University offers for 2017 start (Part 2)

[EnormousTiger]

Continuation of the original thread which is now on to 40 page maximum.
Original thread (part 1) here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/2759621-Uni-offers-for-2017-start?

Most offers now received. My twins have had offers from their 4 and are currently deciding which will be firm and which insurance. One twin
( possibly two of them) is going to an offer holders' day coming up at Bristol next month with his friends from school.

Are Exeter offering lower than Bristol though Tiger (so that having them as insurance would work?) I went to both (outs self to those who haven't already seen through my thin disguise!) and when I went in late eighties/ early nineties the feel reputation wise was that way round, but I had a feeling maybe Exeter had overtaken Bristol these days?

My da has suggested that he might defer his offer for a year as he feels he needs a break from studying . He's had offers from all 5 he applied for and is probably on track for AAB/ABB .
Do you folks have any experience / thoughts on whether this is a good idea?

My DS is likely to firm up bus offer for Maths at Warwick but is still trying to decide between Exeter and Bristol for insurance. The Exeter offer is 2 grades lower than Bristol.

His not bus.

wohmum, DD decided to take a gap year at about this point last year. So far it has worked well, she has grown up a lot, learnt new skills and is having a ball. Getting back to her books will take some adjustment, but I am sure she will manage it.

I think I'd marginally recommend Exeter over Bristol for overall student experience as it's in such a very beautiful part of the world. Bristol was a good student city though with lots going on. Exeter has more of a campus, though I was at an outlying college so didn't fully experience that. Bristol is a bit straggly on the side of a hill but pretty central to the city as a whole. I'm leaning towards something with a bit more of a campus feel for DD as I feel it can help you feel a bit more settled and at home. I really liked Reading for example, and Royal Holloway too, but they didn't make her top two. She likes Sheffield (which reminded me a bit of Bristol in it's layout) and Swansea (which says it was the first campus Uni, built in the 20's, and also in a lovely part of the world)

DS visited Exeter on Saturday and keeps going on about all the steep slopes, like he's just visited the Himalayas.

Ha! DD was like that on a school field trip to Sheffield - but then it is flat as a pancake around here!

Thanks needmoresleep - do you think there are any downsides? Are you concerned that she may change her mind and not go after all ? What is she doing this year? My ds has a vague plan to work due 6 months and then go travelling for 4-6 months . Although he's done a fair bit of travelling ( with school / world challenge) he still seems v young to be going 1/2 way round the world on his own !

so many of my eldest DC's peers have changed courses, quit or if they've taken a gap year, changed their minds re courses or choice of universities.

It's a huge decision with heavy financial implications so a year's breathing space as long as it's not spent dossing around at home is often a good thing.

Lineys - a cousin of mine who had very bad asthma (many years ago, prob no effective treatment) went to Exeter and couldn't cope with the hills. OTOH DD managed to get blisters (the weekend before DofE) traipsing up and down the hills in Bristol on the open day.

Errol I think we need a league table of the hilliest universities :)

DS doesn't have asthma, but is badly affected by air pollution, so I'd have thought Exeter would be a good pick tbh.

I never thought I'd be seriously pondering the environmental considerations of higher education establishments.

My DS didn't mention the hills in Exeter so it hadn't put him off. It's marginally the front runner atm but he's still not ready to push that button yet.

Behind DS has to pick between Warwick, Exeter and Cardiff. I'm chuffed for him, as he was very nervous entering the process.

Mine has to pick between Warwick, Exeter and Lancaster. All want the same grades A star/A/A. Warwick is his least favourite, which I find hard to hear, but he's got to be happy. All great courses so hoping he'll feel able to choose soon.

Sherlock, Bath and Edinburgh are both well regarded, though very different. Bath has good links with employers and the scope to spend a sandwich year. Our impression was that both course options and students were focused on employability, so lots of accounting and finance. DS's school strongly encouraged him to consider Edinburgh as his fall back option, though he opted for Bristol. My understanding is that it is a good well-regarded economics department. And both are great places to live, albeit very different. I don't think there is a "better" option, just one that will suit your DS more.

