Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other (Thread 2)

[BlackBean2023]

You’re a chatty lot… continue

@Newlease Is Manchester on the radar? They have another open day next Saturday, 28th June.

York for us yesterday (Hull York Medical School) which was a huge success! We all loved the Uni campus, the students were a joy, every one of them helping people navigate around. The med students who talked to DD in the med school facilities were so kind, friendly and informative. We were able to attend the talks with DD this time which was helpful so we gained a lot from the day. If she did apply she could be placed at either York or Hull so we are going to look at Hull campus soon too.

@PinkChaires DD spoke to the Manchester student probably mid afternoon so maybe they had had enough by then 😂. York just felt more welcoming, but that could have been down to the campus feel rather than city. HYMS will be a definite for DD (unless she bombs her UCAT and doesn't apply to med at all!).

Newcastle next weekend and although it is DD's favourite on paper I'm sure it will be ridiculously busy too so we need to plan well. It is definitely helping seeing the actual unis though, really clarifying for DD who is asking good questions and really trying to see herself living away from home for the first time so none of it wasted time.

Sorry lovely ppl, in my previous post I meant Southampton University, did anyone else check their accommodation? I am not going Imperial with DD as its Thu and she is going with her friends, I was wondering when do we get to see the accommodation as I don't think kids would go do this.
Also met a Yr 3 Engg student yesterday at Southampton, she stayed outside in a flat and was very happy about it. Is anyone considering this type of accommodation? It sounds cheaper than Uni provided ones. @JessyCarr no we haven't, I will have a look. Thanks so much. Just getting my head around this process and left it too late, now trying to catch up

Thanks @Newlease DS1 has set off for his first day, I'm so nervous for him.

DS2 only has three on his list that he's sure of. We were meant to be doing Birmingham and Notts this weekend coming but he's decided to ditch Brum for some reason. Both DH and I went there so maybe it's something to do with that. He's also got Imperial this Thursday but he's definitely going off the idea of Uni in London even though it's an easy ride in from here.

DS has got the predicted grades he needed. Phew! Now we can properly plan.
Good luck to everyone waiting for the results.

Well done to your DS @Wehaditsogood ! I have just seen a message from DS, the Physics dept have decided to let people know early their predicted grade to help them with their choices, he's got an A which is what we were hoping for after his results as he was just two marks off anyway. The other subjects have not done the same!

We also liked HYMS but the course talk was a bit “dry”.
Newcastle on Saturday for us too and then we’re done. Sheffield in the lead so far

@ComingInByAnsible yes, very possibly on the same talk! DS loved the range of the history (and politics) options available. I found it interesting that they have no exams. We were also at PPE drop in so may have passed you there too PPL was on DS' radar but has now decided against all law courses so we skipped the talk and went to the sports pavilion instead. I agree with you that open days are proving useful for helping our DC narrow down course choices.

Well done to DS2 @JustHereWithMyPopcorn excellent predicted grades! Glad he enjoyed Sheffield. I can't even get DS1 that far north, let alone York. We, well DS and DH, are going to Birmingham on Saturday. Hope DS1 is having a good first day at work.

Well done to your son @Wehaditsogood on getting the predicted grades he wanted.

@Tebheag how is your son feeling about doing a resit in the autumn? The apprenticeship route is certainly attractive, not least because of the lack of debt when starting one's working life. I hope you manage to get that appointment with your son's teacher.

Good to hear of so much progress, including ruling courses and unis in or (just as importantly) out. I distantly remember thinking Y12 would give us all a breather between GCSEs and A Levels/IB, but it turns out there’s been an awful lot to think about!

Had some good news here, as DD’s been awarded the Y12 prize in her favourite subject. She has a free afternoon today and is happily weaving that into her draft PS for UCAS.

The only fly in the ointment is that Economics mock retake in September. She’s fine about it, but will need to knuckle down over the summer and is procrastinating about drawing up a revision timetable. Lots of others at school seem to be retaking in September too - some doing two or even three subjects again. Plus lots doing UCAT, or LNAT/ESAT prep, or whatever. If my little darling feels like whingeing about having to study over the summer, I will remind her that at the same stage I was studying for Oxbridge 4th term entrance (2 subjects plus a general paper) on top of 4 hefty A Levels!

