Anyone in NI here struggling/feeling left out?

[narkedinNI]

Name changed for this as I don't want to out my location on other threads.

DD is Year 13 in a grammar school here (NI). We are a FSM family as I am a FT carer for my other dc with complex disabilities. The school have strongly but subtly recommended that the pupils should not go to either UU or QUB, something to do with entry requirements being over inflated because places are capped here but not in the rest of the UK.

DD's friends seem to be quite wealthy and have booked open days in the coming months for several universities in England and Scotland. I've just checked for Durham and due to flight times dd would have to stay 2 nights to get one full day in Durham. It's going to cost about £350 just for her. If she puts down 3 non NI choices that (in theory) would be up to £1k just to visit each one for the day. The same goes for taster days/residentials. Durham offer a travel bursary of up to £100 but there is still the other £200. None of the other unis she is thinking of offer travel bursaries. Wider participation all talks about pupils from England.

Obviously that is life, not everyone can afford it but I just feel that DD is hugely disadvantaged by our circumstances. Is anyone else in the same boat? Is it wise to apply to somewhere that you haven't visited?

Just having a moan really, any advice appreciated.

Please, please check that the universities your DD is interested in offers grants or subsidised travel to open days. Every university will have an access office whose job it is to encourage people from less well off backgrounds to apply, and should be able to help with open days etc.

Her teachers are correct; the entry requirements at the NI unis are higher simply because of demand.

It would appear that your DD is being very poorly advised by her school.

University rankings are of little relevance for courses such as dentistry. The reputation of the dental school is of some relevance.

A qualified dentist is likely to be required to repay his/her student loan in full. Your DD would pay an extra £25,000 in fees alone to study in a university in England. (£4,395 versus £9,250 here.) Higher living costs would also add to this.

Trinity College Dublin is very competitive as fees are subsidised (under £3,000 per year). Your DD would need 4 A-levels at A grade

Narked definitely check out ROI options. But if your DD wanted to visit Unis in London we'd be glad to host you all (I'm from NI but have been living here for a long time).

Thank you all so much for the support, it means a lot
Re the school, we've only had a general info night at this stage, there will be a further one for those who are intending to apply for medicine/dentistry in the coming months.

I have a degree myself but I'm finding the whole financial side quite complicated to understand and overwhelming. I just really, really want to give dd the best possible chance to have a good career. I haven't worked since ds was born 14 years ago and I'm out of touch with reality these things as I don't meet up with other adults much, MN really is my point of reference

MoodLighting thank you so much for that offer, that is so kind. I was up most of the night with ds so had a chance to look at some of the London universities accommodation prices Sadly I think we are well and truly priced out, even with the maximum loans it still wouldn't cover the cost of a room. Unfortunately I'm really not in a position to be topping her up with anything substantial.

I also think I need to work backwards with her GCSE grades and see where we can apply for. She only got 5A*s (and 6A's) so that might actually prevent her from applying to QUB and Trinity anyway. She's doing 4 AS levels and intends to keep all 4 for A level hopefully.

Thank you all again, lots to think about and i'll be trawling these boards for more wisdom

@Inniu thanks for that, worth knowing.

narked, noner of my 5 children (two of them currently at Bristol) have gone to open days. You can see what these places are like on youtube. It is just a waste of time.

I agree with Xenia. Visiting open days did not seem to be such a thing amongst DCs relatively affluent London friends, and the school encouraged a focus on course content which could be done at home. Both mine applied to places they had not visited. Indeed medic DD did not visit any of her choices (though she was born in one!) I cannot emphasise enough. Medicine and dentistry are really competitive. Spend your time researching entry requirements, and your money on access to one of the commercial UKCAT practice portals.

If you get an interview make the most of that. Open days seem to be family bonding exercises. A luxury not a necessity.

I am a bit surprised at all those advocating ROI. We looked at ROI for medicine. It was seriously competitive. 4 Alevels, probably at A A A A minimum with Dublin medical schools probably wanting 3A. DDs decision was to see how she got on in the UK process and if she did not get a place she would have worked like hell to nail those As and apply the following year. The good thing about ROI is that entry is very largely based on grades so is more predictable.

I worked in a University in NI

The school have strongly but subtly recommended that the pupils should not go to either UU or QUB, something to do with entry requirements being over inflated because places are capped here but not in the rest of the UK.

Grade boundaries are set so Universities can ensure that the student has the skills to meet the demands of the course they have applied for. After the A-Level results are published we often drop A-Level grades for GB applicants as you have said they aren't capped places but the actual number of GB applicants who gain these places are really low (double figures), and its often only an A-Level grade drop and not for professional courses (i.e. Dentistry, Medicine Social Work ect)

She intends to apply for dentistry (which is QUB only) and apparently 60+% of applicants who meet the grade requirements get rejected because of competition.

Dentistry is a highly competitive course in order to narrow down who is selected for a place all applicants who meet the minimum shortlisting requirement (GCSE Grades for School Leavers) are required to be interviewed.

After interview applicants are ranked (1 - XX (how ever many where interviewed)) and places given 1 - XX (now many spaces are available). Due to the volume of eligible candidates available a Universities don't allow any grade drops for these courses (regardless of your residency status), if someone doesn't meet the grades when the results are published it goes to the next person on the list, again regardless of residency status.

32 places therefore you will need much higher than the 3 A's they state

This is incorrect the grades published online and in the prospects along with the specific subject requirements are what is required. Universities are really transparent on their requirements. There is no hidden agenda.

Your daughters school has given you a lot of incorrect information and I strongly encourage you to contact the Admissions Department for each University your daughter in intending on studying at for further clarification.

As your daughter will need to attend interviews at the other Universities she intends on applying to she could use that as an opportunity to look around the other campus' in my experience they don't often offer Skype but some do provide funding for widening participation students to attend, again query this when your emailing them regarding entry requirements.

Finally congratulations on raising an extremely bright daughter who is in a position to consider dentistry as a career option, please don't be overwhelmed the admissions teams deal with these sorts of queries all the time and are more than happy to help.

No specific advice on dentistry but I wouldn't worry too much about open days. When I applied I was living near Birmingham. I applied to Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Durham, Cambridge and QUB and didn't visit any of them. Ended up going to QUB which was my first choice and absolutely loved it.

I knew I wanted to be in a city based university not a campus one so never considered Warwick for example. All these years later I have no idea what going on an open day would have shown me that would have had any input to my decision.

Universities are really transparent on their requirements. There is no hidden agenda

Sorry didn't mean to give the impression that I thought there was foul play; what I meant was due to the competition realistically to be in with a chance of getting a place you will need much higher. On a 3A's entry requirement there will be a lot of pupils with 4A's applying. The school said only 40% of students with the actual specified requirements got a place.

I think you are all right about there not being much benefit of seeing the university beforehand. I would like her to get a feel for the city though. I have two friends whose dc went across the water to different universities and came back before finishing the first year as they hated the city they were in. I will tell dd to wait until potential interviews, equally there is little point setting your heart on a particular uni if you are highly unlikely to get an offer.

Thank you all for giving me great advice