Anyone still waiting to hear from Durham?

[PortusCale]

Just wondered if anyone else is waiting to hear from Durham for an offer for 2019 entry?

See that offer holder day bookings are now open and I understand college allocation has begun.

DS still waiting here, DS application went through in November.....does this mean a rejection will likely be on its way?

He's not even sure if he will firm it as the grades are eyewateringly high. Or if he will achieve them if he does firm . But gf already there is a pretty big pull!

Do you mean higher than the standard A*AA bigTillyMint?

No it was A*AA, which is eyewateringly high to most mortals

I see. Yes, but it is the absolute bog standard offer, so they haven't singled him out as potentially flaky which is good. Durham is gorgeous - sounds as though it might save train fares too :)

Still waiting here 🙄 Running out of time to plan getting up to an Offer day.... Been waiting since early October... Even DD's school says Durham is taking much longer than usual. With her achieved and predicted grades it's all a bit baffling.

It does sound anecdotally as though some departments are taking even longer than usual CBear. Not easy for your DD and I agree a bit odd with flawless grades, even for History.

Coleoptera it may be that there's a real push this year to recruit a little more away from big name independents and that dropped grades are simply a nudge to get those with offers to hurry up and firm or decline to make room for others. History really does seem to be acting differently this year from usual.

He may yet have good news Coleoptera. You never know.

Cleopatra, DS does not have the usual high GCSE grades - he was extremely ill throughout Y11 and was barely able to attend school. So they can't be just looking at top GCSE grades.

bigTillyMint neither does my DS (and he got his offer within a month), so I think you are right.

Goodbyestranger my DD certainly isn't at any big name independent school and has worked incredibly hard for her grades and doesn't have Oxbridge as a backup - which is why Durham is very important to her. The only thing that could go against her is our postcode in south east England which seems harsh to say the least as that's not exactly her fault! I really hope you're wrong but I fear you're not..

I feel for her CBear, and for DS2. They really must respond any day. I've said this before but a bf of one of my DDs was really biting his nails waiting for Durham (very good grades all round). Time went on and on and on and on and then right at the very last minute - an offer, and Castle as his college. But it must be very hard to still be in the dark, so fingers crossed.

Durham is doing some strange things this year. I know of one pupil who has been offered a place but for a different course from the one he applied for. Also a friend whose DD is at a top Independent school says they have had a number of surprising rejections of top pupils. One wonders if they are trying to be more inclusive.

DD has just told me that one of her friends, who has applied for a science is still waiting to hear from Durham.

Just to add, we are in the SE too and by no means at a top independent school. Still waiting to hear. One of DS friends was rejected by St Andrews, 10 GCSEs at A and predicted 4A at A level.

It just seems so random and such a long wait.....thinking of anyone else in this situation and hoping we all get good news soon. It’s got to end soon!

The different course thing is very common at Durham, the uni has been doing that for years. But the reduced offer if firmed is a new one on me.
Is your DC at an independent or maintained PortusCale?

In the past Scottish universities have been unpredictable for SE based students, I remember a friend’s daughter being rejected by Edinburgh, other friends were rejected as they were EU rather than England (but living in SE England).

An independent school Goodbyestranger but not a well known/famous one. His predictions are 4 A and GSCEs were all As. Oddly his sister, who went to the same school, received an offer from Durham much earlier in the process a couple of years ago. He was rejected by Oxford (as was she) and now waiting on his last 2 choices - Durham and St Andrews.

I think there's been one of Durham's policy changes this year Portus, but on any measure it does seem really harsh for a DC with full A not to get an offer from the uni, whatever his school. Durham has a habit of suddenly changing tack on admissions policy and then revoking it a short while later. I can't for the life of me see why a student with straight A wouldn't get a History offer relatively early in the process, let alone not have one done and dusted by mid March. It's very tough and I can't see that any access drive justifies the exclusion of an applicant like that, tbh, and that's said as someone wholly in favour of access drives. It just doesn't make sense - your DS is in the very top few % and many students at Durham aren't.

Thanks for your thoughts goodbystranger, it does seem harsh. To be fair, he didn't choose his school, we did. He is a hard worker, a good soul who loves his subject and I fear that we have somehow disadvantaged him.

I came across this article - I don't know how to link so hoping this works:

blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/everyone-loses-universities-lower-entry-requirements/

I think we're in exactly the same situation as you and our DD also seems to be paying the price. She worked so hard in year 6 to win a scholarship to a local girls' school as she knew it would be a stretch otherwise. We are by no means 'privileged' though neither are we 'disadvantaged'. It has been a struggle. It's through her own efforts that she's got her A*s so it won't feel very fair really if she is then excluded from a top uni even though she more than meets the criteria - because she won a scholarship to a 'good' school. I know others have said it's good to show resilience - but I'm kind of with DD at the moment and the playing field without any warning doesn't feel very level.
Let's hope we hear positive news tomorrow so we can move on.

The fact that article appears in The Spectator doesn’t surprise me one iota.

It's a very tricky one, isn't it? Students who have been to good private schools (and grammar schools) will have had the full experience of being in a competitively academic environment with rigorous teaching and expectations and should be ready to hit the ground running. Those who have been in state primaries and comprehensives, etc will have had a different experience because the schools need to be more inclusive on their dwindling budgets.
The challenge for the RG universiries should be to support these students to make that step up rather than see some of them flounder and drop out.

Those who have been in state primaries and comprehensives, etc will have had a different experience because the schools need to be more inclusive on their dwindling budgets. I don't think it's as simple as that. Some comprehensives are very academic and have very MC intakes and do very well in league tables (and nurture very academically able pupils). I can think of two or three local to us.