Top Unis - am I missing something?

[OnTheRoll]

DD is in Year 13, predicted 3 A, already has an A from a language A Level she did last year, and 11 GCSEs all 8/9. Got a great work experience in her chosen field, lots of academic reading, etc., etc. Has been working very hard and aiming for a top uni.

The problem is, it seems that unless she gets into Oxbridge, there isn't a suitable option for her?

We are in SE so decided not to go for Durham/Edinburg as the travel is just too much, 5+ hours, and she would not be able to come home more than once a term. She would very much prefer a campus experience rather than a city uni which rules out LSE/UCL in London.

There are of course great options like Warwick, Bristol, Bath, Exeter. We visited and DD loved them and so did I.

But I cannot help thinking that if she were to go to one of those unis she didn't really need to spend that much time working, studying and sacrificing her free time. Does it make sense? Entry requirements in those unis in her subject are all quite lower than her current and predicted grades.

Would appreciate some perspective.

Controversial opinion but I've found that a significant proportion of people who go to Oxbridge don't end up being very successful or focused career-wise...

A few I know have been super high flyers and got to the top of their field. But I'd say at least half have finished their degree and been at a complete loss as to what to do next and that's lasted decades... going from job to job they don't enjoy, or just doing masters after masters and never wanting to stop being a student.

Ultimately being completely focused on academic success, studying, writing essays, revising etc. doesn't necessarily prepare you for the real world or a career. At Oxbridge you can't even get a part-time job or anything for a start!

Whereas a lot of people who went to good but not the best Unis and spent time developing themselves in lots different ways (societies, work experience, part-time jobs) have done much better career-wise.

Just FYI, there's an H at the end of Edinburgh

Agree that LSE is mandatory consideration if she’s serious about politics.

You are correct, with the A stars and and an A it's only Oxbridge you'd need those for. I don't know enough about Durham's grade requirements.

We're in the SE and my son has ruled Durham out because of travel time and expense and I agree with his choice. Sometimes DC stay in uni towns and I don't want to encourage living in a town so many miles away!

But yes it's then a big drop down to the grade requirements for the other top unis.

So as you say, she doesn't need to break her back to get those grades, unless she wants a chance to get into Oxbridge.

I don’t think that’s controversial @Fluffyiguana. I’ve seen lots of similar examples of that.

PP mentioned equality and diversity in recruitment meaning that the university of her degree is not taken into account. Certainly in Civil Service institutions are meant to be hidden. Fast Stream intake is rigorous assessment centre with range of exercises. The Cambridge degree won't make much odds if performance doesn't match it.

So your DD wants a campus uni; not too far from home; full of 4 A star students; but not Ox or Cam.
A quick google shows this...
Top campus universities in the UK
The top ten campus universities in the UK according to our 2024 university rankings are:

1. Loughborough University
2. University of Bath
3. University of Warwick
4. Lancaster University
5. University of Southampton
6. University of Birmingham
7. University of Leeds
8. University of Surrey
9. University of Exeter
10. University of York

Or she could compromise on travel/campus/grades?

Best for Politics list here -
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/politics

I'm not really sure what the problem is. You look at all the unis on offer and pick the one you like the most.

I'd be more worried about pure Politics being seen as a soft option and what she plans on doing with it afterwards.

'Prestige' is absolutely no guarantee of good teaching.

We live on a fast mainline in the south east and it takes DS about 5 hours to get to Durham. He does find it a bit small and remote. All his school friends went to Bath/Bristol/Warwick etc. and I know he misses them. Not being able to join them on their southern university tours is probably good for his bank balance and academic achievements though.

Her grades will not be exceptional at any of the universities mentioned.

Well I really hope she gets them, truly, because you seem to have attached a lot of her worth to them.

Very odd to moan that your own red lines rule out most universities in the country.

Do not go for Loughborough?!? Or Lancaster. Argh this thread is full of bad advice.

Whilst I understand your point - I also don't get it. Why would your daughter not achieve the best results she can regardless of where she is going?

