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 ?

venturabay Oh thanks for that. He went with the intention of loving it and it just didn't meet his expectations. He said that almost everyone he spoke to had been rejected by Oxbridge (he didn't own up to having been accepted himself). Many were at boarding schools and I guess your phrase "braying" describes it. He felt overwhelmed by them. His self confidence is at an all time low so he isn't well equipped to handle new people. I'm actually very proud of him for going on his own and staying. I have tried to explain that they were all in competing and showing off mode and that would soon wear off.
If he meets the hideously challenging offer for Cambridge he won't care about the room I am sure.

Thanks legallady. Which college did she go and see? My dd has been sent on some courses by school and usually gets on with most people from a variety of backgrounds. If she can survive being put next to those expelled from other schools (for goodness knows what) and others dealing drugs, one or two 'braying' people shouldn't be too bad! Sounds like they are not in the majority & they were probably just showing off to each other.

The language department has been very helpful and will happily arrange a visit once we know about a college.

Well DS finally got a NO from Durham - only took them 3 months to decide!! I'm quite happy as I don't think it would particularly suit him, but feel a little disappointed for my DS.

yourlittlesecret I think you've hit the nail - which is what I meant about artificial. There will be many, many, many Oxbridge rejects, all trying to be positive (which is good to be fair) and that will create an odd atmosphere. Come the second week of term they'll settle down on the whole, and stop posturing. I think it wise not to have mentioned his offer :) I thought DS might well have suited Durham more than Oxford but I did always say that he'd need to keep quiet about his offer, because saying it could seriously provoke hostility. Anyhow, he's not going down that route now, but I still do believe he'd have loved Durham - there are always going to be sympathetic people everywhere, for anyone half normal.

Sorry to hear that FreeNickName. Which course? Does he have other offers which are as good, or better? Hope so. I think DS may have jumped before he was pushed to be honest, they'd taken so long.

Dd has just graduated from Durham having gone to a comprehensive. A very 'posh' old college too. Made no difference, she loved every second. Any questions I am happy to answer.

Myself having gone to Durham back in the day too :)

Sorry that you had to wait so long FreeNickName. I'm not sure that Durham would be flexible on results day. I think if my dd chooses it and drops grades, she would miss a place there anyway. Had a mixed parents evening - 2 subjects / mocks & EPQ going really well, one subject total mess up (for various reasons). Not sure what to do.....
Innogen - how flexible are Durham if you foul up on one A level?

ICantFindAFreeNickName Sorry to hear that, was his heart set on Durham?
venturabay you may have mentioned but I can't remember, did one of your older ones go to Durham or was it that they all liked it? Your DS has two great choices, Durham's loss for waiting so long.
DS is mulling it over. He was hoping to put Durham down as insurance because they don't require STEP. Warwick's offer is still pretty tough and requires STEP, albeit a lower grade than Cambridge.
Littleham how did Durham's offer compare to Warwick? Your DD was set on Warwick wasn't she?

She still likes Warwick the best at the moment, but given everyone's reaction we thought it sensible to take a trip up to Durham. She doesn't have to decide until May.

Weirdly, Durham's offer is slightly more flexible / possibly contextual (AAB in any subject order) whereas Warwick is AAB (A in German). However, she was told that if her grades are not too disastrous to ring up Warwick & she should hopefully get a place. Not sure Durham would flex this far.... Reserve is Bristol at ABB (in any order)- she really likes it too. She already has an A in Maths and looks likely to get A in German, however third A Level is shaky. We may be in clearing, if third A level proves too dodgy.

Littleham - not very flexible at all I wouldn't think. Don't know anybody who got in having missed grades.

My elder DC put Durham as their insurance but I went there, their dad went there also his sister and my sister (who stayed 12 years). For various reasons I know the place like the back of my hand.

Littleham MFL are in crisis. I think Durham will be distinctly more flexible with certain subjects than with others. Academics in all the good universities are desperate for good MFL students, and particularly keen on students from comps, where MFL are most markedly in decline - I would expect a grade here or there shouldn't be crucial, but of course you can't bank on it.

