Anyone want to join a year 13 UCAS THREAD?

[JesusChristOtterStar]

We can join in stressing about ucas forms interviews etc?

I am finding it all a very steep learning curve - we could support one another - celebrate and commiserate?

my friend with a child at local private not told either

milliways if you read hocuspontas post i think this is exactly ( with all due respect) what schools are trying to avoid..

the fact is nowadays all kids know pretty much where they are headed after as exams and a2 modules

Well hopefully those same teachers will tell them honestly if they agree with their Uni choices - even if they have pitched themselves too low. If your couse needs BBC and you are predictd BCC then you NEED to know - especially after this years results when loads of kids ended up with an enforced year out.

That is one of the few times I am gald mine are NOT at private. Both their schools spend a long time helping them with applications, statements, interview practice etc - and how to explain your predicted results vs blips in AS modules.

He has been told he can request to see his reference, but not the predicted grades. I'll get him to find out more tomorrow. No parents evening has ever discussed predictions. I suppose they reckon they should be able to tell from their AS grades.

He hasn't submitted his UCAS application, he is waiting for the reference and the final tweaking of the PS. I noticed on the UCAS thingy it does say Pay/Send, dunno what the pay means.

Upset Students on this forum

Both my DSs were at independent sixth forms and both were told their predicted grades (which were exactly the grades they achieved). I can't conceive why a school would not tell students what these grades are as there is little point in applying to courses where you are not predicted the course requirement.
I could understand that some DCs might not wish to tell their parents what grades they had been predicted.
(They also got a lot of practice in filling in UCAS forms, course counselling etc)

My DS has been told his predicted grades. They were also on his half-term grade card.

i assume they do not want students trying to persuade the teachers to 'up' them

"they do not want students trying to persuade the teachers to 'up' them"
On the other hand, it is possibly better to up the grade rather than be too conservative. The student might be persuaded to work harded if a B can become an A and there is a chance to get into a slightly "better" university.
I think (from something I read, that I probably could not now find) that independent schools are generally a bit more optimistic on predicted grades than state schools and that this benefits students from independent schools who then are more likely to get places in higher ranked universities.

The £10 to tell predicted grades is utter nonsense and completely untrue.

The reference is written by the school and predicted grades HAVE to be added. It is up to the discretion of the school as to whether they disclose this info to the pupils but most schools surely do tell their pupils as they need to know before they apply to certain universities as to the minimum grades required.

Also most pupils in with a chance of Oxbridge probably will get/be predicted/get the scores required for A* anyway, ie not just be scraping an A but getting a high A.

thanks for input lilymaid and selective memory

I think it's right that students should question predicted grades. I have encouraged dd to do so. Hers seem to be based solely on her AS grades and not on coursework done this year (all As). She got A*/As across the board at GCSE and is retaking all her ASs. I think she deserves more than BBC prediction and should be allowed to state her case.

'Pay/Send' is the last box they tick on the form. There is a fee (about £15 I think). The students either pay this individually with a debit card or the school can, I think, set up a sort of mass payment. It doesn't then get sent to UCAS though, it is sent to the referee who adds the reference and the predicted grades, THEN it is sent to UCAS.

(It does seem to be the case that independant schools 'up' their predicted grades more often than ordinary comps. Yet another 'advantage' for those students.)

I'm new to all this and thank god won't be in this position until next year but find this thread very very useful.

I am however amazed that some schools apparently don't tell the students their predicted grades. Surely they need to know this so they can apply for the right course at the right Uni knowing they at least stand a chance of it?

hocuspontas good luck to your DD with getting her predicted grades upped.

Interesting about independent schools upping their grades. So that is what I'm paying all that money for

I know someone whose dd is at an exclusive public school and the school are being badgered by the parents to up her predicted grades
.Mum actually said " what the hell have I being paying these fees for?"

at that comment ggirl, I was actually joking! Do some parents seriously believe they are 'entitled' to do that?

My son's independent school only gave the A predicted grade to students who got over 90% av in their AS modules. I think DS's school have been incredibly tight with their A grades to be honest. Other local comps are giving A* grades to anyone who got an A at AS. That's quite a difference.

Ggirl - well the parents will feel pretty silly if the offer includes A* grades that the daughter won't get.

mum of satan they told ds when he asked but he was not encouraged to ask (apart from by me )

swedes at ds school it is only an over 90% student gets predicted a* as well - but that is what they have to attain isn't it?

ds got predicted an A although his average so far 93% - his teacher said he expected his average to drop - hence the prediction

the universities do have the module grades - they specifically asked for the marks not just the grades. The teachers' estimate is redundant in these circumstances

Only Cambridge have the AS Module UMS marks. The rest only ask for attained grade at AS. If it isn't certificated (ie the student is going to resit it) then the grade is listed as 'pending'.

Luckily DS1 got A in all his AS levels and doesn't have any resits. He thinks he will get more A*s than he has been predicted which is a bit annoying but hopefully won't be material.

good Swedes at least he is confident
ds tends towards the 'nope not possible' mentality - he needs a bit of positive vibing i think!

I do find it a bit pre occupying - he suddenly feels a lot more like my 'little boy' again as he enters the real world and things are out of his control

do you know what I mean?

That sounds a bit mad giving A* predictions to all those getting an A at AS.( Some of my older DCs' contemporaries over the last few years dropped from an A at AS to a B at A2 and missed out on their places.)

At my DCs' school they are only predicting A*s for those who got 90% plus at AS I am sure.

This year particularly, I would have thought it was better to be generous about grade predictions than prejudice a student's chances by being measly with predictions. Especially since Imperial and Cambridge are the only ones supposedly using the grades. The rest will ignore it? Yeah right.

I must admit DS1 is now a bit behind on school work and school are a bit hacked orf with him. He's on report (he says with all the losers ) but actually he's been v smart about the way he's spent his time. He concentrated on putting together a really good UCAS application and UKCAT and BMAT and only now is he turning to his school work. He also spent his whole half term week off with an orthopaedic surgical team and got to spend most days in surgery which he loved and will be a good thing to be able to discuss if when he gets interviews.

He's so sick of school now. The only concession the sixth formers seem to get at school is being allowed to wear a suit instead of schoo uni. Otherwise it's same old same old. I feel they are infantilizing their students and failing to prepare them for next step.

Poor ds1 Swedes - dd feels that already but she is idle and loves to moan

DS1 is loving this year and seems very happy at school which is a shame as there is only 6 months to go

Agree re the schoolwork needing a bit of a foot forward as UCAS and general university stuff has really taken over - dreading christmas hols actually as i think it could be a pretty crucial time and 17 year olds - christmas and revising do not sound like a great mix

Otter - LOL at your DD. She'll go far.