Hello - Clicked on this thread and was instantly transported back to last year when Dd was doing all this. I noticed a few of you are mentioning Newcastle University. Dd was adamant that was where she was going - to the point that I told her to put one more down so at least she had 2 on her UCAS form. She got in and loves it. Everyone seems to. The only negative seems to be a few people didn’t like their first year accommodation allocation (Castle Leazes) which is like marmite.
It’s funny because at this point pupils are so obsessed with grades but when they get to university no one talks about it. I asked her the other day and she said one of her flatmates brought it up the night before and all except one (who got in on a different course) got higher than their offers. I can’t read anything into that but thought it maybe useful?
Also I notice people are getting the same grade offers from different universities and don’t know how to choose (if they like the courses the same). Dds insurance was the same grades although she had to get an A in a stipulated subject. It was always going to be the insurance though so that was arbitrary.
I know this sounds a bit daft but look at the accommodation policies for firm/insurance too. My Dd was very keen on particular accommodation and it was another sigh of relief knowing she got it. Some universities allocate the ‘firms’ preferences before insurances. Don’t ask me about Newcastle’s - I can’t remember! I know that a couple of Dds past school friends at different universities have felt miserable in part down to initial accommodation. I kept telling Dd if this happened, there’s always a lot of movement with students dropping out/courses finishing at different times but it’s a factor worth considering if nothing else.
Good Luck everyone.