Year 12 (4): The one where they're pondering what to do next

Top tip from a second timer - On A level results day THIS YEAR buy a newspaper with all the details of clearing in. I'm thinking if a course is in clearing this year, they would be more than happy to accept a student if they drop a grade or two on their offer when ours sit the exams next year. If the course is not in clearing this year they are unlikely to budge if the student drops a grade. FWIW, in 2018, Edinburgh rejected applicants who missed thier offers by 1 grade in 1 A level, Durham had NO spaces in clearing and Cardiff accepted a applicants who had just missed their offers. Not sure about any others.

@lljkk It's not as bad as you think - it's a extra tax and they might not have to pay it all off. Have a look at the money saving expert page on student finanace.

oneteen
He has five choices he is happy with.
Only one of his choices is aspirational; many of the obvious universities at the right level were excluded because they are either in London (Imperial, UCL) or are too far away (St Andrew's, Manchester, Durham). I feel confident that he could be successful with a degree from any of the five he has chosen, and it is important (especially with ASD) that he's applying to places he is comfortable with.

lljkk and that's just for one child...

Bloody Hell... Leafing thru a brochure DD brought home from Imperial, it mentioned bursaries, got me looking at student finance (calculator here). DD will get the tuition & £7k maintenance loans. Realistically, she'll need another £8k/yr for living costs. It's a SIX year course, so that's £48k we'll stump up.

How is everyone's DC doing in terms of choosing Uni's - do they have their five preferred options?

DD just about to put in for her driving test, seems to have taken to driving like a duck to water...will be great to get test past hopefully during the summer holiday period (I am looking forward to not having to do the school run anymore).

KingscoteStaff:

Most people accept the following:

• Firm offer: slightly above predicted grades.
• Insurance offer: at (or maybe slightly below if you're a cautious person) predicted grades.

It's worth checking this year's Clearing Lists, as many courses are undersubscribed this year, even at high-ranking universities (Durham, Exeter, Leeds etc). On results day, these courses will drop their entry requirements by at least one grade.

MillicentMartha

It is still useful to put a Cardiff offer as Insurance.

This year, Birmingham have filled their places for their Maths course. Cardiff have not, and are offering places in Clearing. Although the offer from Cardiff is AAA, on results day they will be accepting applicants with lower than AAA.

The same thing might well happen next year.

Having not done this before, a question for the Second-Time-Rounders (or third time...)

Do most students end up accepting a firm offer that matches their predictions and a reserve that’s one or two points lower?

DS3 liked Cardiff yesterday. Unfortunately their offer of AAB for maths is dependent on choosing them as firm, otherwise it’s AAA, and DS3 preferred Birmingham whose standard offer is AAA. So no good for an insurance place.

Yes, it's the AS that stops at A, ie no A star.
No more open days for us at the moment but planning to do a Southampton open day in September as they indicate a slightly lower offer for the A levels DS is doing, and I've heard rave reviews from colleagues about the philosophy degree and employability afterwards. DS needs to check it out for himself, though.

Just marking my place here

I think the AS level grades only go up to A, but A-level definitely goes up to A*

No top grade is A* still

Quick question, in the new Linear A levels is the top grade an A? I ask as dd starting Y12 in sept and she was looking at preceding books titled "How to get an A in A level physiology, Biology etc."

That doesn’t surprise me at all spababe. Some of the parents are really intense!

Hilarious encounter with a dad and daughter. The dad had planned to visit 11 colleges today!! Said he has spent 2 hours planning the day to get round them all. He took loads of photos on the one tour we shared and left the tour early. Surely research before you go negates the need to visit 11 colleges!!

Cambridge today. Visited the faculty and three colleges. Preferred the course to Oxford but very impressed by both unis.

Pretty sure DS didn’t see St. John’s despite seeing quite a lot of colleges. He mentioned lots of lovely cricket pitches so he’ll be in his element. He liked the college he stayed in overnight but preferred others. Everyone he spoke to urged him to apply which is great for his confidence.

Another DS here who had a great day in Oxford. Missed the nice lunch he’d booked at St Johns as he got chatting to a current undergraduate on his course, so had to inhale a Greggs as he ran to his next event.
More cricket tomorrow, then up to Durham in the evening.

DS is back and seems to have liked Oxford. He has an idea of the colleges he may be interested in. All in all he had a great couple of days.

My top tip to DS was to make sure he has all the postcodes of his various destinations in his phone, on the unlikely (ho ho) circumstance that he gets lost...

I have also chased him off to bed in the hope that he will be firing on all cylinders after a 3 day cricket festival!

We are going tomorrow , any top tips ?

Completely knackered after looking round all the Oxford colleges today. Anyone else?

snozzlemaid that's such a great opportunity for her; I'm glad she has settled in.