Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 3, UCAS & offers

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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

Those with older kids already at university - is there any point doing a halls visit, dd wants to go to another open day but it means an overnight stay, it's on a Wednesday at 9.30am. I've been told by others it's pot luck if you get your choice of halls so don't overthink it.

I wouldn’t visit just to look at halls, unless there are specific medical needs then it dies seem to be pot luck! It might be more useful to look on the TSR threads from last year for freshers at the uni your DD is interested in and see what they say about the various halls.

I think UCAS is open today.

York didn't even do Geography back in my day . For some bizarre reason that was it's USP! It is definitely a much bigger uni than it once was and I suspect it may have lost some of the lovely community feel it had years back. It is ancient times for me, but I did enjoy my time in York itself and would have stayed there after graduation if they had offered PGCE at the time. I suspect Durham has the better reputation for Geography. It always had a reputation for bad town/gown relationships but that may not be a factor for your DS to botehr about. Durham and York (and Exeter) are in lovely parts of the country and nice, safe places.

I agree with you about foot and pedals. My DH really doesn't want our DS to take an unconidtional (lathough ironically the only one not playing that game is the uni DH keeps discouraging) but the way it is going he will have to as they all seem to be offering them. If he firms Aberystwyth he needs BBC (above his predicted grades slightly) and then his second choice will be forced into being one of the unis offering BCC if not unconditional : tbh , if he doesn't get his arse into gear he won't get either . This is combined with some fairly poor teaching. The unconditionals seem safer. Still can't get DS to care enough anyway.

It all feels like blackmail to me!

I don't know how that apostrophe appeared in its

The specific Accommodation open day is one that DS1 did give a miss to. I can only remember one university in particular offering one - although the other four possibly / probably did - and by that date, he'd seen inside a couple of blocks there on the open day and another one on the applicant day. Then listed preferences by distance from his department (fortunately, the then brand new, really swish and horribly expensive one was the least convenient and so didn't get a mention).

Thanks for your insights, Piggy. Agree that UIF offers seem a bit like blackmail. In some ways all UIF offers seems like a win: win situation from the young people's perspective? I think as a parent I would prefer all or nothing. No idea what to advise DS, truth be told.

Interesting to hear how universities change over the years, isn't it? Think safety is a key issue for DS so good to hear that both York and Durham are known for it. Is 'town vs gown' such a thing these days, unless one flaunts one's student status/entitlement? DS has many faults but he's not arrogant and I think is used to keeping a low profile and merging in (as an identifiable grammar school boy travelling on local buses with many DC who seem averse to his kind, he's had to!).

I thnk the town/gown thing still does rear its head in town that are notably more impoverished than the students who attend. There have definitely been some recent issues in Newcastle that I heard about. Durham's students were in the papers a couple of years ago because of their drinking rampages! I think the thing about York is that it has a drinking/pub culture anyway, and is mostly pretty affluent, so the students blend right in, as it were! But, in any event, students do tend to cluster in areas of town and cities and a thriving student populace can only add vibrancy to any town or city. There are soem more campus like unis where students are very segregated from the town (Hull, for example).

BTW, Piggy, a long time ago admittedly but an exBF and school friend both went to Aberystwyth back in the day and had really good times. Think it's an excellent university for outdoorsy types particularly (ex boyfriend was a real action man!).

He's not at all outdoorsy but I have heard good things about the uni and the course in particular. He's more of an inaction man!

Piggy, . Mine's a bit like that too...

Mine too. His favourite atm is Bath. My heart sank when neighbour (who is from that area) asked if ds was sporty. Because apparently Bath is known for attracting sporty types

Oh yes definitely it does. We went for a nose around recently whilst on a short break in Bath (romantic...). Can't remember why DH was so keen to drive around the car park of a uni he didn't attend: it is usually connected to him having won a football game. Every single student we saw was in PE kit, and many were actively running! I am sure the non sporty ones were just indoors! Maybe it's' the bloody great hill they have to walk up that attracts sports types!

Hmmm. Ds is the least sporty person ever. After me 😂

I don't think it really matters though. Bath has training facilities for lots of sports (they have a bob sleigh training thingy!) and connections with the Rugby Club. A bit like Loughborough, it therefore attracts sports types : but I am sure , given its good reputation, plenty of others apply. And Bath is such a lovely city is a stunning setting.

Every single student we saw was in PE kit, and many were actively running!

Not a Wednesday afternoon, was it?

The sports village at Bath uni is huge, and is used by lots of local groups as well as professional athletes, plus students of course!!

No marching 'twas not !

Nomarching'twas not !

Sorry marching if I caused offence : didn't mean to. I didn't want to just write the word no (because I knew you were suggesting Weds is sports afternoon) so I embellished the sentence...

It was a Tuesday morning, quite early ,and it was definitely striking how many lycra clad individuals were around. I actually think this is quite a good thing, an active and healthy student population ! The other uni where I saw lots of sporty types was Oxford Brookes which , again, has a sporting reputation, I remembered why DH wanted to go and look at Bath now : a) he had a place there but bombed his A Levels and b) he did indeed play football there and won. My adult life has consisted of visiting football pitches in every place we visit. DH likes to look down on where I went to uni because his team beat us 11-0! Priorities!

@Piggywaspushed

Absolutely no offence taken at your reply. My was at the thought of all the serious sporting attire not at the traditional 'sporting' time of the week...

Ah, OK! Phew!

@NewModelArmy, I would definitely recommend your son visits Durham before making a final decision. I have previously worked at Durham University, but don't think I would have liked to have studied there. The university is very good, but too small a town for me.

I know quite a bit about the geography department at Durham, a little bit about York. I think a key difference is that Durham offers a more traditional geography degree, where students either choose to specialise in human geography or physical geography. York's Geography degree is more interdisciplinary in nature. While the emphasis is on human geography, it offers a lot of courses with an environmental or sustainability-focus. My impression is that Durham is possibly more academically rigorous (which has benefits if your DS want to continue to study for an MA/MSc or PhD), but some of the courses at York may relate more directly to particular career options.

I believe both Durham and York now offer the option of a year-long industry placement, while I don't know the ins and outs, I'd definitely recommend your DS at least considers / looks into it.

Hi Alaimo thank you so much for your comments. I agree about Durham (in theory as I've not had the pleasure of visiting the city) and the need for a visit. We looked at Cambridge a couple of summers ago and DS was underwhelmed by the vibe of the place.

Oh, I looooove Cambridge! But then, to be fair, I am a middle aged woman...

I live v v near Cambridge. DC1 can't wait to get away and refused point blank to even consider applying here! The uni dominates so much. We joke that it's not a city - it's a uni with lots of shops.