Corona Cohort: Statements Scripted, Grades Predicted

@oblomov I anoint you Good Mummy of the Month

Crowns self as good mummy, watching Southampton Uni online subject talk for Accountancy, on the way to Ljubljana airport.

I think you are doing a great job zebra. She will do well because you care and help.

It's March, but yes, it has to be assessed and shown to be necessary and normal for that student. This document is quite useful (mine both get extra time due to SENs).

www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AA_regs_21-22_v11.pdf

Ah, sorry , I misunderstood! The extra time you get with ADHD is certainly helpful. But I think it has to be in place by Feb at the latest? The school have to demonstrate it’s her normal way of working.

You are all right of course. She is getting the help she needs, just need more tests. I’m not worried that she would be disappointed by a different diagnosis, more that she will be disappointed if, she doesn’t get the exam results she wants. And a diagnosis might help her.

And she needs resilience not protection.

I think she can have both. You protect her and she develops trust and therefore has better resilience?

@Zebracat ds has ADHD and I was worried a diagnosis would be being something to hide behind, but in fact it’s been really helpful as he’s become a lot more self-aware - he recognises what he struggles with, knows why and is more motivated to make changes. Also school has been much better on the whole since his diagnosis and the extra time in exams, which he just got for his delayed year 10 exams, has made a huge difference.

I understand you’re worried she might not have these conditions and will be disappointed- but even then, she’s surely got something as a result of past trauma - complex PTSD maybe or a personality disorder? It would be equally helpful for her to know that and understand why she responds in particular ways.

Well, the A in EPQ should get her some juicy reduced offers!

@Monkey2001 , Thanks, I will check that. She is quite particular and I don’t always understand her criteria. She rejected Sussex out of hand although I thought it had much to recommend it.
She is predicted AAB, but it’s all been so upside down that we don’t really know. She has PPEs soon, so that may help. She did get an A for her EPQ, so it could be right. She had the worst ever cold at the beginning of term and it does seem to have left her a bit low energy. I’m wary, I know how easy it is for someone to fall off track.
She is going to be assessed for ADHD and autism. She is convinced she has both and is already asking me to arrange for extra time in the exams. I’m not sure that the result will be what she expects, and I worry that this will be a wall to hide behind. In saying that, I am not suggesting that these are not real and challenging conditions, I am very much aware that they are. She is unusual , but I think her particularities make sense as a response to her previous life. I guess I want to protect her from disappointment, which is silly of me, because that is part of life, And she needs resilience not protection.

I do that too - I keep adding other possible course to DS's shortlist! I'm like a magpie; I see shiny stuff...

What are her predicted grades? Might she not be better looking for a standard lib arts course with lower offers? (Keele springs to mind?)

I have heard of people being rejected but then encouraged towards foundation degrees by unis.

Thanks everyone. She does fit the criteria for Cambridge, and we do know that they are not guaranteed a place, but it gives her a wonderful opportunity to try lots of different stuff, so it would be good for her. Really good shout about the foundation year, but would mean dropping 1 of the other courses, all of which have possibilities that she likes. Is it possible that a university might offer for a place on a foundation course if they did not believe she would make the grade.?
She doesn’t deal well with uncertainty, and I think she may feel that I’m introducing a new level of complexity every time we get somewhere, and I might be, I’ve always found it difficult to complete things.

Thanks @singingstones and @Monkey2001. Although after the GCSE debacle our lot went through I'm not a massive fan of algorithms ... Maybe they'll deal with IB applicants first given they know what is going on with them (she says hopefully).

DS1's new house includes a 'fair usage policy'. He has only been there a week and they have all been told off for spending too much . The heating isn't on yet, obviously.

Not sure of anyone else knows about this but their allowance seems to be £2600 for 12 months. I am guessing this includes metered water, too. They didn't have this in last house. There are 5 of them. Does this seem reasonable does anyone know??

Horace123 you should be in government, love those ideas.

Another week dawns - we have petrol but used a lot getting to dd2's dance festival yesterday so who knows how long it will last.

Dd1 has various school and MH service meetings this week, perhaps something will stick. Reading everyone's open day experiences with interest - looks like I'll be doing these rounds next year with two dc!

Ha great idea Horace.
Yes they can offer before the January closing date.

Morning everyone - quick question. Do universities start making offers before the UCAS closing date? Or do they wait to see how many applications they have for each course?

On the petrol front I can’t help thinking the government is missing a trick. They should either send Savid Javid out to the news studios to reassure everyone there is no need to panic because there is absolutely no prospect of a vaccine shortage OR offer everyone who shows up for a jab 1/2 tank of petrol. We’d be at 100% vaccination in no time.

zebra, the criteria for Cambridge foundation is really convoluted and the year doesn't guarantee progression on to a full degree at Cambridge. I am just checking you knew all that as it's v complex!!

Zebra - that's been our sticking point too, a personal statement to cover diverse courses. at the Winchester Open Day we went to the PS drop-in clinic and the woman there said the best way to deal with that is to go through the course descriptions looking for the key skills and knowledge required eg critical thinking, teamworking, interest in current affairs, and find some common ground that way, she suggested tabulating it all in a grid. Then picknout examples from your studies/hobbies/interests which support these. So even if it is shelf stacking in Tesco, which I thought might not be relevant to a degree, if you can show that you had to have strong teamworking skills that's good.

We also spoke to someone about foundation years, he said if you are really set on somewhere as your first choice and it offers a foundation option, use the main degree as your firm but also apply for the foundation and hold it as your insurance, then you are in either way.

Extensive reading is the one aspect that's still putting DS off history too.

Wow @EssentiallyDisorganised, that’s a massive change in one day. We are still going round and round a bit. Got a little bit further with courses. She read the course descriptions. Now have 5, 3 are Liberal Arts, one is Cambridge Foundation and 1 is History with a year abroad. They are all asking for a lot and even with contextual offers, she may struggle. We really could do with finding an insurance offer, particularly as Clearing may be more limited next year.
Trying to write a personal statement that works for all 5 is fairly challenging. It’s all quite new and a bit overwhelming for her, but I’m definitely noticing that she would happily sit back and let me do all the work. I suggested she read a couple of things today, and she was tired and she wasn’t processing well today and what they said was all crap. I did eventually suggest , gently that if she found reading that difficult, she might be better suited to an apprenticeship, or a less academic course. She was outraged! Of course she can read and understand this stuff, just not today. Her teacher wants to see her personal statement tomorrow, and I am away this week, so time is not her friend on this.

I tried to interest her in Open Days at the beginning of the summer, and got stonewalled. Now she really wants to see these places and is really upset that the Open days are full.
Today has tested my patience, but I breathed, and had a sudden , clear recollection of myself at 18, completely clueless, and we didn’t fall out, which is the main thing.