Littleham DS got the impression that Warwick might be a little flexible on a near miss. No one wants to count on that though do they?

What about Durham as firm if she really likes it when you go up, with Warwick as insurance (if she's on course for the German A, and they've suggested flexibility)?

Yes - we were actually told that Warwick would be flexible, so might be a safer option as firm choice now. MFL do seem to have a problem and one or two languages seem to be in more of a crisis than others.

This next few months is going to be nail-biting for all of us on this thread.

She could well end up with AAC (or worse), with a or b in EPQ. If we don't get her some help that third subject could be really dodgy. I don't think it is entirely her fault - weak department etc. Any ideas for emergency help?

Wouldn't both Durham and Warwick be too risky in that situation? You like to live dangerously ventura!

Littleham The EPQ isn't part of any offer is it? Could she drop that in order to put more time into the weaker subject? I don't know what the subject is but could you ask the school for some extra support for her? Is there any kind of crash course she could do over Easter?
Maybe a separate post about MFL degrees might attract advice from people who know about admissions?

She has finished the EPQ now - just waiting for result.

Is French the weak area? The EPQ can help ameliorate a weak A Level grade yourlittlesecret, as can a stellar mark in GS, so the early result could give Littleham's DD a boost and help her decide what to do. DS has his teacher assessed result already, so hopefully Littleham's DD will get hers soon. Was the EPQ German related?

I suppose I do tend to be risky, but a dull outcome through UCAS for any individual is a terrible shame, and a year out is the lesser of two evils. (In fact none of my DC ended up taking a gap year, so the risks paid off, as they so often seem to).

It's really quite hard isn't it - what to firm and what to insure. So many things come into play. I've decided that my DS is old enough to consider properly and make his own mind up. I'd hate to persuade him into something that was my choice rather than his. And all in all I like ventura's philosophy that there is always a gap year if things go wrong. Furthermore even if they end up in the wrong place they could leave and start again - admittedly an expensive option though!

The EPQ was German related and went really well. Would be a tragedy if she didn't end up studying German. The third subject is unrelated to languages & in hindsight was a mistake (didn't know what she wanted to do going into A Levels). Hindsight is a wonderful thing....

You are right MillieMagnolia, the two final choices are really hard.

That bodes well then Littleham. She's got an A already in maths taken in Y12 - is that right?, an A almost in the bag for German, an A* or A in the EPQ (I assume) and a potential rubbish mark in the other but where the teaching at her school is weak, which is easy enough to demonstrate with data, if needs be. If she were my DD, applying for MFL from a not top indie or grammar then I'd say be bold. Just firm whichever she really wants to go to the most.

The current DS made a huge mistake with his fourth AS subject, but I've tried to never interfere with choices - and as you say, it's all so much more obvious in hindsight. He dropped the fourth subject for A2, and that was with me strongly suggesting it as a good way forward - he was uncharacteristically nervous - but it was dragging him down. Doesn't seem to have injured him with offers - though so many threads on MN would have it that you now need four A2s. Which you don't. The next DS has made a similar mistake and I hope he will drop the subject which he is grumpy about and that his offers will go reasonably too. There's so much mantra out there, much of which is rubbish.

Having to choose A Level subjects at 16 is a nightmare if you are an all rounder. Sometimes it doesn't become obvious what they are good at or love until the end of AS. Am trying to get her some help, as there is a chance we can crack the problem with a different teacher. At least I will have tried. (Yes the maths was taken in year 12)

Oh yes the benefit of hindsight, and the tightrope of being supportive while trying not to overly influence decisions.
DS1 insisted against all advice on doing 5 AS. Luckily it didn't prove to be a disaster but it could have been. At least he was very clear what subjects to do. DS2(16) who is an all rounder, is clueless. He is going with sciences and maths but really doesn't know what he wants to do. I am hoping his subject choices will keep most doors open for a while longer and that he see things differently when he has been at 6th form a while.

Just to say thanks for the messages & advice. Am following all of this advice & throwing everything at the problem.

Found someone to help dd1 - says that she hasn't been taught any of the methods properly and that once she had explained a couple of the problem areas that my daughter understood it immediately.