Applying for Uni 2019 entry, parents support thread

[Decorhate]

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...

Hi newmodel . I dodn't relay the feedback as I had to go straight back to my own school for an Open Evening. DH says he grunted but I'd imagine DH did most of the 'talking'!

Have yet to broach Open Day tomorrow!

@ifonly4 I've set an alarm on my phone to remind me when we're on the train back.

It is a bit of a relief. Should be achievable offers although I guess that depends on the exams!

The extra information being asked - things like the ums in one A Level, a photo, university specific personal statement. That kind of thing.

For Cambridge she had to give all the UMS of modules already taken

Did I read it right that you only give ums of modular AS levels? So if you've done one of the new standalone AS levels this year, you don't have to give the mark?

I think you only give them UMS if they have them. The stand-alone ASs DS did this year did not have UMS, just a mark, which is not so meaningful, for example 66% may be an A with one board and a B with another. The UMS gave them an idea of whether it was an A* (90 UMS+)

Hi, sorry, Late to the party.
Last dc (dc4) applying for engineering at only Russell group. Not considering Cambridge as will probably get A rather than A* and hasn’t done further maths, back up plan is foundation year rather than change of uni. Personal statement nearly done, on about draft 4 but very busy with rugby and has just finished off Queens scouts award so can cut him a bit of slack.

Atia Yes I think that’s right. She had a couple of old A levels with UMS, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary with non modular.

BringontheScience - thanks. Hope you have a good day despite the weather!

I've never heard of UMS, I've got a lot to learn. Hope DD understands them if asked.

LittleSpace which uni want a second personal statement? I know Warwick require a second ps, but apparently if you don't get your grades they look again at your second ps before making a final yes/no. I've heard Durham also ask for a second ps. Anyone come across any others that require a second personal statements?

Cambridge have the "SAQ" which you can put extra PS in.

I think most don't need extra info ifonly.

The ones I have heard about are Durham, Cambridge and a few want extra information for certain reasons. Bristol need the Access information if your dc attended ones of their courses.

Oxford Brookes Open Day today : just got back. Shame it was pissing it down as the site looked lovely. Accommodation better than UEA ( a bit); beautiful main buildings- stunning. DS was grumpy until we got to the subject talk (which also cheered me up as Esteban was rather handsome!)which he found interesting, so things are looking up. The Languages course at OBU is very practical and a 'professional pathway' is taken(for example, IR), a new language is learnt and all students do a work placement abroad.

He still says he is 'doing no more Open Days' and, to be fair, Aberystwyth and Bangor are a bit far! I might try and lure him to NTU...and GPs want to take him to Swansea...

@ifonly4

Glorious sunshine in Edinburgh! Needed more signage and better prep for the red-jacketed students.

Central 'campus' compact mix of old & modern. Handy for city facilities. V friendly. Main library was available for wandering around freely. Lots of study spaces with handy displays showing how many are vacant on each floor.

Halls accomodation is mostly catered and mostly sharing bathrooms. Ensuites in short supply & high demand. 1st year accom is only guaranteed if Edin was1st choice. If it's not 1st choice then likely to be offered shared room only, many are bunks. (This is a deal breaker for DC1).

Main accom campus is nicely laid out tho. Nestled just below Arthur's Seat.

Check course-specific offers in detail, esp if you're going there from England. Offers can be higher for Scottish or EU students because they are funded places. English students pay full fees so they give lower offers to attract them. Eg DC1's course asks for 39 IB points according to website, which assumes that IB students are from EU. English applicants last year were asked for 34-35 points.

Overall, DC1 liked the place and quite likes the course, but it's not #1. This brings the accomodation into an issue.

Anyone else at Kent (Canterbury) today? Good job we are not choosing on the basis of campus signage and knowledge of student ambassadors 🙄.

"1st year accom is only guaranteed if Edin was1st choice. If it's not 1st choice then likely to be offered shared room only, many are bunks. (This is a deal breaker for DC1)."

