Thread 21 Corona Cohort - Nervous waiting, so frustrating

[Monkey2001]

Continuation of OrangeCinnamonCocktail's threads

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.

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/a4354626-Corona-Cohort-Statements-Scripted-Grades-Predicted?msgid=111487286#111487286

Just catching up and can't believe how quickly the thread is moving!

Congratulations to @ealingwestmum DD and @estherfrewen DS on passing their driving tests. DDs first lesson is November. We've already been let down by one instructor so hoping this one doesn't let her down too.

DD was looking to do Geography but at the weekend she's decided to change to Environmental Science as the course content appeals more. Is anyone else looking at Environmental Science or can offer advice on any unis? She's spent months looking at geography and I do wonder if she'll be restricting future choices, especially as she's thinking she may wish to teach further down the line.

Her UCAS application is due in on Friday for the school to review so she's having to rewrite some of her personal statement so it's feeling a bit frantic.

Oblomov, DD is 18 next week and her CTF provider wrote to explain what a current balance and info about what happens next with the fund.

@Alsoplayspiccolo - that break sounds amazing, I am jealous!

Thanks, 20newnames - hope DD agrees!

Hi everyone
Sorry I’ve been silent - madly busy and my DH is away all week somewhere very weird on business so that doesn’t help. But I have been reading and cheering on successful driving tests, buttons pushed on ucas applications, and other lovely signs of kids growing up and working out who they are and what they want to do in the next stages of their lives.
For those who have an interest in Southampton but didn’t make it to open days I thought you might be interested in this email they sent me re campus tours. Sometimes a simple tour is enough. Anyway, back to work for me - onwards and upwards for you all!

[Image removed by MNHQ at poster's request]

Ok let’s try again without my personal details on it…

@DoggerelBank it's frustrating isn't it. Ds does know what he wants to do at university at least. He won't consider other universities other than Sussex though. I have no idea about EPQ. He never talks about it. They didn't start it until year 13.

@mummabear74

Just catching up and can't believe how quickly the thread is moving!

Congratulations to @ealingwestmum DD and @estherfrewen DS on passing their driving tests. DDs first lesson is November. We've already been let down by one instructor so hoping this one doesn't let her down too.

DD was looking to do Geography but at the weekend she's decided to change to Environmental Science as the course content appeals more. Is anyone else looking at Environmental Science or can offer advice on any unis? She's spent months looking at geography and I do wonder if she'll be restricting future choices, especially as she's thinking she may wish to teach further down the line.

Her UCAS application is due in on Friday for the school to review so she's having to rewrite some of her personal statement so it's feeling a bit frantic.

@mummabear74 I spent time looking at environmental science and environmental geoscience with DS on his journey from geography to env science to oceanography where he now is fixed.

What I would say is that more than geography it is really important to have a good look at the detail of the courses, because they are all quite varied depending on the uni.

I don’t know what predictions your DD has but I was working on the assumption that DSs wouldn’t be better than ABB.

For env science, I thought the courses at Nottingham, Birmingham, Southampton, Cardiff, Newcastle and UEA looked good. Also Reading.
Cardiff does env science but also a new environmental sustainability science degree which looks interesting. Southampton does both env science and env geoscience. The latter is based at the national oceanography centre and you can choose either a geoscience or marine science pathway.
Glasgow has an excellent geography department and environmental geoscience dept and because of the Scottish system she could do both at once in 1st/2nd years and see which to take forward. Only wants something like BbB for env geoscience too. Env science (not geoscience) is out of Glasgow on another campus though, so that may not appeal.

If she likes the look of env geoscience then Bristol is a top choice.

Exeter do environmental science only at the Penryn campus in Cornwall near Falmouth, but if that appeals I understand it is a very good course and masses of fieldwork in the beautiful Cornish landscape…

Hope that helps!

@Delphigirl

Ok let’s try again without my personal details on it…

Thanks Delphi. Good chance to look at rooms at Glen Eyre for Dd. She seems to be getting into it now just messaged her cousin to find out when she can visit him at his Uni.

[quote EwwSprouts]@estherfrewen Great news!

@Heifer still trying to decide between 3 yrs BSc or with 1 yr placement or 4 yrs MSci at the moment
DS discussed the MSci option with one of the course leaders. As PP said the finance makes it easier to apply now and then drop down if you change your mind. If you aren't on for a 2:1 the university will drop you down anyway. What was more interesting is what is the merit? It's only worth a handful of Masters points so can't be in her words "topped up to a Masters proper". Yes you get to do another small research project. Talking afterwards DS and I concluded it may be a nice way to stay a student a bit longer but if you want to pursue an academic path you would be better off doing a proper Masters (unless we got the wrong end of the stick?).[/quote]
If you aren't planning to do a masters or PhD but go straight out into the workplace employers may well look more favourably on an MSci than a BSc. They used to use it to whittle down the pile of CVs in my last job.

