Applying for Uni 2020

[daydreamornot]

Thought it may be nice to have a 2020 support thread, everyone welcome! (maybe Oxbridge posts could be kept to the Oxbridge thread).

Eeeek!

First 2 choices submitted, other 3 to be added when we've been to Leeds in a couple of weeks.

Now maybe he can concentrate on actually doing some work ha ha ha ha ha

oratory do you think they use the compulsory attendance at an offer-holders’ day as an ersatz interview in case of missed grades?

‘Young Kingscotejunior only got a B in his English, but he was super enthusiastic at the offer holders’ day, so let’s have him anyway. Bloggs junior sat in a corner on his phone all day so no place for him.’

Crumbs - I haven't factored in potentially compulsory offer holder days. If St Andrews operate that system I may struggle to get enough time off and I don't foresee DD feeling confident enough to travel that far alone. Their open days were all midweek and that was a problem when it takes a whole day to travel from here

@Achickencalleddaal - St Andrews offer holder days are slightly different:

Choosing the right university for you is incredibly important, which is why we want to offer you every possible opportunity to meet our staff and see St Andrews.

We host offer holder events which take place in cities around the UK and across the world. You and your family are welcome to attend the event that suits you best. There are also opportunities to visit St Andrews in person and to attend our virtual events.

These events vary slightly by location, but all will give you the chance to meet with staff from St Andrews, ask any questions you have about studying and living in St Andrews, and meet other offer holders.

Thanks oneteen. "Cities around the UK" sounds promising! She's already been to St Andrews and loved the town and the overall feel of the university. Ideally, I'm sure it would be great to go back for a more in-depth look, but it sounds like they recognise that might be challenging.

Hi - hope its OK for me to join?
DS is hoping to study Engineering ( specific area changes frequently). With his GCSE results (4 x grade 6's and 4 grade 5's,) we have opted to go the FE route with Btec Extended Dip. Yr 1 was good ( All Dist grades) and now in yr2. We checked the options for degrees and the Uni's he can sensibly aim for all take the Btec - no point in applying to orgs that only take A Levels as his grades would likely have been shaky.
I am looking at the Sunday Times Uni guide today. He is keen to see Aston but I am worried that he might not fit their profile very well as their target to recruit more white males make me feel like he is part of an experiment, not there to learn.
We have also seen UEA , DS and I liked it
SHAM cos of its relationships with industry and Derby for the same reason.
No where near completing the UCAS form yet so I'm panicking now after other people's posts
Most posts seem to be medicine related and Scotland based here- anyone in a similar situation to us?

Thank you Hugospritz
Feel a bit less anxious now. Loughboro grades generally high for engineering tho plus major negative is that DH works there ( not in eng). DS understandably wants to get away from his parents so probably not the best road for us but thanx for the info generally

PBLR is it possible to go to one of Aston's open days over the next few weeks? That might put your mind at rest and give your DS the chance to see if he thinks he will fit in & meet the entry requirements. They're on 5 Oct & 23 Nov, so plenty of time to get his UCAS form in afterwards.

Kingscote I think you could be right. Or it could be they are thinking if they make you visit you will like what you see and firm them. Or maybe if you have actually been to the place and firmed them you know what you are getting into and then more likely to stay the course.

Hello, may I join? DD is applying for History at O, UCL, York, Queen Mary’s and one other she is undecided about.
Is typing up her PS as we speak. Decided not to do her EPQ and focus more on her subjects.

Hi there, aibu and welcome. Anyone is free to join!

DS is 3/4 through his first draft of his PS. It’s proving painful for him and doesn’t come naturally. Good job he wants to study maths!

Still waiting for his predicted grades but hoping he’ll get them sorted next week. I went to a refresher UCAS evening at his school last week and it seems DS has to track down each subject teacher and get them to sign his form giving a negotiated and agreed UCAS predicted grade. A bit different to the standard issued report!

He’s also negotiating to drop his EPQ. Writing is really not his strong point.

Hoghgyni - yes we are booked in for the 5th thanks.
My experience working in FE means
I can just see DS being targeted with all sorts of nightmare support sessions and stuff just because he's a quiet blond haired boy - a sure fire way to encourage him to drop out if you ask me. HE may be different tho so we will go on the 5th with an open mind. TY everyone

@PBLR - I think Exeter and quite a few other Uni's do accept the BTEC (and quite rightly so!).

