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Original poster

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

815 replies

mumoverseas · 21/08/2010 14:53

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?

OP posts:

Original poster

mumoverseas · 11/09/2010 19:55

I'm sure you were far too good for Oxford webwhiz

We had a bit of a hint at DS's school last week about that possibility (of applying for Oxbridge and one other before 15th and then others after so hopefully Durham wouldn't knowhe'd applied for Oxbridge) Apparently a few students did this last year and I think that is what DS intends to do.

Watch this space. I imagine DS is getting quite stressed by it all now as he has his LNAT coming up soon and also his extended project to finish. I'm quite glad we've got a holiday booked for October half term as suspect we'll all need it.

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webwiz · 12/09/2010 12:22

MOS Good luck to your DS for the LNAT.

DD2 starts her school "community service" tomorrow - she's helping in a year 11 set 6 Maths class. I didn't even know they had that many sets! A bit more for the personal statement though if she survives.

JustGettingByMum · 13/09/2010 18:34

mos good luck to your DS, is there a set date that he takes the test?
webwiz how's your DD getting on helping the GCSE maths group?

webwiz · 13/09/2010 19:01

She said it was fine JGBMum one of her old maths teachers takes the class so she felt quite comfortable being in there.

ShrinkingViolet · 13/09/2010 19:14

DD1 is sending off her form a few days after the Oxbridge deadline, so that the places she's applied for will see she's actively choosing them. That plus she's on a course that week whcih she needs to put a sentence into her PS about.

Reasonably major stresses here as everywhere sems to be upping their standard offer for Maths, plus specifying module scores, so finding somewhere which is decent and realistic for an insurance place is a bit of a struggle . Otherwise she'll need to resit most of the Maths modules she's already done to bump them up to an A* just to be in with a chance.

webwiz · 13/09/2010 20:09

The standard offers for Maths seem to have gone a bit mad this year ShrinkingViolet I find them quite complicated as well with all the detailed specifications. I see that Imperial have ditched their old "an A in every module maths and further maths module with no resits" for AAA - that was kind of them!

DD2 has York and Nottingham as potential choices and they don't ask for specific module scores.

ShrinkingViolet · 13/09/2010 20:43

nor do Birmingham which she quite liked at Saturday's open day. York has been ruled out as the ducks "will ruin all my shoes" .

And Imperial with their 17 thousand A*s never got a look in as it "smelled like a doctor's surgery". I'm glad she's taking the choice of university seriously and maturely .

Original poster

mumoverseas · 14/09/2010 19:52

hello all. Think DS has bumped his LNAT which was due to be next week til after his UCAS application goes in to give him a little more time to concentrate on that. Think its around the 22nd October now which is much better.

A bit baffled by his grades. His predicted grades have now changed to AAA A/A* which is fab, but not if he is not going to get it! It clearly shows these grades on the parents section of school website we can access but also shows the grades for the vacation work and the ones on their so far are BC and a U! Apparently the teachers deliberately set really hard work for them and he was one of the highest scoring in a couple of them. The U scared me though but apparently his teacher has reassured him she thinks he will get an A. Seems a bit odd to me but surely the school aren't in the business of predicting stupidly high grades as it will make them look stupid?

So how many of us have got applications going in in the next month (and a day!)?
Nailbitting time. Am so glad now DS is getting it over and done with so we can enjoy our holiday which is end of Oct/beginning of November and not have all this stress then and over Christmas. No doubt we will then have other stesses though!

webwhiz community service sounds interesting and hopefully will look good on the PS.

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JustGettingByMum · 15/09/2010 10:25

MOS - Have you seen thread in chat from Riven??

Original poster

mumoverseas · 15/09/2010 14:50

No. What is that about?
Only just got on here today, sodding internet is rubbish out here.
in a panic as DS emailed DH earlier about whether to take a gap year or not and has about a week to decide! He had always assumed he'd had to (due to not being in the UK for 3 years prior to next Sept) but has just had it confirmed this is not the case. agghhhhhhh

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webwiz · 15/09/2010 16:14

MOS its a bit difficult to make those sort of decisions quickly!

DD2 was just checking her uni choices and found out that Bath have sneaked up their offer for 2011. Its A*AA now - oh well she'll just have to work hard if she wants to go there. We're keeping an eye on all her choices in case there is any more sneaking about, I actually heard myself saying that one of her universities was "only" asking for three A's . I'm glad its not me applying.

Original poster

mumoverseas · 15/09/2010 16:38

webwhiz you and me both (ref not us applying) We've really struggled to find an insurance choice for DS, the 'worst' grades we've found are AAB.