@EerilyDisembodied I guess it depends on what level job you want to go in at whether it is worth the extra loan at a higher rate of interest. (Pretty sure that's what the lecturer said.)

Is the higher rate of interest for a separate Masters? I thought that with an integrated Masters it all came in one loan?

@Monkey2001

Is the higher rate of interest for a separate Masters? I thought that with an integrated Masters it all came in one loan?

MSci finance is part of the normal undergraduate loan. The stand alone Masters funding (a set amount, which may or may not cover the whole of the course fee, no separate / extra maintenance element available) is repaid at a lower percentage of income - iirc 6% vs 9% - but from a lower income threshold. So if you have had both an undergraduate and a Masters loan, once you reach the undergraduate repayment threshold, you will be paying both together.

So does that mean you are paying 9% "tax" for integrated master once you pass the earning threshold, or 15% over that threshold if you do a separate Masters?

I've known people to go on to Doctoral study from integrated Masters...one at Oxford !

Orange Interesting. Definitely was not told there was a possible direct PhD pathway, to any Univ.

Monkey Sorry I'm clearly confused and the course leader was not a clear communicator!

We were told it is 15% for separate masters over the threshold(ie. 9% and 6%) and that the Postgrad loan threshold is a slightly lower level than the undergraduate loan.

DC of a friend has just started a Ph.D after graduating this summer. I think her work experience year helped her hugely to get it without having a Masters.

@EwwSprouts 3+1 PhDs are becoming more popular now too. You do Masters level training then onto PhD the ESRC offers this as a funded option.

Thanks for your comments re Bsc v MSci .The decision is now deciding on BSc with work placement/year in industry V 4 yrs MSci. DD thinks she would like to become a Clinical Scientist - there are courses available through NHS (very limited places each year, need 1st or 2:1 degree) which include 3 yrs paid training with a part time Masters course but I'm not sure if work placement or MSci would be better preperation (NHS website mentions research experience good) but as it's so hard to get onto DD wants to leave other avenues open (and is also interested in the plant side of Biology). She has NO idea if she will like research.

For Nottingham I think she will apply for MSci as it's the same grade requirement (AAB) as BSc but for some of the others the grade requirement is higher for MSci and BSc with work placement so I wonder if it's a gamble.

Do you know if DD applies for MSCi or BSc with work placement at AAA would they consider her for BSc at AAB if not offered or would they just reject totally as she didn't ask for BSc?

A significant number from my BSc course went straight into PhDs (probably about a third of them), you needed a 2:1 or 1st, if you had a 2:2 you had to do a Masters. DH went straight from BSc to PhD too, but this was all 30 years ago, things might have changed.

I am guessing they'd offer the lower option but it is a guess. At Sussex on Saturday I asked how it worked with foundation years, they said that:

If you applied for year 1 but your predicted grades were a little low they would offer you foundation.

If you received an offer for grade 1 but your actual grades didn't meet the offer they would automatically change the offer to foundation.

So it might be the same for MSci/BSc but you would need to check with the admissions dept.

One of my colleagues is a former NHS biomedical scientist who took a degree first, I'll have a chat to her later.

@Heifer, for medicine, if you are rejected a lot of places offer alternative courses, I don't know whether that is something which happens on other courses. It is a good question for Admissions at the universities she is considering. Also, don't forget that with grade inflation a lot of our DC will get higher grades than they would in a normal year. Marginal students should tip the right side of grade boundaries.

@EerilyDisembodied that's interesting as the philosophy lady at Sussex said if you didn't get predicted grades then to phone to ask if you can get on the foundation course instead. But maybe it is different for different courses.

Heifer the DC I was saying about who has just gone straight onto a Ph.D after graduating did work experience at GSK, it’s stood her in really good stead and she developed her current interest from having done it. Was really good experience and I know she is really glad she did her placement year.

If it helps to know she just scraped a C in Biology A level and nearly didn’t go to university as lost her confidence after that so was lovely to see her get a first this summer.

@Volterra - that is interesting thank you. Well done to your DD. Mine has said if she doesn't get a B then she shouldn't study Bio as doesn't think she could from C to 1st or 2-1 so I will tell her that isn't necessarily the case.