Sorry I haven't been back. You wouldn't believe the weekend I've had. Basically everyone in the family came down with food poisoning then my bedroom ceiling collapsed, then my mum was rushed to hospital. I've had zero time to get back here!
So, here are some short responses!!
btw I just advised a student to remove all her stuff about eating disorders and anxiety from her personal statement and now feel I was wrong. Is there another place it should go? It just felt a bit wrong there.
I’m in two minds. OTOH, if the student just mentioned it in a sense of over-coming adversity etc, that’s okay but a PS full of stories of personal struggles can be a bit odd and sometimes irrelevant.
Are you really suggesting he shouldn't bother? I don't see what other avenues there are for students like him...
I think students should do feels right at that time in their lives. However, I’m not sure 17/18 is the right age to be making decisions about future careers and getting into huge amounts of debt. My issue is that “university” is sold as a dream for working class kids without any acknowledgement that there is a very hierarchical system in which students going to lower ranked universities have poorer employment opportunities. It’s often billed as a way for working class kids to educate themselves “up” but this isn’t remotely guaranteed.
I am thinking about doing a secondary PGCE next year, my local university is low on the league tables. Does it matter so much at PGCE level?
I don’t think so, no. However, I’m not involved with PGT/PGCE admissions.
Do you think this applies to Masters applications aswell?
To some extent, yes. Ultimately, higher ranked universities attract “better” (take issue with this but that’s another thread!!) staff, are better resourced, are doing more research, making more impact. Getting a Masters (or degree) from these places looks better.
Finally do employers care where your masters was from?
Hmmm, less so than UG I think though if you can say you have a BA and MA from prestigious universities, that does look great.
As an admissions tutor do you try to prevent privately educated applicants from getting places?
No, not at all.
So are my children going to be disadvantaged for being at a private school ?
No contextual offers are just trying to level the playing field in favour of those who didn’t attend fee-paying schools.
Do you think universities should be a bit more transparent and open about what makes a successful application and what is important?
Yes. We do try and be as transparent as possible but we can’t share successful applications with applicants. We also can’t say for sure what a successful application looks like because this changes across departments and even from year-to-year. For example, if there’s a huge dip in application numbers then a student who didn’t stand a chance a year ago might well be offered a place this year.
Do you think in the next 5+ years when the number of UK 18 year olds has increased a bit again, it will be more competitive to get a place/offer?
No, I think more kids will choose not to go to university. I hope so anyway!
How much are you likely to "discount" an offer for a near miss applicant when you get their A-levels?
It depends on how many offer holders have taken up their place, so how many places are left to fill. If there are a lot of places left to fill, we might “discount” by as much as three grades. However, some of the more competitive departments wouldn’t take “near misses” in the first place and if they did would only discount by one grade.
And finally, does it annoy you when people say the University of Bath is RG?
No! Bath’s a good university.
Are these degrees any good or are the Dutch degrees taught in English just cash cows?
I don’t know enough about it, sorry. However, I am a bit suspicious of these types of degrees!
What do you think about the Oxbridge admission process and specifically whether interviewing students is fair? My own dd gained a place this way.
Interviewing students is massively unfair and privileges students from higher socio-economic backgrounds and fee-paying schools. All kids will be nervous on the day and may do terribly- it’s not indication of how good a student they’d be. From a staff perspective, it’s a huge investment of time as well!
Following on from the Home Ed question, a lot of home ed kids do their GCSEs or equivalent over 2 or 3 years, and do maybe 5 or 6. Assuming they go on to 6th form college and do A-levels the traditional way, does this put them at a disadvantage in applying for university?
Generally, no. We don’t look at GCSEs providing the student has C or above in English.
My daughter spent the majority of her teenage years on a national programme training long hours trying to make the Olympics. Her A level grades suffered immensely. At 22 how would you advise the best route to get into a reputable university? She's been advised Access could be an option but how would that be looked upon against students who have the appropriate grades?
Foundation courses at universities are great in scenarios like this. Our foundation-route students are, generally, brilliant!!
How would I find out if my DSs school was a school with contextual factors applied?
Some universities have it on their website (Bristol does). Otherwise, I’d be tempted to just ring the university and ask!