It's August ..... the countdown begins

[doglover]

How's everyone feeling? My dd was pretty much able to forget about results during July but said in a very quiet voice this morning, "I'll find out this month where I'm going."

Is anyone doing anything yet in preparation for 17th? Should we be doing anything yet in preparation for 17th?!

Both hull and Swansea are way further than he wanted to travel. He did to want to resit either . Thanks to you for your posts really helpful x

Fingers crossed that he loves Sheffield Hallam TheMightyMing

Dd has now celebrated last night, checked in for her holiday with her friends and confirmed her accommodation. Itvwasnt where she wanted but she seems happy enough with it this morning. Got to go to college to request a remark (makes no difference to anything but puzzled as to a freak low score in 2 papers) and then driving test (fingers crossed!)

Good luck on the driving test. Mine did theirs over a year ago (as they are old for the class) but I remember doing my retest when I was 17 with a month to spare before university (and I apassed). I was 17 when I went to university and really wanted to pass my driving test before.

I hope all those still looking for places make progress today.

Redhelen we also had a freak low score and I have requested a copy of the exam paper.

Congratulations to everyone who has sorted out a place at university and good luck to anyone still going through clearing / re-sits / re-marks.

@Travelledtheworld DD got her welcome pack today - they are having visit days on Sunday and Monday for clearing peeps?
Very happy for you to pm me to swop info - we are in the NW so know Liverpool quite well [DD and her Dad are LFC fans which has an impact too!]

Grim thanks yes we are booked to go have a look round on Sunday.

Great to hear about DCs getting sorted out. DD has been allocated a place in her preferred hall and hopes to find others in the same place via a Facebook group. Is it time for yet? Good idea from PP to make an empty nesters thread in a few weeks, as we watch them all go off!

travelled scouser born and bred here...anything you need to know or want to check about please ask

Aw Liverpools a amazing uni I was completely blown away by it ! I would have loved DS to go there but hey ho wasn't meant to be x

She passed!

DS just had his place at Cardiff confirmed on Track. Does he need to do anything on Track to say he is taking this place , cant see anything like that on there?
He accepted the place verbally yesterday.
Dont want to blow it now, been a stressy few days.

Red helen ! Great news !

Just caught up. Travelled my DD has been through almost the same as yours, except she had her heart set on Sheffield for politics. She's also got a place at Liverpool now and we're going to visit on Sunday. It's been a rollercoaster, she still feels disappointed but I'm hoping she'll feel better after the open day.

Mrswazowski, I believe at both Sheffield and Leeds the politics type courses have been massively popular and many have lost out! Honestly Liverpool is fabulous, the uni, the city the whole thing ! If my son had been accepted he would be going there no doubt . Quite a few of my colleagues have kids there already and I've nor heard one bad thing yet. Good luck 😉

TheMightyMing thank you. I've just reread your posts and see it's been really difficult for your DS too. The one thing I do know is that they'll all be fine, wherever they go.

My DD is similar to your DS, she went to a grammar 6th form out of town (her choice) after doing really well at GCSE in a comp. She's been comparing herself to the others with A*s. In reality her results are good, just not the aspirational grades she was hoping for.

Mrs Wazowski , to see my son so crushed was the hardest thing I've ever dealt with. I know they will be fine, and he's excited about his open day and going to uni. Ever resourceful, he's reached out and found that there'll be others he knows at Hallam and a course he was friends with on his course !

Things are looking up 😊- keep me posted on your daughter.

Yes, this is what I hope everyone has been dealing with sensitively. My twins have quite a few friends (they say loads of boys in school too) who have not got their first choices. They are very lucky themselves to have not leeast because one didn't get the A* he needed but was let in with AAA and the other chose a relatively easy course to get to Bristol with deliberately. However what has amazed me is how kind all these boys are to each other. People criticise teenage boys all the time, and teenage girls, but in fact in practice they have been very careful not to go about success if someone is still looking for a place; they and others who did get in didn't post that on the group chats immediately because other friends probably had not got in and they are also making sure they speak to friends who might be utterly devastated (as a lot of these boys do not always want to talk to their mothers about it and they really should at least be confiding in friends).

Also I told mine before the results came out loads of things go wrong in life for all of us including me. It is how we deal with that matters and all this will not matter too much at all in a few years' time. One of my sons' friends didn't get his choices but has got a place on a different course in London (in my view a better course) at Bristol with my boys. It means he won't be in his home city which I think is great - it's nice to have a change. It may not be the university he originally wanted but it just requires a bit of mental adjustment and even those who get in nowhere will probably be fine. Jeremy Clarkson every year tweets about how well he did with his two UU grades and one D or whatever he got. Most children still don't go to university and most do fine in life.

All of them though particuoarly now it is so expensive shoudl do what my older children didn't do who have all graduated and tha tis start thinking about in eyar 1 careers, not just before they graduate.

Also they need to know that some employers (like law firms) want your grades in every module even in year 1 of your degree so don't slack in year 1 and plenty of employers have a system of recruiting years in advance - law firms do it 2 years in advance. Mind you my advice as ever is always ignored by my children on these things.... twins have no idea of careers.

That's very true Lucy. My DN swanned into an excellent course at a very good university by upgrading (she hadn't expected to do as well as she did). She was very sensitive to those who had fought tooth and nail to get into the same place and those who were still trying. I was very impressed by her. She has bucketloads of emotional intelligence which will stand her in good stead in the future.

Same here, ds's friend didn't get in to the same uni as Ds and had the horrible situation of being the person who everybody expected to get in. Thankfully he got a place at Birmingham on the same course through clearing, such a relief.

As we picked up our results , DS friend was there picking up his ( got Oxford for Economics), he's a cracking kid. Very modest and deserves every bit of his success, I felt so proud of my son as he went and asked him how he'd done and they had a bit of a hug as my son shared his slightly less positive news. Bless them.

My sons fired up now, making connections and I'm really going to make a big thing if the open day on Tuesday for him, look round the city and maybe a treat and nice lunch, any recommendations for what to do in Sheffield ?

MightyMing - Sheffield has the reputation of being an excellent city to be a student in! But sorry can't help with lunch places. Both DDs have friends living in the City across both universities and all love it. There is a good music scene too.
Those going to the Liverpool open day, Bold Street has some good places to eat including Love Thy Neightbour, Leaf, Crust and Mowgli's. Concert Square is also off there, which is popular with students in the evening.

TheMightyMing I have a feeling your ds is going to take Sheffield by storm. When he collects his first class degree in a few years, after having a great time, come back on this thread to let us know!

Lots of the highly rated unis are advertising all over Facebook today that they have spaces still available through clearing.

Would be interesting to see if they are lowering their offers at this stage.