Thread 22 Covid Cohort - Creeping towards the Future - Personal Statements and Interviews

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

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/4370509-Thread-21-Corona-Cohort-Nervous-waiting-so-frustrating
Role Call below
@20newnames / DS / Engineering
@Alsoplayspiccolo / DD / English + Film
@AnneofCleavage / DD / gap year? Primary Education
@BlueMarigold / DD / Biology
@crazycrofter / DD / Child (?) + Mental Health Nursing
@Decorhate / DS / Economics + Politics
@Delphigirl / DS / Oceanography
@DoggerelBank / DS / tbc sciencey
@ealingwestmum / DD / Middle Eastern and European Studies
@EerilyDisembodied / DS / History or Environmental Management
@estherfrewen / DS / History
@EwwSprouts / DS / Biology
@Fiddlersgreen / DS / Journalism
@Fruitygal / DD / Biology
@Hattifatteners / DD / Vet Med
@Heifer / DD / Biology
@Hopeful201 / DS / Medicine
@Horace123 / DS / Classics
@icanbewhatiwant / DS / History + Philosophy
@Isthisjustnormal / DS / Comp Sci
@KingscoteStaff / DD / Medicine
@mummabear74 / DD / Environmental Science
@mummyinbeds / DS / Law + French Law
@Nard75 / DS / Maths
@NCTDN / DD / Liberal Arts
@Oblomov21 / DS / Accountancy
@OrangeCinnamonCocktail / DD / Music (uni)
@PaddingtonPaddington / DD / Music (cons)
@Piggywaspushed / DS / Social sciences combo
@ProggyMat / DD / Classics
@SandyBayley / DD / Medicine
@Seeline / DD / Liberal Arts
@singingstones / DS / Neuroscience
@Wheresthebeach / DD / gap year? Marine Biology
@whoamitojudge / DD / Cabin crew training
@Zebracat / DD / Liberal Arts or Anthropology
@ZittiEBuoni / DD / applying next year

@BlueMarigold It depends on the course - is it massively over subscribed or is it in clearing every year? Are the grades they publish on the course pages the grades they take or is it higher or lower?

We have been told max 1 grade above for this year unless course was in clearing last summer then possibly 2.

Courses DD has chosen are mostly the same grades AAB but vastly different grades accepted. Range of the 5 AAA-AAB but once you take into consideration the EPQ whether or not they are over or under subscribed or previously in clearing that range is more like A*AA-BBC.

@AnneOfCleavage - That's very annoying! I hope your DD gets the B predicted. The school banged on about how important it was to get applications in early as offers start straight away, and then pile on the stress by not actioning things quickly. That's part of what was driving DD crazy, lots of 'but they said' etc.

In terms of grades, 2 higher than predicted seems a lot. Its all down to personal choice but I'd want to feel confident that DD had two realistic chances with the final two choices. So for her, if she gets an offer from Southampton, and Liverpool she'll chose one as they are the same requirements, her insurance will be one of the Uni's that has lower grade requirements. I wish they had more than two choices at the end of the day but it is what it is.

We're very pro vaccine with DD being asthmatic. Gutted that JCVI has changed advice over hospitalisation for asthma and DD now out of the booster programme just as winter hits. She had her second in June, so it will be much less effective just as we need it the most! Seems bonkers that asthmatics aren't part of the booster programme but that's another thread!

I think applying to places with standard offers above your predictions depends on how generous your school is with predictions, what Admissions say for the courses they are considering and their attitude to risk.

If your school is flexible on predictions I think that in general you are more likely to get an offer if you are predicted the standard offer or higher, but it does vary. I think I said on here that the Biomed Admissions Tutor at Newcastle told me they gave an offer of AAB to all applicants who met entry requirements and were predicted at least CCC without reading the PS.

I would say that if your DC believes they can do better than predictions and wants a high ranking course they should apply to more than 1 aspirational this year as I think offers will be thinner on the ground so a scattergun approach is more likely to get an offer, as long as the Admissions people confirm they won't just reject the application. There will be opportunities in Extra and Clearing in the middle ranking ones for most subjects.

If a DC likes certainty, they should apply to more places where they are confident of offers.

DS managed to get second vaccine on Saturday as he was working in a Covid clinic and they had 3 doses left at the end of the day which would have to be thrown away. It was just 12 weeks since his last one so they were happy to waste one less.

Seeline In the same boat. DS would have his second jab now but end of Aug birthday.

@BlueMarigold Ah I misinterpreted- I thought you meant applying where an individual subject grade was 2 grades higher not 2 subjects with 1 grade higher.

I think it’s really hard to predict in comparison with 3 years ago when we last had a normal year.

Monkey, do you think there's much variation between unis as to whether they accept you with a dropped grade on results day? DD's top 2 want the same grades, so no obvious insurance choice there, unless she takes a punt at being accepted with a slightly lower grade in one subject.
My feeling is to go for broke with her 5 choices and then her top 2, knowing she can go through clearing or take a gap year, but maybe that's a poor strategy?

We are in the strange predicament that DD's first choice Uni wants a lower grade combo than the next favourite on her list. If she has to choose two then her firm would surely have to be the one she likes the best not the one with a higher grade and the insurance the lower grade. The Uni with the lowest grade offer is not one she'd particularly want to go to but she had to choose one. It's a quandary.

@AnneOfCleavage We're in the same situation with DDs choices. Her favourite course/uni is actually the fourth lowest. Her lowest grade, which is the only one lower than her favourite, is not her second favourite course.

