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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

UCAS forms sent - just the waiting game now !

999 replies

snowyowl70 · 27/09/2013 23:07

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 ?

OP posts:

yourlittlesecret · 25/03/2014 09:40

BeckAndCall Yes, it seems the insurance choice is harder than the firm!
I think it's important that they do put a lot of thought into insurance and a good thing they are angsting over it. However much they think they can meet the firm offer things don't always go to plan. I'd like DS to love his second choice if that's possible.

2rebecca · 25/03/2014 12:53

Can she not just get the day off school tomorrow or Thursday and get a bus or train to Durham? My son got to all his open days by public transport and just found an online site where you put in your start and finish destinations and the time you needed to be there and it worked it all out for you.

Littleham · 25/03/2014 13:27

It's not easy, as we are 6 hours away, so by the time she got there, it would all be over. Think she will have to decide from a distance, unless they put another event on.

fussychica · 25/03/2014 17:00

How about staying over the night before? DS flew in from abroad for his open days(appreciate easier for boys generally to travel alone). DS stayed in B&Bs but expect the university has a list of suitable accommodation.

Littleham · 25/03/2014 17:35

The night before is tonight & she has her driving test. Just not enough notice for us. We may try to arrange a private visit during the Easter holidays (if they are open). Not as good I know, but it will have to do.

venturabay · 25/03/2014 18:29

I would definitely try to go up over Easter Littleham. Very happy to help suggest a good route around the whole place to show your DD all the best bits, some off the beaten track, if that helps. And good places to eat! You'll need to stay a night if you're 6 hours away but the Royal County does great 'deals'. It would be a completely different experience from Warwick, but in my very biased view infinitely better. I think a private visit could actually be better, so don't worry too much. At least then you can both see it together, share views, and take a quiet walk around your choice of places at your own pace. None of my elder DC went to the offer holders day, they did a day independently themselves (with me).

chemenger · 25/03/2014 18:31

Universities are open over the Easter vacation, it's just the undergrads who aren't there (and even then many final year students will be around).

Littleham · 25/03/2014 19:01

Thanks - any tips much appreciated. I think that the university will be happy for us to take a closer look, once we know the college allocation. I'll check out the Royal County. Just when I thought all the visits with dd1 had finished......

lalsy · 25/03/2014 19:28

How frustrating Littleham...I suppose the flip side is she has some great options.

Littleham · 25/03/2014 19:31

Yes - we are lucky really. She just passed her driving theory test. Hurrah!

MillieMagnolia · 25/03/2014 23:13

I've enjoyed reading this thread and also sharing my DS's excitement at looking at lots of universities this year and last year. He has some great offers: Cambridge, Imperial, Bristol, Manchester and Sheffield. Has not picked firm and insurance yet but it will probably be Imperial firm and Bristol insurance. He likes the idea of living in London.

BeckAndCall · 26/03/2014 06:48

So Millie I must have missed something in the middle pages here that everyone else knows! Your DS is turning down Cambridge in favour of Imperial? That's a rare thing isn't it? Just interested in how much angst that is causing you? Was the course content the key factor or is it the London lifestyle?

(I'm not questioning your decision believe me I'm just interested in relation to my own DD making her own decision)

chemenger · 26/03/2014 09:24

I don't think it is that unusual for applicants to turn down Oxbridge offers in favour of another that they prefer. I certainly see applicants who have visited Cambridge and not thought it would suit them, just as they come to my university and think they wouldn't like it here. They have to think they will be happy studying somewhere for three or four or five years and the kudos of an Oxbridge degree won't make up for not enjoying that time.

BeckAndCall · 26/03/2014 13:07

I can understand chemenger why that would mean you didn't apply in the first place but to turn them down after an offer? It's not all that common is it? I know of one or two people who've done it but the majority do accept the place offered at Oxbridge don't they? ( I bet someone has some stats on this!)

chemenger · 26/03/2014 13:15

Many applicants apply to universities that they have never visited, mainly on the basis of reputation, then when they do visit they find it doesn't match with their expectations. I not infrequently see people on post-offer visits who have never been to my city, never mind the university. The post-offer visits tend to be different from open days - not least because, in our case anyway, there is a focus on meeting current students, seeing accommodation and speaking to staff informally.

Littleham · 26/03/2014 13:17

Wow MillieMagnolia, those are amazing offers. You must be so proud. Difficult choice for him though.

There seems to be an alarming new trend at my dd's school, where some students are only picking a firm choice (ie no insurance). This seems crazy. It is so easy to miss your grades, why wouldn't you pick an insurance university that you love? Is this common?

venturabay · 26/03/2014 14:27

DS has insured even though his insurance has the same grade requirement as his firm (AAA). On the basis that if he misses a grade, he has two universities to grovel to rather than just one :)

yourlittlesecret · 26/03/2014 15:34

Well done to Littham DD. Now the scary bit where they go solo behind the wheel .

venturabay did your DS firm Oxford and insure Bristol without getting a reply from Durham? I'm guessing he's fairly confident of those 3 As if he has chosen an insurance offer the same?

