Thread 24 Covid Cohort - Oh Come, Oh Come offers from Emmanuel - and all other universities aswell!

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

I tried to sing the title... It kind of works...

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 posts 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 goodwill continues.

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

DS got his 1st offer yesterday evening and only submitted yesterday morning. BBC contextual offer at Aston I think this is based on the area we live in as it has low number of students going onto university. He also got an acknowledgment email from Warwick to say application had been received but they can take up-to May to send out offers. It feels good to get the first offer in before Christmas.

Well done to @Nard75!

@TizerorFizz one final observation, I fully agree that Lincoln is not ranked as a top uni but I think it’s better than you give it credit for. Currently ranked 21/70 for mech eng by the guardian.

www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2021/sep/11/best-uk-universities-for-mechanical-engineering-league-table

@20newnames
I think you only have to look at the prospectus to see how narrow it is. Major engineering disciplines are absent. It’s not a powerhouse of engineering. York isn’t really known for engineering either. It’s got more courses so narrows each syllabus down a bit I suspect. Again it’s product, mechanical and electronic. So very narrow really. Neither York or Lincoln feature in the Complete university guide for mechanical engineering (I couldn’t see them in the top 50). Hence my comment about Lincoln PR. There is simply no track record.

There are RG universities that are powerhouses of engineering with a very good pedigree in very many disciplines. If a DC is going to get high grades I think (in no particular order) he should look at Bristol, Sheffield, Southampton, Manchester, Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham, Loughborough snd a few more. Why would you necessarily look at Lincoln and not one of the excellent former polytechnics? Just seems an odd choice but these universities are quite close to each other!

@20newnames
I am really sorry but the Guardian’s rankings are highly suspect. I don’t think they include research and are fundamentally different to any other rankings. Most people I know ignore them as some of the rankings are bizarre. Such as the one for mechanical engineering. It’s simply not highly ranked elsewhere

Having considered several on your list, DS has applied to Bath, Warwick, Durham and Lincoln so far. He is considering a 5th application (predicted A*AAA, hoping for higher).

I guess everyone has different opinions and the world would be very boring if we all thought the same.

So why even consider Lincoln with those grades predictions? Durham is general engineering I think. I forgot Warwick - that’s a good choice too. I would have considered Bristol as it ranks just after Oxbridge and Imperial. Sheffield is first class for engineering disciplines too. Lincoln isn’t on the same planet as them.

Hi @TizerorFizz my DD is also looking at Lincoln. What’s your opinion on their Biology dept?

DD has applied and it’s currently her only choice as no one else has replied yet.

Interesting discussion. I still think it’s better for this student to have a couple of choices where she will almost certainly meet the entrance requirements, but I was way out of my comfort zone., and she had done her own research. Interestingly many of your picks @TizerorFizz are on her list, including both Sheffield Unis and Loughborough,so we shall see.

@Zebracat
I think the young person you are talking about needs a foundation course. That’s not the same as a A*AAA prediction.

@BlueMarigold
I wouldn’t worry about responses just yet! Some could be March or even April! If she truly doesn’t get any others then take Lincoln. Again, if she’s AAA predictions, why would you? Thd Complete University Guide rates if in 60th place fir Biology so I don’t see the attraction. Depends what the A level predictions are and where else she has applied though.

Yes Durham is general engineering. DS didn’t like Bristol when we went there. Bath is currently his top choice and also very well known for mechanical engineering.

Why consider Lincoln with those grade predictions? , purely because we were looking for a course with lower grades where DS could actually be happy as an insurance. All the top ones want the same A*AA (apart from Bath who will also take AAAB). He liked Lincoln when we went to look around and in contrast to your experience the engineering department there is rated by some engineers we know. One of the main mech eng lecturers is ex Warwick but generally the staff and the facilities were impressive. I don’t know if you have been but I realise your opinion is different and we’re not going to agree so will leave it there.