Rejections hurt, especially for conscientious kids unused to "failure". Things often happen for the best. DS was rejected by Warwick, UCL and Cambridge. He did not apply to any of these for his masters, as his interests have been formed by the degree he took. And has had acceptances from both the Masters courses he has applied to. As long as the course is sufficiently rigorous to keep doors open and a student works hard, it will not matter. And, obviously, that the University is somewhere you want to be for three years.

I think his Exeter offer is lower than Bristol. From memory he needs an A* for Durham and Bristol (plus AA) but "just" AAA for Exeter. Having twins and not even with my older single children remembering that kind of stuff very well I might be wrong. I don't think either of the twins would do badly at any of the 5 unviersities from which they have offers so I am fairly relaxed about what they choose. I am slightly anti Edinburgh because of the extra year and extra cost and distance from London but if they want to go there that's fine too. If one goes to Durham and the other Bristol even then driving them up won't be too much of a problem as Durham has shorter terms I think so it won't be the same weekend. (It's quite hard to be in the same place on the same day)

Thank you for your kind words Needmoresleep. I really liked Edinburgh but I hadn't realised how spread out everything is. What a gorgeous place to live though, really nice feel to the place. I'm wondering if a campus may suit ds better though. One of his main concerns is about making new friends and potentially feeling isolated so perhaps being in amongst lots of other first years might be preferable. Travel time isn't an issue really as we are pretty central so Bath is closer but train trip to Edinburgh three hours, no changes and a bit of a drive to the station, perfectly do-able.

Congratulations to your ds on his Masters offers.

interesting to hear how your dc are all progressing with their UCAS applications.

DD has finally firmed Exeter and insured Birmingham for psychology, having had all her offers on the table for a while.

I thought she was still procrastinating until I "nudged" her yesterday. Apparently she did it some time last week and didn't bother to tell me.

Well done to the Lindor daughter to have made the choices. One of my twins has had an invitation for a very long few days at Durham for offer holders but it's not in school holiday - mine seemed to break up quite early last week and go back right after Easter Monday so I suspect other schools are off that week and we aren't so I think he won't visit although I suggested both of them just go up by train on their own and look around if they want to.

Lindor, that's the sort of thing my dd will do. Leave me stressing about nothing when she's already done it.

wohmum, I did not spot your second question about gap years. In our case 2015/16 was a very strange year with all sorts of things happening, including DD having a freak accident and her dad getting a rare illness. UCAS and A levels were only a small part of the stress so I was not surprised when she said she wanted a break. The University were very good about it.

Because she had been applying for medicine a gap year had always been a possibility, so she had already decided to do a ski season and Camp America, though neither really pay more than spending money. She worked through the summer and was then lucky enough to get a three month internship, washing pots and doing prep, at a cookery school. That, plus time to visit friends at various Universities, means it will be a year to remember. I don't think it really matters what you do, as long as there is some planning and structure. It seems very easy to drift into shelf stacking and never drift out.

At the moment she does not want the ski season to end. Its been really hard work, but she is having a ball, and has made some really good friends. I am hoping that she is sensible enough to realise that being a ski bum is not a long term career prospect. Perhaps she could specialise in broken bones and then get a job in the Alps.

Perhaps she could specialise in broken bones and then get a job in the Alps.
I had a gap year all those years ago, and it really did make me more mature, and gave me lots of confidence.I was quite quiet before. I was working in a live-in job in London, but didn't manage to save any money. I guess there's a danger that he won't want to go back to studying, but frankly, I was delighted to go back when I'd discovered what the world of work was like! But then, I wasn't really very money orientated. It might be different if your DS gets a taste for having money to spend.

My DS wants to go straight to uni. But if he did want a gap year, these days I'd suggest he did something related to his future degree, if possible... but if I were him, I'd opt for the ski season type option, as that sounds great.

DD was impressed how often, when she told people my age what she planned to do, their eyes would glaze over, transported back to the days of being 18, in the Alps, surrounded by handsome ski instructors.

Being a chalet girl now is by no means as glamorous, and indeed very hard work. To get one of the glam jobs in a private chalet, you need to be 21, hold a driving license, and a Cordon Bleu cookery cert. But five months abroad, with other young people and skiing every day, is fun. And she will have picked up a load of organisational, team work and resilience skills that should stand her in good stead.

No French though. Her French was quite good, but she has only used it in the bar, where switching from English gets you a larger measure. .

"she has only used it in the bar .... "

Nothing like an incentive Needmoresleep !