UCAS forms sent - just the waiting game now !

[snowyowl70]

My super organised DD1 has had email today to say her forms/reference have been received and should be at her chosen Unis in the next 48 hrs !!!!! So the waiting begins - to those seasoned parents who have done this before can you remember how long they had to wait for their first responses ? At least 2 out of her 5 may call her for interview (MFL) so am guessing these might be fairly on the ball ?

ventura we had this debate upthread, and there's a link to a Telegraph article. Apparently when Birmingham tried it last year they increased their first choice acceptances from a third to a quarter. Given that other unis, Southampton and SOAS went public, found themselves up to 600 students short, as a result of the UCLs etc taking more students with AAB and above, it seems a sensible strategy for gaining top students. They only make the offers to those predicted ABB and above, mostly to those predicted 3As. It seems as if other unis have followed their example in a last minute response. The reduced offer from Sussex, and offer of a scholarship came last week.

Whilst my DD is still making her mind up taking all factors into consideration several of her peers at the school have accepted the offer, and one of her teachers is strongly advocating they all do, to take the pressure off.

They find themselves in a competitive market, it's a sensible strategy.

It just surprises me that Durham in particular continues to act with such apparent contempt for students, leaving them hanging for months. It has a name for it now. It must deter applicants.

Increased from a quarter to a third!

Do you really think Durham is contemptuous? It's only February, that doesn't seem too bad in the scheme of things. They've been slow with some students for some subjects years - it doesn't seem to deter.

DS is an MFL student - currently on 3rd year abroad so pre unconditionals due to last crush for places before fees hike. Interesting to see how things have changed. I think an unconditional from one of his choices might have swayed him but I'm not sure. He chose the place where, when he visited, he instinctively felt was right.

All the places mentioned are good so I would say it's down to the actual course offered and that gut feeling. Fortunately, I don't think language students are under quite the same pressure as those applying for some subjects, where if you don't make it into the top 3 or 4 universities for the subject people say you might as well not bother.

My DS has a conditional offer, not unconditional from Birmingham, so they're not that desperate.....

I suppose the problem is that four of the boyfriends are being attentive, polite, good communicators, quick in replying and send caring e mails. One boyfriend, (whilst he is well within his rights by not responding yet) has done none of those things. Some DC's might be more attracted to the former than the latter!

Sorry I meant suitors not boyfriends. Suitor no. 5 might resemble Brad Pitt, but the more time goes by, the more he might lose his shine - especially if this waiting / refreshing business goes into April....

Sorry if I've missed this Littleham but which is the one taking time to respond? (I should go back over the thread I know, sorry....).

Durham. Meanwhile dd is getting the most lovely e mails from Warwick, Bristol etc.... which is making her conclude that Durham is not as interested.

laleham DD had exactly the same experience. She had offers from two unis equally good for her subject and one invited her for a charm offensive interview and fielded current students, an academic who features on Radio 4 on a regular basis because he is funny and a good communicator (and had written a lot of the latest books on their subject) and just made her feel wanted. Durham didn't offer her a place until mid March. Since she is on for a first and her uni have waived fees on her Masters and she has assured funding for a PhD I think it was Durham's loss.

And yes it does lose them applicants as well.

DS has offers from Bristol, Oxford, UCL etc but not Durham and no lovely e-mails from anyone :(

Ds has at last heard from Durham and has an offer! Beautiful College too but he is very torn as the course at Bristol might suit him better. Still, he is very happy now the Durham offer has finally arrived.

It's all a bit random I think. The trouble is we are all on Mumsnet comparing notes and the students are all on student room doing the same, so all the anomalies start to stand out. Roll on August...(unless we end up in clearing of course).

Thought you might be interested in this article (hope the link works)....

www.durhamtimes.co.uk/news/11025088.College_system_review_poses__significant_threat_to_everything_fantastic_about_Durham_University_/?ref=var_0

What subject FreshorangeforDd? Did the offer come through today?

Not sure if I missed this but if your DC firms an unconditional offer, does this mean they can enter Adjustment with any grades?

