Help with 6th form offers please!!

[GoodnightJude1]

Hi, DD has just finished mocks and has had 3 offers from 6th forms in our area.
Her top choice subjects are - Psychology, English Lit and Philosophy, 4th was Biology and 5th Sociology.

The 6th form she really wants to attend (the best in the area) is oversubscribed for English Lit so has offered Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology.

her 2nd place 6th form has offered English Lit, Psychology and Biology. (They’ve recently stopped offering Philosophy)

Her 3rd choice has offered English Lit, Psychology and Philosophy.

Her 1st choice 6th form really is the best around, it’s very well known and has a wonderful reputation. Her 2nd choice is the 6th form connected to the school she is at now. Had a recent Ofsted which was Outstanding.

Psychology is her passion.
Her recent mock results were -
Psychology- 9
Maths -8
English Lit/Lang - 9
MO - 9
All science subjects - 8

What would you suggest?

Thankyou.

What does she want to do at Uni and what sort of unis is she aiming for? She sounds very bright, and I'd be concerned that what is offered by the first college might limit her options. Second place one sounds good- Eng lit and biology both good facilitating subjects.

Surely despite being oversubscribed for English lit they’d prioritise the highest achievers? If your DD is predicted a 9 then I’d say most sixth forms would be able to jiggle things around and make it work

@Okayornot thank you for your reply.

She wants to do psychology at uni. She’s interested in the educational/behavioural side of Psychology.

@MaloneMeadow you’d have thought so but I’m presuming there were so many applicants that are getting 9s that some of them didn’t get the place. A space may become available on results day if people that have been offered places don’t get the grades they need….but that’s not a certainty.

Do these 6th forms have welcome/induction days for offer holders during June? The ones in our area do. So you apply for say three, get three offers, go to three induction/welcome days, which helps you understand which college you prefer. Then, on results day, you know which ones you can potentially enrol at based on your results, and of those, you choose one.

If your dd wants to do Psychology, then that's the main one to make sure of. 'Best' college means nothing if she finds she doesn't like the atmosphere or it can't offer the subjects she wants.

@Charlingspont

We’ve already been to the welcome days of all 3. We did that in January then they apply with predicted grades and get given offers between then and now. So she’s accepted all 3 offers then will have to choose which one on results day.

Any other advice?? I appreciate any views on this as I’m struggling to help her!

When you say option 1 is the 'best around', what does that actually mean (for her)? Do you mean that it gets the best results? Or that it offers other things that she'd particular benefit from (socially, extracurriculars etc)? I'm asking because you don't actually need 'the best', you need somewhere that works well for her.

She sounds bright enough that she'll be capable of getting good results wherever she goes, so I think I'd prioritise the mix of what she wants to study and what kind of place she wants to study at, and worry less about reputation (unless any of them are terrible, which sounds like it isn't the case!).

Most 16 year olds I know have a fairly strong sense of if they want to stay where they are or go somewhere new - does that give you/her any steer?

DD had two quite different options to choose from for 6th form last year. She ultimately prioritised the courses she most wanted to do and place she most wanted to go over getting what I felt would be the highest possible level of academic support and some great overseas trips. I think once she'd made the decision, we were all just able to put it out of our minds and she's enjoying and making the best of the opportunities that the chosen option is offering her. Sometimes a decision is hard because there aren't any bad choices, just different ones, and I think I'd be saying that to your DD and trusting the process if you can.

Psychology is increasingly based on statistics so Maths might be useful. A lot of schools don't offer Psychology at A level let alone gcse so she may find a lot of repetition.

The 1st choice 6th form gets the best results. Has a great number of extra curricular activities that DD would be interested in and I think it would really get the best from her.
The 2nd choice is also a great 6th form and obviously as she’s at that school already it won’t be too much of a change for her.

I know she’ll work hard and do well wherever she goes and ultimately I just want her to be happy and to be doing the subjects she loves.

On the basis that Biology or Maths would be better than English and Philosophy for a Psychology degree, I'd suggest option 2.

I think the subjects being offered at option 1 are all too similar. They won't offer very much breadth.

Personally I prefer 6th forms at schools so option 2 would be my preference. Biology and psychology can also go well together.

My niece also ultimately decided against the best (in terms of results/reputation) option in the area because they weren't able to offer the subjects she wanted. She's at a very good school sixth form, involved in lots of fun extracurricular stuff and getting really good grades in the subjects she likes.
I suppose I'm saying don't be afraid to decline the highest ranking option if it doesn't align with what you want to do. What does your DD think?

@GoodnightJude1 option 2. Work back and see what the best unis for psychology prefer. The world and his wife do this subject now and I think Biology is the best subject to go with Psychology. I don’t think maths is required but is useful. The subjects at option 2 are stronger and she knows the set up and that’s an advantage. She can try out clubs and activities at uni.

I would definitely opt for Biology if studying Psychology. I actually think the options at her second choice would be perfect.

Statistics would also be really useful for Psychology. Can you take an AS ir A Level in Statistics? Or can you still take S1 and S2 as part of the maths A level?

If she wants to take psych at uni she may well find a science A level is a big advantage tbh, so on that basis option 2 looks like the best. A lot of top unis (and she is clearly bright so this looks like a plan) ask for a science as a requirement or give a higher offer without science. Tbf a lot will count psych as a science but I would look at into it at least; browse the websites of possible unis.

Wouldn't English language be a better fit for Psychology degree than English lit?

When you say you've already been to the welcome days, do you mean the 'Open days'? The 'welcome' days where I am are only for the students, not the parents too. The timeline is this:

1. Parent and child go to Open Day/Evening
2. Submit application
3. Interview
4. Offer of place made by college, usually conditional on making certain grades
5. Student accepts offer
6. College invites student to welcome/induction day tbh in June
7. Results day August 22nd
8. Student enrols

I agree with those saying option 2 if she wants to study Psychology at Uni. My understanding is that many Unis like students to have a science to study Psychology and some count Psychology as a science and some don't. But Psychology is a really competitive course to get on so Unis can pick and choose who they take.

My DD is studying A level Psychology after doing GCSE Psychology. She (and her teacher) think that doing the GCSE has helped with the A level, partly because you're already used to learning case studies and partly because you've already started covering the statistical methods needed. She got a 6 in Maths and says that the Maths involved in A level Psych is fine. She says that her 9 in Biology has helped.

But I think it's also about the actual college/school. DD is at a huge 6th form college that she loves, she couldn't wait to leave her school despite it having a great but small 6th form. I think it's making her a lot more independent and probably preparing her better for Uni (if she goes!).

Could she do psych, biology and philosophy at her top choice? That might be ideal tbh given her goal of a psych degree.

@clary that’s my hope. She’d put biology as her 4th choice but as she was offered her 5th choice we’re presuming that biology was also oversubscribed.

@GoodnightJude1 what’s wrong with staying where she is and doing the best subjects for a psychology degree?

As a psychologist I suggest option 2, those subjects will set her up well for uni

I agree with others that biology is very useful in securing a university place to read psychology. A number of universities ask for a science other than psych A level. The subject choice should override the 6th form (it’s obviously not a bad 6th form).