Year 13 2024/2025 - support, discussion and looking after each other - continuation from year 12 thread

[elkiedee]

I've just realised that the year 12 2023/2024 thread is full - oops! - last message on 16 August - don't know if someone started another continuation thread but I can't see it. This coming year DS1 does A levels and university applications, DS2 will be in his GCSE year.

If there is a thread already started please let me know.

@TheTurn0fTheScrew congratulations!!! That is great news!

Congratulations @TheTurn0fTheScrew
DD1 is at Birmingham and loves it.

Good news, @TheTurn0fTheScrew!

My DD has just completed her 5 choices. Is planning to get her tutor to review first draft of PS and then work on it over time.

She loves York which is below her predicted grades but has also put down Edinburgh as that's nearer them and will go and see it if she gets an offer.

*half term not time!

Happy to see this thread back - I'd forgotten about it (and may have posted under a different name before).

DD is an early applicant (medicine), so forms are in and she has had an offer for her fifth choice (you can only put four medicine courses down, so people put down a fifth option which they at this point generally have no intention of taking up). Now it's a waiting game - she will hopefully hear if she's got interviews in November/December and they will happen over the winter with offers if she gets them likely to be sent out in Feb/March/April - it's a brutal process. For the moment, she's trying to put it aside and concentrate on the (considerable) workload at college.

Congratulations to those who've already received offers (@TheTurn0fTheScrew!), and good luck to anyone taking admissions tests, finalising PSs etc.

Congratulations @maybemedmum I know it’s not the first choice but it’s still good to get an offer.

DD2 sent her form off ages ago even though she wasn’t applying for an early entry course or uni. She has 4 offers now and an interview at her first choice uni. She can relax and focus on her exams now.

DS now has two offers! But to those of you who are new to all this and whose DC don't have offers yet... please try not to worry, the timing is genuinely all over the place. (I see it every year as a teacher.)

Ds school are dragging their feet doing their part so nothing will go in until after half term now which is so frustrating. Although he did like Leeds.

DS and I looked around Leeds earlier this week (not an Open Day)! He liked it... the question is whether he will like it more or less than the others on his list. Off to Lancaster tomorrow.

UCAS has told DS1 that he has a conditional offer from Manchester, but we're not quite clear what the conditions/grades are. And he's had an email from York indicating that they plan to make him an offer and inviting him to an interview/ open day. They would make him an offer anyway even if he doesn't go (he plans to and I'm going to book him train tickets later today), but the email says if the interview goes well they may make him an offer on lower grades.

DS1 still really wants Oxford and I'm hoping for him that he gets that, but offers from Manchester (visited, likes, my sister and her family live there and she took him to the Open Day) and York would also be great. He wasn't that impressed by Warwick when he visited although he still put it on the form, and he hasn't been to St Andrews - by the time he told me he wanted to go to the open day the fares to be there for 3 hours were a minimum of just under £200, setting out leaving Kings Cross at 5 am and returning at 1 am (!).I'm definitely hoping that he doesn't end up studying more than 400 miles away.

No UCAS form in here yet. DS is finding further maths very hard at the moment and it's hitting his confidence. He has the predicted grades for the course (physics) he wants to do but he's now doubting himself.

I think he's reached the point where he needs to start working very hard and he's not necessarily recognised that yet. Better to have that moment now than next year, I think...

Congratulations to your DS @elkiedee. Interesting to hear about the interview potentially making a difference to the offer.

@elkiedee

That's interesting. York is top of my DD's list. She wouldn't want to do an interview though! And not sure she needs to visit again as she loves it.

@elkiedee DD2 got the same message! Her interview is just after half term

Congratulations on all the offers - exciting times!

We're away at open days at the moment. It feels a little bit back to front as the choices are already down on UCAS, but DC1 had at least visited all the cities beforehand, so the open days are more about order of preference if lucky enough to get offers.

@changes17 I hear you on Further Maths. DC1 ditched it in the summer and is very relieved.

Congrats to all on offers! V interesting to listen to how it's all panning out as we will be doing it all next year.

Also, @Banan0 , I hope things are going OK for you and your son.

@Fluffyclouds The courses I applied to a long time ago didn't require interviews - and that wasn't the only reason for my choice - the main one was that I wanted to study a variety of subjects and struggled to narrow it down to a more conventional single or joint honours course - but I was happy not to have interviews. I did have interviews a few years later for different types of courses but I remember school trying to encourage me and other students to consider applying to Oxford or Cambridge and thinking no way I was clever or confident enough. DS1 is much cleverer and more outgoing/confident than me though - that may not be enough but I'm really hoping, I'm sure like lots of parents all over the country, that he gets a chance.

Good luck everyone's kids for suitable and appealing offers.

That’s so kind of you to check in with us @BonjourCrisette thank you.

I’m pleased to report DS is a lot better than when I last posted. I still don’t think he quite comprehends the work he needs to put in to get the grades for the university he wants, and I’m not sure he’ll even get the offers he wants with his current predicted grades.

But equally I think he is more accepting of going to his third or fourth choice, which is also perfectly fine with us.

His personal statement is partially written, but that has been hard work.

So all in all, could be better, but definitely could be worse. As long as he stays reasonably positive (or even just neutral) then that’s the main thing.

Oh, that sounds good! So pleased to hear things are looking up!

Good to hear that things are a bit more positive @Banan0. Long may that continue!

That's great @Banan0

Pleased to hear that @Banan0

I think staying positive really is the thing, @Banan0. It’s easy to catastrophise when they’re not doing as well as they thought, especially if they have previously found things fairly easy. We’ve had a similar wake up call recently. Now, for us anyway, it’s about putting the steady, regular effort in, and just not panicking.