Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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

Lancaster, according to the YP we lnow who are / have recently been there, is a great university (I'm sure that there's a whole thread about it on here somewhere). Popular choice from where we are and that's a 550 mile round trip.

Thank you for comments re ds's frm/insurace issue. I have told him to hang off from doing any thing till the end of the week. He is going to speak to HoY today and we have parents evening this week as well.

Good point about waiting till after tomorrow to see if anything changes.

Plymouth sent a welcome pack saturday and another big letter today (name is on envelope) . Said to him ..out of curiosity wanted to see if Bristol and Southampton do the same before confirming/insuring.

@bettydavieseyes how stressful for you both ! Hope school help you get it sorted out by tomorrow.

Thanks for the help. We've now completed it and paid, so it's on its way to the school (referee)!

DS has told me that he's received an UiF offer from Birmingham today! A nice position to be in. We saw the univerisity back in the summer and DS really liked it, plus there was an Aldi nearby and DS is all about the budget supermarket option to make his funds go further!

I am jumping back on this thread as ds received a rejection this morning from Cambridge (post interview) so I have left the Oxbridge thread.

He has offers from Kings, Queen Mary's and York but we are still waiting on Imperial. They have been very very slow despite the MAT test being taken long ago and they don't interview so I am not sure why they take so long!

Betty wow that was quick! Well done! Make sure to gently hassle the referee!

Urgh. Name-changing mostly-lurker here as this is a bit specific.

DS only decided last week that he wanted to apply for university after all. He's been working for 2.5 years now, so has his A-levels already.

After a mad rush to complete a personal statement, get references sorted etc, all aimed at sound engineering, he's having horrible second thoughts. Most of the best sound-techy courses want A-level maths or physics, which he doesn't have, so he's looking at a limited pool (Glyndwr, Leeds Beckett, couple of others) that would take him with his current results. In a somewhat typical radical change of heart, he's spent the weekend looking at English-with-Italian-or-Drama instead.

Ideally he'd like to apply for two of each, and let the tumult settle before deciding.

His personal statement mentions sound recording, music tech or similar in pretty much every line. I suspect his references do too. Damned if I see how he can rewrite his application to support both!

Is the answer to stop, take a breather and apply for next year? I think so, but he is currently being very dramatic about how he is already nearly too old to apply and needs to get on with his life.

"Betty wow that was quick! Well done! Make sure to gently hassle the referee!"

I agree. I would contact the school tomorrow to make sure the references have been added and the form is sent off.

I think you can apply for wildly different courses in the same application DitheringDan but not sure how easy it would be to combine demonstrated commitment to both in one personal statement. Is it perhaps worth applying for one (his preferred choice) at this stage and then the other through Clearing if he has a change of heart (I don't know how feasible that is though - perhaps worth phoning UCAS for some advice)?

I suspect some courses probably have more 'mature' students than others so that shouldn't put him off.

Dithering - going into sound engineering with neither maths nor physics doesn't sound like a great idea... I know it's really late to look but maybe he should be starting with some sort of foundation year?

Was his work over the last 2 years relevant to either of his course choices?

Ive just emailed school to ask if it'll be sent off in time. I'll call them tomorrow to remind them.

Thanks, Errol and NewModel.

Sort-of appropriate, yes, in that he's worked for two years as a bookseller while running open mike nights, recording his own songs, writing a novel and simultaneously part-timing as an army musician (did I mention that this was a bit outing to all who know us?).

He's at work till 9-6 today and tomorrow, so won't have much chance to ring UCAS, esp as he doesn't want his current employers to know yet.

Can I ask, Errol, if you know about sound engineering personally (I agree with you, but the presence of courses that don't require it suggest it may not be essential)?

Not sure how because I am not at all in that type of social milieu but I do know/have known three sound engineers/ acoustic designers, and one boy who is applying. Two have no degrees at all and one definitely does not have science A Levels. The boy applying this year has film, graphics and physics.

OK, that's interesting, thanks!

DS just texted me. He has been offered a place at NTU. It now feels too real and I should be really excited but he is also at the final stages for a Degree Apprenticeship at Goldman Sachs. He may have some big decisions to make.

Hi another ‘reject ‘ from the Oxbridge thread here . DD planning on NatSci - has an offer from York ( waiting on Durham but not sure she would take it up even if forthcoming )

For those panicking about missing the UCAS deadline, it does not mean applications are closed! The deadline is for applications to be treated equally. You can still apply after the deadline. If your DCs are applying for courses/universities that are not likely to be full straight away (and the majority won't), then they can still apply. DD1 put in a late application (April I think) a couple of years ago and still got offers from 'good' red brick universities (I use the term loosely as different universities are good for different courses.

@minesawine can I ask about Goldman Sachs? My ds applied for their degree apprenticeship programme too (software engineering) and has heard nothing. He thought it was because the deadline for applications hadn't passed yet. Your message on here has panicked me slightly.

Wiifitmama His is not software engineering but banking and finance. I imagine its because it is a different section, they may have different deadlines. Get your DS to email them asking for an update.

Can I ask, what is your DS's preference - uni or apprenticeship and is he applying for both. I am encouraging my DS to apply for lots of apprenticeships because I want him to have choices in August.

If I am honest, my choice would be apprenticeship but his may be uni.

@minesawine Thanks! That is a relief!

Ds has always had a preference for degree apprenticeship. I saw a brief waver in this when he got the interview with Cambridge (maths) but with the rejection today, I think he is firmly back in wanting a degree apprenticeship.

Mineswine -Congratulations! which university is his degree in conjunction with for Goldman's apprenticeship?

@minesawine ..great news !
While we are all waiting for decisions to be made ..could ask you lovely lot on A level choices for ds2 . I dont know if i want to dip my toe in an other thread yet .

Does History, Sociology and Politics sound a good mix . I know they are al essay based but we are stuck. I would have lkd him to do a scince BTEC. Not being disrespectful to him but dont think he could do a scince A level ...especially as he is doing double science not tripple.

Sorry for derail..just waiting for ds to get in to open letter from Plymouth!! I was not alowed to open it !!!

@shimey the technology ones for GS are with Queen Mary's in London if that is useful to you at all! DS loves QM (and has an offer from them for Maths too) and wants to apply to any degree apprenticeships that run through them.

A general thought about degree apprenticeships for anyone looking at them - they are certainly not all created equally. One thing we have found is that the "quality" of Uni some are attached to is not great. We have rejected some out of hand for this reason. While I think DA give a real advantage over a straight degree in many ways, we are fairly adamant we still want ds coming out of them with a degree from a good Uni.