Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other (new thread from y12)

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Hello
I have started a new thread following on from this one
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/5340007-year-12-202425-support-discussion-and-looking-after-each-other-thread-2?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

We've been to an offer holder day - but I don't think they say anything that was not said at the main open day especially if you made it to a subject talk. So I would only think they're necessary if you haven't visited before applying.

@ComingInByAnsible my DS also has mocks after half term, with two exams on Monday and is doing the opposite of lots of revision! He never seems to do a great deal of revision and does well so I presume he is doing something right.

@AuntyBulgaria your DS must be naturally very bright and confident! DS is convinced that he’s going to do badly in his mocks and that he doesn’t have enough time to revise properly, so I think his revision is at least partially panic-driven!

Interesting that your OHD was so similar to the open day. DS is still undecided about his options and the open days were such a long time ago now that he needs another set of visits to remind himself what the places feel like.

Can I request a bit of a handhold?

This weekend is the end of Lunar New Year, and because of scheduling we're doing our big feast now. So I've ordered in the chicken and the fish and I'm making Buddha jumps over the wall and all the veggies. I was just going over my list to see if I need anything and then it hit me that this is likely to be my last LNY with my girls at home. DC1 will be on her gap year in France and even if she makes it home for the weekend it'll just be a flying visit. And DC2 will be either at Oxford if she gets the grades or some other uni if she doesn't. No more big breakfasts all week and hiding red envelopes somewhere different every day. No more burning lucky money or making up stories about the Nyan monster in the evenings. I'll keep it going for DC3, of course, but he's going to miss the girls awfully this time of year.

Nothing else for it - children grow up. But I'll miss having them here terribly!

Doing well here @ComingInByAnsible! Good luck with the mocks for your son and @AuntyBulgaria’s . I’m sure they will both be fine - they are very bright boys 😊

We have first OHD next month. How was Bath? Hopefully it offered some alternatives to the open day. Has DS fixed on his choices?

Good luck with the driving practice @ComingInByAnsible!

Ah @temperedolive- have a hug 🤗 I wish I were at your house. I heard earlier this week the the terrible weather is due to cleansing for the year of the horse. I’m not sure I agree but it’s an interesting theory. Perhaps you could all go to Oxford to experience Luna new year next year? DS did mandarin for GCSE and loves going to china town in London to try and experience LYN as much as possible. I swear that’s one of the reasons he wants to firm UCL! They are growing up - I guess there isn’t much we can do about that. But they are amazing young people and will make you proud in different ways as they get older. A flying visit is better than nothing.

Also meant to ask about Warwick ppe @ComingInByAnsible- have you heard anything yet? Perhaps give them a call if you haven’t heard and others have? I wonder if it’s just ppe. Other facilities seem to have offers. DS’ friend has still only heard from one university though.

Oh @temperedolive- I didn’t know about all those lovely traditions, but I totally get where you’re coming from. Sending a handhold and wishing you the happiest of celebrations with all the family. The coming years may look different, but your girls will carry the warm glow of their loving home wherever they go - and they will be back to share many more special occasions around your family table.

Thanks @Ventress, apparently Warwick PPE is just slow as they wait for the three individual departments to make decisions. In recent years the biggest wave of home non-contextual offers came in March, with further batches in April and May. So there might still be quite a bit of a wait, which is frustrating because if the offer is made we might be past the OHDs.

@temperedolive, your Lunar new year traditions sound amazing! Like Ventress I wish I were in your house! Change is hard but I am sure they will cherish these memories and will flock back home to relive them. Before you know it, they’ll be bringing back partners and then children, and your nest will be fuller than it is now 💐

Thank you @ComingInByAnsible @JessyCarr and @Ventress - I much appreciate the kind words! I've had my wallow and a little blub and now I'm looking forward and planning to make this a proper feast that they'll remember! And truly, I'm entirely lucky to have had these two brilliant young women living under my roof for as long as I have!

@temperedolive i hope you have an amazing feast! I have just had our first family holiday without DD 🙁we had a nice time and the weather was great, I’m super lucky to be able to go (we had 5 nights in Tenerife) but I really missed her! DS and DH bicker constantly and Im really not looking forward to being the only girl in the house! I’m so excited for her to be off, but I will miss her.

@wonderstuff, 💐 to you. TBH I am worried about the changing dynamics too when DS leaves home. He is a chatterbox, funny, and really lights up the room; he is such enjoyable and entertaining company. DH and DD are lovely but much quieter; DS is often the catalyst of weird and wonderful family debates and conversations. We all really notice when he isn’t there for whatever reason. So while I am excited about his next life chapter on his behalf, I know we’ll all miss him like hell.

