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Higher education

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

Original poster

Applying for Uni 2019 entry, parents support thread

998 replies

Decorhate · 09/09/2018 09:51

Now that they are back at school, working on Personal Statements, doing the final Open Day visits, I thought we could do with a new thread...

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 28/09/2018 17:58

There is a very high return rate for the surveys, apparently, across all universities.

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 28/09/2018 18:12

That surprises me - I've heard it said that students have to be bribed to complete them (with food and drink)...

LIZS · 28/09/2018 18:16

Some of the SUs actively encourage a boycott but yes the unis may offer incentives.

FrameyMcFrame · 28/09/2018 21:31

I'm in a similarly annoying place with predictions. DD's tutor has just read her mock paper and disagrees with the marking. He feels one of the essays hasn't been read at all. He marks for AQA so he really does know what he's talking about.
I don't know how to approach it with the English department, I feel if I go in all guns blazing then I'll make things worse.

Witchend · 28/09/2018 23:28

Dd1's form went in today. Am quite relieved to know it's gone.

Monkey2001 · 28/09/2018 23:53

anniehm, if you read the Cambridge Admissions tutor threads on TSR, you will see that they are not that bothered about GCSEs as long as there are credible good predictions. They say that most Cambridge students have lots of A*s because they are clever, but it is not a requirement. Is there an entrance exam for her subject? DS applying for medicine, and it appears that BMAT, A levels and interview performance are the most important bits of the "holistic" process.

errorofjudgement · 29/09/2018 12:14

I’ve been keeping up with the thread, and am pleased to be able to re-join as DD has decided she will apply this year. Luckily there’s plenty of time still.
I’m relieved she’ll apply this year while she’s got school to support the application.

Laniakea · 29/09/2018 15:19

dd actually had a really good (& helpful) mentoring session with the head of 6th form yesterday.

He likes gap years & prefers deferred entries because school can help. He's happy with her grades having spoken to her teachers & he doesn't think it will make much difference having a second A* (course asking for AAB), dd definitely feels the pressure of having high target grades & is sticking with what she's predicted now. He's fine with her university selections & thinks she's got some good stuff for her personal statement.

So that's it, she's applying now! She's finishing a future learn course & getting her EPQ presentation done this weekend then will start on the PS - aiming to have it in after half term.

Hopefully that's the end of the drama.

BringOnTheScience · 29/09/2018 17:33

Anyone at Manchester today? DC1 really impressed: think it's gone above Newcastle & York in the shortlist.

AtiaoftheJulii · 30/09/2018 09:28

Laniakea thank goodness, that sounds much calmer and very positive.

BringOn we went to Manchester in June, and ds loved it too. His subject put on 3 different talks and we went to them all, and he'd decided by the end of the day which halls he was going to apply to!

Laniakea · 30/09/2018 14:25

Has ds’s gone in Atia? Where did he go for in the end (apart from Manchester)? Is the Cambridge application process much different from Oxford’s?

AtiaoftheJulii · 30/09/2018 15:25

Manchester, Cambridge, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow. All Com Sci integrated masters except Cambridge (they decide during whether you can stay on for the masters), second year entry at Glasgow (and if you don't achieve the offer for that they stick you in the first year).

Think the Cambridge process is roughly the same - have to fill in their supplementary questionnaire which I don't know much about, and then if he gets invited for interview, he would have to do a CS admission test on the day as well.

Oldowl · 30/09/2018 16:10

My DD is keen on Manchester, although we have not been within 100 miles of the city yet.

The degree she is interested in is:
BSc International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response

The course looks fascinating but a bit niche. I'm not sure what she would do with it apart from work for an NGO. Most of these roles are initially voluntary... great.

Piggywaspushed · 30/09/2018 16:22

That does sound a brilliant degree and I am all for degrees for the love of them, not just for those god forsaken league tables that places degrees in pay order. What if you hate it??

I have seen other degrees in that subject, or very similar too : human rights at Swansea, International Development in loads of places. They do Diplomacy at Derby!

If she is very able,though, she could look perhaps at Human Rights Law instead/ as well?

rushes off to look up degree even though I am not in sixth form!

