2015 Yr 12 support thread

No, just means they are all applying to the same college and being lucky enough to get in! There is no way that the people interviewing you would say, well, she's a bit of an idiot and we have lots of better candidates, but her dad came here so let's be nice. Maybe in the case of the grandfather and the father, but no chance these days.

But then I was speaking to someone recently who said they had a family tradition of going to a certain Cambridge college - grandfather, father, sister, niece... so there must be something in it.

DD2 went to a UCAS thing yesterday and asked the Cambridge admissions person to confirm that which college you applied to didn't affect your chance of getting in, and explained that her Director of 6th Form Studies had suggested the opposite to her. Cambridge admissions bod said dd was quite right and that if she were brave she could suggest to said Director that she go on one of their events for teachers, lol!

DS is off to an Oxbridge conference next Friday. He is in the 'Aiming High' stream but frankly the way the maths is going at the moment I'm not sure Oxbridge is the way to go!

He also went to a UCAS exhibition last week and came home with loads of brochures. Had good chats with really helpful people on some of the stands; Imperial, Bath, Surrey, Cambridge, Manchester and Bristol especially. He's also keen on Southampton but they were so busy apparently you could barely get near the stand!

needmoresleep we might add Warwick to our list; I like your description.

Brenda - at the two things DD1 has already gone to there have been so far as I could see no dads and no gimlet eyed mums however since I left her to her own devices once the venue came into sight on each occasion I can't really judge - maybe all the gimlet eyed folks were already there (although she says not). I won't be able to check out the parent situation at the two open days she is going to in April either - I'll be on another continent. If we waited until after the AS exams are finished she would be applying to 5 conservatoires without having seen any. Not surprisingly she's not keen on that. Equally, if we had waited until after the AS exams were finished she wouldn't have attended the music taster day at cambridge and that would have been missing out too (in fact, missing out massively since she found it extremely useful and it gave her her EPQ idea).

Thank you!

Ds has mentioned that some of his friends are very clued up about open days, but I think they should focus on the AS exams instead of roaming round the country at this stage. Also from what I've read the Open Days sound an absolute nightmare with four-square red-trousered dads and gimlet-eyed mums elbowing everyone out of the way - especially the potential students themselves. I think it would all put ds off. As it is he snorts that if he ever goes on the Student Room he can tell that most of the posters are mums.

Hiya,
DD and I have our heads firmly in the sand until the AS exams are over.
She plans to drop to subjects and take up an EPQ so its all hands to the pump to get good grades in the two subjects that are going.
Only after the exams will the University stuff kick off in this house.

Here is the college's Oxbridge timetable page
www.psc.ac.uk/support/careers/oxbridge.php

DD has a very good idea what she wants to do, and where (first 2nd and third choices)
and has grown up roaming around the campus near here so I guess that is why she's not worrying about the onwards too much.

I know that the RG Unis really are not interested in detailed applications till after the results are out so its all informal at this stage
except for music, choral and the ones that cannot be judged on paper.

Just looked at some open days (this is a good tool) and they do seem to clash quite a bit.

I know from doing this two years ago with DS1 that, although they ask you to book, there is no rush, and it's not always essential to have booked. One exception I know of is Durham. DS1 booked on a college coach trip. The students were all told to book themselves individually on the open day. Being 17 year olds most of them didn't and the trip had to be cancelled. DS had booked and he ended up having to make his way there by train with a friend.

Well, as far as I know ds's college has done nothing. But - and it is an enormous but - there is the word "I" in there. Perhaps other pupils are toddling off on open days here and open days there and ds either hasn't noticed (that would be typical) or is keeping me in the dark.

Actually, is TalkinPeace hanging around? Her dd goes to the same college as my ds and perhaps could illuminate on what is the form.

DD is off to a subject Study Day at Oxford on Saturday and is going to a subject Open Day there next week. We have a parents' intro to the Ucas process evening this week.
DD has put another couple of Open Day dates in the diary but that's as far as she's got...

Well parents evening was interesting. Lots of very positive stuff and advice. He came away all fired up and with confidence boosted.
He went on a trip to Cambridge where they had tours and talks and Oxbridge conference is just before Easter. However I think he has decided it's not for him. He certainly has the ability but he is more aware than most of the stress and pressure involved as he saw DS1 go though it.
He has a sciences taster day coming up at a nearby uni.
No open days booked yet. His college run some coach trips but they don't seem to have any details yet. I'm afraid I am the planner and booker in this house otherwise nothing would happen.

Ds has disengaged from the whole caboodle. The water is roaring down the river and I've told ds it's fine to pull himself out, sit on a rock for a while and then jump back in when he's ready.

He is, however, making some gap year plans (no orphanage building!).

DD1 has no choice but to be super organised - music open days are often very early. Especially for conservatoires.

The actual UCAS launch at her school is next week, she's the only one of u R friends who has organised any open days at the moment. We have massive logistics problems because of where we live, too, which doesn't help.

ds only booked them now because we needed to know when they were as they all seem to be at the other end of the country which means overnight stays and possibly a flight. He's asd and never been on a plane and I'm not sure its the best time to test him out on one so it might just have to be 5 hours each way on the train and that will have to be a super super saver as national rail are quoting the fare as £140 off peak!

I think a lot of kids don't look at them until the AS exams finish. But given that some do clash, and some even fill up, it can be useful to look sooner rather than later. My dd2 hasn't booked any, but she's got a massive pile of prospectuses and is getting prepared in other ways.

Actually she was a bit annoyed yesterday: she was in France last week, helped in a nursery and has come home feeling really ill from all their 4 year old germs, so was of school yesterday. She got a message about a meeting for those the school have identified as 'high flyers' I guess, about Oxbridge and EPQs, and when she sent her apologies for not making it, got a slightly snotty reply about needing to see her asap because it's important. She's already been to a Cambridge masterclass and applied to two summer schools - it's great that the school are trying, but they need to be doing this stuff earlier. Shows you why some schools underperform when it comes to getting their kids into university.

Should DD be looking at booking Open Days now? Because she isn't, and I don't get the impression that school is putting pressure on them to do so.

6 out of 7 open days just booked, one place still not got any dates up for his chosen school - every other school showing that registrations are being accepted except his. Have to say it makes me a bit worried as its a much lower ranking institution (below 75th) yet consistently top 20 for the subject - just wonder if the whole department has been scrapped!

Lol, no, it wasn't a complaint about your clarity, just an argh about your dd's busy-ness :)

Need no idea whatsoever!

need DD1 is being ridiculously proactive actually - but she has such an early deadline on her applications she has to be - also, the conservatoires typically only have 1 open day so if you miss it it's gone. She has also attended a subject open day this week in cambridge (she booked that but I organised the travel - I have to organise ALL the travel). She's also competing in a music festival next weekend (but hasn't really prepared) so it is a complete perfect storm at the moment. She hasn't had much time yet to work on her audition pieces but I suppose she has the summer... part of me worries she will burn out but the other part of me thinks that this is what life will be like if she gets what she wants so she just has to step up - which she has definitely done.

Sorry if I was confusing. The show that started this week carries in through the weekend and has one final performance next week, the show that's happening next week kicks off with the band call on Sunday. It is a completely exhausting prospect but it's decent relevant work experience so she has no complaints.

Yes, I'm exhausted just reading it gently!

DD has booked a subject open day for later this month and has been invited to attend the Oxbridge conference (at her school it's invitation only as I think there's a limit on the numbers each school can take). She hasn't got any further than that yet...

I think I would need a colour-coded chart to understand that last post Gently !