Thread 23 Covid Cohort Stepping Into Christmas, Tests, Mocks & 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

@20newnames/ DS / Engineering
@Alsoplayspiccolo/ DD / English + Film
@AnneofCleavage/ DD / gap year? Primary Education
@BlueMarigold/ DD / Biology
@cariadambyth/ DD / History / Southampton, Bath Spa, Warwick, RHUL
@collywobble/ DS / PPE, Economics / Lancaster (AAB)
@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 / Birmingham (ABB), Cardiff (ABB-BBB), Warwick (AAB)
@EwwSprouts/ DS / Biology
@Fiddlersgreen/ DS / Journalism / Bournemouth (104 pts), Brighton (BCC), Cardiff (ABB)
@Fruitygal/ DD / Biology
@Hattifatteners/ DD / Vet Med
@Heifer/ DD / Biology
@Hopeful201/ DS / Medicine
@Horace123/ DS / Classics / Edinburgh 34/665
@icanbewhatiwant/ DS / History + Philosophy
@Isthisjustnormal/ DS / Comp Sci
@JustHereWithMyPopcorn/ DS / Law
@KingscoteStaff/ DD / Medicine
@Knickerthief1/ DD / Child nursing / York
@Monkey2001/ DS / Medicine
@mummabear74/ DD / Environmental Science
@mummyinbeds/ DS / Law + French Law / Birmingham (AAA), Kent (AAB)
@Nard75/ DS / Maths
@NCTDN/ DD / Liberal Arts
@Oblomov21/ DS / Accountancy / Southampton ABB
@OrangeCinnamonCocktail/ DD / Music (uni)
@PaddingtonPaddington/ DD / Music (cons)
@Piggywaspushed/ DS / Social sciences / Birmingham (AAB-ABB), York (AAB-ABB)
@ProggyMat/ DD / Classics / Bristol (BBB), Edinburgh
@SandyBayley/ DD / Medicine
@Seeline/ DD / Liberal Arts / UEA (AAB), Kent (BBB), Nottingham (AAA)
@Shimy/ DS / Business + Management / Birmingham (AAB-ABB), Loughborough
@singingstones/ DS / Neuroscience
@Volterra/ DS / Maths
@whatsnext2/ DD / English joint hons
@Wheresthebeach/ DD / gap year? Marine Biology / Southampton, Portsmouth
@whoamitojudge/ DD / RyanAir cabin crew training
@Zebracat/ DD / Liberal Arts or Anthropology
@ZittiEBuoni/ DD / tbc applying next year

[quote EwwSprouts]@Piggywaspushed & any other kind helpers to applicants, just saw this on FB from Hull Univ.
Need a hand with your university application? Check out our complete step-by-step guide to applying to university. We can even give you tailored feedback on your personal statement - just drop us an email to [email protected].[/quote]
Lovely Hull! So underrated!

@Monkey2001 DS2 had armed riot police on his campus the year before covid- the campus security couldn’t cope with some gangs that came into the campus causing big issues. Received a video taken from inside the flat of the police with their guns snd riot shields outside his flat - it was 11pm so wasn’t easy to sleep after that 🤪

Sounds like this was a jealous ex who had major issues. Poor kid who was stabbed and terrifying for people in a small student flat

Thank you the good luck vibes, we're home and he says it went 'OK'. I guess we have to wait and see if offers come now from the LNAT unis - or not - to see if he did enough. I'm slightly concerned that he finished early....

Just seen the posts about Warwick (on his list!), how awful!

Glad it wasn’t too bad @JustHereWithMyPopcorn. How many of his choices look at LNAT?

Warwick how terrible! I know it's an isolated incident but still scary for so many.

Only 2 @crazycrofter but the top two favourites.

Does anyone else (especially if this is not your first rodeo) have a feeling that uni applications are going to be a very long, dragged-out process this year?

Saw a post on TSR from someone who has applied for the same course/uni as Ds & just got an offer. They were also applying to Oxbridge so presumably applied over a month ago & more than likely have predicted grades well above the standard entry requirements. And not a uni that has a rep for being slow to make offers usually.

When D1 applied 3 years ago (different course though) he had offers from all 5 choices within 2/3 weeks.

Someone at DD’s school had an offer from Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, but got an email this week to say they’d made a mistake and were rescinding it until they’d seen other applications.

@Alsoplayspiccolo That’s not good! Do you know what course it was?

That is awful @Alsoplayspiccolo, can they even do that?!

I’ve never heard of that happening. It’s going to be a strange year.

