Uni of Exeter

[top2patooties]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some perspective if possible.

My daughter has had an offer from Exeter, her course has entry of AAA.

Exeter have made her an offer and have reduced the grades to ABB for her to join them.

Me and my husband didn't get the opportunity to go to Uni so navigating this process is all new to us. Our daughter is a reasonably high achiever, from a city comprehensive school in the Midlands, and she is very passionate about her subject - we are a really ordinary family with an average joint income!

My query is this, people around us are saying my DD won't fit in at Exeter, most of the student population will be from very wealthy backgrounds, prestigious independent schools etc etc so DD is unlikely to fit in easily or be able to compete financially with those who are not on a strict student budget like she will be.
Basically people are saying she might not find her group or people with similar backgrounds to her, so making friends will be an issue??!

Her other choices are uni of manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Warwick.

As I have no clue about going to uni or uni life if anyone has any experiences of this they can share with me that would be so useful.

I don't want for her not to aim high if it is the best place for her course but at the same time fitting in and friendships will be hugely important to her happiness at uni!

Thanks for your help!

[goodbyestranger]

But Bubbles your DD also applied to Durham, which is weeny compared to Exeter.

[Bimwit]

I'm exeter alumni, not at all from a privileged background and it was great to study there, never occurred to me that my background was an issue and didnt notice a bias towards posh folks there - this is ridiculous and unfounded imo and i highly recommend exeter

[ShineOnHarvestMoon]

Her other choices are uni of Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Warwick

Speaking from my field in the humanities, a degree from any of those places will be excellent. In terms of standards and reputation all of those universities offer a really excellent & challenging education (we are lucky in this country - world-leading HE sector).

So, your DD's choices will come down to:

• location & style of campus
  
• specific structures of the degree course/s she wants to pursue
  
  For the former, do campus visits & talk to current students. Wander about & try to get a sense of living there. You don't have to do this on an organised open or visit day - you can just wander about campuses. Although don't ex[ect tours & interviews except on organised visit days - we get a bit busy teaching current undergrads ...
  
  For the latter, advise your DD to go beyond the front pages of university websites with all their advertising of how fabulous they are (the 5 she's chosen are pretty fabulous, but still ...)
  
  Look for webpages such as "Current undergraduates" for example - try to get a sense of the specific tructure of a degree, the way it's taught, and the way it's examined.
  
  For example, my Department has a policy of 'no sit-down, unseen examinations.' We assess in lots of other ways (some harder than exams, I think), but we don't do exams. This is a big draw for some intending students. Or not. But we do a lot of group work - this can be a draw or off-putting, depending on individual's understanding of the best ways they learn.
  
  So try to get past the advertising guff - which we academics rarely have much to do with, in my experience - and find the descriptions of course structure.
  
  In the humanities, where the body of knowledge is very wide and research/learning methods are as important as content, you can see what is the compulsory core curriculum, and the range of optional modules on offer. Remember that optional modules change ... You can see what the final year project will be: a dissertation, a project, a work placement?
  
  And so on. This is the range of choices your DD has, which is a good position for her to be in. Good luck to her!

[BubblesBuddy]

Yes, goodbye, she did apply to Durham and then did not particluarly like the city after visiting! We visited Exeter as well but the penny did not drop thst dhe would flourish in a bigger place until she had visited and crystalised what she wanted from a university city. For her it was availability of music, restaurants, art galleries and theatre. Obvioulsy others have completely different wants and that is fine.

Many of her friends loved it at Exeter though partly because it was a bit like school in terms of location and ambience. They also knew lots of DC who were going as well. The same applies at my local grammar schools. Its hugely popular. Her schools sent loads to Exeter and Durham so it was natural to look.

[goodbyestranger]

Makes sense Bubbles. I think a lot of students are surprised at just how little Durham is. I just wondered if there was something about Durham which meant that she could look beyond its size. Clearly not!

[hoochymama1]

My DS went to Exeter, we're not posh and he had a great time, wherever they are they will find their people