Whenever I need to achieve something, I want to smash it, not just make it if that makes sense

Your other comments don’t suggest so to be fair. All the universities she is looking at will put her in a good position for jobs but the degree alone doesn’t get the job.
dpes she know what she wants to do?

You are correct, with the A stars and and an A it's only Oxbridge you'd need those for. I don't know enough about Durham's grade requirements.

Depends on the subject of course, usually it's more for STEM. Oxford offers are often lower than quite a few other unis (A star AAA for stem, 3As for other subjects I think?) , Cambridge can be higher - they do make offers above the 'typical' grades on their website esp for STEM. But even there, there are very few 4A star offers.

However whether you're likely to get an offer if you've not got high predictions is another matter, and the actual achieved tariffs are available.

There are only a limited number of places at Oxbridge.

There are plenty of people intelligent and hardworking enough — all with 3 or 4 predicted A* at A level — to go to Oxbridge. But there are not enough places to accommodate them all and, anyway, they would not suit everyone.

So it’s really important to approach university admissions with the acknowledgment that your daughter is not that special. She may or may not get into Oxbridge but don’t look down on other universities because she may end up going to one.

Distance from home is one factor that should go into your daughter’s choice of universities to apply to, but it’s not the only one.

I don’t understand why she’s limiting herself geographically. If she’s making most of uni she probably won’t want to come home frequently. Most of my dc’s flat haven’t been home and won’t until Christmas.

Just read your original post and I think that to get into Oxbridge they expect all 9s in the GCSEs. Not a mix of 8 and 9s. Happy to stand corrected

@OnTheRoll You said that you are leaving your daughter to make up her own mind, but If I were you, I would be doing all I could to point out all the pros and cons of her choices.

You will be letting her down, imo, if you don't seriously reassure her that it isn't the end of the world if she doesn't get into Oxford or Cambridge. I would also be pointing out to her that It's great that she has worked so hard to get the grades to give her the best chance of getting into the Uni of her choice.

But as others have said, if she worked so hard that she made sacrifices in her personal life, it may mean that getting into highly competitive Uni will only see her struggle far more, as there will be plenty others who get her predicted grades too, even higher grades than her, who haven't had to work as hard a8s your daughter has in order to get those grades. If she is shy and unconfident as you say, it may put too much pressure on her all round to be keeping up with other students.

Yes, she is clearly clever, but she is far from being unique in the academic world

Please at least get her to look at ALL the pros and cons of the different options. I am concerned that you are the one who put the idea of acceptable unis into her head, over the years. I may be wrong, but that's how you are coming across in your posts. She needs to change her mindset - possibly you do too, to be able to advise her properly ?

Hope it all works out and your daughter is happy wherever she ends up

DD has an offer from one of the universities you have mentioned, A star A. On the open day, we were told most students had 3 A stars. Just because a course has certain requirement doesn't mean that's what all the students will have. Grade requirements seem to have reduced but the quality of the students will be the same. Having done the University thing more than once, I would recommend visiting ones you are interested in. Both children disliked ones they had thought were a good fit, one Durham, one KCL.

You are completely wrong.

a) pretty sure they don’t distinguish between 8s and 9s.
b) it’s ok to have some lower grades particularly in the subjects not aligned with the course applied for
c) there’s no such place as ‘Oxbridge’. Oxford makes more use of GCSEs than Cambridge but it’s contextualised.

I just pulled that list from a quick google.
Why not Lough or Lancs though?

Why not Lancaster or Loughborough?

Why not Lancaster or Loughborough?

Misplaced snobbery?

You can’t go wrong with a Russell Group university.

League tables are very subjective and change year on year. You’re overthinking this.

Many people who apply to Oxbridge are predicted A’s and A stars
Many don’t get a place and go to other universities where they excel.
You are really setting up your dd for disappointment if you think that she deserves a place because of her top GCSE grades and predicted A level grades .She will be one of many with those grades.
My niece received all 9’s was predicted 4 A stars and didn’t even get an interview for Cambridge