University entry 2016

[Itsthiwooluff]

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.

So, Lydia, mums of new Uni candidates are pining, educating Rita-like, to be introduced to the joys of education by a company, spurred on by their children going to Uni?

Or, they could have done a degree, been working for 20 years during which time they did two professional qualifications, and a further degree for pure interest whilst working, not.

Hi everyone.

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask (may be better to ask people who have already been through the application process?) but I will try here anyway.

DS2 has an interview at York on Monday. He only received notification of this on the day he broke up for half term so he can't ask his school, and he won't email York! Basically, what should he wear for the interview? He only has jeans and very casual clothes which I feel sure would be wrong. So I need to go out and buy something this weekend. But what?

When ds went for his interviews (3 years ago) he wore jeans with a shirt and sweater, most of the boys were wearing similar. I don't think you need to buy anything new.

I think it could depend on the course. Drama would obviously be fine with jeans (although if it was a workshop/interview they would ask for loose fitting clothes). If it's business studies/accountancy course I would have thought smart. When I do practice med sch interviews at the dc's school then the teachers tell students off if they're not wearing smart clothes - and that's the practice, not the real thing......

Good Luck to him. I really like York. Sadly ds not applying there.

Thank you. After a week of nagging ds2 finally bothered to look on the York website/email (I don't know which) and it states 'whatever you are comfortable wearing'. So we will probably go with jeans smartened up with a decent shirt (which he has) and a jumper (which he doesn't have). They will have to be new jeans though as his current ones all have rips which, as a boring middle aged woman, I really don't think appropriate. So I'm afraid shopping awaits. (Can you tell words have been raised in the DG household? )

Thanks the positive comment about York. It is top of ds's list after Oxford so, being realistic, Monday could be a very important day to get right.

Sounds like you're gtting him organised at last Dumbledoresgirl . Let us know how it goes. Hope he gets the offer.

you have my sympathy Dumbledore : DD is very self motivated and organised. She's done the legwork herself.
In two years time I go through the process with DS. I'm dreading it.

Well, funnily enough ds2 is probably my most motivated child. But I mainly escaped this pain with ds1 as he is so far down the motivation scale only dh could deal with him.

Anyway, a relatively successful shopping trip is now under my belt and there is just the complicated travel arrangements to finalise.

I shall have a little read of the thread now (sorry, I just barged straight in with my query). We are fortunate in that ds2 already has 2 offers and this interview in York so plenty to fall back on at the moment.

Oh god, I've only just started reading the thread and realised I have already put my foot in it with talk of Oxford and RG unis.

I do understand those who are supporting their children through 'lesser' unis. My eldest is not at a RG uni. He got very low A levels and had to do a Foundation Year. I don't agree that it should be a RG uni or nothing. That is nonsense! Ds1 might be chugging along the bottom of higher education but he still needs his degree to do the job he wants to do later.

Dumble not a problem - DDs list is Bath, Exeter, York, Warwick, Birmingham

eatyourveg, Rhoda and seekret (and anyone else who was wondering): with the exception of the top universities, the reference really doesn't matter too much nor does the personal statement - as long as it's not horrendous, of course! (Full disclosure: Admissions' Tutor at post-92) Iyt's mainly done on grades, in all honesty - very little (except for Oxbridge, Durham, StA's) is done directly by the ATs anymore. We get the "problem" cases (exceptions etc) and appeals, but anything run of the mill gets handled by the Admissions' Office, where it's all about the number crunching.

As for interview clothing - something subject appropriate is best: so business/law/medicine suit and tie; drama/creative writing/art - jeans and shirt/sweater; sciences/arts/social sciences - whatever you're comfortable in: we see jeans and also suits in my Faculty.

