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 ?

Another one confident of a car crash with ASs in June. Still, as long as it's general, they should be ok :)

Also another one with A2s, ASs, GCSEs this summer but also two sets of Finals on top ...... I'm just so glad I'm past exams myself.

Great - someone else crazy enough to have four children! At least we will know the system by the end of this, or maybe not because my 12 year old tells me that he will have no official exams at A Level until the end of sixth form. Thanks Mr Gove

Slipshod. I agree with Shooting that "posh" comes in many forms. Private London day schools are not particularly posh, though likely to have some urban confidence from years of fighting your way onto the Tube during rush hour. There are some very rich (think Beckham, Abramovich etc) and a good sprinkling of expats, but these would probably not count as posh, nor do they go to Exeter.

Then there is the urban middle class, some posh, some not. A higher proportion are educated in the private system than elsewhere but this will partly represent the greater disparity between educational outcomes in the two sectors. If there were limitless places at Tiffin, West London bursars would start to panic.

My guess is that Exeter is a destination for boarding school pupils. Dunno. None of DS' friends are applying. None of his friends wear Jack Wills either. Uniqlo is good enough and cheaper. DD confirms that brands like Hollister etc are for pre-teens. They have moved onto Asos, Top Shop, Zara, TK Maxx....

Does Exeter offer Anthropology?

Exeter is seen as being an awfully long way from civilisation by the French bac (not necessarily French nationals) pupils I talk to about university in the UK. I suspect its environment is more familiar and attractive to students coming from country and market town environments. It's certainly a hard sell to Parisians who never seem to end up choosing it despite the very generous conditional offers if gives them.

I suppose what I mean is that Exeter's image is not very cosmopolitan.

I am actually slightly amused at the idea that Exeter is for the thick sloanes. I don't think there are many courses demanding less than 3 As and I know of at least one 3As sloaney lad (obviously he had a "gap yah" so had achieved grades) who had to slum it at Nottingham when Exeter rejected him ("gutted" ).Obviously required grades are as much an indication of demand as academic standards and I have always wondered if Exeters rise up the league tables was to do with it's popularity in certain social circles or it's academic reputation (but then I would being a Southampton alumnae, there is a south coast rivalry and sports fixtures were vicious )

However I do know what you mean Ventura, just think that mumsnet seems to entertain a rather rarified obsession with the positioning of the top 10 or so unis which perhaps could do with a bit of perspective given the number of other institutions? don't the really thick sloanes go to Cirencester Agricultural College?

'don't the rather thick sloanes go to Cirencester Agricultural College?' let's hope so shooting

Shooting, if you look at the stats an awful lot of nice, reasonably hard-working Boarding School kids achieve 3As. A combination of small class sizes, good teaching, and careful subject choice. Plus organised study periods in the evening and less access to computer gaming or parties.

DN was due to go there from a "posh" girls Convent boarding school, but unfortunately missed a couple of UMS points on a key A level. She is lovely and it would have suited her. Little evidence that she has met anyone other than public school type in her insurance choice ooop north.

I think Exeter might be seen as a pleasant and safe place by some parents. The young people I know who have been to Exeter over recent years are mainly - but not all - from fairly well off families though that is just because of who I have been involved with. The recent students have been highly competent and some will have missed out on Oxbridge.

However much we might 'grade poshness', it is still true that 33 % are privately educated. (In 2012 ) that isn't noticeably more than other, similar universities. There might be a larger proportion of those from wealthier families than the average independently schooled applicant, but they still won't be a majority.

The only problem friends DS found with Exeter was after he left. He applied for a job in the City, got as far as a telephone interview. Interview had gone on for about 20 mins and appeared to be going well, when the interviewer asked which University he went to, on replying Exeter the interviewer said "I am going to have to terminate the interview now" and put the phone down
I dont know if they would have a different attitude now that Exeter has left 1994 and joined RG

needmore leeds or newcastle? I gather both have a reputation.

Well I've already admitted that I'm generalizing liberally but certainly DNs friends at Exeter irritate my DC hugely, and yet they've become remarkably tolerant of almost all public school boarders at their own universities. This Exeter bunch just grate. Nor am I convinced that being an Oxbridge reject in itself makes a student especially bright, though it can add a chip to those that way inclined :)

How did you know...Leeds.

(And Newcastle was her original insurance before resit and reapplication.)

Bruffin I know someone who recruits for a well known management consultancy. They have a huge volume of applicants and one of the criteria used for first sift is University. She herself went to Exeter but says she would not get through now. The list of Universities is quite narrow (I forget which but Oxbridge, London and one or two more). RG is a mixed bag and I am not sure that Exeter joining RG will make much difference to graduate recruitment prospects.

As Shooting says, entry requirements are high, and expectations seem to remain high. The DD of a family friend dropped out a year or two back because though she had the fab grades that selective London Day Schools usually deliver, she found the technical content of her degree tough going. It is not an easy option, even for "posh" kids.

Could someone explain to me what COWI is please? Apparently it is targeted by major employers.

I understand that the initials COWI stand for = Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, and Imperial. What is it all about?

If you are not at COWI you're not worth having Quite frankly I don't think I would want my dc working for such narrow minded employers

But what is it?

COWI is just an abbreviation for the top ranked universities for maths.

Oh - thanks. Didn't realise it was for Maths. We can happy ignore it for now then!

Ventura sorry not to come back sooner. Visitors playing havoc with my Mumsnet time. Ds has applied to study Music and he is still keen on Bristol although pleased with the Durham offer.

Shooting, you mention Leeds and Newcastle as having reputations, can I ask you to expand please? My DS is deciding between these two as his firm! Or if anyone else could add anything? It's for chemical engineering.

mindgone absolutely do not worry, both towns have a HUGE student population, both have thriving ex polys newer unis as well. Know lots and lots of student who have gone there. I suspect at Exeter the tribe is a bit more annoying but still just an annoyance but at Leeds certainly very diluted (or as my dyslexic DD who has such a talent for the right wrong word, put it, liquidated ). Alma mater to a couple of Harrys girlfriends, some orange and mahogany, some braying but they are not going to be doing chemical engineering anyway, a bit trade (not in any way a derogatory comment). A couple of DDs friend's considering Leeds for Engineering, one being snobbish from a different perspective, she is West African, and parents only interested in a name, but they have been totally won over by the quality of the course.

Thanks for that Shooting. I still feel a bit non-the-wiser, knowing nothing really about different university's general reputations!

Do any of you uni experts know when universities find out if a student has chosen them for firm insurance or rejected them ?
,

mindgone I really wouldn't let this stuff worry you given this www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Chemical+Engineering

Thanks Shooting! That's really very reassuring!