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

Bath is our fly in the ointment. Course is straight social policy so less variety. Modules look a bit meh. But it has a placement year as standard, is a campus in a lovely pace , very high in rankings for both uni as a whole and course and the NSS ratings last year were superb for Bath and the course,where Birmingham and York (esp the former) got a battering.

Bath is far less accessible from where we are, and accommodation is pricy. Graduate prospects outstrip all others.

If it had more inspiring modules , it'd be a no brainer.

In which case, unless this is random, Manchester?

Bath seems to be very popular at the mo:high on ds’ list too.

I think Bath would be good for Ds2’s subject but his older brother is there (loves it) & apart from not really wanting to go to the same uni and it being a campus, ds2 feels the city is a bit staid for him. They are very different personalities.

@Piggywaspushed Manchester has definitely been considered but the economics part of the course seems quite different to other unis - more like a Finance course. Though obviously you would expect overlap.

Would love DS to go to Bath but they rejected someone who got an offer for Oxbridge this year so I am not holding my breath !

@Volterra It can seem quite random sometimes. I know someone rejected by Cardiff who had an Oxford offer

@decorhate my DS is 2nd year Birmingham politics and is doing superbly well. It may have taken a beating i. The NSS survey but I thought it dealt with Covid as well as it could, kept accommodation and library open, had f2f in the autumn until had to stop, had online lectures but each followed up by a live w&a with professors, live online tutorials, virtual office hours kept and used by my DS, essays set and marked quickly. He has ADHD and support he has obtained from uni and dept very good and understanding, right to extensions when there is a clash in work needing to be handed in etc. He has thrived and finished the year with a high first. Really enjoying his 2nd year which is fully f2f I think (he has certainly been going to lectures and seminars, but it may be that not all lectures are back) plus all lectures are also available online which he likes. Can’t say anything about econ but I give the politics dept top marks.

@Delphigirl Thanks for that. My older two had offers from Birmingham & I really like it but is one of the ones ruled out by ds2 randomly

@Piggywaspushed I’ve looked at Manchester again & silly me had not realised that all the modules were not shown on the landing page so it could be a possibility

@crazycrofter - good to hear your DD liked Plymouth too, I agree the main campus of Southampton is very nice and green but DS would not be there much, rather based at waterfront. That is a fantastic facility but 40-50mins on a bus from the main 1st year accommodation, a good 30-40 from the main campus or student area for 2nd and 3rd years. There would be a lot of time sitting on a bus in Southampton traffic which I know is not the end of the world but really made the short walks between campus, accom, town, waterfront campus at Plymouth seem very appealing!
Anyway let’s see - he does have a tendency to like the last thing he has seen best. At least we know that they are both going on the ucas form!

@Monkey2001 sorry to hear of another positive.

@Seeline @Piggywaspushed @Shimy took DD17 for second vaccine earlier and they refused. They said they've been turning loads away who've booked for second tests. They've flagged it up as an issue. Whilst we were there a school friend received his but he is 18 in December and they said he was closer to 18 so were happy to do his.

@mummabear74 thanks, i feared that might happen. Think we will cancel ours and book for Jan, when he will be 17 and 9 months.

@Decorhate I have 2 friends whose DC did Economics at Exeter, had a great time and both view in very good jobs. One did a year of his degree in Australia.

I'm hoping they will give ds2 a second vaccine. I want him to go half term week ideally. That will be 10 weeks after the first and 2 weeks before he's 18. Can they have it more than 12 weeks after first? If they want him to be 18?

DR is more than 10 weeks after her 1st vacc and will be 18 in 2 weeks, but not yet called for 2nd vacc. DR (15) has his 1st card on Wednesday.

One interesting piece of inside into from Southampton yesterday was that Durham has taken on too many English students, and has had to employ PhD students to teach thrm. Apparently, it's a similar story at Exeter.
The HoD at Southampton says the department is in an annexed and she knows every student personally, which sounds perfect for DD, who works better when she has a close relationship with tutors.
As far as student support goes, they offer a 24/7 helpline and CD would be given a mentor, among other things.

DS has his 1st vacc

Thanks @Monkey2001 I think Exeter woujd not have the big city feel he is after. Thankfully as it’s a pita to get there!

What about Nottingham @Decorhate it is a great city! I know the uni set apart a bit but just a short bus/tram.

@Wheresthebeach My DD (in year 11) is dyslexic - we've been so lucky as she is, for want of a better term, "traditionally dyslexic" so all the really obvious signs and she was diagnosed at the earliest age possible (from memory it was when she was 7). Her primary school was amazing and so is her secondary school so she has always had support.

My understanding is that she will get whatever arrangements she needs for exams (she only needs extra time but if she needed it she could use a computer, have a scribe whatever) which should in theory mean she gets the grades she "should" or is capable of which means there is no need for any further considerations / allowances for uni entry requirements. It was explained to me like this - if she is someone who is capable of, say, an A in history then she should get whatever help she needs at school to get an A and then get continued support at uni. But she shouldn't get a uni say that because of her dyslexia she can get a B in history and still get in to a course which has an A requirement because that wouldn't be fair. Does that make sense?

Because she hasn't got to sixth form yet I haven't done any probing into this so this is just from memory of how it was all explained to me ages ago and so is possible not still correct. It all sounded like it worked in theory (and would probably be fine for someone like DD who has had such good support) - not sure it works so well for others who had late diagnosis, not good support etc.

If you find out anything about this I'd love to know.

DS had his second Covid vaccine today, exactly eight weeks after the first. He wasn't invited for it but the system allowed us to book it online. He is 17 and 9 months but they didn't seem to question this at all. They were more concerned that he was covered in mud as he had just played football 🤣

@OrangeCinnamonCocktail Both Nottingham unis are very popular with kids in our area. And I know the city fairly well as a good friend lives there. It does feel very much like a campus uni though - we went to an open day with ds1 a few years ago and ds2 was with us & is not keen.

Manchester does seem to be back in the running now though. He’s also talking about Southampton which to me is neither a big city nor a city centre uni!

Thanks for the tag, just catching up. Great news on the offers already!

@mummabear74 thanks I've just cancelled DDs second appointment and will take her to the walk in when she’s 17 and 9 months.

DD has been busy trying to record her audition pieces this week. Did 6 takes over a couple of days and has one she says is acceptable! Just need to record other bits to go with it and figure out how to create accounts on the various portals and upload it.

@Horace123 Thanks…My own view is that none of that takes into account how much extra work DD has to do - an hours homework isn’t an hour for her. She gets increased print size because of issues with her eyes focusing but of course due to eye strain gets headaches. So personally I don’t think extra time evens the playing field completely. She’s really very dyslexic and some of her ‘numbers’ qualify her for 50% extra time but we’ve stuck with 25% to avoid her getting over tired. I hope it’s considered but we will see.

I think the reason they can’t have a 2nd vaccine was to do either the higher risk of myocarditis after the second dose?
With boys anyway.
They’ve obviously decided that being 17 and 9 months makes you adult enough to be able to have it. ??
Doesn’t make much sense to me but I think that will be the reason some are being turned away.

@EerilyDisembodied my DS used to play hockey too but we said he had to give something up when he started year 11 and he chose to keep football.
I remember it often took up a whole Sunday travelling across the South East for hockey matches

@Monkey2001 Mightily hoping your PCR comes back negative and you all swerve it.

Another hockey parent here. DS is too old for county hockey but plays men's as well as U18. Was an 8 day last week for the men's match in the pouring rain. Thank goodness it's not cool to have your parents spectate.

that's 8 hour day