DS back from Durham and not thrilled. The fellow students were all very posh and and the course not as exciting as his first choice. The Cambridge offer is so tough though that he must have an insurance he wants to go to. Warwick seems to be back in the running....

Littleham · 26/03/2014 16:05

Oh dear. Which college at Durham did he go and see? I'm a bit worried about this issue, as dd goes to a comprehensive. Would she struggle to fit in? I understand that the colleges are all very different.

yourlittlesecret · 26/03/2014 16:44

It was St Hilde. He didn't apply to that one it was allocated. He is well aware that the colleges at Durham are really just halls of residence and only for the first year. He met someone recently who is in their 3rd year who told him they have never been back to their college since the first year.
He went to a small rural comprehensive and is at a sixth form college. He normally fits in with all kinds. I was a bit surprised he had a problem as he has been on lots of tasters and residential which were mainly students from private schools and got on well with everyone. This sounds a little different, they were ostentatiously posh, loud and boastful. A bit of a generalisation I know but that was his overwhelming feeling.
Plus... the room was small, the bed was small,there was road noise (we are rural) and 3 showers between 20 people.
Oh dear he has got some adapting to do I think, wherever he goes

venturabay · 26/03/2014 19:30

yourlittlesecret it's not a question of being confident but UCL offered A*AA, Durham would have been the same and the others were all AAA. I personally think he needs to watch it, but what do I know?

Do tell your DS not to dismiss Durham on the basis of posh or braying or whatever. Whoever he met probably wouldn't represent the full range of people he'd be with if he went there. I think these offer days are artificial. HildBede is one of the odder colleges in that it's all on its own but those who go there seem to like it. As an outsider, I don't think I would have liked it but the insiders did, rather oddly. And it's quite right that students can live out (in often very nice houses) for their second and subsequent years. Your DS will be spoiled with a Cambridge college to look forward to and Durham doesn't replicate that. It's a whole different ball game, even at Castle. Some people (the Oxford and Cambridge rejects in particular) try to pretend it's similar but it's not. In fact it doesn't get near, so you have to shift mindset. Your DS should also be aware that if he does meet his hideously challenging offer for Cambridge then not all accommodation is fab even there. I've had to remove sicked on curtains in Oxford and heaved 70's furniture around to cover up burns and grub on walls - and some floor coverings beggar belief. If you want swish rooms, maybe look elsewhere!

Of course there are compensations, both at Durham, which is exceptionally beautiful, and at Oxford and Cambridge. And then there are downsides at the universities with all en-suites and new builds.

venturabay · 26/03/2014 19:38

Littleham the bottom line is that this stuff about colleges is nonsense. College reputations at all collegiate universities are based on a vocal minority and all college members are likely to find enough kindred spirits to be able to form close friendship groups and enjoy student life, even if they're not part of the vocal minority. School background is pretty irrelevant.

Littleham · 26/03/2014 19:49

Thanks, that is reassuring. She really loves music, so I expect she would make lots of friends through an orchestra, as well as through her subject. Thinking about it, wherever they go, there will be a set of people they do get on with and another set that they don't, depending on personality. Must stop worrying.

MillieMagnolia · 27/03/2014 08:56

Hi. Some of you have asked about why my DS will probably chose Imperial over Cambridge. The main reason is that even before applying it was always Imperial he liked the sound of and I think it is the fact that it is a top university in what some say is the best student city in the world. He wants to have fun as well as hard work, notwithstanding the fact that we know both Cambridge and Imperial have a reputation for demanding very high commitment and hard work - he is trying to balance reputation with opportunity for fun. He also prefers the course at Imperial. However he actually loves all the universities he has applied to. He says, "I want to go to them all." And we find all have positives and negatives. Also tactically because of the offers, Cambridge is more risky. Both Cambridge and Imperial want AAAA but Cambridge want one of the A s in Further Maths which is the toughest of my DSs A levels - for him anyway. However he is predicted A in Further Maths. Still the pressure -especially when he prefers the other place!!!

Regarding statistics, I have read that Cambridge offer 10 per cent more places than they have available, to account for 3 per cent turning down the offer and 7 per cent not meeting the offer.

My preference? Probably prefer him to go to Cambridge but overall prefer him to go where he wants to go.

legallady · 27/03/2014 14:32

Littleham

DD was at the Durham offer days this week and like your daughter has applied for languages. I think she was visiting more with the intention of eliminating Durham for good cause rather than just based on hearsay.

Surprisingly for both of us, however, Durham is still in the running! Unfortunately she did meet a fair few girls in the language lectures that weren't her cup of tea but this was very much balanced by the people she met at the college who were, without exception, lovely and "normal." (Her words not mine :-))

The languages department is in a strikingly ugly building, but as I explained to DD, she is not going to be staring at the building during lectures. She likes the course content as well. She does still have doubts about whether Durham will be enough for her in terms of size and general student life but I do think she was pleasantly surprised.

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