Dumble, not a problem for me either. I guess what caused a problem on other threads was the early Oxbridge deadline which meant a lot of early posts about UCAS and PS which were slightly intimidating and suggesting a lot of candidates with all A*s. Two years ago, DS applied to Cambridge, mainly because he had five choices. I would love to see Oxford and Cambridge being treated as just two more Universities so bright children apply because they like the sound of the course but without all the additional baggage. I have also been through similar with DD whose London private school was deemed, by some of the really competitive mums, as somehow less academic. I'm not sure it really matters. The important thing is you are somewhere with the right course, where you are stretched but not overwhelmed, and where you are happy.

I had to look up to see if DDs choices, carefully chosen for fit, were RG. As it turns out they all are, but this is probably because she is looking for an established campus in a largish City, as well as the right course. (Such a London girl, so anything too remote would be a real risk.)

I skimmed through the interview chapter in an "Applyng for Medicine" book. Clean shoes and fingernails and clean shoes was the advice. Hygiene is such an important issue in hospitals that dirty fingernails don't go down well. This may or may not apply to other professions. hefzo's advice sounds about right, though DS says that smartish trousers (eg chinos not jeans) plus a shirt with a collar and jumper (or jacket), no tie, and polished shoes not trainers, are fine for employer events for economics students. I assume the same would apply for interview.

Thanks hefzi the form went in for the reference to be added before half term and despite the careers woman telling ds everyone would be in over half term and it would go off, nothing by way of acknowledgement from ucas yet so its stuck at college. I think the pastoral tutor may be stalling in the hope that the h.o.d comes back on monday and he is thereby off the hook.

Gutted that all the huffing and puffing and infinite number of drafts to get the ps right could potentially be utterly pointless but then again, "I want to go to your university give me an offer" surely wouldn't have done even if the grades did match.

We had the PS problem too applying to Oxford. The admissions tutor for the subject ds is applying for stated outright at an open day in July that PS were 'not important', and neither were school references, though he did preface that by saying 'you are your schools' top students; everyone who applies here has a glowing reference so we don't use it as a determiner'. It does make you wonder, when you are going through all the trauma of writing the thing, why you are bothering!

Thanks for reassuring me re dress for interview. I think ds will be fine. He has bought some chinos and a nice new jumper and already has the collared shirt. He is applying to do Physics, and judging by all responses here, that is not a subject where suit and tie is expected.

TalkinPease - your dd and my ds have a three out of five chance of being at the same uni! Ds is also applying to York, Birmingham and Warwick. In fact, has offers from Bham and Warwick. What subject is your dd applying for?

can I join,
all talk of RG and Cambridge does my head in.
agree about the BMW scenario.

anyway DD is looking at unis currently to do Art. So I may well pop back here

Noah
Welcome - I spent part of my childhood near Goldsmiths : manky area, fab college.

Dumble
Biosciences of some sort - the course names are so convoluted nowadays!

TiP, not so manky now as arty folk get squeezed out of more established areas.

And with the density of housing, whole streets are excluded from school catchments ....
I used to ride the 53 bus up to London of a Saturday afternoon

DD really liked Goldsmiths when we visited for the open day - she wants to do joint honours. They had some excellent people speaking in one part, but she found the speaker from the other department a bit earnest and humorless.

Dumble - I have a DD applying to do Physics- York is her favourite so far, but she is waiting for school to add their bits to her UCAS form (hopefully it will be submitted next week.

And Noah - I have a DS applying to do a design based subject. He is off to the UCAS Art & Design fair in London the week after next - there doesn't seem to be quite the same pressure from the college where he is doing Art Foundation to get the UCAS form off quite yet, more off an emphasis about working on their portfolio and then putting together their personal statement.

thanks all
UCAS art and design fair sounds promising

Dumble my DS was at York on Monday, in chinos and shirt, for theoretical Physics. He enjoyed his day, hope your DS did.

And hope PAT test went OK today

Well the form finally went in at the end of last week, and DD has received an offer - cue major cheering and general allround relief in the house. Right grades but in wrong subjects if you see what I mean, so quite a bit of graft to be done for the next 6 months.

Hope everyone else is hearing good news!