Talking of the next chapter, we went to Bath OHD yesterday which was helpful. DS has an offer there for politics with economics with professional placement year, and it’s his lowest offer (AAA or A star AB). We thought the politics department (which hosted the OHD and hosts the degree) was brilliant, clearly great teaching, structure and support. The placement also obviously is a real strength. But the economics part felt like an add-on that no one really cared much about. There were no student ambassadors nor staff with experience or knowledge of the econ side, and the proportion of econ that you are allowed to take as part of the degree is capped at 35%. DS is still not that keen on Bath campus, although the Sports village is very impressive (no climbing wall for him however), and the Bath city itself is lovely. So overall, he feels neutral about going there, and it’s now only in insurance category.

@ComingInByAnsible We've been told that if it's a subject with another subject then the with subject (in your case econ) is normally about a 1/4 of the degree. If it's an 'and' instead of a 'with' then it's more like 50%. So I can see why they've capped it.

We have also found that in open days etc you only ever really hear from the main subject departments. Though Loughborough did tell us they have taken new steps to ensure you have a tutor in both areas that talk to each other.

But it's helpful to know that it's not one he wants to firm - helps in narrowing these decisions.

@temperedoliveboth your DDs going at once is tough, but they will always come back to a loving family 🥰
DS is an only so we will be empty nesters, but he was a late baby so we had a long time as a couple too.
We will miss him but I'm looking forward to holidays and time as a twosome again as well.

We have been skiing this week, which was lovely and I hope he will come on holiday with us going forward but not every time 🙊

@temperedolive gosh it will be different for you with both your girls going at once. Your celebrations sound amazing though and they will return as adults more than you think! I can vouch for that as I have a DD in her 30s who I didn't see as much whilst at uni but she now lives near me, is settled and I see her a lot which is a joy for me.

@ComingInByAnsible my DD2 is our last one at home and like your DS is a chatter box so it will be very quiet without her. I am just looking forward to having a bit more certainty with her actually going to uni as these past months have been full of uncertainty and waiting and what ifs 😂.

DD has an OHD on Saturday at Leeds which will be a welcome positive step for her making things a bit more real. She is still waiting on her other 3 interview outcomes so this will be a distraction and I am hoping will help her visualise being at med school and how she will cope with it.

A levels are creeping up quickly now!

Mock results are out finally and DD did reassuringly well, thank goodness. Good to have a confidence boost at this stage. We have organised a weekend visit to Edinburgh in lieu of the OHD which clashes with her Art exam. The EPQ presentation will be done this week. Currently, it feels like things are falling into place.

Well done to your dd @ArchitectureMum that’s very reassuring

ds is just doing a final check of his Welsh Bacc project and then that will be submitted which will free up 3 lessons a week for revision. They’ve covered all of the curriculum in one part of further maths so are revising in those lessons too.

we’re going to an OHD in Warwick in a couple of weeks and then Bath during the Easter holidays. He’s not done anything about Manchester and didn’t get to an open day there either so he needs to get sorted if that’s a real contender as I think he ought to have been there really before going!

Still waiting on LSE…..

We’ve finally had ds’s formal mock results - they were taken just after Christmas but one teacher has been very sick (they teach maths and FM) so they were marked by another and delayed until they were well enough to check them!

A⭐️, A⭐️, A so a slip in one subject but very close to the grade boundary so he’s on track and feeling positive.

Wow, those mock results are brilliant @Muchtoomuchtodo sounds like the offer holder days are coming together too. Come on LSE - it is horrible waiting. Lots of great options though.

That’s fabulous mock results, @Muchtoomuchtodo! Hope LSE recognise your son’s brilliance!

DS has nearly finished his mocks now, just macroeconomics to do on Monday. He thinks they might have gone better than he feared (he is mostly worried about disappointing his teachers), and they certainly gave his revision a big boost which is their main purpose. How did the mocks go for your ds, @AuntyBulgaria?

How was the Leeds OHD, @bluefineliner? Hope your DD hears about her other interview outcomes soon.

@ComingInByAnsible thanks for remembering! Still one more week of mocks to go.

He is resitting his maths a level this summer (took the exam in year 12) so is sitting the mocks having not had any formal lessons. But he tells me that having done further maths for a year they are super easy and he is finishing the papers almost 45mins early! Hmm we shall see whether he is just being over confident and cocky (he has form) or whether he is on track to improve his grade.

Hope your DS' exams go to plan. I agree the point is really to kick start revision with so little time left it's all getting real now.

OHD at Reading today, which was really good, nice to see the uni when there are students around. It had a really nice vibe, dd was hesitant to apply because she doesn’t love the town centre, but the campus was really lovely and much bigger than we expected. Still close to town, you could walk in, and so pretty close to London too. Plus less than an hour from home so that gives options. The lecturers seemed great, definitely a step up from Brighton, and they are offering her BBC which is very doable. Plus they had lots of accommodation options, seemed quite easy to stay on campus after the first year which is unusual I think?