I'm amazed that a bunk wouldn't be a deal breaker for 99% of students! (But presumably it isn't or nobody would ever accept Edinburgh as insurance.) Am I entitled? I was surprised to find that shared rooms are not that uncommon overall, in fact, but bunks takes things a stage further.....especially as terms in Edinburgh are long....

So, sounds as though it's accept Edinburgh as firm or not at all if you're a bunk-hater.

Though generally it sounds as though accom has potential to be a bit of a nightmare at insurance places (not all of them, I realise). I wonder how many people put a lower offer as firm because of this - just to be on the safe side? Probably not many - but you can see it might make sense for a cautious type, if aspiration may result in no university accommodation, or indeed a bunk bed.

Anyway, that is very useful info - thanks to the pp who posted this! (sorry, can't see your name)

www.accom.ed.ac.uk/for-students/undergraduates/undergraduate-accommodation-guarantee click on orange link to download pdf with further details about the 'guarantee'.

Thanks bring on I now remember looking at that page before, and I had interpreted it as meaning accom is guaranteed even to insurance students, as A level results next year are 15th August and the deadline for the 'guarantee' is apply by 16th. So how does 'no guarantee for insurance students' work, I wonder?

Who told you about the bunks - was it a student or the accommodation officer? I can't imagine it is a huge selling point!

Anyway, thanks again - mn is such an amazing source of incredibly useful info.

everincreasingfrequency my older child chose partly on the basis of first come first served accommodation because they wanted some certainty on where they would live. Definitely a factor for many I would have thought

Interesting Van - and I have heard of people deciding to take a gap year rather than go as an insurance acceptance, precisely because of the accommodation issues.

But I think you have to be reasonably clued up/alternatively have dparents who read mn,, to be aware of what an issue it can be.

Be prepared is the main thing I suppose - I think it's well worth saying to the dYr13s, that they may want to review the situation generally if they miss their firm offer. Taking the insurance is not always the best route I think.

This is direct from accom officially. They simply don't have enough single rooms to meet demand.

Exactly - first time around there was no insurance precisely because of the probable difficulty with accommodation, and I can see that we will be in the same boat with number 2. My offspring don’t do spontaneous 😜

When dd was applying she really liked her insurance uni - it would have been her first choice if she had not got an offer from her firm (a very aspirational one which she did not achieve in the end). I was pleased that her insurance guarantees accommodation for all first years as it was one less thing to worry about. She had to wait a bit to hear where she was allocated. It probably wouldn't have suited everyone but it worked out really well for her - it was an old, large house used as an overflow annex to the main halls. Some students were in shared (large) rooms but these were mainly medics who had been offered last minute places & were just grateful to have got in. Eventually they were all offered single rooms elsewhere but I think they chose to stay put as they had made good friends.

Dd had her own room from the start but probably could have coped with sharing if it was the only way to get on her course.

Ds is very different & I can imagine him deciding to stay home & commute to a more local uni rather than have to share with a stranger!

@BringOnTheScience, @Everincreasingfrequency, I remember my very negative feelings when I was allocated a shared room at Bristol University some time in the last century. I had put in my accommodation form that I talked in my sleep and it would not be a good idea to give me a shared room, but my strategy failed! However, my room mate who I would probably never have met otherwise, became one of my closest friends and my memories of that time are great. Our DCs are more pampered, but they should know that it can be positive and I am sure the university have strategies if a room share is not working.

Hi, have been lurking but haven't posted before!

What a busy start to y13 it has been.

DD has nearly finished PS and has done stuff on UCAS but school need to check it...she's worried that she'll be applying to late (she's not Oxbridge but top unis)...is this true?

Definitely not too late christmaschristmaschristmas

Most schools deal with the Oxbridge & medic applicants first so don't want the others putting their applications in too early. Ds' school wants all the applications in for checking/adding references by half term. I'm trying to encourage ds to send his in earlier but we still have a couple of open days to do so he wants to hold fire for a couple of weeks.

I'm hoping that he'll have heard back from most unis by Christmas.

The final deadline is sometime in January but personally I'd not want to wait till the last minute