggled with my mental health and ended up dropping out after first year and going to a local polytechnic where I got a first. I have autism which wasn’t diagnosed at the time and was probably a factor in me struggling to fit in.

After uni I ended up joining the Civil Service fast stream, alongside lots of oxbridge grads and a sprinkling of fellow poly grads. It made zero difference. I was the first in my cohort to get to the Senior Civil Service and no one ever asked which uni I went to for professional reasons - it’s only ever come up in causal conversation.

What's so different about the London university experience that makes it bad?

Mine ruled out London because she really didn't like the idea of needing to travel in it. Some people just aren't big city types.

There's so many good unis that unless there's very specific reasons, there's absolutely no need to push teenagers much beyond their own comfort limits sooner than they want. Dd is now perfectly happy using the tube in London and visiting friends there - it just wasn't necessary for her to include imperial in her choices because there were plenty of others.

Why do some people not seem to understand this and be thinking this is about the OPs preferences not the daughter's?

Absolutely. If the OP's DD doesn't get into Cambridge she will find herself at one of these other "not top unis" surrounded by other students who are all just like her, have pretty much the same grades as her, are used to being top of the class, and probably also got rejected by Oxford or Cambridge.

It sounds like it's about time she was a small fish in a big pond.

I’ve literally said in my post that doesn’t suit everyone…

We are in SW, but plenty of kids at DD's school end up at Durham or Edinburgh. Apart from the first term's drop off they tend to fly. With a bit of forward planning the flights can be very cheap.

There are early morning flights from Bristol up to Newcastle (metro, then a short train ride to Durham) and Edinburgh so some early risers even flew up and back home that night after Open Days.

OP doesn't say where in SE she is, but presumably Gatwick or Heathrow can't be too far away?

This isn't the same for everyone though.

My son has met a lovely bunch of people at UCL. They are already forming groups for potential flat shares next year.

London is an amazing vibrant city to be a student in.

But I cannot help thinking that if she were to go to one of those unis she didn't really need to spend that much time working, studying and sacrificing her free time. Does it make sense? Entry requirements in those unis in her subject are all quite lower than her current and predicted grades.

You are missing the fact that a lot of students who received offers from "top" RG universities, such as the ones your dd has applied to, will have exceeded the grades that they needed to obtain a place on the course.

I sort of understand where you are coming from OP. If not Oxbridge/Scotland/London there's not one or two obvious high tier prestigious Universities next in line which scoop up all the rest of the A/Astar students.

However, the perspective you need is that Bath, Bristol, Warwick (not so sure about Exeter's A level acceptances) are full of bright, academic students, many with 3 or 4 A/Astars and a string of 8s and 9s at GCSE. If your DD liked them, she should apply to them and continue to work hard and do the best she can. She could apply for summer internships and live in London once she has found her feet and gained confidence living away from home.

However, if her career really would benefit from being in London or Edinburgh instead, she could take a gap year and go when she feels more able to cope with the distance/big city life.

That doesn’t suit everyone @GoodMorningPineapple A lot of young people want to live away from home for 3 years and have their friends in close proximity. The YP I know who went to London universities (these are people who don’t have family in London) felt quite isolated.

What's so different about the London university experience that makes it bad? My DD went to LSE and found a lovely group of friends in halls. She went out and socialised a lot. She lived year2/3 at home but still felt a lovely community feel at the University.

Also - there are multiple reasons why a student might not want to be hundreds of miles away for uni, this isn't necessarily the OP being overtly clingy.

In fact DD Bath offer was equal to what her Cambridge offer would be, she was pooled for Cambridge but no offer it is a harsh process and many many kids are more than capable of getting in.

Why are you dismissing options because she can't come home more than once a term?

Why should she want to come home? She will be studying and living independently - surely she would like to make the most of that?

My DD didn't go so far - 3 hours - but she only came home for term time holidays. Rest of the time she stayed in that city as she had so much going on!

Lol!!! DD was an Oxbridge reject and is now in her third year at Bath studying Politics and IR and is currently home for reading week. She is locked in her room studying all day, aiming for a first. It is insulting OP to insinuate she is not having to work hard. Her BF is doing CS at Bath (already has 2 graduate jobs offers), the entry requirements are x2 A stars and and A. Lets hope for your sake your DD gets an offer god forbid she will have to go to a lesser Uni.

