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

Great list @singingstones: thanks so much for compiling!

A qu for the very knowledgeable ones on this thread. Ds is finalising his additional few unis to add this weekend, but looking like Warwick, York and Exeter. His PS is comp sci focused but with a very theoretical/maths perspective - which made sense for the first two courses he added. However, a couple of the courses he is now looking at are specifically comp sci with maths - rather than straight comp sci (York and Exeter) - it is (I think) obvious from his PS that's his space, but (b/cos the other 3 courses are straight comp sci but are theoretical/maths-y) he never explicitly says ' and maths' in his PS ito what he wants to study. Although a couple of his paras are on maths-y stuff. Likely to be a problem?? G'ah, knew this system of putting in two then adding would bit me on the bum!

• • good vibes * * @singingstones I like the title idea...singing the song all afternoon now

Well I just cried on the phone to the year tutor (always very susceptible to tears when enraged or when something is unfair, it's really annoying) so that was embarrassing. He says he's going to help though, and as long as the predicted grades go up and the bloody form goes in, I don't care.

Oh @singingstones - I'm like that - very easily moved to tears in moments of high emotion of all types: hope you're feeling OK? The key thing is that it sounds like they'll get their blooming finger out on the grades so ds's form can go in, and if it takes seeing how frustrated you are for that to happen, then, well, that's a level of embarrassment worth taking! I would be so furious with them for taking so long, you've done well to only cry! Discovered yesterday that BOTH the acting head of sixth form and his deputy (who are the key movers on UCAS) are currently on paternity leave at our school! DS is OK as his form went in early so he just has extras to add, but I wonder whether some of the later applicants are going to be a bit pushed back? I can imagine some frustrated parental calls if so...

Aw, that's great that he's going to help singing, nothing wrong with a bit of emotion on something that means so much to you and your DS.

And Shimy; WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! I have just spent over an hour, totally mesmerised by these US videos!! I never knew they existed (thankfully), and I have one that has applied!

And no, we will not be recording her rejection mid dec...

I may live to regret this but can someone post a link to the videos you are laughing about - I'm feeling sorry for myself as unwell (awaiting a covid test in the post). Had a temp of 83.4 Wed night and really sore throat . Fells more like flu but now starting to cough so perhaps not... Feels totally different to the time I had it in August.. Annoyingly I was due a flu jab and covid boaster but put it off last week.. That will teach me.

Really enjoying reading all your posts, some good news and some sad news. Well done for those parents who are getting somewhere even if you do have to push and hit your head against a brick wall. DD still not finished PS as teacher she sent it to to help hasn't returned it yet - so DDhas missed the deadline of before mocks and now has to wait 2 weeks until after... I think. I can't blame the teacher though as it's DDs fault for getting it to her so late. The teacher is lovely and I am sure if she had the time she would have done it already.

We are still waiting for further progress re DDs dyslexia testing... quickly running out of time I feel. Will give it until Monday until I chase again.. She is apparently on the list to be looked at.. must be a very long list.

@cariadambyth I’m also quite irritated with the RG obsession at school. Dd really liked Leicester, but she feels it’s not good enough to have on her list. We’ve done research to demonstrate that getting into psychology as a career doesn’t require an RG degree - but does need a first probably - but she won’t listen. For what it’s worth, I don’t think accountancy requires RG either! Maybe the big 4 tend to target them, but there’s loads of other (better?) ways into accountancy and into the big 4. So I’d encourage her to put her favourite first!

Singing I think the tears were probably the best thing you could have done actually!

And thanks for the info re testing @PaddingtonPaddington and @fruitygal. I may have to start getting pushy! Dd is at a new school for sixth form - supposedly a more ‘prestigious’ grammar than the one ds goes to - but I really haven’t warmed to it, and the confusion over extra time isn’t helping!

Singingstones well done for ringing. You won’t have been the first and certainly won’t be the last to cry. Not easy this parenting thing.

Heifer sorry you are unwell. Fingers crossed whatever it is passes quickly. Hope they get on quickly with DD’s testing.

I would have thought that would be ok Isthisjustnormal but am far from a expert. I sat through the Exeter maths virtual open day and I’m fairly sure they said they offer everyone who have predicted grades that meet the standard offer so I suggested to DS to put in early in hope of an early offer which hasn’t worked so far! No idea about computer science.

PCR has just come back negative. Phew!
@crazycrofter, I’m interested to hear your thoughts, thank you. My dd also feels she should make an RG her first choice. I just want her to be somewhere she’ll be happy and ultimately, she does too but friends as well as school put such value on RG which I’m sure are brilliant for some, just not everyone.

Heifer I’m no good at posting links, but if you google something like Ivy League decision YouTube, a whole host of them should come up. Keep warm, and hope you feel yourself soon.

My brother relinquished his UK passport years ago to the US, but as much as so much is broken here, I am so pleased to be British

Please could someone help me translate what this actually means:
Typical A-level offer
AAA-ABB (including specific subjects)
Typical contextual A-level offer
AAB-ABC (including specific subjects)
Until now, I'd only really noticed the AAA bit and assumed the rest was contextual. Can anyone guess (or actually know) the circumstances in which a non-contextual applicant might get higher or lower offers? Would it just be lower offers for people they really really want? Or a bribe for making them a firm choice? Or higher offer if you're doing subjects they see as easier and less relevant to degree? Private vs state? This is Manchester biology/biotechnology, if that makes a difference.

@DoggerelBank I think it’s A*AA but if you have Chemistry and Biology then it’s ABB

@BlueMarigold Oo, oo, ooo - really? DS is doing biology, chemistry and maths, so that sounds like it might be a more realistic choice than we'd first thought. Have you been to a biology talk at Manchester?

Heifer, start with this:

singing, I cry at every meeting for DD, for the same reasons - it’s usually a feeling of impotent frustration.
Good for you for getting something done - fingers crossed things start to happen now.

DD has an Oxford interview invite!

Woohoo Proggy! Been thinking about you all week.

Good stuff proggy!!

@ProggyMat Wonderful news! Congratulations to Prog sprog!

Wow @proggymat how exciting!

@singingstones well done! I'm a frustrated crier too, it is annoying because I'm not sad I'm just enormously frustrated !

Great news @ProggyMat!

Wow - been in bed for a couple of days with 'booster flu' and can't believe the thread has moved on so much! Also shocked that it's come off my list as I haven't posted recently .

Congrats to all the offers, and commiserations where things haven't turned out as hoped.

@singingstones - Don't worry about crying...better and much more effective than shouting as sometimes the frustration is such that it's one or the other. Thanks for the updated list - DD has a Liverpool offer as well now.

Will start trying to catch up properly now...