Monkey2001 · 30/09/2018 17:02

Button pressed, I assume he can no longer change anything! It seems that the form now goes to the referee to complete their bit - do they then release it to UCAS?

Manchester is a great place to be a student, I know several there and it is really lively, loads of students, cheap accommodation, great public transport. Sadly DS did not like the course although he would have liked the city.

LIZS · 30/09/2018 17:16

I believe you can still change it after the reference is attached but before the final submission.

AtiaoftheJulii · 30/09/2018 17:36

He can ask school to release it back to him if he needs to change anything. Otherwise it goes to UCAS when school are done.

eatinglesschocolate · 30/09/2018 21:25

Ladies, I am almost embarrassed to ask this again but ... Little Miss Fickle is still struggling for her 5th choice. What do we think of Warwick for IR? She loves a campus, doesn't want a city. Has ruled out Exeter for many reasons and really only Warwick left to compete with Durham and Edinburgh. All info welcome Grin

Witchend · 30/09/2018 21:44

You can leave the 5th choice blank and choose later. That's what dd has done. She says it then means she can go for a lower one if she's not getting offers/thinks she's not going to get results.

I think that's basically a good idea.

eatinglesschocolate · 30/09/2018 22:09

Thanks Witchend. That’s what I’m trying to get into her head but she just wants it gone!!Hmm
She has two she loves (realistic) One she likes (a bit lower). One that’s aspirational (oversubscribed and capped for her). At the moment this 5th one is either another oversubscribed and capped (Scottish) one which she’d put down if the favourite three make an offer or an uncapped but highly ranked one if either of them said no! She can get feedback on the Scottish one but doesn’t know anyone who has Warwick experience.

Monkey2001 · 30/09/2018 22:21

It does seem that leaving 5th blank and deciding later makes sense. I think that has been advocated on TSR.

Edinburgh, Durham and Warwick are all great places to be a student, but very different in life style. Are you saying that is she gets offers from the two she loves, she would turn the 5th choice down? Has she chosen a places where she has a reasonable chance of getting the grades if she gets offers? Nice to have an insurance option with very achievable grades.

Aurea · 30/09/2018 22:51

@eatinglesschocolate

What makes you think your daughter won't receive offers from Scottish Unis?

You have me a little worried now; my son is only applying to Scottish Unis for Law as well as Oxford (which is an even a longer shot). I know numbers are capped and courses oversubscribed but does he stand only a small chance of offers? He's applying to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

Thank you. Smile

eatinglesschocolate · 30/09/2018 23:40

Aurea Sorry to panic you! It's only because the course she wants to do is so oversubscribed at those two unis. It's popular with foreign students so they are both low percentage offer rates for Scottish students (below 10%). If she wanted any of the other Scottish ones I wouldn't be so concerned. I'm sure your son will be fine.
Monkey I think she has two clear favourites which she should get achievable offers from and yes, I think if either of them offer, she'll be happy. Then again, she might surprise me and go with that 5th choice!!GrinGrin

MarchingFrogs · 01/10/2018 01:16

eatinglesschocolate, DD will be applying for whatever the official title of Warwick's 'IR with French' course is. It was actually her top pick for ages, on paper and after the open day, but then she visited Leeds and saw their Languages, Cultures and French and it has almost certainly been knocked into.second place now. That being said, she isn't applying anywhere that she wouldn't be happy with were it her only offer. She would even < shock, horror > probably prefer Coventry to the more 'genteel' alternatives for post-first year accommodation.

Aurea · 01/10/2018 08:38

Thanks for the reassurance. Smile

I was hoping for unconditional offers for my son for Law with his 5As and a B at Higher in fifth year (state school) . Maybe I should lower my expectations....

If it's St As your daughter is interested in, I went to the admission talk last year. They will not even look at applications if politics (instead of IR) is mentioned in the PS apparently. Someone from our (average) school got in last year with 4As and a B at Higher. In her PS she mentioned her travels, her views on the current refugee crisis, her debating, Amnesty International membership, what reading she'd done, etc. It's certainly possible.

Good luck!