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

Well done to your DD, Paddington…and you! Video submissions are the Devil’s work; DS would always opt for a live audition over recordings; he hates having to make more than one take.

Remind me which conservatoires your DD has applied to?

Everything crossed for her 🤞🏻

Thanks @ProggyMat, I have to say, I’m very relieved and it was lovely to see dd so happy, she said it was nice to be wanted!!
@PaddingtonPaddington, how brilliant. As a family we are pretty tone deaf so in awe of musicians and their commitment.

@cariadambyth congratulations on the offers!

@Delphigirl thank you for your advice which has been really helpful and good to hear your DS has his subject choice firmed.

DD has been going through the modules on offer for the courses and her current favourite is environmental science at Southampton. She’s definitely looking at environmental science rather than geoscience. Grade wise her predications are 3As although I fear that’s optimistic!

She is also keen on Nottingham, Exeter, York and Cardiff and we’re doing the Cardiff open day this weekend. We’ve also booked for a campus tour during half term at Southampton. Will get her to look at Reading and UEA. I fear Newcastle is too far as she’d really like the reassurance of knowing she could pop home for a weekend if she wanted to and we’re in the south east. I’m wondering if that might also rule out the Exeter Penryn campus too.

The school deadline is this week and DD is toying with the idea of submitting her UCAS application with two uni choices at this stage and adding the other three in later, after she’s had a bit more time to consider her choices.

@cariadambyth well done on the offers and @Paddington for honing your editing skills!

I think that’s a pretty sensible approach @mummabear74, particularly if she has a favourite or two now.
I have heard v good things about Southampton, in particular as well as an interesting course and lots of fieldwork, they form a very close and cohesive cohort.
I’m not going to Cardiff but my DS is and will be going to the earth and environmental sciences dept, so your paths might cross! He will be looking at marine geography though.

Oh, more offers ! Lovely!

We are going to Sheffield this Saturday.

Congratulations on offers and auditions uploaded, decisions made and PSs submitted, it has been a busy day or two!

People with more relaxed DC, don't worry, there really is still a lot of time between now and January and if they aren't excited about applying it may mean they need a gap year and time to work out what they want. Once they have a goal it is so much easier to be motivated, and gap years are great, particularly for immature boys!

This is all very exciting @PaddingtonPaddington
(media production expert) and @cariadambyth

I've told Dd not to expect any offers until after auditions this term..although two don't audition. I've a feeling she will favour the ones that do.

@Heifer Generally they don’t specific a grade for Biology unless Oxbridge, Edinburgh Durham but then all but Durham in this list want Chemistry or Maths as well. Most places a step down from this very top tier are looking at AAB with Biology plus another broad science. So psychology is included at most but not all unis. Double check what they class as a science (Bath take Economics but haven’t seen another uni that does - most take geography). If doing an EPQ this can drop the offer by one grade to ABB. The competition will be fierce and they go on grades not points at Durham and make it clear in their course FAQs. Nottingham mentioned taking students with slightly under their typical offer. So there should be an issue. Likewise Sheffield has taken up to 20% of course slightly lower in the past. York and Bath appear to still to their offers. BTW the biology courses vary vastly so check out the modules as one can be almost all cell and plant science where as the next is will have animal and human. Good luck x

Apologies - that should read with Nottingham there should not be an issue. Plus Bath and York stick by their grades. (Typos everywhere - don’t try and do mumsnet while trying to do breakfast ?!?)

@cariadambyth , great news on the offers and well done Paddington on your excellent editing skills!

The DC I mentioned further back in the thread who has just started a Ph.D didn’t submit her UCAS form until last minute so for anyone thinking they would like to see a bit more action , hang in there. I do think gap years can be very good for some.

Nards last year Bristol and Bath didn’t offer very late for most re Maths, it was May. I think same likely to happen this year and prepared for a long wait on this. TMUA coming round fast now.

DS has submitted and put Exeter and Bath down as hoping there is a small chance Exeter might do a few early offers and would like to have something after hearing of one with decent grade predictions getting no predictions. The other slots will be filled once he has TMUA results.

Some unis wait til all ucas in do offer from late January - Durham and Bath say they do this unless exceptional reasons. Others like York, Glasgow etc offer straight away for many courses. My uni kids say it’s like The Voice so once a team ( uni) has most of its places filled it will get harder to get the last places. If the UCAS is ready send it. My 2 DSs were offered all but one place within 4 weeks of form going in 9/10. Only one uni offered after Jan deadline. This year they may take a cautious approach with late offers to avoid being over subscribed again.

