UCAS applications

[mumblechum1]

When are people's DCs planning on finalising their personal statements, with a view to getting the UCAS applns sent off?

DS's school have done the grade predictions but as far as I know haven't done the reference bit yet.

DS has done the first draft of his PS, has feedback from his tutor and is aiming to polish it up this weekend.

It was Kent Greyvix (the Insurance choice as other options were LSE, Warwick, Durham etc)

Thank you. It doesn't inspire confidence!

DD1 & I had a falling out tonight :(

She has a mock interview tomorrow with her Classics teacher prior to her Cambridge one on 4th Dec.

I asked her what prep she had done & apart from reading up on some of the texts she mentioned in her PS not a lot. She doesn't see the point in keeping up with news or current affairs although I have been told by more than one person its good to do that as they can pounce with off topic questions.

TBH her whole attitude seems to be weary nonchalance which is driving me nuts. When we were doing the Uni visits I was encouraged how interested and inspired she was by the courses/life offered. When we got to Cambridge, she positively glowed with excitement and yearning to be there & I vowed to support her anyway I could if that was her dream- her teachers agree. If she's done her best and doesn't get a offer I shall be proud of her anyway for getting this far. If she fails having been given this opportunity due to lack of preparation or laziness then I despair.

I can but standback & let her do it the way she feels best but ooooh I coould shake her at times!!

Watch out for teenage logic Bossybritches22! "If I try my best and fail I'll feel that I am rubbish but if I don't try my best I can always think that I could have got in and it was my choice not to"

DD2 went a bit baffling over Oxford and changed her mind about applying literally a day before the deadline. I think she just couldn't cope with the idea of trying and not getting in and so ditched it for self protection.

Bossy I'd have thought it was far, far more to the point for a Classics interview to make sure she knows exactly what she's talking about with anything mentioned in her ps. If she doesn't tend to keep up with current affairs I doubt that reading a paper between now and the 4th will help much tbh. Whereas mentioning books that you've read and then seem flaky on can be the thing which kills an interview stone dead. She sounds on the right track to me. She should be herself, not feign an interest in current affairs where it doesn't exist.

Jelliclekitten has finally finished her application and I paid the fee tonight. The reference is all done so hopefully it should go off this week. Phew. Seems to have taken forever to get this far.

I will only relax if when she gets some offers. Fingers and toes crossed.

Allelujah it's gone and UCAS and one of the choices has acknowledged receipt.

btw is it normal for the HoY, before sending the UCAS appln to ask the student how much their parents earn? I would have thought that was for student finance to ask.

Still waiting for dd to send hers. Feeling really stressed again

Possibly it was to do with advice re. fee waivers mumblechum?

Oh, right, thought it might just be her being nosy! Sadly he'll only qualify for the bare minimum loan of £3.5k or whatever it is.

Has anyone had any interviews yet? DS has one on Thursday.

Ok, form finally sent off today and has been acknowleged apparently.

I have realised that it is because I am not in control that this making me so stressed. However I would have killed my Mum if she had interfered, so am trying (and managing, more or less) to leave her to it.

Good luck to Milliways junior for Thursday, hope it goes well.

conditional offer from her first choice :) Manchester !

Mabs Well done to your dd! Judging from your earlier post, it took Manchester 3 weeks then?

Manchester is also DS's first choice. Fingers crossed for him and everyone else who is currently keeping half an eye on Track.

mumblechum in answer to your question re. how much parents earn, some universities have special access arrangement based on certain conditions. DS2 was telling me that Leeds may lower the grades offered if the candidate meets certain conditions. Not sure what they all are but need at least 2 out of : earnings below a certain level, living in a deprived area, neither parent been to university and any general family problems which may affect our grades. The teacher may have been asking to see if she qualified for oneof these schemes. But on the other hand she could just be nosey

I think she was being nosy, because they have to put their highest earning parent's job title. DH is vice president of a giant pharmaceutical co and obv. has degrees.

BTW can opt out of answering those questions on UCAS if you want. I don't like having info about us being stored anywhere!

yep 3 weeks for Manchester yesterday, and insurance offer from manchester met a few mins ago :)

It is Manchester that is interviewing Milliboy tomorrow!

Good luck! What subject?

Yay, DS only sent his appln 2 days ago and already has an offer, albeit just his insurance one.

how was the interview Milliways?

He wasn't very happy. He could hear lots of other students talk about their "chat about A levels" etc, and even overheard some interviews nearby which were chatty. He was given a problem to solve, did it and was then asked "why this" & "why that" and taken to a very high level (Maths). His teacher at school afterwards told him he should not have been expected to know nearly that much - and he was expecting to be "pushed a bit" but not a total grilling with no chatty bits at all.

His view is that the interviewer now just knows that he knows more stuff than DS, which would have been obvious to start with, but knows nothing about him. It was also a stressful journey with M6 shut and promised "lunch" on arrival one triangle of sandwich

Anyway, I'm sure he did fine really, and will soon hear what the offer is - if any.

aaaw poor kid, must have been hard :( sure he prob did better than he thinks, do keep us posted.

Hooray DD3 has finished her Uni application and submitted it. Just got to wait for her tutor to put his reference in.