@TizerorFizz I agree that Lincoln has dropped down in the league tables a bit but then so has Birmingham. We started looking more than a year ago and Lincoln was specifically mentioned in the Times University 2022 book under Biological Science page for having top student satisfaction. It also has a Gold TEF rating and it was Modern University of the year. My main concern is that the course is not accredited.

I’d never heard of Lincoln until on this thread last year. Interesting discussion.

I personally ignore the Guardian rankings as they are always strange, just looked at it for Maths and it has Lincoln as 4th- above Warwick and Imperial which both make up the second part of the COWI acronym which is often bandied about when people are discussing best place to apply for Maths. It also has UWE above Warwick

Nard75 great news on the offer.

Well done Nard on the offer, great news. DS has Aston as one of his choices, so heartening to see they can be quick.

Congratulations @Nard75!

Congrats '@Nard75

Wow that was fast nard! Congrats to jr.

Congratulations Nard.
And Zebra. And all Oxbridge, posters with offers, and forms in!

Nards offer was quick wasn't it? Hopefully they'll be a rush of them in the next week, before Uni's close for Christmas. And then not much over Christmas holidays, until term starts again in Jan.

Great news @Nard75, nice to have one in the bag! No more news from DD’s 3 other choices but she’s now booked on to an offer holders day in mid February at Southampton. I really hope they go ahead or I’m not really sure how else she will decide. I debated whether to visit York and Bath campuses over Christmas, but the problem is, they’ll be really quiet. Dd already thinks she probably wants a big city, so seeing an empty campus will totally put her off!

@Volterra
As I said earlier, Lincoln has great PR! MN HE threads mention it too. Yes, the Guardian rankings are total rubbish. The maths ones are laughable. Sadly people look at them and might actually think they are a true reflection of quality.

@BlueMarigold
Birmingham is RG. It’s nearly always going to be better than Lincoln in most subjects. You often find sting teaching scores at universities that have to teach more like school because their students mostly have lower grades upon entry. They need a different style of teaching to get them up to speed. They are not research led universities so the experience is different. That isn’t to say they are not great universities but they are not going to compare with top RG ones.

Oh please. My DS is at Lincoln. They do not teach like a school.

This is a support thread for those with DCs in the final year of school and this is what everyone on this thread had in common. We are supportive of each other's decisions and those of our DCs. I am not going to opine on biology because I know nothing about it but we discuss suitable choices for our offspring based on a wide range of factors - academic, social, emotional, cost of accommodation, distance from home, our DCs' feelings : a huge range of issues. This isn't and never has been a 'why Russell Group is best' thread.

Lincoln has a v lovely new medical school. Training doctors is not possible unless you have good staff to do it. And it's a beautiful place with fantastic student accommodation.

DS didn’t put Lincoln as a choice but wishes he had. He is predicted AAA but he really likes their history course and thinks it is a place he would be happy. He doesn’t want to do a big city and Lincoln appeals to him. If it all goes belly up next year and he doesn’t get his firm or insurance he is hoping history is available in Lincoln clearing.

Well done @Nard75 - great news on offer.

It is well recognised that DC with lower grade A levels need a different style of teaching to those who are at Imperial or LSE for example. It’s obvious when you think about it. Some universities have to bridge thd gap between school attainment and degree level teaching. It’s not new! So to start there is more of a “school” style. Hence the awards for teaching and student satisfaction!! If it was the same teaching everywhere, why are there any views on teaching at all? No one would notice the difference.

Fortunately the Institute of Fiscal Studies did look at earnings by RG students when compared to other universities. They did find earnings were higher from RG and hugely more for some degrees from some universities. So most employers do know that high tariff entry is a reliable indicator of quality. You simply cannot expect Lincoln to produce the same academic standards as UCL, Bristol and others as it’s not research led. That doesn’t mean to say it shouldn’t exist but don’t kid yourself by thinking Lincoln is Warwick or UCL. It’s simply not.