Just spoke to him on the phone and he really does want to go next year and not have a gap year. He'd only been focused on the gap year as he thought he had to have a gap year due to the 3 year rule. Frantic re-writting of the PS will be going on in the next few days I think as he'd put loads of stuff in about his plans during gap year!

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JustGettingByMum · 15/09/2010 21:00

MOS From Riven, thanking you (again, and again, and again)

Good news for your DS re gap year, but what a pain only finding out now. Hope he gets it sorted.

Signing off as I need to check that neither Bristol nor Southampton are "planning" any sneaky offer rises.

Original poster

mumoverseas · 15/09/2010 21:12

JGB its amazing the effect a box of dates has on some people

Suppose I'd better have another look at DS's choices, just in case. Oh happy days.

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mrswoodentop · 15/09/2010 22:11

Am a bit of a usurper on this thread just dropped in to get ahead of myself a bit as we won't be doing this until next year ,not sure I am looking forward to it either!

Webwiz,dh and I were both at Durham too!!

webwiz · 16/09/2010 09:21

If you are checking for standard offers for 2011 make sure you look at the university websites and not the UCAS site as it isn't always up to date. DD2 was quite upset about the Bath offer - I think she's lost a bit of confidence in her Maths ability along the way last year so most of yesterday evening turned into a bit of a therapy session. Its hard to get the balance between aiming high without them having a ridiculous amount of pressure. Anyway any decisions about which universities to choose (fingers crossed that there will be enough offers to make a choice) will be made after the results of Jan modules are out so we'll know if the mythical A* is achievable or not by then.

DS is a very neglected child at the moment but I think he prefers it that way!

Mrswoodentop what colleges? I was at Trevelyan and DH went Collingwood.

mrswoodentop · 16/09/2010 10:59

I was in Trevelyan 83 to 86 and dh in Hatfield same period.Interestingly ds is keen onDurham but I don't wAnt him to pick it just because we went,also think he would take the rejection harder .At the moment he 's determined to go to "somewhere old" but it's early days.He would like to try for Cambridge but not sure his GCSEs are good enough (4 a stars ,5 a's and a b).
One reason I wS looking on here was to see when people start looking at open days etc.I know at school they start doing stuff in March but AS levels are looming then so was just trying to get head around the timetable

webwiz · 16/09/2010 11:15

Mrswoodentop Well we overlapped I was there from 85 to 88! I have an old college photo and half the girls look like they are in Bananarama and the other half look like Lady Di at the time of her engagement

DD2 was determined to go "somewhere old" but now she's looking more for campus/nice city hence Bath,York,Exeter.

We did some informal uni visits in the Easter Holidays - we went to Durham and York and stayed in both, and then went to a few proper open days after AS levels.

snorkie · 16/09/2010 11:24

Quite a lot of open days in June/July after the AS exams MrsWoodentop, though it does seem like leaving it a bit late - I guess it depend how many you want to visit. Like you I'm lurking here in advance of next year - perhaps we need our own thread?

mrswoodentop · 16/09/2010 11:43

Yes we would have overlapped by a year,I read Economics and Politics,dh law.Agree about the bananaramma /lady di !!Not sure which I was by year 3 probably started off more lady di but hopefully had lost it by then.

You obviously got out of the blocks a bit quicker than us on the children front.
We went up to Durham last year ,ds thinking of philosophy or theology at the moment.We need to open his eyes to some of the other possibilities.
Good luck to your dd,she sounds like she deserves it.

lazymumofteenagesons · 16/09/2010 18:40

mrswoodentop, tell your son to look at the combined honours degrees that Durham do in either arts or social sciences. If he wants to mix and match it is quite a flexible degree, but is highly competitive to get on to. You can combine subjects like philosophy and theology with some politics, economics or psychology etc. There is loads to choose from and I think you are allowed to do 4 or 5 in the first year.

mrswoodentop · 16/09/2010 19:29

Thanks ,yes i did combined honours politics and economics also did some philosophy and history and law ,is that not possible at all universities then?

MABS · 18/09/2010 11:51

MOS - ds out of hospital now, so if you need me to chase any teachers at the school just say. He now has 6 week recovery so i will have time on my hands :)

Original poster

mumoverseas · 18/09/2010 13:15

Hi MABS, so glad to read that E is out of hospital, hope he recovers very soon.
School have been fab, I'm ablet to read all his updates/predicted grades etc on the school portal. Thank god/allah for modern technology, I don't feel quite so 'out of the loop'. Now I just need DS to make up his mind about whether he is taking a bloody gap year

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MABS · 18/09/2010 13:58

really pleased school are being so good mos

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