To think DD isn't bright enough for university?

[AlisonJD1975]

There's lots of university threads at the moment so figured I'd ask.

DD is getting her results this week (Maths AS Level and Psychology and Sociology A Level). She failed her AS Level Maths so they said she could retake it as she was doing okay in the other subjects. She is expected to get a U in the AS Level Maths and Cs in the A Level Psychology and Sociology.

She has a conditional offer for an extended bachelors degree so it's 4 years long and she needs to get 2 Ds for that.

I'm just a bit worried that she won't really cope and I actually just feel quite sad. In life I really just want her to be happy and in a good job.

I'm not a psychologist but used to work as administrator on a Master's course that took a lot of psychology graduates, many of them using that as a stepping stone on the way to the Holy Grail of a place on clinical psychology training. I saw lots of very bright, personable, insanely hard-working young people labouring away for years after graduating with a 2.1 or a 1st as Health Care Assistants, making dozens of applications for Assistant Psychology posts, trying year after year to get a place on a Clinical Psychology doctorate. Some of them eventually moved into Health Psychology or Counselling Psychology instead, but both of those also require postgraduate training.

Nothing wrong with setting your heart on a career that will be a long, hard road, but it's important to know the reality before you start. Work experience would help, and so would a root around the internet looking for forums where aspiring Clinical Psychologists are sharing their experiences.

And yes, making sure her degree is BPS accredited is really, really important, to keep her options open for later.

Having said all of that, she could probably use a Psychology degree to become a CBT therapist or similar and get work in a mental health setting that way. Or, as others have suggested, look at mental health nursing. Good MHNs are worth their weight in gold and would (or maybe I mean should ) have excellent career prospects. (We used to get MHNs on our course as well and they were great.)

Good luck for Thursday!

If DD gets the grades for the foundation course she'll be doing a course that really focuses on developing academic skills in her chosen subject and she'll need to do well to proceed anyway.
I completely agree about checking the course accreditation.
A levels don't always indicate future academic success and sometimes students just need a bit more time and a chance to focus on what they're really interested in. I teach Access students - some don't manage it but most go on to very good universities. They may not have the conventional A levels but they are definitely bright enough.

@AlisonJD1975 I probably should have mentioned the degree! It's Psychology and Counselling

I know someone who did that exact degree, at Greenwich. If that is the same place and course, then it is not an easy ride. My friend worked very hard on the course and said it is quite academic.

The got a 1st class degree out of it, but even so their career is now in an entirely unrelated field.

Think very carefully about the time, personal and financial implications of this course.

Sociology can be quite statistics heavy - or at least my sociology degree was. As well as having a heavy reading and essay load. So could a monkey do it? No.

I just managed to get 3 A'levels. I really struggled to get these and didn't think I was bright/able enough to go to Uni, nor did anyone else, except for one wonderful teacher in college who strongly encouraged me to apply and see what would happen. I did apply and got in. I came into my element at University and did really well. I went on to do a Masters and it was brilliant. A'levels are very rigid in terms of what needs to be learned and presented. With uni it's all about how hard you decide to work, but it's lot more about your interpretation of notions and ideas etc, which is a complete other ball game.

I was told that I was not bright enough through out my childhood. Had a complex about for ever.

OP, probably once your daughter starts Uni she will come into her own!

I was a mental health nurse for many years so personally wouldn't recommend this route however what about occupational therapy in the long run the hours are better pays better and they are better thought of imo.

If she's been offered a place then she meets the requirements for doing the course and the university think she's capable enough to complete it. She can change direction later if needs be, but it's healthy for her to be making her own choices without people introducing doubts which might reduce her confidence in her own ability to do make decisions.

How did your daughter do OP?

She should definitely go if she wants to. I did my undergrad then went on to do a masters, half way through my masters I found what I truly wanted to do with my life through my part time job I had in the city I moved to. I wouldn’t have found my passion if I hadn't have gone so I'm so pleased I did even if I didn't complete the course. You never know what might happen!

My A levels didn't go as planned (ended up with 2 C's and a D. However I ended up with a First Class Honours degree (in Business) and have never looked back.