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?

DD1 is putting in lots of hours revising/doing past papers. We were away last week in a holida cottage without internet access and she managed 31 hours of mostly Maths, which is quite an achievement! However, she's off at the boyfriends today, so i'm not sure how much revision will actually get done.....

Two exams down (Decision Maths and Statistics), all the rest still to go (FP2, FP3, C3 resit, a Physics module, and two STEP papers), as well as a driving test and a sports competition before 28th June. Nothing like piling the pressure on.

DD2 is doing her history paper this afternoon. Two Govt & politics papers & economics next week & the final econ paper on the 23rd.

She has been revising pretty steadily though, so fingers crossed!

DD2 has gone round to a friends house for a group maths and chemistry revision session. She assumed they would get nothing done so has already done today's planned work before she left. She's a bit erratic with the amount of revision she does though , its either all day and evening working or virtually nothing!

She has only done last weeks Decision Maths and so has FP3, M3, S2 resit, C4, a chemistry module and a STEP paper over the next fortnight. She seems ok about it all and the past papers seem to be going well so lets hope the real thing matches.

good to see some of us are still here
webwhiz did your DD do THAT maths exam?

Any suggestions on what to get DS for his 18th birthday?

yes it was THAT maths exam mumoverseas unfortunately. Had a very stressful weekend here with DD2 freaking out over this weeks further maths and chemistry exams. She's in the further maths one now after being dropped off with a worried pale face.

DD2 was 18 last week I got her a really nice jewellery box as a keepsake because I knew she was getting some jewellery from other people and we gave her some money to go with it. Not sure if that's relevant to your DS though!

webwhiz fingers crossed for your poor DD. Its just not fair is it, they work so bloody hard and those numpties who set the exams which we keep hearing are getting easier can't even check the papers! DS was really thrown by it but hopefully it has't affected his confidence in other areas.

You are right, not sure a jewellery box will go down too well with DS
Am thinking I might get him a kindle as am loving mine. Boys are so difficult. DD was 15 last week and she was easy to buy for

A kindle sounds like a great idea MOS (I wouldn't mind one!)

DD2's FP3 exam this morning was "horrible" apparently. She'll just have to hope M3 and S2 next week compensate and bring her grade to what she needs. The general consensus in the student room is that it was the hardest FP3 paper ever so fingers crossed for low grade boundaries.

This is just all so stressful I can't wait for it to be over with.

Can I ask a quick question, ds is taking both Maths and FM, but apart from C3 & 4 all his papers are 1 & 2, eg, FP1, S2, etc.

I imagine these are generally a bit easier than the level 3 papers, so do the students taking higher "level" papers get a different or better qualification?

There is a choice between FP2 or FP3 to make up the further maths A level and they are both at a similar level. Apparently FP2 has more topics than FP3 but they go into less detail so its swings and roundabouts in workload. It depends on the teachers choices - DD2 will be doing M3 next week and she finds it easier than M2 so while there is a difference between "1" papers (AS) and "2" papers (A2) the numbers higher than that just mean more of that topic at A2 level.

Did anyone else's DC take C4 this morning?
DS thought it was "challenging", and has retired to his room with laptop to FB, MSN, COD etc revise for Thursday's FP2.

DD2 is doing Maths with OCR so her Core 4 was last thursday. All the A2 papers have seem to have been particularly difficult this year compared to past years.

DD2 had Mechanics 3 today which was hard but ok so she just has a Stats 2 resit on Wednesday and STEP on friday. She finally started her Stats revision this afternoon

DD1 is on a bit of a roll - she qualified for the next level up at her sports comp on Sunday (which she's been trying to do for about 18 months), and passed her driving test this morning . We're ignoring yesterday's STEP 2 paper which didn't go so well though . FP2, FP3 and STEP 1 to go this week, Physics 5 on Monday.

hello all, Ishallwearmidnight well done your DD on her driving test and sports stuff. I don't think DS will EVER take his driving test. He had a few lessons last summer as soon as he turned 17 and nothing since although in his defence, it has been a bit difficult with him being at boarding school. I'm hoping once he is back home for the summer he will get on with it and get that under his belt.

A feeling of relief at the moment (him and me) he has only one exam left, Economics, and feels quite confident about it. He needs AAA and feels he has done enough for AA in two subjects already and hopefully will get one in Economics too. God only nows what he will get for maths but as long as AAA for the other 3 it doesn't really matter

All a bit mad here, after 5 1/2 years of living in a sandpit I'm finally returning ot the UK in 10 days. Can't bloody wait, I want a normal life. A bit stressed about packing over 5 years of my life into a few boxes and suitcases though

Good luck to all the DC with the rest of the exams

MOS wow what a huge change for you.

Hope the move goes smoothly.

Well done to your DD on her driving test and sports stuff Ishallwearmidnight - she was brave taking on extra things the middle of exams! DD2 has STEP 1 as her last exam on friday and then her prom that evening. I think they assumed that exams would be finished when they booked it but some people still have Physics on monday.

Good luck with the move Mumoverseas and hope that the final economics exam is ok.

