Where to start when looking for a uni - dd feeling overwhelmed

[Sadik]

DD (yr 11) needs to think about open days, but is feeling pretty overwhelmed and uncertain as to where to start.

She's interested in physics, so something that's offered pretty much everywhere. It's quite hard to predict her grades, but probably likely to be decent to very good. Knows she doesn't want to be in London, but otherwise struggling to narrow it down. Anyone else's dc in the same boat?

[BubblesBuddy]

There are quieter catered halls at Bristol. The lively halls tend to be non catered with the larger communal spaces in each flat. So
ask the accommodations office if they have quieter halls. It is not sensible to say all Bath students are like church mice. They don’t have a City right nearby so make their own entertainment. There are all sorts of students at all sorts of universities. Just make sure your DD is a good fit academically and chooses the right hall. Physics isn’t selecting in many universities so she can be aspirational!

[Itscoldouthere]

It’s definately worth being aspirational, my DS started with a list of 5 universities that all had similar requirements, he decided to be aspirational and added Bath and Birmingham to his list, both had higher requirements than his predicted grades, both offered him, Birmingham offered at lower than standard grades if put first, he was very pleased that he went for more aspirational choices.

[Sadik]

That's really helpful info Itscold & springbirdsong. I think for certain dd would be looking at one or two aspirational unis on her list, and if her AS results are low (the maths / FM specifically where they only in practice got one term of functional teaching) she may consider re-sitting the year.

[Itscoldouthere]

Sadik my DS is currently resitting Biology and Chemistry, he’s been at home all year self studying but it’s been ok and he’s now ready to go to university (once the dreaded exams are over), it also gave us lots of time to visit places, we went to lots, it’s been very interesting.

[Sadik]

I can see that would be really helpful itscold, DD finds the whole process very overwhelming, & couldn't really cope with doing much while exam preparation / season was happening, so I suspect an initial scan now & then a more thorough look over a longer period may be the answer for her.

[Empra123]

Exeter is very good for ASC support.

[Sadik]

Well, we visited Bristol & DD definitely seemed keen & not put off by the big city vibe (if anything I think she quite liked it). She had some really good chats with different students, & the disability support people were very helpful, so a good start :)

Interestingly I was chatting to one of the lecturers while hiding in a corner waiting for dd to re-appear, & he said with great certainty that if you have the right predicted grades, you will get an offer, which was interesting to hear.

[Peaseblossom22]

Sadik we were also there on Saturday and ds liked it more than he thought he would. The English talk was very good and he likes the look of the course.

We both went to the admissions talk and I was impressed by how transparent the process is . All in the admissions statement on their website and very formulaic. In contrast StAndrews for eg were much more opaque in many ways with their emphasis on ‘ building a cohort’. A niggling part of me does wonder though if there is a relationship between student satisfaction ( high at St A and lower at Bristol) and more in depth analysis of who would suit the environment.

Also the accommodation we viewed was pretty grim, nevertheless I could see ds there ( trying not to think about the reputation of the University for drugs) .

[Sadik]

Interesting - I can see that if a uni is more picky, they may end up with better suited students.

Which accommodation did you visit? We went into a couple in the city centre (Unite I think, plus one nearby) and they both seemed fine, small but functional.

Fortunately unless she changes out of all recognition I think one thing I don't need to worry about is dd & drugs! (TBH any teen interested would find whatever they wanted readily available here on the party scene - probably the same everywhere?)

[Peaseblossom22]

I think it’s less about them taking drugs , although obviously that’s concerning but more about being stuck in an environment where taking drugs is routine and where that culture affects the living conditions as some reports indicate about the halls at Bristol especially as there are no porters/wardens etc.

That aside I think it will probably end up as one of dc’s choices.

[Teapot77]

I'm currently at Swansea Uni, I study engineering so don't know a lot about the physics courses but from an support point of view they've been incredibly helpful.

I had a bereavement during my second year and couldn't have asked for better support from the university. It's a fab place to be at uni for someone introverted (as I am!), it's the perfect size town and university. I would definitely recommend Swansea to anyone.

One suggestion would be to look at the student satisfaction for each university, I think it tells you a lot and gives you a good idea of what students actually think of the teaching/support/social life.

[stucknoue]

It's worth disclosing asd ahead of time (there's an option through ucas) dd was offered a special visit in early September, a one-one during freshers with a disability team advisor and on going get an hour a fortnight with her advisor/counsellor plus £500 a year bursary. This year she also got £1200 from disabled students grant for miscellaneous expenses. The other good thing they gave her was a pass to use the disability resource centre in the the library which has a kettle and a microwave which seems to be the best perk!