Still nothing for DS. LSE, UCL and Warwick. The hope is that he has been kept waiting so long because he is a sound candidate and that there is a good chance that a space will open up in at least one of the three. He seems to have survived another "rejection Friday" at LSE as they slowly sift through their pile of remaining candidates, and I hear from the parents of a boy who went through the same last year that most of the decisions will now happen on 31 March.

I went to a alumni talk at the LSE last week. LSE has 20 applicants for every place, so DS should perhaps feel proud of having survived so long. Given they don't interview, AAA* is not sufficient and marginal differences in UMS, subject choice and the strength of the reference and PS have become hugely important. Only 30% of their students are "home", eg from Europe, and they are very concerned that fee increases and the cost of living in London means that amongst the students from the UK there is an increasing over-representation of both London/Home Counties and privately educated students. Ironically LSE are looking for commitment to your chosen field of study, so applying to comparable and also hugely competitive courses, should help your application.

UCL apparently (too much student room) hope to make most of their remaining decisions in the next week. At least the waiting will then be over.

Warwick is a bit of a mystery as they have handed out quite a lot of offers including to kids whose grades etc are very comparable to DS'. DS offers a second language to a level sufficient for Erasmus, which we assumed would appeal to Warwick.

What seems clear is that demand for a very limited number of rigorous maths based economics courses is increasing significantly year on year. However it appears that the need for contextualisation means that Universities feel constrained from expanding the places available for home students, as there is only a limited pool of target students (eg from the north or from low performing state secondaries) who have sufficient maths to cope (and my guess is that they would tend to chose Cambridge or Warwick over London.) LSE instead suggested they are looking at offering a second more policy orientated degree, which will attract a different pool of candidates.

Plan B will be a gap year and perhaps a hard look to see similar courses are taught anywhere else in Europe. The small silver lining is that after 5 months wait it has sort of become a background issue, and mocks revision has taken over. Since he would be happy with any of the three, I suspect that the long wait becomes more frustrating for those who have four offers out of five and would like to be sure where they are going.

DD talks about medicine.....at least there we are forewarned.

Dont know what happened. A A A now appears to be the effective minimum for non contextualised candidates, with UMS scores at AS also thrown into the pot. You also need a fourth A level if your school offers Further maths, as the A A A offer wont include the F Maths. It is quite an arms race.

Is that how it works? Do they all do culls every Friday?

Makes it sound like 'The Hunger Games' - select a few out, put them in an arena and see who survives at the end!!

Needmoresleep it's tough on your DS to have heard nothing so far.
I do hope he gets something through soon.

If he is applying for maths Warwick have a very open policy. An offer will be made to every candidate predicted A A in maths and FM.
You also need a fourth A level if your school offers Further maths, as the A A A offer wont include the F Maths. All of DSs offers have treated FM as a full A level, in fact his firm has actually specified A in FM

You are probably right about London universities not appealing to those outside the south east. Regardless of contextualisation which I do not think has a major effect on the offers, the cost of living and accommodation in London is very off putting. I don't know of any of DSs peer group who have applied to London. DS even went on a residential to LSE but it consolidated his decision to avoid London.

Also beware of a gap year for maths based subjects. Some universities discourage it and those who don't expect you to show that you have kept up to speed.

Needmoresleep I am so sorry for your DS that this is dragging on. It does sound as if he is in a very competitive pool, as we have discussed Economics at LSE is notorious for having huge numbers of applicants particularly from overseas where it is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as the gold standard. He has done really well to be still in the running. Everything crossed he hears soon with some exciting offers. And yes I am afraid this would be the more common experience for medics, but at least everyone knows that.

