Applying for Uni 2019 Part 7: IB and A Levels are but a memory, we're relaxing and let's not even think about the 15 August yet!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Carrying on from the previous thread which filled up very quickly.

, and for everyone

He'll have to register online once he has his address (and is there). If there's a snap election(!), he may not have time!

Yes, this is my thought process!

I think being able to connect with your flat/course mates is both a blessing & a curse. DD had accommodation quite some way from the uni & then later was offered on campus halls. She didn't want to take it as she had bonded with her flatmates. Actually she had nothing in common with them in the end. Ditto DS who had an unconditional offer. He bonded with his course mates (& still gets on with them brilliantly) very early on & so that scuppered his idea of taking a gap year. It's worked out but I still think a gap year would have been good for him.

Ha, yes bed sheets.
I had to kill some time the other day and bought a single bedsheet (luckily only 1). Have now found out his bed is 138cm wide ..... Well, can always use a bedsheet anyway in my house.

DD has been allocated the only halls on her preference list with a '3/4' bed. Chances are that her second year accommodation will have proper double beds, as this seems to be the norm around the Selly Oak area (even in her brother's 3rd year flat, where his room would actually have had some space between the bed and the wardrobe, had the bed been a single) but I have treated her to 4ft sheets as we have one 4ft bed at home, so they can be put to use here next year.

DS is 18 today . As anticipated, no fuss, no bells and whistles, no party . It doesn’t help that recuperating at the moment and so couldn’t go out to get some balloons etc, but the boy is happy with his new laptop, very happy 😃.

Boys3 - yes Sept 2020 entry - sorry, I didn’t make that clear. He’s working and travelling this year.
Piggy - we have Miguel Barclays ‘Supereasy £1.00 meals’ which DS will take with him when he goes. I think it’s brilliant - we’ve cooked quite a few meals from it.

On voting we have found it easier to have a postal vote from home address and then whether it is holidays or term time it is stil quite easy to vote.

DS could do that xenia but I think he would be keener to influence things and vote in a marginal. Our home constituency has one of the largest majorities in the country, which lacks excitement for a politics student! Apparently , Lincoln is regarded as a bellweather constituency.

On another note all, interesting article in The Times today once more about parental ignorance re maintenance contributions. The article says average parental contributions fell last year. It goes on to blame parental (and presumably student) ignorance of the issues. True to form , the DfE blames schools.

la belle DS2 applied post A levels. Just the usual process to follow, and with the grades in hand he knew his options although it still took him until very late in the process to get application submitted He had already discussed applying post A levels with his school, who were super supportive in terms of providing school reference etc. Only real difference was that his five offers were all unconditional from the outset.

My slight concern was that offers based on predicted grades may well offer some wriggle room, whereas if it is, for example, ABB, that you've got in reality then that is that. Although in my DS's instance three of the five Unis had a "standard" offer slightly higher than his actual results. Presumably they viewed his results as good enough though. It was then just a case of deciding which to firm, and then take things from there. A bonus seems to have been that being confirmed with results known he got first choice of accommodation, and indeed had that 100% confirmed by start July.

with the distinct possibility of some sort of electoral event aside from being registered to vote, both at home and in Uni town / city, Local Authorities are always after people to work at election time, and there is a lot more needed than just having people sat in polling stations. My two eldest have both done this over the past few years earning anywhere between £15 and £25 per hour for what are not terribly onerous jobs. The count where we are is unlikely to ever be terribly exciting, however for somewhere like Lincoln a very different picture.

Shiny - Happy birthday to your DS

Hope Scottish students get the results they need

Thank you Boys3 - that was my concern too. DS is very much an A/B borderline student ( which is why he didn’t apply before results) but has a provisional A* EPQ, DoE Gold, work experience relevant to his degree and is very passionate and articulate about his subject. At the Newcastle open day he was told by a tutor that although the standard offer is AAA he would probably get in with AAB - but I was just wondering whether universities would drop their offers so early in the year. Your DS’s experience is reassuring!

Happy Birthday to DS shimy. Snap to the low keyness and the laptop!

Thanks all for cookbook suggestions!

la belle what I would add is that DS2's UCAS form went in just 48hrs before the January deadline. But all five offers were in by the end of the month, and probably a similar Uni profile (one of his was for example Nottingham) to your DS. I think he may also have benefited from the demographic dip, which I think is has another year or so to run, so hopefully your DS will benefit from that.

interesting article in The Times today once more about parental ignorance re maintenance contributions

more detail on the survey that the Times report is based on here

www.savethestudent.org/money/student-money-survey-2019.html

The link shows average spend of £807 per month which the Times have simply multiplied by 12 to get their annualised total of £9,684.

The survey polled 3,385 students so whilst within a reasonable margin of error nationally, given there are about 130 Unis, that works out at around 25 responses per university.

The link shows the various highlights from the survey, and well worth a peruse.

That is an interesting read, especially the bit about adult work...
Wow!

Thanks for your responses Boys3 - very helpful. You’re right about the similar profile - Nottingham on DS’s list too! If he gets his UCAS form in early will the offers come in earlier? He’s going travelling from Feb - May.

labelle - DS1 was an early application (Oxbridge) and for the other 4, aside from Durham who are well known for taking there time, had offers in very quickly - Nottingham, York, and, if memory serves, Leeds I think. His application was pre-A level results but when we still had AS levels.

Assuming your DS's results next week are in line with expectations and he's not looking at the limited number of courses (Medicine, Vet Med etc that interview) I would have thought your DS should get answers back pretty quickly. Has he got some exciting travel plans lined up?

Laid back (horizontal) DS just informed me over dinner that someone had assured him the results were out on Tuesday 13th. I had to put him right & he took some convincing. I can't get him to commit to going in to school at 9am. Apparently it depends what track says - if he's got in to his first choice he's not fussed & will go in "at some point". The culmination of all those years of school! I've tried to tell him that track updating isn't foolproof & for some it happens later (according to TSR). Gah!

Boys3, he’s applying for Psychology so I shouldn’t think will be likely to get interviewed- which is a shame as he talks a very good talk! His travel plans are very exciting: Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka. Very envious!

Re the discussion about registering to vote, here is the link to the website for doing so www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

I think it's good to remind our DC that if they wish to vote in the constituency to which they have just moved as students, they need to register to vote at that address. For those who are less politically astute than Piggy's DS, I think it's also worth reminding them that if they vote in a marginal constituency, their vote may turn out to be a lot more important than if they vote in a constituency that is clearly a safe seat for one party (eg North East Fife was won by just 2(!) votes in 2017 GE). If they have a choice over where to vote, they should choose wisely!

Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka

Undoubtedly an A* for travel planning.

Does he need a chaperone(s)?

Son is 18 in a couple of weeks but no suggestions for present. He probably needs a new laptop for uni so that feels a bit harsh as a present if it’s needed.. a new iPad (his mini is on its last legs and it’s basically their TV these days) is one option. Or just boring money..

How many of you are doing graduation presents?

Thank you to everyone for the voting register advice - not something we had considered at all and certainly food for thought.