Thread 25 - Covid Cohort - Christmas Trees, No Omicron Please!

[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 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.

Orange Cinnamon (Head Monitor )
Previous Thread Found Here

Good luck little @Monkey2001: let us know how it goes!

Good luck with interview today @Monkey2001. Fingers crossed.

Congrats Heifer and Blue on the offers. Lovely to have them coming in.

Hope the interview goes well today @Monkey2001.

Well done to all offers: sprouts, marigold, heifer, Sandy, Nard.
Good luck Monkey.

Newnames I'm pretty sure ds has already ranked all Durham colleges. He put 1st choice on UCAS form. And then within a week they had emailed him and he needed to rank them all, all the colleges in preference.

But remember he may not be the norm. He was very early in UCAS form submission. I wondered if they subconsciously thought he was an late Oxbridge lot!

Just out of interest, if someone misses the January deadline, I know that you can still apply but it will be treated as a late entry. What happens if someone misses their October deadline for Oxbridge/Medicine etc? Do they still consider you or have you missed your chance?

Thanks oblomov, I will broach it over the holidays and maybe insist on logging on to the portla with him. He has a big test today which he has been stressed about so I haven't chased it up.

Good luck mini Monkey!

Thanks for the new thread. Just catching up on all the news - well done on the UCAS forms submission, offers and good luck for interviews. Glad I missed Lincolngate!

DD and I have been to visit Cardiff for a few days. She had an offer holder day yesterday at the Royal Welsh and really enjoyed it, though was a bit anxious but she met teachers and did ensemble and chamber playing with lots of other friendly offer holders. We also had a lovely time seeing winter wonderland, Bute park Christmas lights and the castle so it was like a mini holiday. It’s such a lovely place.

Sadly DDs school has rising covid cases so the Christmas concert is cancelled again this year but hopefully they will record something instead.

Thanks all, we are basking in the sunshine of Mumsnet warmth!

@BlueMarigold there is not really any leeway for late applicants for Oxbridge/Medicine unless something REALLY exceptional although some of the widening participation routes may have later deadlines. But, if someone has done BMAT/UCAT there have been opportunities in "Extra" for medicine at St George's, London and Lancaster for the last few years.

Thanks @Monkey2001. That’s interesting. Do if someone applied for medicine but didn’t get any offers, could they still use UCAS extra to get in somewhere? I didn’t medicine courses went into clearing.

@BlueMarigold yes, St George's seems to use Extra as part of their recruitment strategy and are in every year. The UCAT cut off has gone up this year, so you still need to be a very strong candidate. You can only use Extra if you are holding no offers or pending decisions.

Good luck on the interviews and well done on all those Notts offers!

I saw a photo from the strings offer holders day yesterday at RWCMD, Paddington. What a lovely opportunity to really experience life there.
I’m really happy you got to see the Christmas stuff going on - it’s gorgeous, isn’t it, even in the horrible weather we’re having.
We haven’t been to Winter Wonderland yet this year, but are planning to once school finishes on Friday. Might even go ice skating

Dd has had audition dates for Cardiff through..she is insisting on going up by train on her own instead of doing Zoom. We will discuss when DH gets back. There are two dates in Jan and one in Feb.

I think she’d made the right call to do an in-person audition, Orange, but I’d probably want someone to go with her, just because. That said, she’s been to open days on her own, hasn’t she, so she sounds much more independent and willing that my DD.
Is she going to go for an earlier or later audition date?

@Oblomov21 they accidentally posted and requested the ranking form for the colleges at the time early applicants had applied and then apologised and withdrew it. If students get an offer after Christmas then a new form will be sent out for ranking.

Bit of a sensationalist headline but some might find these stats interesting.

Yay for York, Sheffield, Manchester and Durham, interestingly

thetab.com/uk/2021/12/13/named-and-shamed-the-17-russell-group-unis-failing-to-recruit-enough-working-class-students-231915

Unsurprisingly, not looking so good for the London Unis. Accommodation and living costs are always going to be huge factors which need addressing. looking at their benchmarks it is obvious they also aren't attracting local students from pockets of deprivation,

Cambridge edges Oxford and Warwick showing improvement.

I'd love to see Scottish uni stats!

Well done for all the offers coming through.

Monkey, we're with him all the way. Must be particularly scary with only two rolls of the dice, but hopefully his brother's experience has left him a) readier to get well prepared for interviews and b) relatively relaxed about trying again next year. Really good luck to him!

Oh ok Fruity, thanks I didn't know that.

I'm still reeling from stressful weekend of EPQ. By mid-afternoon Saturday, DS had written a first draft of about a sixth of an essay, which was in no way answering the essay question. DS and I both went to bed that night thinking it was probably unrealistic to meet a Monday morning deadline. If missed, his teacher would give up on him and he'd have to pay the wasted entrance fee out of his own money - apparently in many years of running EPQ she's never had anyone as late to submit things as him. (I guess everyone excels at something, but I do wish DS had found another USP!) But something clicked on Sunday, and with a crack of dawn start on Monday he seems to have pulled something out of the bag. Fingers crossed it's not too terrible. No time to relax - he has to give a presentation on it on Thursday, which of course he hasn't started planning - and then draft 2 before Christmas. And still has some UCAS tweaks to do this week. But it does look as though there may soon be a satisfactory end in sight.

Glad it looks like he's on it now Doggerel - fingers crossed it all comes together.

I wonder how much the international cohort skews those London working class results as well.

@Alsoplayspiccolo

I think she’d made the right call to do an in-person audition, Orange, but I’d probably want someone to go with her, just because. That said, she’s been to open days on her own, hasn’t she, so she sounds much more independent and willing that my DD. Is she going to go for an earlier or later audition date?

DH is not having it he wants his day out. I think she doesn't want me there as I'd stress her out reminding her about stuff apparently...

Ideally she would do Cardiff first and then the Southampton one but those dates haven't come through yet. I still think Cardiff as a city would be great and exciting for her. She still thinks Southampton is a great course and has the plus of being nearby (although both courses look similar in content to me). We shall see!

This is all very uplifting amongst the doom and gloom 😊I had good news on the health front which is a huge relief.

DS has had an email from Bath. Offer holder days are online and they sent a January date.

That’s wonderful news, Volterra! You must be so relieved, but I bet it will take a while to fully let go of the stress of having to go through the tests and not-knowing.

Boys, Doggerel!! They will send us to an early grave! Glad he’s had a stroke of inspiration now, though.

Orange, I think either choice would be great for music. I get the sense there are lots of amateur performing opportunities here, and of course your DD could always sing in the BBC NOW chorus