Two of DD1s flatmates are state schools oop north, on maintenance grants and bursaries. They have both done well and thoroughly enjoyed it, sadly I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about London unis. It is more expensive but not that much more expensive I am finding as I embark on my road trip, maybe £100-£150 per month, and there is a plentiful supply of flats within a half hour commute of the unis, in areas like Holloway and Camden, Shoreditch and Hoxton, Battersea and Clapham, the places students congregate, and lots of student offers, places to shop cheaply etc. You can also get plenty of work, they all have access to shifts in bars, restaurants and promotional work pretty much whenever they want. And it is completely untrue that the unis are full of posh rich kids, they are more likely to be found at Exeter Nottingham and Leeds. The London unis have for some reason more of a mix with less of a divide between overseas, and the different tribes sub cultures. It is getting very political now as well. It isn't making the news but barely a day goes by without some form of March or sit in. Two reasons, attempts to stifle the political voices and, perhaps of more interest to mumsnet, rumours of a massive shake up in the structure of the component parts of the University of London with possible concentration (or even UDI) on the big names (could be student /staff paranoia though )

Agree on the danger of a gap year for those doing technically demanding degrees, my DD found the jump from A level Science, particularly in Chemistry and Maths very demanding and is sure it would have been more difficult be if she had taken a year out. However I wonder if there are potential ways to bridge that gap. Expat friends applying to US unis often take a year off to apply but study additional modules at the unis to bridge the gap, strengthen their applications. Perhaps some OU modules? Or some unis will allow you to audit courses (attend lectures but not be part of the assessment process.) I don't think it is something gap year students consider here but perhaps they should? DD has been doing an Oxford Continuing Education module to help prepare her for uni and has found it very helpful.

Littleham, its feels like that. As if they are all in a corral being picked off one by one. Student room suggests that offers are given out on Thursday and rejections on both Thursday and Friday. If you have not heard by 6.00pm you are safe for another week. There is now a whole Twitter feed dedicated to LSE rejections. Since the application deadline has passed, the numbers being weeded out each week seem to be declining so he might well make it through to the final sift on 31 March. It will then be such a pity if he does not get a place. It will have been half a year.

I think Warwick are also experiencing the same year on year increase in applicants. The problem is that strong Masters courses are looking for sound quantitative skills. So if you think you might want to take economics further you really do need to look at a small number of very competitive courses. At the open day Warwick explained that they expected 2,000 or more QUALIFIED applicants, and only places for 300 or so.

Then:

1. These courses want to retain or improve their international ratings. They will therefore have high cost bases as they compete for top staff internationally. They will want to recruit top students who will support their reputations.
2. Economics taught in English at a world ranked University is an international commodity. Overseas students pay double, European students need to be treated equally, and Universities themselves are under pressure to contextualise British students to ensure a level playing field. The nice and bright kids from the SE who would have once walked in now face intense international competition.
3. With 20 applicants for each place there is no scope for interviews. UMS scores rule.
4. My wider concern is that good mathematicians are not necessarily good economists. Good policy makers, wise bankers etc, need a broader skill set. Do our top Universities simply see themselves as training a generation of very able technicians equipped only to earn high salaries in Investment Banking. Is the candidate with 98% coverage UMS better than the one with 93%?!

DS' "mistake" was to take history rather than physics or chemistry at A level. With the latter he should have got UMS scores well into the 90s. History is harder, but he chose it for this very reason. He is getting better and should, by the time he gets to University be far better at communicating ideas and arguments than some of his peers. I think he made the right decision, as education is a long term process. However with so few places and such heavy competition, it really needs to be As and A*s all the way.

Thank you to the person who went through it a couple of years ago, and who sent me a lovely PM. We did not expect it to be as difficult as it is. So to anyone whose DC are thinking about applying next year or the year after, be prepared.

I agree also about London. Easy for us as we live here and so it will be more like a continuation of school. If we did not, I can see Warwick being far more attractive. However for many from outside the UK London's diversity and vibrancy is a real lure. My friend lives in an expensive and central block where flats were initially marketed in the Far East. The result...it is effectively a student hostel!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all your children make it through the Thursday / Friday culls and get the places they want - this thread is keeping me sane.

When my dd went to the Bristol day they said that they had 11 qualified applicants per place (MFL). The maths / economics / medicine applications seem so much harder. Am not looking forward to my son applying as he likes Maths. /emo/te/3.gif

I think the odds are with your DS Needmoresleep, as he has made it this far for three competitive unis - surely one has to come good.

Sorry - having trouble with smileys.

Aha!