Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Wow that last thread filled up quickly. Well done to your DS, Piggy!

Yes, boys are falling off the grid. As a woman , I always get a bit irked when people suddenly worry about boys after centuries of patriarchy! Nonetheless, it is a bothersome pattern. I have conducted lots of research into this and the main two reasons are 'debt aversion' and believing they will be no better paid with a degree. They think in the short term and feel they can earn more at 19-21 than their mates who have left education. The long term statistics don't interest them,and arguments surrounding enjoyment of learning for learning's sake are unsuccessful.

newmodel - he probably does, yes.

However, as I have discovered with Uni application etc, if it is not an 'officially official' deadline e.g. UCAS or exam board, or real GCSE's as opposed to mocks, it doesn't count in his world!

I will, however, ask him about internal deadlines because it's not fair on the teachers if he dicks around with it all!

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

Apologies if you have already investigated this and discounted the idea, but have you looked at how much difference it would make to the train fare for the two of you if you were to invest in a 'Two together' railcard? We shelled out the £30 for a Family and Friends one (TT is the same price) last spring and taking DS2 - our 'qualifying child' for that card - along when I accompanied DD to the Exeter open day more than repaid that in one go, because it reduced all our fares.

(Unfortunately, though, I had slready booked the trains when we saw that Exeter gives a rail fiscount code, which can be used on top of the16-25 railcard discount. I have reminded DD about it for when / if she books onto an applicant day, though).

I am feeling pretty fortunate that DS's mocks were before Christmas - at least I didn't have to nag (or stop myself from nagging!) all holiday!

Wow this thread moves sooo fast !!
Laniakea you must be so relieved ! This is the long awaited offer from Southampton if remember..and i think she wanted similar course to my ds ...geology/geography.? If so what are the interviews ? Ds will not be expecting them.

Re course work anyone...do they get a grade/mark befor exams start or is it just given /combined with final resuls.

It’s oceanography bizzey, they interview for all their courses & I think marine biology do too. I’m not sure about the geophysics courses.

All dd knows so far is that it is 20-30 mins long & she needs to do a 5 minute presentation and she’ll only have one interview for both courses she applied to.

I think once you have an interview there’s a reasonable chance of getting an offer - they gave something like 250 applicants for 50 places but reject two thirds before the interview.

That’s great news Laniakea but imagine if you had not persuaded her to call!

"Re course work anyone...do they get a grade/mark befor exams start or is it just given /combined with final resuls."

They did at DD's school. She was among the first lot of guinea pigs for the new spec geography A level, and it was a stinker. She sweated blood, sweat and tears for her NEA, but it paid off.

They are entitled now (new rules) to getting marks as they can challenge them. It is very very very unwise to give grades, as the grade boundaries could be literally almost completely arbitrary.

I know I'm not sure if they were waiting for the deadline or not, they said sorry for the delay in updating her I hope there isn't a similarly long wait to hear post interview!

Yes, DD got a mark for her NEA, not a grade.

And another offer!
From Sheffield for Economics (a university we went to look at and DS really liked) for 34 points. This will be the lowest that DS will be offered so it will make a great insurance if his first choice doesn’t offer.
Otherwise it could well be DS’s first choice.

Feels like the Admissions departments are waking up again after the Xmas break!!

Good luck to all!

My DS has just had another offer as well - A, A, B from Edinburgh for biological sciences. It's at the top end of his predictions so it would be a risky choice. We'll wait for their email to see if there are any potential alterations as opposed to what's on track. Just Warwick to go.

@marine04 - That’s fab! Guessing Warwick will be quite high too?
An interesting course. Thought DS might go that way, but went for a different choice.

Warwick's standard offer is A, B, B and is his favourite option so desperately hoping for an offer! Having said that it was the only open day we were able to get to, so he's bound to be biased. We have a lot of offer holder days to attend, bouncing from one end of the country to the other (Exeter to Edinburgh)!

Congratulations on your son's offer too @blametheparents. We spend a lot of time at Sheffield Children's Hospital and are always driving past the university and I really like the look of it. Where else is he hoping for offers from?

Marine - ds's good friend is waiting on Warwick for the same course - his first choice. His predictions way exceed those grades so I'm hoping he hears soon, too.

In terms of travel costs, it's also worth looking at TrainSplit.com as significant savings are possible. Megabus is also great value but obviously journey times are long!

DD spent a lot of time at the excellent Sheffield children's hospital when she was little marine04. It is a truly wonderful hospital.

@marine04 - DS has had offers from Exeter, Loughborough and Sheffield and is waiting to hear from Nottingham (his first choice) and Birmingham.
We walked past the Sheffield Children’s hospital (I think) when we walked from the university to the student accommodation. I was really taken with the city.

My DH went to Warwick - a fab university. I hope your DS gets an offer.

@blametheparents - we spend a lot of time at Loughborough University (another child does a sporting activity there three nights a week) and it's a great place. Nottingham is also fab with a lovely campus.

Megabus is also great value but obviously journey times are long! I've got no issue with long journeys but DH went ballistic when he and DS were stuck on a very long journey back from Newcastle Uni so he says never again. I on the other love long journey for reading time :-). Thanks for the tips on using split train journeys and the 'Two Together' railcard. We do have a qualifying DD for the Family Railcard but not sure she will be keen on tagging along...

Yes, long journeys can be tedious. DS is going back to Cardiff by coach from Newcastle on Saturday and it's 11 hours 20 minutes including more than 2 hours stopover in Birmingham! Cheap though and he can doze!

Cost would always trump comfort in my books! Choirmumoftwo that is quite a journey your DS will undertake - lots of reading/revision/snoozing time!

marine04 wow that's quite a range of offer holder days! I will be extremely lucky if I can get DS to do more than one although truth be told he should probably do all the ones that could be in the running for his firm offer. How to get him to let me look at his emails - there's a challenge!

They are all very laid back about their coursework aren't they? History one wasn't finished in this house until about 11.30pm the night before it was due in. Sure Geography will be the same although it seems as if DS has been doing it for months. I've told him to give himself a week to rewrite bits and ensure it's 100% as he wants it to be but I think I'm talking into the wind!