And Exeter - beautiful campus uni and 13th on that list.

Lots of people from the SE go to Durham and Edinburgh.

This really won’t matter in 10 years time.

As PP have said, politics is a very broad subject and if she goes to any decent uni and does well it won’t make much difference to her career prospects. Oxbridge would obviously be great if she got in.

Edinburgh is a great uni, as is Glasgow. I wouldn’t discount them or Durham due to travel.

If she doesn’t get in to Oxbridge, i would urge her to go the uni and city she feels most comfortable in. Also worth considering if they offer study abroad as that’s a great options for politics.

It's completely reasonable to stay close to home, but more unreasonable to say there are no universities good enough for DD when it needs to be both close to home and a campus uni. Something has to give.

Do you know that most 'Top' universities only count 'A' levels taken in one sitting unless the early one is maths in order to be able to take further maths the following year, so she will be the same as everyone else applying with 3 A stars. (At Cambridge that will be everyone)

My son applied after a gap year with grades in hand. He had no exam result that wasn't A star. He was accepted instantly by Bristol, then Oxford but rejected by Edinburgh. Presumably he wasn't what they were looking for, and that's absolutely fine. He went to Oxford and thrived.

Remember that a large part of the Oxbridge application process is the interview. Being shy will not help her I am afraid, they need students who will actively participate. I can't imagine many people go home for weekends from either Oxford or Cambridge they have too much work to do.

You need to stop thinking of her as a child, and help her to make a list of universities which are suitable for her and don't involve her feeling that she has to flee home for family birthdays. You and she should realise that she will not be cleverer than most of the other students. Honestly it's not very clever not to be able to function outside the home counties.

'Love is in the letting go'

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/politics
Warwick 6 - campus Uni
Baths 10 - it's a campus uni
Birmingham 16 - lovely campus uni in city
York 18
Manchester 19 - it's in city but grouped together
Nottingham 20 - campus Uni again

It's not like having good A-level counts against her in life and with good predicated grades she has a wide as possible choice available to her now - she hasn't limited her options with the hard work.

In some subjects these uni do require really high A-level results - Warwick Politics BA is asking for AAA - and quick look though many of the economic and politics want A*AA.

I'd try and have more than just the Oxbridge option she is really happy with just in case it doesn't pan out.

Also if she wants to stay closer to home then of course that is a perfectly reasonable choice - don't understand everyone being so negative about that on here!

But positions in league tables shift each year, and the position for politics may be much higher/ lower than the overall university. I think you are placing too much emphasis on the idea of 'top' unis. Of course Cambridge would give her an advantage, IF she is happy and confident there. However, I don't think there are many employers left in the UK who would consistently distinguish between different Russell group unis, rather than looking more holistically at the applicant. Undergrads now only get a loan for a max of four years so, unless you are wealthy, there is not always the option to switch unis after a bad choice. I would encourage her to pay more attention to the flavour of the courses and the feel of the campus and pick somewhere she feels comfortable but excited by. Check out the research profiles of the staff who will teach her. Read some of their papers / books. Watch video clips of them at conferences. Who inspires her? The effort she has put in for high achievement will never be wasted. It has given her good study skills and taught her what it is like to focus single mindedly on achievement at the expense of other things, which will inform her future approach to work/life balance. Seeing your other post about her response to Cambridge - if she decides Cambridge might be too stressful it will be impossible to know whether she would have got over the 'imposter syndrome' or whether she's wise and self-aware enough to realise it would have seriously undermined her. Therefore, I wouldn't encourage her either way, unless you know she always underestimates herself. Whatever she chooses, it looks like she has the potential to make any uni work well for her!

Have you looked at direct entry to second year for the Scottish Unis - if the main reason to discount Edinburgh is the 4 year degree, it might not even be an issue!

You don't make any sense.
University choice is up to your child - 5 hrs away is nothing if that's the best course & University for her.

Good grades open up her options - you're listing Russell Group Universities, so the best of the bunch, which will have the most demanding grade requirements.