Top Unis - am I missing something?

As someone who has interviewed including recent uni graduates this makes no sense. People who prefer to live at home can of course interview well. No correlation.

This is like someone in Liverpool saying they have no options because they don't want to travel as far south as Ox/Cam or as far north as Durham... she's made her decisions about distance and type of campus, she needs to get on with choosing from the available options.

I don't really know what you were expecting, and I think implying she shouldn't have bothered to work so hard is a terrible attitude. Studying hard will set her up well to succeed at uni wherever she goes, and to succeed in her career. Only working to the required standard and no more will not see her achieve her potential...

Oh I agree, but the OP was fixating on league tables and future employment.

Personally, I'd avoid Lancaster or Stirling as examples of overly campus focused universities, where the gap between town and gown is very noticeable.

But if you wanted a pure campus experience then the University of the M6 Lancaster would be perfect.

It's just a matter of the type of university experience you want.

I agree.

I also think OP will be doing her daughter a huge disservice if she conveys to her that Oxbridge is the be all and end all. It really isn't.

Not true

You can’t go wrong with a Russell Group university.

But for some subjects, a particular RG might be weaker than others, including non-RG.

Predicated grades are just predictions. Kids miss out on their predicated grades all the time. Often by more than one grade. For god's sake don't even hint she takes her foot off the peddal.

If she gets those grades great. But there is no guarentee whatsoever. Even with her high grades there is no guarentee she will get offers from the universities that you mention as being just about ok for you. It depends on the other candidates and the volume of applications. They might all be predicated A*. If your daughter already had the grades and was applying after her A levels during a gap year you might have a tiny bit of a point. But wait to see what she is offered yet. She will be very lucky to get offered a place at any Russell group university. Just focus on encouraging her to work and on her possible good fortune. Your fussiness is goign to rub off on her if you are not careful.

And look again at Durham - five hours is nothing. Is it you who wants her home mid term? She can have no idea how she might feel. If she is that nervous perhaps a year out would be best. She might need to grow up a little more to be more confident.

Predicted grades increase the chances of receiving an offer (alongside PS, interview, possibly work experience and extra/supra-curricular activities), but do not guarantee an offer, not only from Oxbridge, but from many other great universities where the standard offer may be lower for a particular course.

Predicted grades do not always get achieved either, this is not to be taken for granted. Lots can happen on or around exam days, or at any point between now and then.

So no, the effort is not "wasted". Apart from the knowledge she has gained, your DD is in a good position to choose a good course at a good university but the worst strategy would be to put all eggs in one basket. You get 5 choices, use them even if it means compromising on distance/campus vs city etc. You may well need your back up options, even with her current predicted grades, one never knows.

Many people who apply to Oxbridge are predicted A’s and A stars
Many don’t get a place and go to other universities where they excel.
You are really setting up your dd for disappointment if you think that she deserves a place because of her top GCSE grades and predicted A level grades .She will be one of many with those grades.
My niece received all 9’s was predicted 4 A stars and didn’t even get an interview for Cambridge

You can’t go wrong with a Russell Group university.

League tables are very subjective and change year on year. You’re overthinking this.

Why not Lancaster or Loughborough?

Misplaced snobbery?

Why not Lancaster or Loughborough?

I just pulled that list from a quick google.
Why not Lough or Lancs though?

You are completely wrong.

a) pretty sure they don’t distinguish between 8s and 9s.
b) it’s ok to have some lower grades particularly in the subjects not aligned with the course applied for
c) there’s no such place as ‘Oxbridge’. Oxford makes more use of GCSEs than Cambridge but it’s contextualised.

DD has an offer from one of the universities you have mentioned, A star A. On the open day, we were told most students had 3 A stars. Just because a course has certain requirement doesn't mean that's what all the students will have. Grade requirements seem to have reduced but the quality of the students will be the same. Having done the University thing more than once, I would recommend visiting ones you are interested in. Both children disliked ones they had thought were a good fit, one Durham, one KCL.

@OnTheRoll You said that you are leaving your daughter to make up her own mind, but If I were you, I would be doing all I could to point out all the pros and cons of her choices.

You will be letting her down, imo, if you don't seriously reassure her that it isn't the end of the world if she doesn't get into Oxford or Cambridge. I would also be pointing out to her that It's great that she has worked so hard to get the grades to give her the best chance of getting into the Uni of her choice.

But as others have said, if she worked so hard that she made sacrifices in her personal life, it may mean that getting into highly competitive Uni will only see her struggle far more, as there will be plenty others who get her predicted grades too, even higher grades than her, who haven't had to work as hard a8s your daughter has in order to get those grades. If she is shy and unconfident as you say, it may put too much pressure on her all round to be keeping up with other students.

Yes, she is clearly clever, but she is far from being unique in the academic world

Please at least get her to look at ALL the pros and cons of the different options. I am concerned that you are the one who put the idea of acceptable unis into her head, over the years. I may be wrong, but that's how you are coming across in your posts. She needs to change her mindset - possibly you do too, to be able to advise her properly ?

Hope it all works out and your daughter is happy wherever she ends up

Just read your original post and I think that to get into Oxbridge they expect all 9s in the GCSEs. Not a mix of 8 and 9s. Happy to stand corrected

I don’t understand why she’s limiting herself geographically. If she’s making most of uni she probably won’t want to come home frequently. Most of my dc’s flat haven’t been home and won’t until Christmas.

There are only a limited number of places at Oxbridge.

There are plenty of people intelligent and hardworking enough — all with 3 or 4 predicted A* at A level — to go to Oxbridge. But there are not enough places to accommodate them all and, anyway, they would not suit everyone.

So it’s really important to approach university admissions with the acknowledgment that your daughter is not that special. She may or may not get into Oxbridge but don’t look down on other universities because she may end up going to one.

Distance from home is one factor that should go into your daughter’s choice of universities to apply to, but it’s not the only one.

You are correct, with the A stars and and an A it's only Oxbridge you'd need those for. I don't know enough about Durham's grade requirements.

Depends on the subject of course, usually it's more for STEM. Oxford offers are often lower than quite a few other unis (A star AAA for stem, 3As for other subjects I think?) , Cambridge can be higher - they do make offers above the 'typical' grades on their website esp for STEM. But even there, there are very few 4A star offers.

However whether you're likely to get an offer if you've not got high predictions is another matter, and the actual achieved tariffs are available.

Your other comments don’t suggest so to be fair. All the universities she is looking at will put her in a good position for jobs but the degree alone doesn’t get the job.
dpes she know what she wants to do?

Whilst I understand your point - I also don't get it. Why would your daughter not achieve the best results she can regardless of where she is going?

Whenever I need to achieve something, I want to smash it, not just make it if that makes sense

Do not go for Loughborough?!? Or Lancaster. Argh this thread is full of bad advice.

Very odd to moan that your own red lines rule out most universities in the country.