@Fruitygal My DD is also interested in studying Biology. We made a list of unis that accepted Psychology as a science and her top choices are Birmingham, Lancaster and Nottingham. Nottingham want AAB for MSci Biology but the other two want AAA. However they drop a grade for the EPQ so that makes it go down to a AAB. She’s done her EPQ now and her unmoderated grade is an A.

Do you think she will get offers from her unis if her predictions are AAB?

@Oblomov21 many unis will use the EPQ as a way of choosing 1 candidate over another if both narrowly miss offer on day and only one place available. So may still come in handy as a safety net.

@BlueMarigold Personal opinion is that MSci is a relatively new thing and there are a couple of benefits around less loan to payback but most unis where students get good grades in 1st year they will let them swap onto it if they want to. (Check with unis-you can phone or email) For unis it guarantees 4 years of fees income upfront so massively keen to promote but you may want to do an MSc study in a very different subject that the undergraduate uni doesn’t specialise in. Also not all employees or profs offering PhDs see an MSci as equivalent to an MSc. So if I had a child who had predicted AAB I’d suggest choosing the BSc course to ensure I got an offer then if grades are better ask to start as MSci or swap into later once on course.

Great news on the offers @cariadambyth and well done on the auditions!

@BlueMarigold btw Birmingham offered CCC to friend who’s DD predicted AAB with EPQ A last year for biology but only if put first. Likewise friend who’s DS predicted AAA got offer from Nottingham of BBB for biology . Lancaster seem to stick with their standard offers.

@Piggywaspushed See you at Sheffield on Saturday! We still have a longlist of 4 subjects to find out about: bioengineering, chemical engineering, biology and chemistry (plus any others he thinks of between now and then!). If he could just choose a subject, he could get started on PS, and might be able to reduce our list of uni towns to visit during half term (currently Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Leeds and Nottingham).

@Fruitygal we thought about this but the unis (Birmingham and Lancaster) said they make a dual offer so they could offer AAB for the MSci and ABB for BSc. My DD really wants to do the MSci. Also technically she is actually predicted the grades they are asking for. My concern is that you said it was quite competitive. Could they say no if lots of people with higher grades apply? We do have a couple of backup options that want lower grades. We aren’t only choosing unis that want AAB.

[quote Fruitygal]@BlueMarigold btw Birmingham offered CCC to friend who’s DD predicted AAB with EPQ A last year for biology but only if put first. Likewise friend who’s DS predicted AAA got offer from Nottingham of BBB for biology . Lancaster seem to stick with their standard offers.[/quote]
@Fruitygal
That’s good to know thank you! I looked on the Birmingham website and they don’t seem to offer the CCC anymore. But really good to know about Nottingham.

Gosh good luck with that half term odyssey doggerel!

Hoping to join the Sheffield posse this weekend but DS only put it on his list of potentials this weekend. Bioscience talks are full and it won't let you register without choosing a subject talk but he has registered his interest (different form). Might just do the DIY tour and hope to chat to the random student ambassadors that get dotted around.

Thanks @Fruitygal. I did a thorough check when DD was in Yr 11 for all the unis that accepted Pyschology as 2nd science and it was only Oxbridge and the Scottish unis that didn't.

Some of the grade requirements have changed since then but no one we've looked at as stopped accepting Pyschology thankfully.

DD would need AAA for Durham (not interested) Bath (is) Manchester (not).

Have also read thoroughly the modules as they are so different for each course. DD really wanted Loughborough until she read the modules then discounted.

Only spotted recently that Swansea have a Biology course and a biological science course (back up). I had found 1 and DD the other and said she didn't like it - then had to go and check all the other unis.

DD is looking at Nottingham (favourite), Bath, Sheffield, Swansea and York Biology and Birmingham Biological science. She just needs to whittle it down to 5 now. I think she will bin York sadly.

She needs to complete her PS this half term as school want to apply in November. They have found it the best time to get the most offers apparently (they have tried different times over the years).

Well done to those having offers - must be a lovely feeling. Also well done for those having pressed GO :-)

@crazycrofter - Good luck trying not to mention uni until after Christmas :-) I know what you mean though as DD isn't being receptive at all this week. She is on half term (2 weeks) but needs to crack on.. I won't mention anything today but will gently prod tomorrow as she has to finish PS and has mocks early December.

She is however happy to talk about her 18th in late December!

@EwwSprouts

Hoping to join the Sheffield posse this weekend but DS only put it on his list of potentials this weekend. Bioscience talks are full and it won't let you register without choosing a subject talk but he has registered his interest (different form). Might just do the DIY tour and hope to chat to the random student ambassadors that get dotted around.

*The Biosciences team are currently exploring options for hosting additional on-campus opportunities for prospective students to visit.

Fingers crossed

@Heifer it’s possible our DDs could both end up at the same uni together

Thank you Fruity. We'll see. Hopefully he won't even need it.