Applying for Uni 2019 Part 5: UCAS, offers and exam season looming

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

New thread started. Here's the previous one

Interestingly Dd (state) gets 4 hours per subject per week. This, I think, is on the low side for private?

Also a leave to go to colleges to do a trade/ retake GCSEs at Dds school. There are only a few that aren’t going to get much from staying at school for another 2 years.

That's low Zanda. DD was at a state comprehensive and had 10 hours per fortnight per subject (the timetable was over a 2 week period)

We are 9 a fortnight at my place but I know of plenty of schools on less. Funding...easy place to save money...

Thanks for the information on hours per subject per week. I am right it’s on the low side. Still some syllabus to do in one subject 😱.

I think we would have cracked and all been in the asylum if DS had to take more than 3 A levels. That has tested us. What he did do was CAD which is City and Guilds, because it is vocational it means no points towards UCAS results. He enjoyed it and will be using it at university so will have an advantage in those classes which means he can concentrate more in other areas. Another boy in his year although his academic skills are average at best received an unconditional offer because one of the top boys in his sport in the UK

I just checked the Welsh Baccalaureate, google says 120 UCAS points which seems bizarre. The international one appears to be far fewer points.

DD couldn't have done 4 A levels. She was on her knees with exhaustion in year 12 with her 4 subjects. Doing the extra subject left her with very few free periods at school. It was a huge relief to drop Psychology after AS exams.

That is the other misleading thing about the average tariff points rankings. Lots of STEM degrees prefer Further Maths in addition to Maths plus 2 others. Further Maths counts as a whole extra A level so if an institution is STEM heavy the average tariff of all students is higher.

OK, please help lovely fellow MNers!

I am wrangling the student finance application. I know many of you haven't had to do this bit, so this is addressed to those of you who have had to support your child's application with information. Bloody hell, it's no wonder many people don't bother with this bit!

So... I eventually managed to find the right payslip to input my gross income from 2017/18 so got through that bit. Bleugh.

Now , I am on 'interest earned from savings'. I was not expecting this. My question is this... Dh and I will each have to do a separate income and savings declaration but our savings accounts and such are joint accounts. If (and it's a big if!) I do somehow miraculously manage to find out how much interest we gained from an account in the tax year last but one, what do I put? Do I half the amount? If we declare it twice, they will think we have twice the amount of money squirrelled away that we do!

This is all such an effing pain. When DH's dad died, DH opened up ( a bit obsessively) about 5 different savings accounts, most of which we don't touch, much less know passwords for. But I assume if we do crack into Fort Knox(es) we should be able to find out the info online?? Or not..

It seems ridiculous this. We are talking about a negligible amount of money really... and how do SF check this anyway??

Please tell me at some point that they aren't going to ask about DS's savings account which has all his inheritance in it??

Piggy I would say that it depends on how much the interest is. We receive a very paltry amount on ours (we too have joint savings account) clearly not financially savvy which isn't even enough to buy a meal out for two! So just listed the same amount for each of us (they can always come back for more info if required).

Agree it's ridiculous - as with asking how much interest other dependent children make on theirs???

Given how much 'financial history' they have on all of us at their fingertips these days, it all seems slightly irrelevant (unless one has got money invested abroad or in dodgy off-shore accounts).

That would definitely have described my FIL!

I hadn't got to the bit about dependent children! FFS!

I mean surely they can't run a credit check on a 15 yo anyway? He has savings , owing to his inheritance. Could I just overlook those??

In fact, I really don't know how they check this stuff, if at all.

Piggy ..re dependant children
I just put in name and dob and £0 in the income bit as they ate not contributing to household income.

It can't be just me that thinks this is bonkers : DS1 doesn't have to declare any interest on savings to apply for the actual loan but DS2's have to be declared! Does that imply somehow that that money can be used to support DS1?? Because it really belongs to no one but DS2!

Well I don't really see what younger (child) dependents' savings have got to do with anything either, Piggy. However, not sure that it's a good idea to overlook interest income on your DS2's if it's a sizeable annual sum. But there again, what's a sizeable sum (£Ks rather than tens or hundreds, I would assume?). And if parents are not dipping into their children's savings and/or interest (which most won't be), or allowing them access until they come of age, it's really not relevant, is it?

There wasn't much support information to tease out all these additional queries, as far as I can remember?

bizzey does that DC have savings accounts?

Mind you ..ds2 is at my mums at the moment doing her gardening.
He will most likely get £10/20 for that ....so it does affect house income as i wiil not have to give him pocket money...so i have more !!😃😃😃

No, and I haven't even got on to the complication of DH. I filled in my bit to see where you get to the point where it tells you to say if you anticipate a drop in earnings and it wasn't there anywhere!

Piggy ..yes but intrest on a siblings saving account cant really be classed as household income ?

To be fair ..i am in a position which means fortunately/unfortunately ds will get the full loan and hopefully a bursery from Southampton....as long as i can send them proof i have been a single parent (for the last 10 years !!)

You would think so bizzey but it mentions that you should disclose it. If they are over 16 you have to disclose employment, unless it's 'casual'. I guess the implication is that their savings account interest somehow saves some outlay in household outgoings. Clearly bollocks. I have put £0 for the meantime. I think it is probably actually about £30.

The current year estimated earnings form is terrifying!!

Be easier for me to get a promotion which pushes me single handed above the threshold at this rate.

I guess the implication is that their savings account interest somehow saves some outlay in household outgoings. Do these people live in the real world? I wonder how many DC are allowed regular access to savings accounts which accrue any sizeable amount of money in interest. Isn't the whole point of them (for most families unless super rich) that they're not to be touched until they need the funds as young adults (i.e. over 18)?

Grandparents open accounts for the children, which get added to all the time. Should you declare these??

Justasking111, I would think so.

We used DS1's savings account to buy a laptop (which he keeps breaking, so also to repair it) and also for some money to put into a current account. But, yes, otherwise, it was an inheritance. Neither of them would have as much in it of their GF hadn't died so it does seem a bit unfair to include it.