Applying for uni in 2021...

[Parsley65]

Thought I'd start the ball rolling on this one...

Dd wants to study psychology and we've been checking out dates of open days.

Her school still does AS levels. She's doing psychology, physics & business.

Please come and join us on the long and bumpy ride past revision and exams and on towards the much anticipated start of uni life in Autumn 2021.

DS received an Exeter offer this afternoon too. It's a bit weird. The entry requirements for his course are AAA. His predicted grades are AAB. The offer is for AAB but 1 grade lower if he firms. So I guess that would be AAB?

@calculatorqueen did the offer say it was contextual? Our postcode is not in a contextual area, but her sixth form is on "the list", but the offer doesn't state contextual.

@calculatorqueen ph and congratulations to your DS. Both DDs are just waiting to hear from for UCL now.

Btw they aren't twins, DD1 didn't get her CAGs for medicine last year and is retaking.

@pistachioicecream or it could be ABB or even AAC

@twoinyear13 The offer/letter on the UCAS site didn't mention contextual. He was told that it was contextual a couple of days later in an e mail direct from Exeter. In the meantime I had been telling him that it must be because he was a good candidate!

@pistachioicecream Or ABB or AAC so long as any specific subject minimum grades are still met.

Hi can I join in? Exeter have been busy today, my DD also received an offer from them but as she’s already sat her A levels it’s unconditional. Really happy as she only applied on Monday.

That’s great news for your DD @errorofjudgement. Congratulations.

I think we must have been lucky with the timing of applications. My DS’ application only went off on Wednesday so he def wasn’t expecting to hear so soon! I read somewhere that Exeter batch applications before responding. So guess their applications must have arrived at the right time.

What is your DD going to do? Is Exeter one of her preferred options?

@pistachioicecream thank you! DDs offer is for history, it’s the only academic course she’s applied for, ideally she’s hoping for drama school but realised the odds are heavily against getting offers.
What’s your DS hoping to study?

Thank you for the advice @twoinyear13 and @calculatorqueen.

One of DS’ teachers was concerned about his A prediction as felt that meant Exeter would def include an A in his offer even though the standard offer for his subject is AAA.

We did some research on other forums and spoke to the careers dept at school who thought that was unlikely, so DS wanted to stick with the A rather than lower it to an A. And low and behold they did include A in the offer! Never mind. Same UCAS tariff as AAA but different combination.

Although I think if he opts for Exeter it would be as his firm choice rather than insurance so would get to use the 1 grade lower option.

And yes, Exeter is her preferred uni. Last year she had offers from Exeter and Durham but having visited friends at both she preferred Exeter. But with the pandemic looming decided to take a (second) gap year which I think was definitely the right decision.

@errorofjudgement DS is applying for Geography.

Good luck to your DD for her drama school applications! Great she has a back up plan.

Thank you @pistachioicecream, and to your DS in his exams/CAGs or whatever system is used this summer!

Re the (univetsity applicant's) application for student finance, helpful information on the UCAS website (which they may already have found):
www.ucas.com/undergraduate/student-life/getting-student-support/undergraduate-student-support

Which links to the actual government.uk site where they make the application:
www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance (for those resident in England: there are separate links for those in Wales/ Scotland / NI).

This usually goes live for the coming year sometime around the end of February.

They can start the process without having firmed a place, then amend their application to add the correct university later on.

BTW, if you use the calculator on the gov.uk site and work out that your DC is definitely only entitled to the basic (non-means tested) maintenance loan, they can just not tick the box which starts the 'assess me for the means tested portion' (not its actual name!) process off. Although if they do, you can then just ignore the email you will receive and the assessment will just be made for the basic amount.

Ah so Exeter has started making offers for history - oh well maybe ds will hear something soon (he applied for ancient history), I had assumed they were waiting until 15 Jan (or 29 Jan now). Or maybe he is on the "only accept if we don't get anyone better" list.

@annevonkleve

Ah so Exeter has started making offers for history - oh well maybe ds will hear something soon (he applied for ancient history), I had assumed they were waiting until 15 Jan (or 29 Jan now). Or maybe he is on the "only accept if we don't get anyone better" list.

Good luck for your DS. DD got hers back in Oct, but was an early applicant, standard offer.

@annevonkleve I hope your DS hears soon, my DD already has her grades so its a straight y/n and probably easier to assess.

@annevonkleve. yes Exeter did a batch of history offers back in October, including standard entries (or not year14, international or contextual) then I think they shut down again

Has anyone heard from Warwick. Just askng for a friend, whose dd has applied to study Economics and Politics. Thanks

DD’s friend got a NatSci offer from Durham earlier today. DD still waiting...

Warwick tend to drag things out - two years ago, DD only didn't withdraw her application because she stubbornly wanted to see whether they were going to offer her a place (they did, eventually, and she went off happily to Birmingham) and this year (different subject) it's the only one that DS2 is currently waiting on.

That being said, DS1 (yet another subject) applied on 23rd November in his year and iirc had had all his offers back, including Warwick, by the time I was writing 'inland' Christmas cards.

My son got his Warwick offer just before Christmas following an essay submission and interview.

Dd1 has received all her offers and is now signing up for virtual open days over the next few months. She is fairly sure that she wants to firm Durham but it is the highest of her offers so probably won't firm it now but wait. If it had been exams she would have been confident of getting the grades but who knows now. They did their 'mocks' back in October but they were meant as a replacement for end of year 12 tests so didn't cover year 13 work. No plans at all yet for any further testing. How is everyone else's DC feeling about the cancellation of exams?

I mean applicant / offer holder days, not open days.

I think DS2 is quite happy that exams have been cancelled. One of his Eng.Lit teachers set them a timed essay on their 'first day back' (only KW's / vulnerable pupils due in this week anyway) for which he got an A with apparently no revision over the holidays, so fingers crossed he keeps that up. And only two other subjects to get at least a B in, of course. One (Art) is a predicted B; Maths is a predicted A, but I think we'll all settle for a B as things ate, particularly DS2.

Timed essays were a turning point for DD.

It was when the school started setting timed essays as exam practice that her teachers realised DD had previously undiagnosed LDs.

She’d moved schools in sixth form, came in with good GCSEs and kept up with all her work. But the timed essays showed up glaring errors compared to her usual work.

Luckily she was immediately referred to the school SEN co-ordinator who went through a battery of tests with DD, and discovered DD has slow processing issues and dyslexia. The school were fantastic in pulling together evidence over the next few weeks and getting exam adjustments in place for her.

This is carrying through to university and we were advised by Student Finance last year that DD qualified for DSA meaning she should get additional support next year.