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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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!

970 replies

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 26/06/2019 19:51

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

Gin, Wine and Cake for everyone Wink

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Baytreemum · 11/08/2019 11:44

Thanks bizzey. Am now confused-

"more than one grade could well be a legitimate reflection of a student’s performance and they would both be a sound estimate of that student’s ability at that point in time"

???????? What on earth does this mean, and what are we to understand by this?

Danglingmod · 11/08/2019 11:53

Ingle - good luck to your dc.

I know two dc with offers of A, A, Astar, Astar but for Cambridge, not Durham.

bizzey · 11/08/2019 11:55

Baytreemum ...all i got from it was that they are rattled and seemed very defensive ?
Just wondering if they have done this before when the papers do their articals tbe weekend before results ?

bizzey · 11/08/2019 12:05

Hi Ingles2
Did your ds1 take a gap year or redo yr13.
You say chemistry was harder this year .
Did he redo them ?
Sorry for being nosey ...but it might be a back up plan for us .

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 11/08/2019 12:12

"more than one grade could well be a legitimate reflection of a student’s performance and they would both be a sound estimate of that student’s ability at that point in time.* That statement doesn't inspire confidence really, does it?

Welcome @Ingles2 and good luck to your DC. Are they very competitive with each other? It could be a bittersweet day in your household? That would be difficult to manage.

I feel prepared in on the admin required potentially for Thursday but I have to say I've left checking out courses in Clearing to DS (and putting all the info into an easy to use table).

If it's so difficult to get through on universities' clearing hotlines, is it advisable to have at least one parent dialling/redialling too?

Also, is it worth asking about accommodation options when checking out a Clearing uni choice. The issue with accommodation availability (and cost) is a real deal-breaker potentially, isn't it? There is no way we could pay anything over £5,500 for it, on the basis of DS's SFE loan and what we can afford to give him.

The level 9 at GCSE examplars are full of nonsense using big words, arent they? This comment rather reminds me of the cleverest girl in DD's primary school whose reports on school trips were the ones favoured for publication by their teacher. She used very impressive vocabulary but the articles didn't read well because much of what she used was formal, business-type speak.

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Piggywaspushed · 11/08/2019 12:16

Well done bizzey : quite an achievement there!

Piggywaspushed · 11/08/2019 12:17

I have read that Ofqual response three times now and still don't follow!

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 11/08/2019 12:28

My take on that statement is indeed that the grades given aren't entirely reliable/accurate! Isn't it classic 'Civil Service' style obfuscation???

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Piggywaspushed · 11/08/2019 12:30

Are they saying 'well, over two years, they may well have performed at a range of differing grades, so that's OK then?'

bizzey · 11/08/2019 12:35

Piggywaspushed you are correct .
It was an achievement waking ds3 up at 11.30 am to do it for me !!! 🤣🤣🤣

bizzey · 11/08/2019 12:38

I only posted it hoping someone else would understand it . And explain it to me !!!

minesawine · 11/08/2019 12:40

Reading these messages, whilst increasing my very limited knowledge, is giving me panic attacks. DS has no plan B if he doesn't get his Firm, except to say he will 'work' for a year. Not understanding that if his grades are shit then he wont get in next year either. Being reminded about edexcel maths has given me heart palpitations. You all have your clearing lists and information ready to go and we have nothing done. We stupidly booked his driving test for Wednesday so he is a bit stressed about that, more so than his results. It could be a fantastic week or terrible. We are going to have a frank talk this afternoon.

Laniakea · 11/08/2019 12:48

Dd’s firm & insurance offers have come out of clearing since Friday - I assume that’s because the universities have the results now?

If she hasn’t got into either I don’t think she’ll be looking anywhere else in clearing ... more a case of retakes or not discussions with school. I have absolutely no idea how that would work.

boys3 · 11/08/2019 13:01

minesawine please don't worry too much - UCAS figures show that a very large % do get their firm choice. In some ways the driving test booked for wednesday could well be a great, and hopefully successful, distraction. Fingers crossed for your DS for both Wednesday and Thursday.

