Post GCSE’s 2022 - Year 12 2022/23 General support thread

[Rollergirl11]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2022, regardless of their educational setting.
Our DC’s may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed)
Everyone is welcome!

@legosunqueen oooh what colleges did you look around? DD wants self catering so we looked at South and John Snow and she really really likes South. Only trouble is that the English buildings are on Old Elvet back in the city centre rather than the main campus so would mean a 25 min trek to her lectures. We also looked at Collingwood and Hatfield just to get an idea of what catered is like and it confirmed she would deffo want to go self catering.

DD was also excited and fully on board with the formals. On the Thursday night in the centre there were lots of boys and girls walking around in dinner jackets and long formal dresses and it was a really buzzing atmosphere.

We went to the Applying to Durham talk and they had some really good advice about writing your personal statement. I get the impression that Durham place a lot of importance on it; the admissions lady said they turn away a lot of students with all
A stars purely because their PS let them down.

@MrsAvocet the independent shops might swing it!

@Rollergirl11 we thought the Apply to Durham talk was excellent too, as you say a real emphasis on the personal statement as the only differentiator available with the volume of applications with similar grade predictions.

We looked at St Mary's - a catered college. It has a bit of a boarding school vibe & we weren't allowed to see a bedroom but DS really liked it & in some ways I think catered would work well for him and stop me worrying about him eating well. The only downside is it has very few en-suites & they are allocated based on medical needs if these exist.

Also looked at John Snow which was excellent- DS liked the flats set up & the gym & the en-suite shower room! But it is out on a limb, & although it's very close to the Business School, I understand that the Business School May move to a riverside location for 2024 admissions.

We didn't get to look in any of the Bailey colleges as there were end of terms parties & other events gong on. But we peeked into St Cuthberts, where there was live music & lots of jollity on the lawn. DS was accosted by a stunning third year law student dressed as a cowgirl who proceeded to launch into the spiel about Cuths & he then declared that was his favourite, clearly for all the wrong reasons...

Yes John Snow is a bit of a distance. DD is most definitely not a morning person and ideally would like to just fall out of bed into her lectures if she could. But everyone we spoke to said you get used to all the walking and you actually get pretty quick. Also everyone is doing it and they all tend to walk together. Hahaha, I dunno sounds a good enough reason to me! 😂

Liverpool up next for us. Which sessions have people found most helpful alongside subject talks - we can't manage them all! Intro to the university, application process/personal statement, study abroad which ds is keen on? Maybe the long intro to the university isn't so necessary, what do you find?

We're focusing on subject talks (DD undecided so we generally have 2) and taster lessons. We're planning to go to one disability support, one finance and one personal statement talk overall as we figure they will be similar between universities. I "persuaded" DD to go the "Intro to x place" talks, but actually I think she got enough information about life there from talking to students, looking round and other talks so not sure we'll bother at future Open Days.

Ds likes to look at the labs and there was a fun demo at Bath last weekend. Also we try to do the subject talk and an accommodation tour or look around. I've been shocked at the price of accommodation generally.

Agree re accom prices! It's quite variable but nowhere I've seen could someone manage on £9,250. I've always planned to top up to the max but I hadn't realised just how inadequate that would be.

We did the accommodation and subject talks at Leeds but the accommodation one was so boring and all of the info shared was largely available on the website so we had a lie in in Manchester and just did subjects. DS1 is a little tunnel vision though, he is only interested in the course and the modules (potential).

Yes agree - the accommodation is much better quality than I remember from my student days but comes with an equivalent very hefty price tag.
We were also planning to top up to the max, but now realising that probably won't be enough (and whilst I expect DD to work as well, I don't want a paid job to become onerous and affect studies). I know a lot of people with student children who are struggling. Guess we are lucky that DS opted for an apprenticeships so we only have one at university at once.

I want to encourage them to do whatever they want with our support, but this would mean definitely two at uni at the same time and possibly three if there are postgrad or any year abroad options or Scotland.

Haven’t figured out how we are going to sort the finances/accommodation just yet. It’s clear that the minimum maintenance loan won’t even cover the accommodation. I think we will probs get DD to live off the maintenance loan (work out at £112 pw over 40 weeks) which she can top up with part time job/savings. And then we will pay for the accommodation. Thankfully both sets of grandparents have offered to contribute, either towards the accommodation or as an allowance for DD.

I have a feeling DS won’t want to go to uni so potentially we only have to do this once.

We were also planning to top up to the max, but now realising that probably won't be enough (and whilst I expect DD to work as well, I don't want a paid job to become onerous and affect studies).

Honestly I think she will be ok anywhere with a loan topped up to the max and a part time job, especially as she doesn't want to be in London iirc. Unless she really needs super expensive accommodation, there will be something available in the right price range. She may need to weigh up eg en-suite vs more partying vs part time job, but I think it's good for them to learn to cut their cloth. DS chose relatively cheap accommodation to free up money for beer. (He also didn't really want a toilet quite so close to his bed )

Oh I beg your pardon sheepdog, I thought I was replying to someone else whose DD didn't want London, ignore that bit if it doesn't apply!

London is a whole other kettle of fish imo but anywhere else is doable if topped up to full loan, and especially with a part-time job.

When people are talking about topping up to the max maintenance loan, which is currently £9978 (£9250 are the student fees), are you talking about accommodation and student living costs coming out of that? So the student lives on what’s left after accommodation comes out of it?

Tuition fees not student fees

That's what DS did @Rollergirl11

His numbers were different because we are in Wales but in England eg

You start with £9.7k
Accommodation ~£7k (although can be much cheaper)
Left with £2.7k over ~35 weeks = £77 pw

For more spending money, either choose cheaper accommodation or 2 x 5hr shifts at minimum wage = another £75.

DS had about £100 pw left over after paying his rent and lived very well on that with no other income. Many manage fine on less.

Rollergirl yes but obviously not enough.
Eg London £13000, with £11000 accommodation, leaves DC with £2000 for a whole year. But obviously DC could (and did ) work alongside his course

My DD has also excluded London, so your post was still valid :)

With my elder DS who is currently at University (not London, Midlands city)I paid his hall fees upfront and he has lived fairly comfortably on the minimum maintenance loan otherwise. He's got money left at the end of the year anyway and he hasn't worked.
I think it probably helps that they don't really have to buy books on his course, as more or less everything is downloadable. I remember when I was a student back in the 80s a substantial part of my grant went on books. DS also doesn't drink alcohol or run a car - I think that probably helps.
Next year will be a bit different of course as he is living in a shared house and is going to have to manage bills. Perhaps at last he will learn to switch the light off when he leaves a room! 😂 I haven't quite decided how we are going to manage money next year. I think I might set up a standing order and pay him a monthly allowance so he gets used to effectively having a wage.
I thought I'd be ok as there are 3 school years between my boys so I thought I'd never have both at University at the same time. But DS1 took a year out so if DS2 goes in 2024 I will have a year's overlap which could be quite tough financially, though of course when it's just me and DH at home our living costs should go down a fair bit.

Warning proud mother post !

DS has his first year BTEC results. He’s only gone and got a D*. So that’s 1 A’Level in the bag and the highest grade possible. So so so proud. He’s done so well. Year two beckons but for now the summer holidays have begun. 🙂

That's awesome @NameInUseAlreadyAgain
Well done to him!

Congratulations @NameInUseAlreadyAgain 's DS!! Must take a bit of pressure off to know you have one result already banked.

Fantastic news, well done to him! @NameInUseAlreadyAgain

Nice one @NameInUseAlreadyAgain

Result @NameInUseAlreadyAgain's DS! Fantastic news.