Thanks oneteen. Didn't know Exeter was an option but we will certainly look at it

Hi all, dd still doesn't know what she wants to study. Sigh.
Can I ask, would £££ accommodation factor in your decision.
She saw a course at Bath Spa (I'd never heard of it) and the accommodation is ridiculous, and the cheapest involves sharing a room.

It has factored in DS's decisions. We have ruled out Bath Uni, Exeter and all London unis. This is mainly because I'm second time through and have learnt through DS1 what a difference it made to his experience having cheap accommodation and enough money to have a decent life without having to get a part time job. His course was too demanding to allow for part time work during term times with 20 hours contact time. He worked in the summer holidays every year and got the full loan. He enjoyed living with other students with similar financial backgrounds as they'd all chosen the cheap halls.

One thing that might help is to investigate how each university allocates any bursaries. DS3 is eligible for up to £2000 from some unis and £0 from others. This has also been a factor in choosing unis. You get these bursaries automatically if eligible, if you agree to share your financial details with the uni via the SLC, which is how we found out about the one DS1 was eligible for. He just received a payment in term 1 we weren't expecting!

London was a definite no no here. We've had to factor in ease of travel by road or train as well as cost. DH does seem to be more generous with DD's likely standard of accommodation than me. Anywhere with a shared bedroom would be out of the question. I endured that in my first year and I couldn't inflict it on DD.

The accommodation factor hasn't been a decider to where DD is likely to apply (although I raised an eyebrow at Edinburgh costs)...The view that we have taken is that the accommodation will be 1/2 the cost of the current school fee's and I'll be free to do more work than I currently do... I've read a few horror stories on the Uni support FB page for this year's entrants with regards to accommodation...so I'd rather pay more for peace of mind than pay less.

Thankyou for your replies, it seems others have thought similarly about the accommodation. Or factored in what works for their family income, I should have probably said that I'm a single mum, low income.
It would be nice if her father or her paternal gp's would help but not going to happen.
I guess we made it this far though!

I hadn't thought about bursaries, I shall be mindful.
We're looking at visiting Cardiff, but can't make the next open day.
The next one is in April 🙁

So I rang today and discussed that it would probably be possible to visit the departments in a separate visit on a week day.
Then do a self guided tour. We know the city pretty well, so I think that could work.
Hopefully her current college could let her have a Friday off, as it's a few hours away.

Another divorced single parent, here. Definitely factor in bursaries. I'm on a low income but Bath uni, for instance, doesn't offer a bursary unless you live in an area of deprivation etc, and I was lucky enough to remain in the family home, which is in a fairly nice area.

Also, you could put Cardiff as one of your choices and attend an offer holder day if it might be a preference later. They are usually in the spring and are often by subject, so better than a general open day, really.

Accommodation costs definitely factored in DD picking her firm and insurance for medicine 2 years ago. She is at Cardiff now and having a great time.
DS is more keen on checking out bursaries - or "free money" as he likes to put it!

@thesunwillout - Sorry I didn't mean to be insensitive (also a single parent), but DD's dad is superb on the financial side. I'm fortunate to work and also have a pension ..so we are OK but certainly not well off.

Ah, we’re all in different situations, but in the same boat as far as worrying about our DC, oneteen. It’s a shame that the price of accommodation has to be factored in for my DS3 but that just helps cut the ‘long’ list down.

Our main problem is finding affordable aspirational unis and ditto insurance. Oxford would be ideal, as it’s so cheap, but it’s a bit too aspirational! Warwick would be perfect, both affordable and aspirational but DS1 went there and DS3 wants to be his own person. As for insurance there are very few just a little bit lower than AAA for maths that are close enough to get there easily.

@MillicentMartha It must be difficult with two siblings who both excel in the same subject/discipline. I know my younger niece was adamant she would not go to Bham because her elder sister was studying there- despite an Unconditional offer. I'm so pleased that Warwick is DD's first choice and I'm also happy that UEA will probably be her insurance - I really like them both and I think they would equally be a perfect fit for DD.