DD mentioned something to do with psychology, maybe joint course?
She wasn’t very coherent in her excitement to tell me, other than that the offer had been withdrawn until January.
I’ll try to find out more details.

I’ve read the T&Cs on DDs offers and I’m pretty sure you’d have a case if someone offers then tries to withdraw

Plymouth did it to dentists last year. They issued offers to the waiting list by mistake ☹️

@Alsoplayspiccolo

Someone at DD’s school had an offer from Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, but got an email this week to say they’d made a mistake and were rescinding it until they’d seen other applications.

Omg that’s horrible!

Oh that’s awful!

Does anyone have any useful info/hearsay/anecdotes about Psychology at any of the following unis: Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, York, Southampton, Cardiff, Lancaster, Leicester? Dd is promising to look at the courses at some point, decide whether she wants to do Psychology and then re-write her PS! It does sound like quite a few of her friends are still in the same position which is good, as everyone on here is so organised!

@crazycrofter my niece is in 3rd year of Psychology at York. Do you have any specific questions?

There was a discussion on WIWIKAU recently when someone said that at Leeds 12/13 hours a week were on line for first year Psychology, which I think would be a deal breaker for me.

Cardiff biological sciences 1st years were all online and the students weren’t happy - not sure if psychology is under the same department there (in some unis they are linked) . Leicester as a uni is fairly under rated but pretty impressive their biological sciences, geography, geology and law are strong -DD would have put it down as her banker but they wanted Maths at a B at A level and at the time she was thinking of dropping from 4 to 3 and this is her weakest so didn’t want to have to continue ( (Avoid the business school plus economics as they couldn’t even get the undergraduate lecturers to the open day in June - friend who works in another business school says all is not well in that department). Are the courses quite different in psychology? I thought some had a different emphasis than others?

Gig in London was a big success and I stayed up until they’d got off train and driven to house where they were all sleeping over. DD texting me when left gig, left station etc DD loved it and said lots of security and band stopped playing when a barrier got knocked over and got it sorted so were super careful after that Astroworld disaster so was reassured. Also had a private ambulance doing tests outside venue for covid if kids had forgotten to do one - DD and friends were prepared already but you needed to read 5 emails to know this was needed so lots weren’t. This was to stop young people wandering off to find a chemist in a dodgy part of London after dark. (DD had this issue in Dalston three weeks ago when DS2 had bought tickets to go with her to a gig but then has a job now so couldn’t but was getting emails from the organisers Re testing but not reading them?!!!. DD ended up with a friend so luckily she had double vaccine card with her but friend didn’t and they were sent to get lateral flow test?!? In dark fro a chemist) This time the gig was In a fairly lively place which could be not the safest place so glad the venue and band were caring. DD has 3 friends with Oxbridge interviews but keeping them quiet as others in friendship group not heard - DD gets told all secrets as she’s not applied. Also two st Andrews offers for friends.

Don’t know what the situation is with Cardiff psychology this year regarding face to face but think because of the size of lecturers they may well be online then the research skills groups and tutor sessions face to face but that’s a guess. Chemistry is fully face to face this year, some MFL is half and half. Psychology not part of biological sciences there I don’t think , it is a big department.

It’s in a building called the tower block which is just by the SU. The library is just a few minutes walk. Some of the lectures used to be shared with the neurophysiology students so were quite technical. It was a very thorough education back in the day and stood me in good stead getting a research job at Bristol straight after then onto a competitive salaried Ph.D at King’s after that.

May be different now but in first and second year you had to participate in a certain number of research studies for the year 3s so that when you did your dissertation it wasn’t a trauma getting participants. I assume most places did that but no idea.

Wherever she goes I would make sure it has the option of a year out as psychology so competitive these days I think it would be a struggle without it. I was going to say that I think Cardiff might have slipped a bit in the rankings but looking it is still pretty strong for psychology.

Accommodation is cheap, DD paid £300 a room for her 2 bed flat and is paying £350 for a house with dining room, living room, converted attic plus garage. No transport costs.

I think Bath would be good for psychology, has she discounted it?

Yes, we’d thought of Bath but I’m worried about option paralysis! And she wants to visit places first if possible so we can’t add too many extras. She said a friend at school told her Bath’s campus isn’t nice plus I thought it might be best to discount it on cost of living.

But maybe they’re not the best reasons!

Thanks @Monkey2001 is your niece positive about the course? Does she get much face to face now? And have many people opted for the clinical psychology fast stream route?