Year 12 #3: Open Days and Predicted Grades beckon

[whistl]

Yikes! The title has just hit me! It's too soon! I'm not ready!!

Thread number 2 link: https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3443840-Year-12-2-Carols-commutes-a-few-stocking-fillers

No problem with end of year exams as all colleges do them. However, mocks are different and stressful by design with the clear pencil cases, numbered desks, full length paper, most recent exam paper etc. If you gave only been taking a subject for (say) 4-5 months, It's unfair of the college to call them mocks. If they're mocks for AS exams in May, the stress levels are justified though.

BMAT & Ukcat are even worse than Oxbridge standard entrance. So many differemt combinations and dates required by different unis & colleges from my understanding.

Wow congrats to kilash's ds. What a great recognition for him

Dd has both proper mocks and progress tests. She had a mock in January for further maths AS and she has progress tests next week for her 3 A level subjects.

In May the two proper FM exams are in the same week as her summer exams for her other subjects. They are full papers in the hall under full exam conditions. She's worried that she won't be able to give the mocks her full effort because she'll be focused on FM.

I think if they fall on the same day she might ask if she can sit the mocks the following week. Even if just the maths teacher agreed to move hers it would lighten the load. And surely they would want her to focus on external exams?

The way universities operate these days though I wonder if y12 summer exams are the most important ones they will sit?

Loads of kids I know got unconditionals or got in after missing their offers but the y12 exams determine what offers they get.

DS had a psychology test today and looks like the swotting over half term paid off! He definitely couldn't cope with 4 essay-based A levels - the mocks proved this and he's feeling much more able to focus now it's down to three. His form teacher has been great in guiding him as well.
But it's all got a bit real - he came home with his AS exam timetable today!

This is what is so unfair about having to apply for uni on predicted grades a year before actual exams. Our biggest nightmare would be for dgd to get AAB as her predicted which would mean she could not even apply for Cambridge and then when the real exams come a year later attain AAA meaning should could have got into Cambridge.

Everyone at DS's school has to do 4 things. Up until last year it had to be 4 A levels, but from his year onwards it can be 3 A levels plus core maths, gold crest award or pre u in global perspectives and research. For some reason they don't allow epq. They want everyone to be busy and not hanging around at the nearby shopping centre!

Thefirst maybe my DS could have your son's notes to show tomorrow?! His writing is also not great! Last year my DD spent hours writing up notes (especially biology). It seems that DS has learnt nothing from his conscientious sister!

She can apply to Cambridge on an AAB prediction. In fact if she had AS levels results they are set in stone whereas if she receives a B on an internal exam but the teacher knows her well enough to know it was an off day, that she consistently worked at a higher level throughout the year they can usually be persuaded to predict it higher.

At DS school they can retake any yr12 exams the day before y13 starts to increase predictions. Do you know if her school offers this option?

Also Sost - as only 1 in 10 get into Cambridge many do have a gap year and reapply with actual grades so even if she doesn't apply or doesn't get an offer on first application she has that as an option.

Sorry whistl, yes UCAT and BMAT are medical pre tests. And like Stickerrocks has said, really tough. Most unis use either one or the other to shortlist for interview; DS1 will sit both to hedge his bets and we'll apply strategically depending on his scores!

DS3 is doing 4 AS levels in May so his were ‘proper’ mocks with last year’s AS papers. He’ll do AS levels rather than end of year exams and A level mocks next January. Advantage is that they take these Y12 exams seriously, disadvantage is if he cocks them up they still have to go on his UCAS form along with predictions.

No retake options bobble but thanks about the heads up on grades. Didn't think about gap year and could well think about that!

The way universities operate these days though I wonder if y12 summer exams are the most important ones they will sit?

I have been thinking the same - especially if you want to do maths at university (well apart from STEP/MAT, I suppose).
If the year 12 end of year exams results aren't good, then the student won't get the university offers they wanted.
Then even if the actual A level results are fantastic, the places on the competitive courses that they would have "earned", will have already been allocated to others.
After that the only way to get those places is to take a gap year- but gap years are a no-no for maths.

Massive x-post!

DS thinks even if he doesn’t do well in end of year exams he can persuade his teachers that based on his gcse experience he will work hard next year and bring his grades up so not really taking this year as seriously as he should. He is probably right to an extent as the teachers know him well - but only up to a point !!

He has end of year exams in the summer, not called mocks but they are held in the main hall pre external gcse and a levels so quite formal and will determine predictions. With ‘mocks’ jam next year

Jan

There is also "Adjustment" which is similar to clearing which is usually when a person misses the grades they need. This can happen when a student outperforms their predicted grades by a lot and therefore their firm and insurance choice unis may be "below" what they could have applied to . There may be some courses with higher grade requirements with spaces (again done through UCAS) and the student can adjust "up" to a higher grade course at a "better" uni.

I know someone who thought they would have a gap year because they didn't think they would do very well at all after poorer AS level grades than expected, did much better than expected and then went on through adjustment to get a First in Law at Manchester!

I think there is a whole new learning curve ahead of us on this thread when those actual predicted grades start to roll in!

I don’t think all universities offer places in Adjustment.

At my school, they don’t do AS levels and end of Y12 exams form the basis of ucas predictions. If not what you hoped for, you can ‘negotiate’ with the (science) teachers, but it involves taking another exam in your own time (lunchtime or during study periods) and performing better. End of topic tests might be taken into account as well. GCSE grades are old hat by this time and not really relevant.

Sost but she is really unlikely to get predicted a B & even if she did, she should still apply. She ticks so many boxes for things they are looking for. I also doubt that her teachers would err on the side of caution, as predicted grades tend to be at the optimistic end of what they could get. Such predictions spur them on to achieve.

DD's end of year exams are one full length paper per subject in May sat under proper exam conditions in the exam halls. They also have Minimum Expected Target grades and Current Progress grades. I think she has the option to do FM AS level next year if it would help her get on a specific university course. A few people are taking AS levels this year in things like Italian or FM, but they are the exception.

No not all unis do go into adjustment but there are always some surprise ones in there (But obviously never Oxford or Cambridge as they over offer anyway as there is always a percentage who don't meet their grade offer according to my friend in admissions at a Cambridge college. I asked what would happen if everyone met their offer and there weren't enough places to be told it has never happened. Imagine having jumped all the hoops, ticked the boxes, crossed the ts and dotted the is to get an offer and then not actually make the grade!! A whole new level of stress!)

...back to my colleague's DD from last week who slipped a grade and found out her chosen College had rejected her on UCAS before she had actually gone into school to receive her results. There are page after page of stats on applications made, interviews offered, pre-tests passed/failed, offers made, offers accepted, offers rejected, offers not met etc. I looked at them all, got brain freeze and abandoned all hope.

When I said based on gcse s I meant based on the fact he went up a lot from mocks

Intersting point about science grades being more similar all the way through