Looking forward to hearing how DS1’s first day has been, @JustHereWithMyPopcorn. Fantastic to get that job - well done him.

@Waspie no exams at Warwick? I also find it interesting how assessment differs so much between institutions these days. Not something I had expected would be a factor, but it does seem to be nowadays.

Separately, I see that Cambridge is going to stop telling students where they have ranked in their cohort (while obviously retaining degree/Tripos classification). A good and healthy development, I think.

Southampton had loads of accommodation open. There is a huge range of choice. Majority is self catering in flats. Flats range from maximum 12 people, all the way down to 4s, some singles and some doubles, some ensuite and some shared facilities. The accommodation area is vast, set in generally pretty area with lots of grass etc, security patrols 24/7 and cleaning every 2 weeks i think. No info on costs or contract length, but this must all be online. We looked at Glen Eyre which is the big one, about 5 mins walk from Highfield campus, so about 10 mins to Avenue campus. Overall I was impressed, although personally my DD would find a flat of 12 a bit overwhelming. Particularly if they were all very untidy in the kitchen!

Well done to our daughter on her award @JessyCarr. It's lovely to be recognised in this way. DS won the English award at his school last year and though he tried to play it cool and be nonchalant I could tell he was secretly delighted (the award still has pride of place on his bookcase although he won't admit it has any meaning - teenagers 😂)

I can only speak for the history department at Warwick regarding exams. I don't know what the other faculties positions are. When the HoD said that they had not returned post-COVID to, or had any intention of returning to, assessment by examination you could hear the intake of breath in the lecture theatre. It may be that some students chose History at Warwick as a result but DS says it wouldn't sway his choice.

I'm sure your daughter will ace her Economics retake in September.

@JessyCarr well done to your DD! Perfect timing for PS writing! 🎉

DS1 said his first day was good, he didn’t really do much other than observe someone else doing their job to start to learn the ropes. I think first days/ weeks are always a little dry until you know what you’re doing.

DD decided this evening to show me the wonders of ChatGPT. “Just think of something you want it to do” she said.

Hmmm. How about “Design a revision timetable for first year A Level Economics, Edexcel board”?

She scowled. But to give due credit to ChatGPT, it pondered for about 3 seconds before coming up with a rather sensible-looking timetable!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn good that it felt like a positive first day for DS1!

Although DS finds out his official predicted grades at the beginning of July, the y12 exam results have started to come through today - the most important expectation is an A star predicted in Maths and he found out today that he got that in the exams, so as long as none of the other subjects are worse than expected, he is looking at the right kinds of courses.

@JessyCarr DS has only heard about his result in one of his Economics papers so far, but across the year group, those results are lower than the students were hoping for. I think it’s a ‘grower’ subject, where exam technique builds over the two years so there’s an acceleration of exam performance into y13.

Is it awful to sit out the next couple of uni visits? I have my second awful summer cold of the month, and I hate spreading my sneezy wheezing germs to everyone on the train.

I have two in Y12, so they can go together. I just hate not seeing the places they're considering.

I'm glad DS1's first day went well, if a bit tedious @JustHereWithMyPopcorn . First days/weeks tend to include boring things like inductions, so I'm sure it will get more interesting.

DS has gone off to the Chalke History festival with the History class today. Early start for my would be nocturnal teenager. He has a webinar with Christ's College Cambridge later which should occupy most of the return coach journey.

I agree @MiniMidiMaxi DS says year 13 for Economics will start to look at the themes more closely and really start combining the so far distinct sections of the syllabus together. He is looking forward to that. He is doing OCR board but I think most boards have a similar content and structure to exams - micro, macro, themes. They didn't do a themes paper for year end exams at all.