Going back to Liverpool for their OHD next month, it’s likely she’ll put that first (although she could decide she prefers reading), but they are offering AAB which is definitely a stretch target!

That’s interesting . I tend to agree with the town centre but there is a lot of work on rejuvenation going on so perhaps that will help? I’m glad your dd liked the campus. DS is thinking about staying in Reading for year 3 and can do Reading to Paddington by train in 40minutes which is impressive. I was talking to a friend about the new line between Reading and central London yesterday and we agreed it isn’t as good as it’s made out (unfortunately) we think it will get better. I’m not sure about accommodation but there is a lot of in town and nearby towns. I hope Liverpool goes well 🤞Are either usually in clearing? How much time will she spend in the town centre?

I hope the final couple of weeks of mocks goes well @AuntyBulgaria

Well done to your DS on this mock results @Muchtoomuchtodo! I hope you get that Warwick OHD and offer from LSE. The paucity of offers is one reason why DS only went for one London university.

I have decided that there is nothing I can do for DS except wander along muttering gently under my breath. We will go to the OHD next month at Durham and then let DS decide his firm and insurance choices. He has his five offers now so can just decide- thank goodness.

@Ventresslovely to hear that the driving is going well, DD just got her provisional need to look at booking lessons. We are late to the party, I am a very anxious driver (passed test in one go,but not happy to jet off myself) that’s probably affecting DD too. We had mocks after FEb half term so was leaving everything for until after.
@bluefinelinerhope OHD went well for DD, and hope other offers would come soon. I kept on asking DD about her best friend(knowing you have offer) but she haven’t had any offers yet. So I guess all meds are waiting?
I haven’t been on this thread for sometime, DD normally a hardworking person now doubt about going to Cam. I am not even sure what to say, so leaving it to her. It’s stemming from a friends brother who just finished his com degree and not got a job yet. So her point is, there is no point in putting all extra efforts(if she lags behind, she won’t get to do masters) if the job opportunities are same/similar with other unis. Job market for anyone is tough, and no one can predict the future, but I also want her to trust the process and see what the interviewers saw in her and the application!! I can’t even talk to anyone else, didn’t want to ask here either, I know there are many ppl on the other side. I just told her to focus on Alevel as the offer is for two Astars and if she doesn’t meet that, then she doesn’t have to decide anything herself!
@AuntyBulgariaI admire your son’s confidence, hopefully he will get good marks as he expected.
@temperedoliveThat sounded like a nice festive experience for all of you, they definitely would miss it next year and would want to come home too. Like you say they grow and fly the nest, we are just leaving the helipad open for them 😁
@Muchtoomuchtodo and @ArchitectureMum
well done for getting good Mock results, ALevels are fast approaching ,l feel like I am not prepared enough. Had a difficult start of the year health wise, nothing too serious, but took a month and had for both of us as parents to get back on our feet. @Muchtoomuchtodo Further Maths mocks were very difficult for DD and she say, others found the same. After all these, we still are “not seeing” question on last page, not finishing exams in time… and all sort of stuff.

@wonderstuffReading uni is in quieter area of town, and I agree the town centre is a lot crowded and not very welcoming.
But so far it’s been good for both my kids, since start of secondary. I was going through the courses from the booklet DD bought from one of the career fest last month, she says many kids form her school join Reading uni. I don’t know much about accommodation though. Good Luck, they will end up in nice place where ever they decide to go.
Are OHD better than open days, some e told DD to attend all, I feel like that’s not necessary ( expensive in the first place and also many are during school time) But then in her situation, I guess she would want to check minimum three.

NewLease - we have been to one OHD and tbh, we didn’t find it any more useful than the Open Days. We won’t be going to any more. I guess if you have specific questions about the courses it maybe worthwhile because the sessions are more in depth, but we wanted to get more of a vibe for the Uni and look at accommodation and the OHD didn’t tick either of those boxes.

Hi all,

@ComingInByAnsible DD loved her OHD at Leeds yesterday. She had taster lectures and sessions on venipuncture accompanied by the resources they provide students which really showed her the support she could expect which seems very good. The learning style suits her and as we are already very familiar with the city it is looking good.

@Newlease DD is still waiting for her other 3 decisions and should hear this month so at least the end is in sight now. Med applications are very drawn out and having no decisions at this point is so hard, I'm just grateful DD has one.

I have no experience of oxbridge but it must be hard to advise your DD but she sounds like a very sensible person weighing everything up. I guess your advice of concentrate on A levels is the best for now.

@Ventress Hope you enjoy Durham, but distance is a consideration so hopefully and OHD will clarify things more for your DS.