DrMadelineMaxwell · 11/08/2019 13:04

Dd's (3rd) driving test is tomorrow as well as results.stress.Thursday.
Not sure what she will decide to do if she fails so I have my fingers crossed for a double celebration this week.

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 11/08/2019 13:09

Agree with @boys3, @minesawine. Can think of no better distraction than the focus of sitting a driving test. Good luck to your DS with that.

The only reason I'm so prepared is because DS under-performed in his GCSEs, nearly lost his sixth form place at his school and we had a very tense week to ten days waiting for his sixth form future to be determined. Don't want to be in the same position again...

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NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 11/08/2019 13:17

Interesting article in The Telegraph about the pros and cons of deferring entry. It doesn't appear to be behind a paywall.

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JanetheObscure · 11/08/2019 13:49

That Ofqual statement has made me de-lurk after months and months! Oh my days. Was it supposed to provide reassurance??

That said, subjective essay-based exams have probably suffered from unreliable marking since the year dot. In my day (somewhere approximate to year dot!), we didn't even have mark schemes to follow, or at least I never saw any.

ProlificLurker · 11/08/2019 14:02

Like a few others, we are back to being stressed about the Edexcel Maths fiasco. Not helped by MIL claiming to see something about these particular maths results being delayed by the exam board. (I’ve not seen anything saying that myself, I hasten to add) DS is now panicking that all the decent clearing places would be gone before he even gets his Maths result. 🙄 thanks MIL.

On the bright side we’ve found a similar course to his firm choice at the other university in the same city and they’ve already lowered their requirements for clearing so there are options. DS, naturally, refuses to discuss anything.

Fingers crossed for everyone for Thursday. And congratulations to all the newly 18 year olds.

errorofjudgement · 11/08/2019 14:23

Ofqual response
On that basis, more than one grade could well be a legitimate reflection of a student’s performance and they would both be a sound estimate of that student’s ability at that point in time based on the available evidence from the assessment they have undertaken

So assuming, best case, DDs grades could be marked +/- 1 grade either way for her 3 humanities she could be looking at a grade range of 3A* (hello Oxbridge application) to 3Bs and Ofqual say that both are a “sound estimate” of her ability.
If we were working on sound estimates perhaps we should just use the teachers estimate. At least they’ve had the benefits of actually teaching the students for the last 2 years.

Dunlurking · 11/08/2019 14:35

Hi everyone. Just delurking after popping out to get the Sunday Times. I’ve been reading p2 and p8 about the 20% pass rate in Maths. Dd did Edexcel Maths and has been ranting about it ever since. I know they don’t publish the grade boundaries until the day of the results but I’m reading this to mean that those for Maths will be extraordinarily low. Any thoughts? Fingers crossed for did as she was predicted A* yet certainly completed less than 50% of the 3 papers.

Also, does anyone know the procedure if you want to change course yet stick to the same uni? Do you have to go through clearing, or adjustment, or can the new course’s admissions tutor sort it out if she’s got the grades and they’ve got the space? In particular dd doesn’t want to find her hall place automatically cancelled and then needs reapplying for.

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 11/08/2019 14:43

Dunlurking, from what I've read, if a student doesn't make the grades for the course they were originally offered, the university in question is likely to consider them for others that they still have spaces on, assuming the grades roughly tally. This before they accept/reject for the insurance one to consider.

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strawberrieshortcake · 11/08/2019 14:57

ProlificLurker, your MIL has got it a bit muddled. 78 students will have their Maths Grades held back because they were involved in the cheating/ leaked questions scandal. As far as we know every other Edexcel Maths student will get their results promptly on Thursday with the rest of their results.

strawberrieshortcake · 11/08/2019 14:59

Dunlurking, well technically the edexcel grade boundaries should be released at 6am on Thursday but they are available on Wednesday for all educational officers. If she lurks on any social media sites on Wednesday she’ll probably see the leaked grade boundaries which may make Thursday less stressful.

Dunlurking · 11/08/2019 15:09

Thanks NewModelArmy. She's wanting to switch to Human Geography from Sociology. It's in clearing and asks for higher grades - but her Sociology offer was a few grades below her predictions so she's hoping she can swap fairly easily, assuming she makes the grades.