support thread for those of us who have DC submitting UCAS applications in the next few months

[mumoverseas]

Thought we should all get together and calm each other down/mop fevered brows/hand around glasses of wine etc. We've seen other go through it over the past few months and it will be our turn soon.

DS has just got his AS results which were not too bad. AAAB. The B suprised him as it was for maths and we'd expected a B for french which he had not studied for a few years as sat his GCSE early. He says he will re-sit one of the maths modules and one of French ones to get a higher A

He (we!) has been considering various Unis over recent months and has visited 4.
PS is all in hand as is extended project (whatever all that is about) but time is creeping by and not long now til his mid Oct deadline (one of his choices is Oxbridge)

There has been so much in the papers over recent days about the lack of places at University at the moment and stories of how so many good students did not get places as they didn't put 'insurance' choices.

How is everyone else coping and how do we get our children to make realistic choices?

For those thinking about Durham, they have in the past not made offers to those being considered for Oxbridge. In my case they rejected me, becasue my Cambridge grades were lower than theirs. This may explain the delay.

For those applying to Durham. The academic department accepts the application first and then it goes to the college which can take ages to accept. But once the dept has accepted you are in - a college has to take you (not like oxbridge). Your letter from Durham confirming receipt of application should have given you a passwork into their own tracking system. On this you can see when your application moves to a college which affectively means you have been accepted.

DS1 got moved to college around february. They do very little before the January deadline.

Passwork???? password. And that stuff about not giving offers to those applying for oxbridge is bo**ks.

Can anyone explain how 'UCAS points' offers work?

DD2 has got her second insurance choice - History & Politics at Keele. Their conditions are 300 UCAS points and BC at A-level.

Do AS levels (that you drop after yr 12) count towards the UCAS points, or is it just the A levels?

DD2 has 2 B's for the AS level subjects she took - so is that 100 points towards her total already?

Hopefully this question will be academic as she will get offers from the universities she really wants to go to (UEA, Leicester or Lancaster).

MOS we had a similar panic on our insurance upping the offer - but we knew just a few days before we put the application in. We had been to the open day, read the prospectus and thought we were up to date with the requirements but a friend went to a September open day (we went in June) and reported back. Didnt help that their own website said two different things - one on the department pages and one on the mian admissions chart.

I think its happended alot this year - grades creeping up....

And re Durham, they have no wqay of knowing if you're applying to Oxbridge or not, so can't base any decisions on that....

seimum, if they have AS levels they have cashed in - ie are not continuing with - those count towards the points total. If DD2 has dropped the 2 subjects with Bs then yes, that's 100 points in the bag (well done her!)

I am feeling very nervous as I think I have to have a run-in with the school tomorrow!

DD's school told them all they had to have their applications in to UCAS by midnight on 25 October, otherwise the school would not guarantee to process them by Xmas. She managed it at about 11.50 pm and UCAS took the payment, but almost a month later the school have not done their bit yet (adding the reference etc) Bit annoyed about this to start off with.

She got ABCC for her ASs. She dropped one of the 'C' subjects and she has been predicted ABB at A2.

She has applied for some reasonbly high ranked unis, and her heart is set on Sussex, so she needs the best predictions possible.
Its English that is the cause of concern. Last year she was told she should get an A, no problem. Her coursework was given an A, but she ended up with a B in the end, as apparently the exam board moderated the school and downgraded a lot of students' work.

A couple of weeks ago the English teacher told her that, whilst normally they only predict the same as your AS grade, in her case they would predict her an 'A' as she had a good chance of getting it, they felt the exam board had been unfair, and it would help her with her application.

A few days ago was parents' evening and the English teacher said 'unfortunately I have looked into this and I am not allowed to predict a higher grade'. Was a bit gobsmacked and said was this dept rules, school rules or what? 'I think its UCAS rules' says the teacher.

Thing is I have now looked on Student Room, etc, and know this to be total bollocks! I understand it is quite common to predict a grade higher if the student stands a reasonable chance of getting it.

I am very suspicious of their reasons for this, TBH. I think its that if they predict a lower grade and the student exceeds it, then the dept or the school look better, statistically. I remember when she was predicted her GCSE grades, very strangely she was predicted Bs when she had consistently worked at 'A' standard throughout the course. She ended up with A and A* which is what we expected.

So she is predicted ABB instead of AAB. Not much difference, you would think, but
this year there is going to be a lot of competition for places isn't there? and TBH I think it is pretty despicable to mess up the application of a good quiet student who gives them no trouble, just to make their department look good.

Any sixth form teachers know about this? And how to approach the school?

This year at DD2's school they were very reluctant to predict above what the student got for their AS results - this seems to be a general policy to ensure realistic university choices and that they actually get the grades predicted. I'm a bit about it being UCAS rules.

DD2 did manage to get her Chemistry teacher to give her an A prediction even though she actually got a C at AS - she had glandular fever last year and various other factors that affected her grade. She is resitting one of the AS papers in Jan that counts for 50% of the AS so she should be able to get herself back to where she should be. She had been predicted a B and a short chat with the chemistry teacher was enough to get it put up to an A. We had a strategy worked out if the teacher had said "No" to the A, her form teacher would have got involved next and then I would have stepped in.