[MarchingFrogs]

In contrast StAndrews for eg were much more opaque in many ways with their emphasis on ‘ building a cohort’.

Do they actually say that?? A bit difficult, though, unless you happen to have enough of the right sort of student (as opposed to folk who are just interested in one of your courses, are predicted the right grades and like the look of your university) to fill your places a few times over. Otherwise you run the risk of having to offer places to the wrong sort just to keep your academics in work, given that offer doesn't equal firm choice doesn't equal making the grade.

[Peaseblossom22]

Yes they did say exactly that . Twice actually once in the talk and also when ds went to ask about deferred entry . I think they pretty much operate on the gathered pool approach and presumably as a third are overseas and non EU ( mostly North American it seemed to me) this is how they get a balance . At 13 applicants for every English place and 11 for psychology its not like they are short of applicants . They also referred several times to personal statements so I presume they read them . Personally I am not a fan of the PS and agree with Bristol that they are subject to too many outside variables but possibly in a small University like St A they have a place .

[Almonit]

I don't know if your dd is from an ethnic minority Sadik, but if you are, and if you know any of your ethnic minority groups going, you might want to talk to them about their experiences. As orthodox Jews, we have been warned off certain universities ( we have heard some horrific antisemitism stories about Edinburgh, for example, from staff as well as students), and the universities we are now looking at have been limited severely by the question of whether they are known to be reasonable places for a Jew. I don't want to send my 18 year old out to battle by himself and be subject to the kind of abuse we have heard of in various campuses on his own. Similarly, why put your DD into an environment where they chant nasty things in halls, if you can avoid it, especially if she has a disability. I am currently looking for a DS, but if and when I have a DD looking, I wonder whether one should also look at the sexism quotient of the various campuses (Warwick anyone?), if one can find information on it. Being in an abusive and hostile environment can make any good parts of a course impossible to access, unless you have a feisty DC who wants to go out and spend their university days fighting the good fight.

[TheFirstOHN]

@Sadik

We took DS2 to visit Nottingham Physics department today. On paper, it doesn't seem particularly remarkable, but I was pleasantly surprised.

It's quite a large department (200 places). First years are given weekly tutorials (5-6 in each group). The physics department has two dedicated student welfare officers to help with any concerns and provide support.

The course is flexible, in that it is possible to move from MSci Physics into one of the specialisms (e.g. Astronomy, Nanoscience or Medical Physics). In the final year, they take few/no exams, and are instead assessed on proposals for research projects etc.

There is an active PhysSoc which hosts visiting speakers and organises trips e.g. to CERN.

There is plenty of accommodation within walking distance of the physics department.

[Sadik]

Oh, that's interesting First - I'll pass it on to DD. Has your DS come to any conclusions as to his favourites?

DD really liked Bath a lot, not just the physics dept (and they were very helpful re. ASD support) but the combination of campus uni with plenty of green space around & then Bath itself being pretty big and of course Bristol very close.

I think she's now got to think about some lower tariff unis for UCAS, though optimistically Bath were very positive about re-takes if that looks like a sensible approach for her.

Hopefully when she sees her AS results it'll help - not having predicted grades for 3 out of 4 subjects makes things a little tricky, even though I can see why it's the case.

[TheFirstOHN]

That's good that she liked Bath.

On paper it looks like Bath and Warwick have some similarities, but we haven't visited either.

Birmingham, Nottingham and Southampton are fairly firmly on DS2's shortlist.

[Sadik]

I think one major difference with Warwick is that you'd be looking at Leamington Spa & Coventry as places to live / spend time outside of the campus, rather than Bath. Its also much further from us of course. But I think they might have uni accommodation for more students not in their first year, which would be a big positive.

[TheFirstOHN]

Both Warwick and Bath will provide on-campus accommodation throughout the course for a student with ASD who has need of it (DS2 emailed them to ask).

If they do decide to move out and share with friends after first year, I'm not sure there's much in it.

Warwick:
Coventry: Canley / Cannon Park: walking distance
Coventry: Tile Hill: 10m bus journey
Coventry: Earlsdon/Chapelfields: 20m bus journey
Kenilworth: 15m bus journey
Leamington Spa: 40m bus journey

Bath:
Widcombe: 20m walk
Combe Down: 45m walk or 10m bus journey
Oldfield Park: 25m bus journey
Twerton: 30m bus journey
Other student areas are further away or 2 buses.

[TheFirstOHN]

But yes, proximity to home is definitely something to consider, especially for a young person who might take a bit longer to become socially independent.