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.

She could study a subject of her choice in the country where the a star a-level language is spoken. That would be a challenge.

Great post @Askingforafriendtoday

It is difficult to interpret it any other way. May be she will get an Oxbridge place. Maybe she won't. Wherever she goes will offer accredited tertiary education courses with lecturers more than qualified to teach an 19 year old with a clutch of top school grades. If she continues working hard then maybe she will get a first class degree. She will then enter the world of work, where the particular university and class of degree offers a very small initial advantage, but is quickly superseded by performance in the work place as a measure of acumen.

Thank you for your post and the link.

DD got an offer from Bristol today :)

She is now seriously considering Edinburgh as her second ambitions choice (they want Astar AA) and we are planning a trip in the next few weeks. Maybe we'll wait for the Christmas markets to open to make the most of it!

Edinburgh is a stonkingly good university

Edinburgh is a fantastic city to be a student. Enjoy your visit!

Edin ….4 yrs …

The four year thing can work brilliantly as years abroad at some excellent universities all over the world are taken by many students in the third year. And congrats on the Bristol offer, OP.

And booking on to their Open Days is well worth it. Time-consuming but a fun thing to do together.

My daughter chose Warwick over Cambridge and loved it. You and your daughter liked it and it's a campus university. The course was excellent. What's your problem? You seem to think that these universities aren't good enough for your dd.

What subject?

I went to a non selective comp and then Oxford, think this is actually a pretty fair summary, though I railed at your initial post. Though actually I found not being exceptional something of a relief tbh, found my crowd for life and really grew into myself. I also lost some of the chips on my shoulder realising that the posh people has their own angst and struggles and we are all just people the end of the day. I loved Oxford, and ended up with a first. I may well have ended up in the same place with a 2:1 from another uni, but that isn't really the point. I really enjoyed and thrived on the intellectual stimulation and that's stayed with me. I would recommend it, personally.

I also agree the travel thing is not silly. I chose Oxford over Cambridge because Cambridge to home involved going via London and cost over £100 even then. In the end I didn't end up going home in term time as it was only 8 weeks, but I did travel regularly to see my now dh in his uni town. Similarly I ruled out London on cost of living grounds. These things aren't ridiculous to have as criteria, even though they limit your options, and maybe aren't such big considerations if you have access to unlimited parental funds.

I'm certain this is true. Private schools especially tend to spoon feed to get their students top grades. That's not necessarily the best foundation for further education. It also means that three A*s from a comprehensive are harder won and, rightly, Oxbridge and other unis seem to recognise this increasingly.

Yes, I know someone who did this for medicine. Very happy with her choice.

@YellowAsteroid 2 years ago. Agreed there are some fantastic scholars at Lancaster. There are also some bad ones.
@user8754387 I do have an issue, you are right. I want to shout from the rooftops to warn people about what is going on in that department currently but am bound by confidentiality.

I think this is a great idea. Edinburgh is a fab place, excellent uni and lovely place to live. The distance is totally manageable and TBH once you’re going 2 hours away, 4 hours doesn’t really make that much difference.

Plus even a 4 yr course will pass in the blink of an eye and do remind her that university holidays are RIDICULOUSLY long! I think most still finish in May and don’t go back until mid September at least, with long breaks for Easter/ Christmas.

Well as a ex student you’re not really bound by confidentiality so I’m temped to feel more than a little sceptical.

@OnTheRoll Remember she doesn’t need to fill out 5 choices if she doesn’t want to. If she’s happy with Cambridge, Warwick and Bristol, that’s enough. If she had a disaster with her grades, it sounds like she would want to retake rather than go to somewhere ‘lesser’. Only spend time, money, emotion and energy going through other options if the other three aren’t cutting it. Or you combine it with a lovely trip, like to Edinburgh.

You can’t possibly generalise over a whole sector which encompasses the most to least academic schools and special needs.

Nor am I really sure what spoon-feeding means in this context. You can’t spoon feed a student to top grades if they don’t have ability.

Students who are merely well-drilled but can’t think for themselves are not likely to secure a place at Oxbridge - as that is one of the things the selection processes are designed to weed out. There are plenty of straight A students, (now A*). Oxbridge want the ones with a passion for their subject beyond the curriculum, originality, and the ability to think critically and independently.

For my son's course the grade requirements for Oxford, Warwick and York were the same (mixture of comp sci at Oxford and comp sci with electronic engineering called by different names at Warwick and York).

You are restricting your choice - be more flexible, and different opportunities are available.
You are also over thinking the 'name' of a Uni being the important defining factor rather than the multitude of things like your child's happiness and wellbeing, the fact that many universities have great teaching and learning, and that the good exam grades will stand on their own as a record of her achievement.

My experience (of sons attending a college, a 'top' uni and a 'ex polytechnic' uni is that the top uni rested on its laurels, was over priced and unsupportive, and the 'cheap' college and used to be a poly Uni offered a better education and support.

And lastly, I have a brother in law who is a global head of engineering for a huge multinational company whose products you all use daily - and he went to Tyneside Polytechnic with suite of B grades. The early academic side of things is only half of what makes a successful career.

Did you go to Oxford or Cambridge OP? You seem to have a very odd perspective to me …. Reads to me as though you fear that other unis will drag your daughter down in some way. Well done to her for her excellent grade predictions. Aren’t they worth anything unless you feel able to carry some kind of sense of superiority about where she is studying? Which in my view and experience would be massively misplaced. Your posts do read as though you think most universities aren’t good enough for her. I hope she hasn’t picked up this view, it won’t support her in the medium to long term.

Surely the red brick unis you have dismissed will be fantastic. Oxbridge isn't for everyone. You will definitely need a plan B if Oxbridge not a reality. My dd didn't get into Oxbridge. Went to Birmingham. Loved it. Its her choice at end of day. You can help and support but not be disappointed with outcome.