I'm sorry you aren't feeling well @temperedolive certainly give yourself permission to take the next few Open Days off and let your two go by themselves. I know what you mean about the FOMO though!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn @MiniMidiMaxi brilliant grades!
@JessyCarr an award certainly goes on PS, I am sure she would ace the summer learning too. We haven’t started draft yet, but we made a list of competitions and courses she attended in past two years. Southampton talk def helped framing it a little. And on your chat GPT journey, add a pic of your room and ask them to add panelling/ give paint suggestions- it’s amazing personalised interior designer for you! Only if they can do the job/send someone to do as well. Haha
@ellieinfrance we went to see the halls at Southampton, it was £165 PE for shared and £225 for en-suite I think. 10 sharing with three bathrooms, I am not sure DD would cope either. We didn’t get time to check the common rooms or anything, we didn’t go to accommodation talk with Bristol. Next is Imperial and girls are all going together with school. So I guess we should go check this in Autumn open days, with better understanding of the grades :)
@JessyCarr I have checked Manchester and York, DD is looking for more Aero than general Engg. Not decided yet, but Mechanical would be next in list. Is there any hidden gems that we should check out, please? Any Scotland universities that I should check? Just saw a general chat on Edinburgh and they say £1200-1500 pm in second year accommodation, that made me think we should be checking what’s there after halls as well
How do I get Imperial scores that they got admitted last year for specific courses, even if the entry requirements is Astar AAA, DD says they would need all Astars and she is worried her FM predictions would let her down. I really would like to fact check this, if possible

It's not really what you asked for and I'm really not sure how accurate the UCAS historical entry grade data is @Newlease but it says that for aero eng at Imperial the most common entry grades were three A stars, lowest (contextual?) was three As. A student with 3 A stars has a 95% chance of receiving an offer., which seems very high to me. Here:
Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London - UCAS

Well done to your dd @JessyCarr and great grades @MiniMidiMaxi.

@temperedolivehopefully there will be offer holder days you can go to next year if any of the weekends visits turn into offers or even a trip to the city with your dcs showing you what they’ve seen.

@Newleaseif you search the course on UCAS it will give you historic data - most common grades on the course and also lowest grades accepted but you do have to take into account that the lowest grades might include contextual offers if you are not within any of those categories.

Thanks so much @Waspie , It definitely seems very high but I guess in reality there are many people who has 4Astars and 5 A stars. And then there is ESATs to consider as well. We were thinking of dropping the 4th A Level, but looking at this, we may as well keep it, I also read that they would be looked at based on the school cohort, which wouldn’t help DD as it’s a super selective G @Lalux Thanks for the link, will share with DD, that would definitely help come up with realistic list to go on UCAS
I think my first worry was predicted grades ( even though FM is not in), I am wondering how realistic this gets converted to real results. I am an overthinker so that doesn’t help but what ifs :(

@Newlease sorry, it was the Aerospace Engineering at Manchester I was thinking of (also offered and highly rated at Sheffield).

Has she considered Loughborough for Aeronautical?

Thanks for all the wise perspectives on Economics.

We have a UCAS form! First draft complete and submitted to Head of 6th Form. Not sure if feedback will be forthcoming before the end of term, but DD feeling pleased to have that well on the way to its final form. I must say, it reads very well.

NB some of you have kindly observed that DD is very organised. She isn’t really - and can procrastinate with the best of them - but knowing what she wanted to do at university by Y10 has just meant she’s had plenty of time to refine her ideas. No advantage I think to being ready early, other than that she can now turn her focus back to nailing that exam technique😀

DS told his year 2 teacher that he would be studying history at university @JessyCarr and he hasn’t even started his UCAS form, so I still think your daughter is very organised! One less thing for her to have to think about over the summer too.

Still waiting on the final two predicted grades here…

Just catching up - busy weekend for everyone! Did anyone go to Reading or was that just us? Dd loved the biology dept their and the course is broader than others, natural history museum is moving its bug collection to Reading in 2027 so dd is beyond excited and decision made. Exeter is a close second but Reading really won her over. She’s then gone into school and mentioned it to one of her biology teachers and he did part of his PhD research there and loves a Reading uni so backed up her feelings.

We don’t have predicted grades yet but expecting minimum of AAB and Reading wants ABB so should be safe in that sense.

Overall, dd is excited and has a bit of a career plan which she’s never had before. We were going to Cardiff this weekend but dd doesn’t want to anymore. I’m grateful for the weekend off (although likely to be working, but won’t be driving).