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Higher education

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

Original poster

University entry 2016

102 replies

Itsthiwooluff · 21/09/2015 13:44

Apologies if I have just overlooked this, but is there a thread for the parents of potential, non-medic 2016 entries yet?

I really need somewhere to unload about the sheer teeth gritting frustration produced by dd's approach to her personal statement.

OP posts:
Original poster
Itsthiwooluff · 25/09/2015 17:52

eatyourveg - No don't hide! Perhaps we could keep this as a general support thread?

I am struggling between being supportive and not helicoptering. For example, I'm saying 'Don't forget how important getting your teachers input into your personal statement is', without saying what I want to, which is 'For pity's sake, have you even started it yet? Yes, I want to see it. Have you even considered where you want to apply now that your predicted grades are lower than you thought they would be? And planning what you wear at the parties which seem to be happening every weekend between now and Christmas, should perhaps come a little lower down your list of priorities at the moment'' And breathe.

I promise not to say this stuff out loud, but it feels good to write it down.

OP posts:
Bolograph · 25/09/2015 18:10

You do not have to put all your choices down at once, so you can apply to say 3, see what kind of offers you get and then go higher or lower

You can, but the deadline for applications is January 15th and universities aren't obliged to reply until 5th May. The universities that give offers quickly make conditional offers to everyone whose predicted grades meet the requirements, because they know that they aren't wildly over-subscribed, so you can work out in advance whether you will get an offer. The universities where it is less certain that you will get an offer just on the basis of predicted grades will take longer to reply.

It would be interesting to know how many people (a) adopt this strategy and (b) think they gained by it. My suspicion is that in practice it won't make much odds: the quick offers were predictable, the unpredictable offers took too long.

SeekretSquirrels · 22/10/2015 16:31

So have they all submitted their UCAS forms or are they like DS who will be waiting to the bitter end before pushing the button?

Original poster
Itsthiwooluff · 22/10/2015 16:49

Not in yet. Apparently it will be 'worked on' over half term - am gently grinding teeth.

OP posts:
TalkinPeece · 22/10/2015 17:35

DDs form went to college on Sunday and out to UCAS on Tuesday.
Acknowledgements are coming in but offers are over the horizon.

I get fed of the RG stuff
(a) it did not exist when I was at Uni
(b) its about research not undergrads
(c) its about funding for campuses, not the student experience on many courses

on the other hand kids need to think long and hard whether the course they are looking at is worth £50,000 of debt in total.

Cars on campus were a rarity in the 80's : and that was before they had built on all the car parks!!

eatyourveg · 22/10/2015 17:40

Not in yet - all set to go but the tutor is still off sick and not likely to return anytime soon so the reference will be done by the pastoral tutor who has little experience with the whole system. Hmm ds asked him today for a number he needed for the form and he gave him the course code rather than a registration code so the form is rejecting it saying it isn't in the right format (correct combination of numbers and letters) so it is obviously not that number. Ds won't ask the head of faculty as he has never met her not helped by having a split campus. He wanted to get if all off by half term but it doesn't look as if it is going to happen.

LIZS · 22/10/2015 17:45

Not done yet. Think Ds has sifted through the shortlist but still working on ps. Apparently not focussing enough on why this subject.

SoundFury · 22/10/2015 17:46

Just to add to the RG 'debate'.
I am currently at a RG university, my fiance is at a very close by uni that is not RG mainly because it is an arts university, though his course is more humanities based, i.e I am on a much 'better' 'academic' course than he is.

Next year, I am looking at going to a redbrick for my masters, perhaps a bit lower than redbrick, I'm not sure where it falls. My fiance is looking at various uni's including cambridge. We are basically looking for the courses that are the best for what we want to study.

My RG does not do what I want to study at a postgrad level and, actually, my undergrad is quite broad and the specialism it does offer is not the particular field that I am interested in.
Conversely, fiance has done amazingly well at his uni and the 'mickey mouse' element actually means that he has done things and worked on his specialism that a more 'traditional' degree would not have allowed, for example, he has had work published and paid for.

I'm not really sure what I'm saying, but RG means nothing really if you know what you want to do. Also, as I'm sure many of you know, RG refers to the research taking place, which will have little to no bearing on the quality of the undergrad courses/teaching.

