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Original poster

Can anyone prove their parents didn't go to uni?

111 replies

whostolemypumpkin · 31/10/2019 23:11

These days a lot of university outreach and other opportunities seem to prioritise applicants whose parents didn't go to university. Unlike free school meals, or ethnicity, it seems to heavily rely on honesty rather than being provable. Or have I missed something? Most people are honest, but perhaps less so when the stakes are high. Maybe I'm being too cynical, but I doubt it.

OP posts:
LoyaltyBonus · 01/11/2019 09:38

I didnt "go to" University but I do have a degree, that I did PT, whilst working and with 2 DC under 5 what possessed me ? Where would that leave my DC?

KindOranges · 01/11/2019 09:33

Well, anyone who had my parents fill out a form would have seen from their level of literacy that they hadn’t gone to school after the age of 13. Their jobs also did not indicate any level of educational attainment. There would also have been a record from my schools of the (not UK) equivalent of FSMs. I was also offered music lessons at primary as part of a bluntly-named ‘Deprived Children’s Music Scheme.’ Seriously — this was actually stamped on the instrument I was lent.

MeTheCoolOne · 01/11/2019 09:26

I bet people lie about this all the time. They are loads that lie about bigger things so this would be nothing to some people.

ExpletiveDEVILighted · 01/11/2019 09:12

You can't reasonably expect people
to prove this. Some may have no contact with a parent, or parents may have died. What if your parent is halfway through an OU degree now. It's still good that they are targeting potential students who don't have university educated parents. Yes, some might lie, but most won't and those that do may get found out.

titchy · 01/11/2019 09:02

It's not perfect no. (Ethnicity is self declared too btw.) But the likelihood of someone gaining a university place on the back of attending a particular summer school because they lied about their first in family status is quite low, and asking applicants to prove their status would deter most genuine cases.

Benes · 01/11/2019 08:37

Well obviously people may lie but there are often other factors being taken into account too.
If a programme is oversubscribed then strict entry requirements will have to be introduced.

8by8 · 01/11/2019 08:34

Of course people will lie. Look what happened in the US with lying to get into college.
There are some very oversubscribed subject courses that look great on people’s ucas applications that now prioritise applications based on this kind of thing and it’s very easy to lie.

Loopytiles · 01/11/2019 08:30

Agree, people may well lie.

Original poster
whostolemypumpkin · 01/11/2019 08:30

Also, they're never specific on whether "going to university" includes universities that used to be colleges or polytechnics back in the day, so there is room for constructive ambiguity.

OP posts:
Original poster
whostolemypumpkin · 01/11/2019 08:24

Can't see why anyone would lie really

Depends on the nature of the opportunity - if it's just generic "demystify university" stuff then I'd agree, but I've seen some very oversubscribed subject-specific summer schools, which used to be "first come first served", moving in this direction.

OP posts:
RedskyToNight · 01/11/2019 07:50

Job applications are also based a lot on trust. Depends how much front people have.

In terms proving you didn't go to university, we could produce a full work history for DH from the time he was 18 which shows he certainly couldn't have done full time university ... of course he could still have gone part time or by distance learning.

Outreach targeted at potential students whose parents didn't go to university surely is designed to put "university" into the mind of someone who may have thought it was not for them or whose parents may have been against it? If your parents have been to university this will tend not to be the case. Can't see why anyone would lie really.

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