Christmas half term - Year 13 (another original thread title!)

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Carrying on from previous thread

I'm so rubbish with thread titles. Anyway...

This time last year there was lots of chat about tests/exams/mocks at this point. Are there fewer of them, or is everyone more chilled about them?

I was just wondering if we have any parents of non university applying dc left on the thread?
dd is wanting to apply for an apprenticeship as well. In the meantime she is concentrating on her A level work and gaining some work experience at a local charity shop.
dd is having driving lessons, but isn't at the stage where she is ready for a test date yet!

I’m really glad we haven’t driven people away with all the uni chat. I met up with friends yesterday and I was really conscious of all the different paths our dc are taking.

Thanks kitten

We are also looking at Higher Level Degree Apprenticeships in tandem with Uni offers as DD would like to learn, earn & get a job & degree at the end of it all if she can. This route is certainly branching out more & further than just finance & engineering degree routes that have been around a while. However there is 'fierce competition' for them, as to be expected. The online application process is proving to be very protracted before you actually get invited onto an Assessment Day too - lots of deadlines to hit for each ongoing stage - so a balancing act for DD with UCAS, homework, job, driving lessons & revision! Either way though I guess our DC will end up doing this recruitment process if not now, when they graduate.

that’s a lot to balance for your dd lashings! I think the competition must be fierce, they won’t be taking huge numbers onto each placement.

DD finally has an offer. The change in her was immediate. I am just to received and happy for her. It is not only possibly her second favourite, but also likely to be a relatively low offer, so she is delighted. Thank goodness! I had a little happy cry for her. She has been so wound up. She'll sleep better tonight I am sure.

That’s fantastic Inchy and on a friday too, so she can have a more relaxed weekend :)

That's fabulous inchy. It's amazing how much more relaxed they seem once they've got an offer isn't it?

It's nice to hear from people applying for apprenticeships too. From what I see at school there are a lot more apprenticeships around now but they are massively competitive to get into. Good luck with those applications, it looks like they're more stressful than the UCAS route.

Ah brilliant news Inchy! Really pleased for her (and you!)

Inchy that's great news & a nice way to start the weekend

Kitten & MsAwesome the stress & competition for degree apprenticeships has been a real eye opener for us & DD. You get e-mails from the companies saying things like 'due to fierce competition' or 'due to unprecedented demand in this area' as you work through the many stages, which makes it even worse for DD. This, running alongside UCAS is so time consuming, so it's going to be really difficult balancing this stuff for DD once mocks at Xmas kick in & early next year through to the exams

I agree that competition for degree level apprenticeships is tough, but in the areas that dd is interested in the highest level apprenticeships available are level 3. As these are not directly relevant to A levels and she has a related level 2, we think this is the right level to be aiming for.

Inchy it's so pleasing to hear some good news, it must be a great relief for all of you.

I know nothing about degree apprenticeships, DS has known what he wanted to do from being 11 which has made him closed to anything else. I keep suggesting alternative careers (with job security and better pay) but he's having none of it. They have to find their own path, it's not a path I would have chosen for myself or recommended to him but this is not my life. (That is a bit too long for a t shirt slogan, needs more work)

Well done to your DD Inchy and to all others with offers.

DS went to the applicant's day with informal interview, that he was worried about, on Wednesday. Today we've come back from an offer holder's day at another uni to find a letter from the first one offering ABB if insurance choice, but an unconditional if firm. No idea what to advise him...he now has offers of ABB (RG uni), ABB but unconditional if firm (RG uni), ABB (nonRG) and unconditional (even if insurance, nonRG). It's a great position to be in, but he has no idea which uni he likes best (ASD so it's hard to get him to work it out!)

doi in the days before excel when I was deciding which uni, I thought about all of the criteria that were important to me then ranked my prospective universities according to them and totted up the score. Maybe that sort of thing might work for your ds?

Good idea Kitten My personal feeling is to take the risk and firm the conditional offer from the first RG uni, as I think that will be a slightly better fit...but then it feels crazy to be turning down a surefire offer from another very good RG uni! Both of them are good choices....

How likely is he to make all the offers? If very likely, I think I’d remove that aspect out of the equation, once he is there, he really won’t care what offer they made him.

DoIstay It may be that there isn't a bad choice here. It's easy to get bogged down in perfectionism and get tied up in making the "right" choice but if it's the case that they will all suit him well then does it matter which he chooses? Is there a difference in the support they will offer him or are they equally clued up regarding his ASD? What we want for them is to thrive and be happy and I think that is more important than the status of the place.

My own way of choosing is as kitten suggested but when you start fiddling the figures to make it choose the one you want it makes you see what you really wanted the answer to be.

He's predicted 4 As so ABB shouldn't be a problem...support I think is good for both RG unis. The unconditional have met him and were aware of the ASD for the interview, so I feel they know what they're getting if you know what I mean! The ABB RG uni is nearer and easier for us to get to if needed, and it would also be possible to commute to this one if he finds he doesn't cope well in halls...it would be 30-40 minute drive. Unconditional RG would be over an hour by train. Not sure why I'm worrying so much, it's not like a decision needs to be made until May!

Has anyone else experienced dreadful service from school / college with regard to personal statements? One of DD's friends paid money to get extra advice from the college, and when I read through it, I was appalled! I do accept that I have high standards for written English, but there was a spelling mistake (American English, so I guess that's why the spell checker didn't pick it up), some sentences made no sense, and there were obvious grammar and punctuation mistakes. If I was his Mum, I would be making a complaint and demanding a refund. He was lucky that he asked DD to take a look and she suggested showing it to me.

We've been very lucky that DS's school have been great every step of the way, including with the personal statement. However, I know this isn't always the norm, as a colleague's daughter has had trouble with her school and how useless they've been. It's a real shame, as it's so important but not all schools are good at offering the advice and support.

Experience amongst my friends dc seems to vary hugely. dds college have been really good in supporting her with her application. Her PS was obviously her own work, but they did help her check it and trim it.

Ds1 school has been brilliant. Loads of support for his ps and a very supportive reference.

Ds1 has been incredibly busy this weekend with no time to dwell on things. He spent yesterday poppy selling and today participated in two remembrance day parades.
I'm exhausted from keeping up with my dc today but glad he had a distraction.

doistay Congratulations to your DC sounds like they are in a fab position. This is very interesting and useful regarding offers and worth a read www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/firm-and-insurance-choices

It is a state college and I agree it is disgusting. The tutor apparently gave it a few seconds of his time - literally just skim-read it and said "that looks fine." The student decided to pay the £25 to get extra advice, but honestly if they'd sent of the PS that this extra service approved, I can't see that they would have got an offer - or at least they would have got an offer with lots of conditions (I am by no means an expert on uni offers though). I found the advice from the UCAS website very good - just in case anyone's DCs haven't finished their PS yet.

Well done to those who are getting their offers in....nothing to report here yet!

It was, however, our last ever parents evening tonight! DS doesn’t seem to have any issues. He did admit one of his teachers is very intense and scares him a bit!