HocusUcas · 22/10/2015 20:23

Talkin - re "RG" - save your ire for when it is actually required Grin

This is 2nd and 3rd hand experience but amongst DS and his friends when they were choosing universities I honestly never heard the term RG. The Venn diagram of universities which are good for a subject which are RG and those which are also good for a subject which are not will have a good sized "middle bit" .

A car at University - now there I will say - hang on ! Forget RG - having a car at Uni is massively luxurious to someone of my age. (Luckily Ds has gone to a university in a city which is pretty much as car-friendly as Venice so we don't have to even think about it. )

Headofthehive55 · 22/10/2015 21:40

Yes I suppose it is a luxury to have a car when you are at uni. But then, I had one back in the eighties. (As did most of my friends)

I have to say very handy, as no end of term runs, its very much for our convenience as hers.

SeekretSquirrels · 22/10/2015 21:45

Hmm. Probably not supposed to say this on MN but I'd happily buy DS1, who is a second year student, a car if I thought it would make life easier for him. Sadly there is nowhere on campus or in the surrounding area to park one.
DS2 has just passed his test so another milestone ticked off.

HocusUcas · 22/10/2015 21:50

Head Grin

Back in the day ( eighties ) I didn't. I am sure my father who came and picked me up might have thought it was an investment worth making except we had no parking whatsoever. I'm sure it works for loads of people, it just wasn't my experience and sounds luxurious. I can see how it would be practical though in the right place. No offence intended.

TalkinPeece · 22/10/2015 21:50

As things stand or actually hobble, DD would be allowed to have a car on campus
friends do
but she does not want one as they get cadged for lifts the whole time and she does not want that

BestIsWest · 22/10/2015 21:59

DS still hasn't decided where to apply! He has his first two choices but after that, not a clue. He never would be rushed into anything.

RhodaBull · 22/10/2015 22:19

The students who drive their car to university next use it when they have to burrow through the pile of leaves to find it for the trip home ten weeks later.

Headofthehive55 · 23/10/2015 06:37

No my DD uses hers most days, but it depends on your course and lifestyle at uni.
She competes for her uni at a sport which requires training away from campus, has attended national meetings on behalf of this, is a guider in an awkward to get place, attends conferences at other universities. In fact did more miles than me last year! I don't think there is a problem with lifts, they give each other petrol money and take turns to drive.
Not to mention visiting bf!

AtiaoftheJulii · 23/10/2015 10:33

Dd has done all of her bits and I paid over the weekend. School haven't finished references though, and dd is rather frustrated as she wanted it in by half term. Think she might be staging a one girl sit in when they go back on Monday after the break! Not helped by "everyone" already getting offers from one of her top choices /rolls eyes/

AtiaoftheJulii · 23/10/2015 10:35

(Everyone being 3 people, I think.)

GloriaHotcakes · 23/10/2015 10:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsUltracrepidarian · 23/10/2015 10:50

Everyone being 3 people, I think Grin
Still it must be very disconcerting for her.

AtiaoftheJulii · 23/10/2015 10:58

Yes - she did a subject-specific summer school and it's people she chats to from there, so they're all applying for similar courses, and in her mind the places are being filled up. Trying to reassure her that she has amazing predictions, will have excellent references, and anywhere would want her, but she doesn't believe a word I say.

SquirrelledAway · 23/10/2015 11:36

DS has his first interview next week. Unfortunately, DH took charge of booking the flights and it's tight to get from the interview back to the airport for the flight home. DS didn't want to put the flights back a day as it would mean another day off school. However, I seem to be only person stressing about it and I'm the only one not going. I swear my hair gets more grey by the day.

MrsUltracrepidarian · 23/10/2015 12:19

With any luck the flight will be delayed... you can look on flightawre which gives stats of the historic actual take-off times as opposed to the published times...can they avoid taking luggage, pre-checkin?

MrsUltracrepidarian · 23/10/2015 12:20

flightaware

SquirrelledAway · 23/10/2015 13:18

Thanks MrsU, they are hand luggage only and will check in online, but it's Sleazyjet so even if the flight is delayed you still have to be at the gate on time.

If there are any more interviews, I'll make sure it's me doing the organising.