Corona Cohort: Statements Scripted, Grades Predicted

[Monkey2001]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

From OrangeCinnamonCocktail:

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

Previous thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/4339233-Thread-19-Corona-Cohort-Enrolling-on-Year-13-hopefully-NOT-unlucky-for-some?pg=1

I reckon the Unis that are offering guaranteed accommodation are on to that
So, it’ll be a case of glamping or basic camping me finks!

Bloody UCAS website is down all weekend (or at least the relevant bits) and DS needs to get his form filled in !!

😂 Proggy. DS is not a fan of camping it must be said.

I’ve just made this point on the Medics thread, but it’s making me so cross I shall say it again…

We don’t actually know how many places are available on each course! We don’t know how how many 2022 places are already bagsied by the ‘give me ££££ and I’ll defer’ brigade, or how many will be claimed by students unhappy with their TAGs who have chosen to take an actual exam in October.

Our DC can see 2019 and 2020 applications to offers ratios, but for all we know, there may be only 2/3 of those places available. Or less!

And breathe…

@Volterra for DD the deciding factor will be which pitches are nearest to the beer tent!

Kingscote totally agree.

DS is grumpy as the physics teacher has given him a predicted grade of A. Which is nice but he was only 2 points off an A* in the July exams. Does the teacher think he will not improve in the next 9 months??

DD just discovered that too Piggy. School wanted her UCAS completed on Thursday, but as she has been off sick her PS hadn't been finalised with her form tutor. So it's supposed to be ready in Monday, and now she can't access UCAS.

So I managed to get DS and DH out of the house for their 6:15 train and it sounds like they had a good day. Got various texts with photos, questions and information, will get the full de-brief when they come back.

I fear that education will take as long as national debt to recover from Covid. Our poor DC have a lot of uncertainty to face, but at least once they get to university it will hopefully be for a normal university experience.

I have said it before, but Oxbridge people, make sure science applicants in particular know that the Admissions tests will be more important than they are in a year with F2F interviews.

For those interested in Surrey, although not doing traditional open days, they are doing department tours. Dd got invited to a music one as she had expressed interest online.

We went to Winchester again today (went on a previous open day in July, and a campus tour back in May, its one of DS's top choices and not too far from us). So, we already knew our way around pretty well. However last time we missed the fact that the subject talks were live on Teams the evening before, so we did one of those last night, it was very helpful, then went for a chat with the department staff today, plus a really useful discussion with the admissions department about the PS, feeling a lot more confident about tackling it now, they said they are happy to check a draft for us. They have got a useful video on their website about the PS too.

My crew are back from the Newcastle open day and had a great day. The talks and tours were really useful and lots of helpful interview tips and information. @Wiifitmama it was almost as comprehensive as the old open days. Not quite as many accommodation tours available, but well worth doing.

........ only complaint was unexciting goody bags - nice canvas bag but just a Newcastle pen, map and short prospectus, no syringe pens for the medics this year!

I get disproportionately excite by a tote bag.

UCAS is back up again btw : 23:59 on Sunday obviously meant 23:59 on Saturday...

Thanks Monkey. Sounds like the Sheffield one which was worth doing. We are quite lucky really to have them to go to this year!

I’m kind of disappointed we won’t be doing any open days. We did visits to Southampton, Oxford Brookes, Liverpool and Plymouth in the summer. Southampton had a real open day recently but couldnt justify another round trip and she doesn’t want to look at anywhere else!

Has she decided yet crazy?

I asked Ds last night, whether he'd had an email from Sussex about the open day. "Yes...ages ago" He told me a week ago he hadn't had an email. I asked if he can forward it to me and I got a shrug. I asked if he's started his PS at school, he told me he doesn't need one, obviously he knows he does, he's just enjoying being awkward. I asked if he'd looked online at other universities that have his course, I suggested looking at the content at other universities as history with philosophy can vary so much. He said no, there's no point 🤷‍♀️ anyone else got a dc so awkward as mine?

DS1 was like this. Worse probably! It's very frustrating!

I can be a gap year can be very helpful for DC who are not ready to engage in an adult way! DS1 was better at university discussion because he had a firm idea of what he wanted to do, but a gap year to grow up a bit worked well for him, and he ended up choosing a university he had not applied to first time round which he now feels is perfect for him.

icanbe Mine was a bit like that and his laziness refusal to engage was driving me mad. It turned out he didn't want to talk about it because the thought of everything changing was too scary. He's on board now though, I think it helped when all his friends started getting organised. I realised eventually that he probably didn't know anything about what uni would be like, so sent him a tsr article to read.

@Piggywaspushed

I get disproportionately excite by a tote bag.

Well just driven to Newcastle and half way back for a memorial yesterday. Wow it’s a long way from Oxfordshire. Thinking of all theose dropping off at Durham on the other thread! Some petrol stations are empty but plenty aren’t. Key is to fill up as you go I think.

We've been to 2 open days at Birmingham and Nottingham - not a tote bag in sight! No goodies, no brochures, nothing just bloody QR codes everywhere.

I was very disappointed!

@Monkey2001 Ds knows what he wants to do. History with philosophy, with a year abroad. But only wants to go to Sussex. He won't consider anywhere else, but he will put others on his application. But Will just put anything without looking up the course first, because he only wants to go to Sussex. Ds1 only wanted to go to UEA and did go there. I just feel he should have his options open incase he doesn't get what he wants. But yes...I think he'd consider a year off first too, he'd work full time for the year.

In that case Icanbe, in your position I would go with it, just apply to the one place as soon as possible. If he gets an offer he can then decide whether he wants to add an insurance choice. If he doesn't he can do his best to get the grades anyway and plan a gap year.

The people with medicine and Oxbridge applications make it feel like the deadline is close, it really isn't! You can even just pay for 1 entry now and pay the extra later if he decides to add more.