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.

@PenguinIce there's a whole thread about Exeter - quite a bit further down the board but still current. It's called 'anyone got a DC at Exeter' or similar

@penguinice I live and work in Exeter and work closely with the uni sometimes. It’s a very safe city and very student friendly. There are no really bad places. The campus is lovely.

Sneaking in. DS1 has his first offer so now we can all breathe. I have been studiously (!) avoiding mentioning University or UCAS for weeks.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude - it’s such a relief when they get an offer isn’t it?! Good news for your DS.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude that’s great news, is it from one of his top choices?

Thank you. He is much happier just being out of limbo.

Not his first choice but he is pretty sanguine about which one he gets. Taking into account his EPQ the offer is lower than his predicted grades.

Actually that’s really helpful if he’s happy with all his choices,
Congratulations to him

Not sure if anyone remembers me mentioning g a few months ago about DS not continuing with his application with Durham as he didn't want to sit the LNAT as it didn't guarantee a place on the law course? Well. He has just been offered an unconditional place with Durham, it in law but in criminology.

He's beyond chuffed with himself, but he isn't sure if it's the right course to get into being a solicitor. I'm not sure myself, and whilst I'm thrilled, I haven't a clue. He needs to speak to the careers person at sixth form, it not sure when as, well, lockdown.

Anyone got any advice?

@AdditionalCharacter
Well done your DS.
To become a lawyer you need to either do a qualifying law degree or do a 1 year post grad conversion course (GDL) if you don’t have a QLD.
Here is a list of QLD
www.sra.org.uk/students/courses/qualifying-law-degree-providers/

Only the Law degree at Durham is listed so if your DS does Criminology he will then need to do the GDL.

If he has a QLD he can go straight to the Legal Practice Course (solicitor) / Bar Practice Course (barrister). Otherwise he has to do the GDL first.

The main issues are time and cost. The GDL is an extra year of time and fees.

That's great, thank you for the information.

Just to add. If he is thinking of one of the top law firms there is a balance to be struck. A good degree from Durham followed by the GDL might be better than a QLD from a Uni much further down the league tables. So it really depends what his other options are.

The calibre of the Uni attended is a factor.

I have colleagues who went down the GDL route studying maths, foreign languages or history. I did a QLD and we all ended up in the same place.

I also think a criminology degree from Durham will be potentially better than a law degree from somewhere else, although most law firms are now much more open to recruiting from lesser known universities in terms of improving diversity - it's no longer the preserve of Oxbridge and RG (if indeed it ever was outside the top city firms). Also he might decide that he wants to do something in the criminology field.

Hope everyone is coping ok with everything at the moment.

Are people still seeing offers come out or do you think most universities will be waiting now until after the UCAS deadline on Friday?

DS has had offers from Exeter and Lancaster, but is still waiting to hear from Loughborough, Cardiff and Sheffield. Although how he's going to choose I have no idea as he hasn't actually been to any of them.

Does anyone worry about their DC starting in September if the world has not changed. My DD has accepted a place in Portsmouth but says she wont go if lockdown is still going on. I am fine if she wants to defer, but my worry is what will she do for the year, particularly as there are not many jobs around. I do feel for these young people.

Yes DH and I were talking about this this morning - ds wants to go to Glasgow but what's the point if he's just distance learning? I was talking to a colleague on Monday whose ds is at Cambridge but currently not at Cambridge as he's in his bedroom in London. What's the point?

Although there's an obvious solution - vaccinate 18-22 year olds plus uni staff and get universities back to normal.

And although the kids have until May to accept places it's not helpful when universities start sending out emails about accommodation and say first come first served which means applying now before you have made your final decision. Though I don't think ds will be going to the uni concerned so it's not really an issue for him.

I was musing that very point with DD about what the position is likely to be come this September.

The cynic in me says the Uni's won't want students opting out of applying for Uni owned accommodation for the 21/22 academic year on the assumption that it'll be back to remote learning. They'll want the revenue from the residential accommodation so I think there will be pressure to ensure that vaccinations reach the relevant individuals to make a full scale return to normal Uni life as far as is possible.

It's almost another 8 months before the 21/22 academic year starts. A lot of progress can be achieved in that time and I'm inclined to believe things can only improve between now and then.

Please note that the GDL will not apply to any of the 2021 cohort at all as the new SQE will have replaced it for all students by then.

This article still holds weight: www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities-2019

@redsquirrelfan DS has had an email from York this week saying that accommodation is open. Very frustrating that they are putting pressure on them to firm/insure now since it's first come first served for accommodation choices.

Dd has deferred to 2022 entry.

Portsmouth accommodation opens soon so DD will make her choice and pay the deposit, which you can get refunded before August, which will give us time to decide what to do. I wonder how late if can be left before deferring a place.

@Frodont

Dd has deferred to 2022 entry.

Did she originally apply for deferred entry @Frodont or is that something she's changed subsequently?

@calculatorqueen, thank you for that, I will have to ask dd1 if she has also had that email. She was hoping to put off choosing her firm and insurance for a while as she is anxious about her grades so I will also be frustrated if she feels rushed by an accommodation guarantee. Must be especially stressful to those who are still awaiting their offers.

My DD is on a (second) gap year, she had wanted one gap year but with lockdown last March her plans went out of the window.

DD had accepted a uni offer but come August and the increasingly gloomy outlook for freshers, DD decided to reject her place and apply again this year.

In fairness she’s found it easy to get part time jobs each time (is currently enjoying another round of being furloughed)

She also reconnected with friends that she had lost contact with at the end of year 11 and reached out to friends of friends who had also taken a gap year.

Overall I think it’s been much more positive for her than it would’ve been if she’d started at university last September.

Dd just said she doesn’t want to go uni this year due to mental health issues. How does it all work now? She didn’t defer entry? Can she defer on results day ? What will she do for a year, there isn’t much out there at mo and highly competitive even for a retail job. Advice needed. She got all 5 offers for law as well.