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).

@MillicentMartha - Shame about Warwick but understandable.

DD very much in the same situation with similar offer requirements...AAB/ABB...the offer requirements are pretty standard everywhere (nothing higher) apart from the Masters with a Professional placement (AAA).

Dd started filling out her ukas form this week.... At the moment order is Plymouth top, Salford, Portsmouth, Essex, and probably bangor if they take her btech (waiting to hear back from them).
There maybe some change on that after visits, we're at Plymouth this weekend and Portsmouth in 2 weeks.
She's working on her personal statement..her dad's helping with that as he's good with words!

Portsmouth is a great city for students! As is Manchester/Salford.

oneteen all maths courses requirements are high. I guess more students get the higher grades so the unis can afford to be choosy. Glad it's a low birthrate year!

DD has changed her choices again, she is looking at History and Ancient History where it is offered. Oxford, UCL, York, Exeter and Queen Mary’s.

Well application sent off yesterday complete with school reference, which Dd said was glowing. Not expecting a response from 4 of the unis until after new year. The fifth one may be quicker. She has highers in hand for her Scottish choices so any offers will be unconditional. Well done to those with offers already!

Sorry first post on this thread so hope you'll have me!

Just back from our first Uni visit to Leeds Beckett and dd loved it and of course the city of Leeds is fabulous.

All good you might think but now I'm feeling actually physically sick about the thought of her going.

The halls we looked at seemed ok but one of them obviously has a major rat problem as we saw a whopper run straight in front of us by the bins. In broad daylight.

Ok we discounted that one and saw others that looked better but they are all in the same city centre location, all tower blocks, all seem to have pretty terrible reviews online. I don't know, but the thought of her being there on her own in a box with a tiny window and me driving away and leaving her is making me feel ill.

Is me feeling like this normal? I haven't said anything to DD of course as she is buzzing!

After a day at Plymouth uni...Dd really liked the university but seemed quite freaked out at how big/busy plymouth is. We come from a small town, so shes not used to the hustle and bustle.

DD has submitted her form, just waiting for the reference to be added.

@FrenchyQ

Were you in Plymouth today or yesterday?
Bare in mind it's the weekend, it gets v busy as it's the biggest town for miles for many, or those wanting to shop from all over Devon and Cornwall.
Also, it's been crazy with traffic of parents bringing their kids to start uni etc!!

Also, holiday makers are still about.

If you want to know anything, I'm familiar with the city, live in Devon and went to college there years back.

Your rat encounter would be enough to unnerve anyone, @Whistle73!

I’m sure the student halls won’t be a lonely place and they’ll all be in the same boat, so to speak, so that will give them something in common, even if it’s to moan about them.

Wanted to come on and offer some insight and information re Plymouth as DH and I went there and then remembered that was 33 years ago (Oh God I'm so old ) and so will slink off quietly

PS it was fantastic!!

Thanks @MillicentMartha - DD would go tomorrow if she could, I guess it's just hit home this actually could be happening! I am the most laid back person normally I never expected to feel any anxiety so this has taken me by surprise a bit.

Sheffield Hallam next weekend so by then I'm sure I'll be feeling more chilled about this.

PS we are the most terrible rat phobic family - it was horrible to be confronted with the awful reality that in a city centre they are going to be a common sight!

I tried to explain to dd that today wasn't a normal day... Its a Saturday and an open day so was busier than it should be. Hopefully she will realise that wherever she ends up is going to be bigger than the town we live in now. We're at Portsmouth in 2 weeks and possibly bangor at the end of October.

Toda has been beneficial tho as it had opened her mind up to other possibilities of study as she was looking at plain marine biology. Now she's considering the conservation side too

@wineoclockthanks

Same here! 1986 I started. Booze cruise anyone!!

The good thing about Plymouth, esp for marine and conservation is the wealth of nearby erm, water, beaches, Dartmoor etc.

Bangor is a bugger to get to but the most beautiful university in a small town. And has a great reputation for marine biology. Though the north coast road from Liverpool has made it more accessible.

Bangor University 😍

Barging in (Dd did her A levels this year but has a deferred place so won’t be starting until 2020) - Bangor is gorgeous! Dd is doing oceanography at Southampton but Bangor is a very strong second for marine science.

Agree Bangor looks amazing... Beautiful location for the outdoorsy type...

Joining in if I may, ds is a maths applicant. About a million years ago I applied to Bangor to study Agricultural Engineering (btw, I didn't go, ended up doing something completely different) but even back in the 1980's when no pubs in North Wales were open on a Sunday Bangor was a lovely place

HuaShan, my dad went to Bangor uni in around 1950 to study maths. It was his local uni, but despite a £60 a year scholarship, he couldn’t afford to stay. No grants or student loans in those days, you really had to have some family money.

Trying to get my head around acceptance rates etc.

York only offers 65 places for DD's course yet the acceptance rate is 95%.. so I guess its a fairly safe bet if you exceed the entry requirements/ same for Warwick at 93% - although far more places available.

Looking at Edinburgh stats seem the offer rate was 70% but out of 345 offers only 41 acceptances?

I'm actually taken aback by the number of offers to acceptances because its around 8% for a very well regarded Uni.

Where are you getting the acceptance stats, oneteen? I have only found offer percentages.

Hi Oneteen
The Edinburgh situation looks about accurate for many courses generally. Of the 5 choices most will give an offer but candidate can only hold 2. Of these the attrition rate for not achieving grades is around 40-50% so 100 offers equals 20 -30 acceptances of whom 40% (8-12) won't make it. Predicted grades are often 2 above achievement so that needs to be factored in at the Uni's pre clearing decision making. All other places then go into clearing. Hope this makes sense