So my DD finished this morning! Is it right that I feel as giddy and relieved as she does!
Touch wood, it all seemed ok but now the long wait til August....

yay! DS finished his exams yesterday and thinks the last one went ok, he is quite hopeful that he has done well enough in his exams to get the AAA he needs even if the maths exam did go tits up! Thank god he didn't drop that 4th A level

thekidsmom it is right you should feel like that. Even though they are adults/almost adults, they are still our babies Like you say, a long wait until August 18th but I think by now they do have a very good idea at how they think they've done.

DS now just has to decide whether he checks with the school online at 7am (and I think you can find out from UCAS whether you've got your place but not necessarily what grades you got) or whether to phone the school at 7.30am or to turn up at 9am. He originally wanted to go down at 9am for the suprise/shock but is now wondering just in case he didn't get the grades whether he should find out as early as possible so he can get on the phone to Exeter switchboard when it opens! Decisions decisions.

Is everyone else going in person to collect results? Am going to put DC3 and 4 in nursery that day (hopefully!) so I can give DS1 my undivided attention and take him for lunch/pub/whatever is required.

Our plan is to log onto UCAS early - I think its online from 7am or it may be 8am?

If its all good (DD's only offers are all AAA!) then we'll wander up to school for the 10am handout.

If its not good we have a plan to phone the first and seocnd choice unis from 8am til they pick up....

But for our school, the going down and getting the results with your group is the thing to do - just about everyone takes their mum, and some dads too....then the mums go off and the girls walk down to the boys school to see how they did...

Have a good move, btw mos - don't pack the cat/dog/canary will you?!! See you back here when you're connected agian!

AAA is pretty scary isn't it? DS's offers were AAA apart from his insurance which was ABB but the A has to be in French so not really that much of an insurance. So will be be able to tell for definite from UCAS? Wish I understood a bit better how it all worked.

We went down for results last year and it was a nice atmosphere although it will be a lot more stressful this year.

cat, no one wants the cat so not sure what to do with it Have sold most things, the vultures have been swooping for a few weeks now wanting something for nothing

This time next week I'll be on final approach at LHR. Not that I'm excited but.........

All done here as well. We'll be doing the 7am UCAS checking and then the school at 10am option.

UCAS tracking changes to unconditional at some point after about 7am so you know where you have got. The unis get the A levels results a week(?) earlier than students so they can work out how many people have made their offer and what to do with the near misses.

We are waiting on an A*AA offer so no doubt by then DD2 will have convinced herself that she did terribly in everything. She comes out of the exams perfectly happy and then as time passes decides that she must have done worse than she thought, so an A after the exam has turned into an E by the evening before results. I'll be doing my best to ignore her.

Best of luck with the move MOS!

webwiz oh christ A*AA, that is scary! That is the problem with the long wait between the exams and results. You start doing post mortems and then doubting yourself. DS was very confident of A's yesterday so we will see how he feels when I get home next week.

DS had a (crazy!) idea about me checking online first thing in the morning, either his school portal or UCAS and finding out but not telling him and going to school at 9am. Oh yes, I can see me keeping a poker face for a few hours!

mumoverseas last year DD2 logged on early to UCAS and it said 'your place at your firm choice uni has been confirmed' so she should have known she was ok for 3A's. She decided she didn't trust UCAS so was slightly reassured but not completely until she had the results in her hand.

Same thing this year for DD3 who's also after AAA but I think if UCAS says you're in, you're in! (the UCAS notification was new to us, DD1 hadn't had it, just had to go to school). DD2 also got a congrats/ see you in October letter from the uni in that morning's post (after we'd left for school).

The uni's get the results several days ahead and as far as I know they've already decided pretty much who they're going to let in out of those who missed grades by the time those students phone up on results day.

Good luck with the move. I did a similar move years ago from a very beautiful sandpit. It's amazing what people will buy....

DD1 is planning to sit up till midnight to check the STEP website, then UCAS at 7am, then school at 10 am - she has listed out her contingency plans as well (if she doesn't get the STEP, but meets the non-STEP offer for Bath, then she'll be on the phone to them pleading, similarly if she gets an A* for FM, but not STEP, otherwise she'll happily go with her insurance).

And she's decided that the Student Room scares her too much (full of stealth boasting about "oh, i'll never meet my Cambridge offer of 17 A* and will have to settle for Warwick as I dropped two half marks in Stupidly Hard Maths exam") so I am delegated to weed through the posts to see if such and such a paper was especially hard, and what the grade boundaries might be .

yellowstone that is very useful, thank you. so presumably if he stuffs up and doesn't get the AAA it will say along the lines of, your second/insurance choice has been confirmed?

So which sandpit were you in? Clearly not the one I'm in if you describe it as beautiful

Ishallwearmidnight I briefly 'hung out' in the student room last year when DS applied to Oxford but found some of the students particularly arrogant and cocky

Last year dd didn't quite get the grades she needed to do Maths at Keele but her offer had been for an A in maths with a total of 300 UCAS points. She got the required number of points but not the A. We had confirmation of a firm place at her insurance uni and then spent most of the Thursday and Friday on the phone to either UCAS or Keele. By the way the music on the phone while waiting was awful!

We didn't have confirmation from UCAS until the Friday afternoon as Keele took until then to decide to offer her the place. I think they were waiting for their insurance offer students to confirm if they were going to accept the place - I know the press said quite a number decided not to go to insurance offer places.

Hope your children get what they want.