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

I have sort of sneaky good news! DS has an offer from Lincoln but he doesn’t yet know!! I checked his emails and can see it there but he hasn’t yet read his emails so he doesn’t know! I don’t want to tell him and can’t check as he needs to log on to UCAS!!

He also has email acknowledgement from Warwick saying he will get a decision by 19th May and from Bath saying ‘later in 2022’. I think Durham said by end of April! .

Happy to report he has checked his emails himself! And came to tell me about his offer, I feigned surprise and (genuine) delight! Offer is the standard 120 points from 3 A levels, so BBB. he is nonchalant as he expected an offer anyway. We are pleased and relieved there is a decent insurance offer in.

@ealingwestmum Congratulations on the offers!

Congrats to pass @Hattifatteners and @ealingwestmum
Bestest wishes @ZittiEBuoni...baby steps to be taken

And congrats to @20NewNames ds too

@20NewNames amazing news! What a lovely offer and fab for insurance. Now the wait begins for the late offers. Having that first offer just takes the edge off.

That’s exactly it fruity, there is now a comfort blanket over the whole process. Phew!

I’m admiring your acting skills 20newnames, well done to your DS.

And thank you everyone for the good wishes. Apart from heavy bronchitis she is in a good place right now.

Congratulations on all the offers coming in!

@Fruitygal My DD mentioned over the weekend that several of her friends had straight rejections from Edinburgh. I don't know the full details of applications, but knowing the school they would all have been pretty high calibre applicants.

Good news on the offers @ealingwestmum and @20NewNames. Must be lovely to have a fall back, even if they’re still waiting for their favourites.

@EwwSprouts market town sounds a bit small!

Lovely to wake up seeing all the news about offers! Well done!

Congrats @20NewNames - you did well to hid that!

Interesting about Edinburgh...I can't remember who I was talking to, but the view was that Scottish Uni's would be hard this year. They'd prioritise Scottish and Foreign student applicants leaving not many spaces for others.

great news re offers :-) Had to smirk at @20NewNames I could see me doing that (badly) although DD knows I check her school emails for her (as she never looks).

We are a stage further - DD has finished writing her PS and has now sent it to 2 teachers to look at.

Head of 6th form sits with them to complete the UCAS form and send off apparently and she has said she won't do any during mocks (start next week) so it's lit a fire under DD who wants it to be done this week rather until after Mocks.

Talking of Mocks - DD had her timetable and despite being told they will last 2 weeks, it's actually all squeezed into 1 week. 8 exams over 4 days... At least it gets it out of the way I guess although DD really wasn't happy and is very stressed.

Her acne has flared up - never had it this bad before. Any recommendations? Does she go straight to the doctor or try something first herself?

@Wheresthebeach Oh gosh, that's worrying news about Scottish unis. Last night DS finally decided on a subject (biotechnology) and unis to apply to, and it sounded as though Edinburgh would be his top choice and Glasgow a realistic insurance. I guess he should think of it as a 2-year process, and be ready to reapply next year if necessary. And bloody do some hard work, so he gets grades worth applying with.

Re Scottish universities, medicine is different from other subjects. The Scottish Funding Council announces approved numbers around February and they ring fence a growing portion of medicine places for Scottish students as they believe that Scottish doctors are more likely to stay in Scotland once they qualify, eg Dundee are only allowed to take 15 RUK. It is not the same for other subjects, for many subjects they prefer RUK applicants as they get more fees (£9,250) than they do for Scottish students (around £3k)

@heifer, I can't remember, did you say she's already on antibiotics and a cream? Either way, I'd go to the GP.

Ds is about 3 months into roaccutane. After a really good start then a bit of a flare up, he then seemed to make a lot of progress, skin was looking really good. But he was off school ill last week, spent a lot of time in bed and seems to be back to square one! I also think he forgot to take his pill a few times.

Just been looking at offer rates at Edinburgh. In 2018-2020 it was above 80% for RUK in DS's subject area, so fingers crossed that even if it drops a lot, it won't be too dreadful. DD was a medical applicant, so we're used to much scarier odds.
www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/rest_of_uk_admissions_statistics.pdf

And seeing that the odds of an offer were above 80% for RUK while being 35-45% for Scottish applicants seems all kinds of wrong. So it's probably a long-needed adjustment.

@crazycrofter thanks - No DD has never suffered before - just the usual teenager spots but this is now much worse. She thinks it's because she feels so stressed. I will tell her to see the Dr.

Fab news about offers - is that the full hand in now, estherfrewen? They seem to have been coming thick and fast!

Not so good here today - dd couldn't face going into school for counselling so counsellor offered a phone session instead. Dd put the phone down on her after 10 minutes... So counsellor & I spoke and she really seems to feel it's pointless even trying to get dd back into school at this stage. Suggested private tuition and entering A Levels as a private candidate, or putting it off for now.

That's fine with me, as my priority is getting her depression/anxiety treated - but of course, if she leaves school formally, she then has no access to that counsellor, with whom she has a trusting relationship now (no easy thing for dd)... 'But you could pay for me!' she suggested brightly.

@DoggerelBank I had a look at your link. What is school of Divinity? It sounds like something that would be taught at Hogwarts!

@DoggerelBank To be fair it’s all guess work and supposition so take it with a pinch of salt!

@ZittiEBuoni That sounds hard. If doing it via tuition is possible then that’s at least a plan. Can you do that but stay enrolled so all options open?

sorry to hear that @ZittiEBuoni. Could your DD restart Yr13 next year? that way she would still have access to the counsellor (for free)?

For other subjects Scottish unis are fine so far .,, DD has 3 friends with St. Andrews offers …. Think it’s just medicine !

I was taught Divinity at school 🤣😂🤣 mmmm