DGD wants to study Languages

[GrannyMay]

Hi all, Just looking for some advice, My DGD is in Y12, she’s doing her A-Levels in French, Spanish, Maths and English Literature, she’s predicted As and A*. In GCSE she got 7-9s (7s were Science, 8 in History and PE, 9 in English, Maths, French and Spanish).
We are working class family; in our town most kids don’t go to uni and although my husband did go to uni it’s been a long time so we feel out of our depth.

DGD really wants to study French and Italian, she isn’t sure what she wants to do after but she loves learning languages and about different cultures. School are encouraging her to apply to Oxbridge but she doesn’t think she stands a chance. Her goal would be UCL.

Does anyone have any advice, careers she could do after? Things she should be doing now?
Shes had an incredibly difficult childhood and has lost both her parents so I really want to support her in achieving her dreams.

Would she need an A-Level or atleast GCSE in both languages? Her school doesn’t offer Italian?

Any and all advice much appreciated!

I’m not 100% sure DD would have enjoyed the intensity of Oxford had she gone. She was not that disappointed after A levels! As a gregarious person with many friends and interests, having time to pursues those meant a lot to her. She didn’t need her nose to the MFL grindstone all the time and there’s really no discernible difference between grads from Durham/Oxbridge/Bristol etc as they tend to be traditional courses. No jobs are off limits if you are good enough.

Your GD sounds amazing. If she’s open to looking at universities in the North I would highly recommend looking at Lancaster.
It’s a collegiate based campus university, very safe. High in the league tables.
Both our daughters would have been Oxbridge candidates but neither wanted to apply. One went to Durham and one to Lancaster.
If she’s shy Lancaster has lots of societies where she can make friends (I’m sure others do too) There’s PotterSoc and WhoSoc for example and a choir. Sports facilities gym and pool on site.
Lancaster itself is lovely and near the coast and Lake District.
When we visited we got the “ this is the one” feeling. Our daughter loved it and went on to work there.

I did French and Spanish degree, I had A level French and GCSE Spanish. The Spanish was tough because other students had A level and we had a year to get from GCSE to A level plus 1 year of degree they’d done to reach the same level.

Just to reassure your DGD re Oxbridge. I do some ad hoc work with a Cambridge college who have a 70pc state school UK admission rate and have a wide variety of backgrounds etc. I have met a bunch of the students and they are honestly very normal kids, not anything like that movie Saltburn! This college will contextualise all applications so for example if she's achieving these grades in an underachieving state school, this will be viewed very favourably as they will see it's a lot more than the average.
I know for a fact MFL is undersubscribed and they are desperate for good quality applicants. So do encourage her to go to open days and speak to the students and make a decision based on that.

Oxford is not lit heavy. There are plenty of options in years 3 and 4 that are not literature-based. The first year includes cinema and feminist texts.

Literature should be a backbone of a good MFL degree. All universities should have breadth in modules but some MFL courses are more geared towards business.

Ab initio will be harder but French and Italian go very well together. Spanish is taught in many schools but Italian is not so msny study Italian ab initio. People who put the work in will be perfectly ok.

At Lancaster, Italian is a minor subject and might not have the breadth of modules found at other universities or links abroad. Italian, as a full major subject is not available everywhere but to find breadth, it needs to be a major subject.

Hi, OP -

I am late to your lovely thread but wanted to add my two cents. Your DGD sounds amazing and I particularly want to commend her initiative. I know it is early days but it sounds like she is showing the qualities that will make her a very desirable applicant.

If Oxbridge interests her at all, I hope she will apply. No commitment is required and even if she gets an offer she isn’t obliged to take it up. I think Oxford is a livelier and more diverse place than Cambridge but she should make up her own mind. Yes, they are both full of lovely, shy geeky undergraduates!

I always like to see pupils and students planning two steps ahead, so I will note that it isn’t terribly uncommon to find that your first choice of uni wasn’t the best. This can happen absolutely anywhere. If it does, transferring may be the correct decision and in that case what makes it easy is (a) having been reasonably successful at the first institution and (b) requesting a move to a programme of equal or lesser prestige. Moving from Oxbridge as a reasonably successful student is generally very easy; moving to it is nearly impossible. (In England, the student loan system generally accommodates one move or repeated year)

Many state schools in less socioeconomically privileged areas have an Oxbridge College partner. This doesn’t mean pupils should particularly apply to that College, but that the College provides various forms of help and guidance to prospective applicants. It is worth finding out whether DGD’s school has a partner. Also many Colleges have outreach materials on SM. I am familiar with the stuff from Caius College Cambridge, which is quite good and can be found under the hashtag #caiusschools (or very similar). Much of it is broadly applicable to all of Oxbridge and beyond.

I second the enthusiasm for Lancaster, worth a visit! Also Durham and possibly York, depending on its programmes. A uni organised along collegiate lines may feel more manageable to a shy student.

I would encourage DGD to join the online forum The Student Room where she can pose all sorts of questions directly to undergraduates in specific degree programmes.

She also sounds a good candidate for the Sutton Trust, which aims to widen university participation, particularly at the higher levels. In addition to their online materials they offer summer programmes which may be of interest to her.

Very best wishes to DGD

@poetryandwine Personally I would look at Bristol before Lancaster. As I noted earlier, Italian isn’t a real strength at Lancaster. York and Bristol are better bets because students need the breadth of a bigger department and options.

Thanks, @TizerorFizz

The DGD should visit both!

Premature posting. I agree she needs strong Italian.