How will your DD manage to up her grade to an A? Was she many marks away from the next grade? Is she resitting a paper or does she have to rely on just doing better this year?

I would consider these things and go back to the school again.

DD1 has been predicted an A* for a subject she "only" got an A for last year, as she was ill, and is resitting some modules, School were happy to predict her whatever she needed to match the university offers (presumably within reason), so it's definately not a UCAS ruling.

Thanks webwiz and ShrinkingViolet.

She is not doing any resitting for English, although she is for another subject where she unexpectedly got C last year and they are now predicting B.

She will just have to do better this year - they are doing the final exam in January, so they have a chance for a retake in June if they mess up the exam - and after Jan they'll be concentrating on the coursework.

Maybe my best bet is to say that we've looked at the uni website again and realised she needs slightly higher predicted grades, and could they do us a favour? Rather than going in all guns blazing ....

good luck to you all. Mos - if you need me to go and find your silent ds, i can send dd after him at school :) I am in OZ this week but let me know if you need me to do any 'chasing' next week :)

Thanks all for your comments and thanks MABS for your kind offer. Am very of you being down under. How is E doing? x

Re Durham not knowing if you've applied to oxbridge, presumably if you've applied before 15th October its a giveaway?

NadiaWadia: it is NOT UCAS' 'rules' re. the grade predictions, it is down to the school.

It sounds as though the teacher has got her wires crossed slightly. I would speak with the school and see if they will predict her an A, as it sounds as though she is perfectly capable of it (they may say otherwise but at least you will know then), and explain your reasons for requesting it.

The school has to add an academic reference and predicted grades once she has completed her part of the application. This is quite a lengthy process (getting subject reports from different teachers etc) which is why there is a delay from your daughter completing her form to it actually being sent to UCAS.

But you need to speak to the school ASAP to sort out the predicted English grade,before they send the application to UCAS!

MOS re Durham and 15th Oct... the reason I said that Durham would not know is that for alot of schools like my daughter's where so many are applying to Oxbrige or for medicine (so 15th Oct applies) the school rule was for ALL applicaitons to be in by that date - It hink its quite common for private schools to set themselves this guideline.

So for the half of girls not applying to Oxbridge, but who are appyling for Durham, their UCAS forms would have been in at the same time...

Last year when we went up to see Durham the admissions tutor who gave the talk said it was rubbish about oxbridge candidates being rejected. He said they would not risk turning down extremely bright motivated students simply because they might be applying for Oxford/Cambridge. After all they won't all get offers and then Durham would lose out.

Re Oxbridge/Durham (and other unis that get a lot of applications from Oxbridge candidates): it's not that they will turn you down because you're applying to Oxbridge. But they may delay looking at the application until the Oxbridge outcome is known, on the assumption that if you get in to Oxbridge it will be your first choice. As someone said higher up the thread, Durham offers are unlikely to be much use as insurance in case Oxbridge doesn't work out. so there would be little point in Durham making an offer to a student holding one from Oxbridge.

Interesting ref 15th October deadline. At DS's school quite a few of the DC were advised not to apply until after the 15th. Ho hum, all done now, all we can do is wait. And pray

I have read on a TSR thread about one course at Bristol where the Uni will contact students and ask that if they were to make an offer would it be favourably received, ie, if you've got a place at Oxbridge let us know and we wont waste an offer on you.

I guess it's there way of making sure that the offers go to those who are likely to accept them.

JGBMum - wow, that's scary about Bristol! I had no idea they were allowed to do that! They certainly didnt with my DS (who is at Bristol and didnt get an Oxford offer - if fact, I think he may have had his Bristol offer before the Oxford rejection...)

So hope they dont do this to DD, who has both on her list, as I can see her being totally flustered....

And campergirls re Durham - they will never know if you've had an Oxbridge offer so no way will they be delaying offers until after Oxbridge offers - I'm afraid I dont see the sense in your assumption, unless I missed your point. Unless you're thinking that a candidate will go 'firm' before all the offers are in?...

Hello Everyone. I've been reading this and remembering DD going through this 3 years ago :)

I can confirm that DD's Durham offer came through after the final UCAS deadline had passed. Apparently all Unis have to hold some places until deadline to give all applicants whose application is on time a chance. She applied to Oxbridge so it was a very long wait.

Also, we had the ridiculous high offer from Bath (same as Durham and only below Cambridge), and a fab EE offer from SOuthampton.

She now helps out with those attending interviews at Cambridge :)

Good luck to you all.

Oops - make that 2 years ago - she is in her 2nd year now.

yay! DS has received his 'insurance' offer from Cardiff. AAB although has to have an A in french. 3 down 2 to go

milliways thanks for that news about Durham. Hopefully he (ok, me!) can stop worrying now

even more yay! have just re-read (it was early) and the offer isn't AAB it is ABB which is fab news as even more of a safely net than I thought. As he is doing 4 A levels and is predicted A*AAA he should be home and dry as long as he works hard at french (not one of his strongest subjects initially as he did the GCSE when he was 13 so a little rusty) Just realised it is a RG Uni too. So very relieved here

MOS - brilliant news, congratulations!

That's a fantastic offer, DS must be very pleased

relieved is I think the word you are looking for

How are things with you?
Think I might try to go into a medically induced coma for a week (or two) in August when results are due