It seems pointless firming an offer at a uni she really doesn't want to go to. Not sure it makes sense to have a higher offer as an insurance.

The only plus point is that her favourite offer is several grades below her predicted so we are as sure as can be that she would actual meet the offer, but even so.....

Seeline same. Her favourite is the 4th one too and her next favourite is one of the ones with the same two higher grades.
She loves the one with the highest grade and the course etc but it's further away and in a busier place (lots of clubbing which is so not her) so much prefers the lower grade Uni which is only 1.5hrs from home and smaller and feels a better fit for her.
I'm glad it's just not her having this issue as not heard anyone irl having this conundrum but also I'm sorry you have the same predicament as it's not an easy decision.

Not sure it makes sense to have a higher offer as an insurance

I can’t remember who posted a YouTube clip (Piggy?) of exactly why you should firm your lower offer if that’s where your DC wants to study and place higher offer as insurance. It made sense to me at the time but my fuzzy brain can’t articulate why right now…

It makes sense to me in that she would be unlikely to end up on the course she wants at the uni she wants if she makes it her insurance. The issue is obviously if she doesn't meet the grades there (AAB), she won't meet the grades for the insurance (AAA) and is unlikely to be offered a place at all. I suppose as long as we are prepared to battle through clearing, she is still likely to get on a course (although Liberal arts are limited, and the reason we ended up in this situation was because she was very picky about the course content!).

I'll see if I can find the You Tube video - might come in handy when trying to persuade school that DD is doing the right thing!

@Seeline - I watched a video I think from Bath saying you should put your favourite as 1st choice even if lower grades and other as insurance even if higher grade. The theory being, it doesn't matter which way round if you don't get grades, but if you do at least you will get offered and put on your favourite (but not if it's Insurance and you get the grades for both).
This makes sense to me but I have to admit to having brain fog so I am pretty sure I have not explained that well.

@Heifer - no that makes perfect sense, and I think it was what I was beginning to realise through my own brain fog!

This is a video I saw which explains why you should choose your two favourites regardless of grades

@Alsoplayspiccolo you can see the actual UCAS points of people on courses at
discoveruni.gov.uk/. You may also be able to find out how flexible they are at offer holder days, by calling Admissions or by looking on The Student Room.

The dilemma about choosing a Firm with lower grades than insurance comes up all the time on WIWIKAU. Of course you should put the one you most want to go to as your Firm, whatever the offer! You will want to apply for accommodation etc.

Another thing you see a lot is people who chose an Insurance they didn't actually like because it was an achievable offer, but then they reject it anyway on results day and go through Clearing.

Thanks for the credit but it wasn't me who posted the video, although I did watch it at the time!

I am not sure everything he says makes sense, especially in the Covid era. I don't think you need to have an insurance at all, tbh.

[quote Monkey2001]**@Alsoplayspiccolo* you can see the actual* UCAS points of people on courses at
discoveruni.gov.uk/. You may also be able to find out how flexible they are at offer holder days, by calling Admissions or by looking on The Student Room.

The dilemma about choosing a Firm with lower grades than insurance comes up all the time on WIWIKAU. Of course you should put the one you most want to go to as your Firm, whatever the offer! You will want to apply for accommodation etc.

Another thing you see a lot is people who chose an Insurance they didn't actually like because it was an achievable offer, but then they reject it anyway on results day and go through Clearing.[/quote]
Do note, though,that if is a small course, or a joint honours, those stats may not be for that actual degree.

I agree with Heifer about keeping your choices in preference order regardless. This happened to me (a million years ago) - top choice offered lower than second. However, third choice offered lowest of all (and I ended up preferring it to the second after interview anyway) so I still had an insurance.

Well, dd2 has put a deposit on a Boardmasters ticket so that's happening... (she's also a singer, crazycrofter, AnneofCleavage, preparing for Grade 7 ABRSM atm and thinking of doing a Music degree - but she's current year 12, so not quite decided yet. Will follow your dds' progress with interest.)

The BIG news today, though, is that my more relevant-to-this-thread dd went into school and sat her RS mock! I'm so proud of her I went out and bought her a woolly hat she'd been admiring last time we were in town together . Don't care what grade she gets, this is huge for her.

I think in normal times it was easy to pick courses up in clearing so no need to pick a lower offer as an insurance unless you knew you would be equally happy to go there. Not normal times though so I’d pick something as insurance this time round.

Ah, well at least it’s resurfaced. Thank you Singing.

And yes I too think insurance can be a bit pointless. These last two years have shown the more ominous issue post results is the accommodation scrum. Likely this will be the case again this summer, given there is already first dibs to the deferred students.

I had lost this thread for a bit, DS has finally finished his personal statement and is applying for new saturday jobs as apparently the old one is too far away.

Driving still pootling along for a new year test and all seems to be going ok

That's brilliant, @ZittiEBuoni, you must be so proud of her! Hopefully this is the start of her gaining in confidence and taking small steps forward.

I love a woolly hat as a celebration!

A very fitting celebration gift Zitti, baby steps to progress from hereon…

Thanks for the video @singingstones

@ZittiEBuoni - brilliant news!

DS had the same offer for his firm and insurance two years ago, but by the time results day came round had decided he didn't want to go to his insurance anyway! He was in the midst of the algorithm fiasco, and ended up missing his firm choice, although insurance would have had had him. He managed to get on the foundation year of his first choice in the end, but it was very stressful!