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.

@FlowEr262 my son has offers from Exeter (both campuses ie Streatham and Penryn), UEA and York. They have till June 10th to decide so I’m thinking we’ll wait for as long as as possible in the hope that restrictions lift and we can visit some of them before deciding. Nothing is as good as seeing the places I think.

@Applepieco yes you understood correctly. Ok they will need to wait and see

@TailTale have you checked on The Student Room? There will be a Bristol applicants 2021 thread that might show whether there have been any psychology offers lately.

I have an odd question that not sure if anyone will know the answer too....

DS has had an offer from Lancaster and a follow up nice email mentioning a few things from his personal statement and giving him links to things he might be interested in at Lancaster based on those things they highlighted.

My DH is massively cynical and basically
sees the whole process as a sales pitch from the universities desperate to get bums on seats. He believes no person will have been involved in putting that email together- it will just have been a piece of AI scanning the personal statement for keywords linked to predetermined things they want to highlight. And it’s just to make it seem like they really care about the individual student - but basically your application is run through a computer and if you hit certain minimums (GCSEs and predicted grades) you get an offer regardless.

Is he right? Would be interested if anyone knows how it all works in reality?

@chopc, I don't have experience of this but from what I have read if he gets his grades for his firm then he is expected to go there, like a contract. The insurance offer can't sit as an alternate option as would only come into play if he didn't achieve the grades of the firm. I think in reality there might be some wriggle room on results day but his firm would have to release him before he could take up the insurance.

Should he gets an offer from LSE it is likely to be 3A. If he keeps this as his insurance he wants to know if he can swap on results day

1. No, he can't just swap - having met the conditions of his Firm, this then becomes Uncondotional Form on Track and his Insurance offer goes away.
2. In normal circumstances, having met and exceeded the conditions of his Firm offer, he could approach other universities with higher requirements through Adjustment, whilst maintaining his current place.

However, LSE doesn't participate in Clearing or Adjustment, so unfortunately, that one is almost certainly a non-starter. If he wants to go to LSE and gets an offer, he needs to get working hard to convince the relevant staff that his level is really that of his predicted grades.

@pistachioicecream - thanks. I'm not on The Student Room. I'm not sure DS is either - I will ask him. A couple of his friends have applied to Bristol for other subjects, and some have offers, some have been put on hold. Only DS appears to have just been acknowledged! I think he is feeling a bit forgotten!

Co-incidentally, DS also has an offer from Lancaster, but hasn't mentioned any follow up emails, personalised or not! What subject has your DS applied for?

@TailTale Here’s the link to the Bristol thread on the student room. Don’t think you have to join to read it : www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6675690&p=90822306#post90822306

My DS is applying for Geography.

Thank you @MarchingFrogs and @LeiatheSchnauzer

ChopC - as others have said with LSE unlikely to be any places available as they get massively oversubscribed by people who firm them and hit grades. However, if that is the students true first choice they should firm that as there is morely likelihood that Exeter would accept them with dropped grades as insurance anyway, depending on the subject.

@Tailtale Regarding Bristol; muy undertanding is that they make a number of offers early to people who fall very definitely within the grade range that previously get accepted at those grades, but then they have to stop because they need to leave spaces open so that equal consideration is given to all those that apply before the equal consideration deadline (which of course was extended from 15 January to 29 January) so there may be movement soon. The Masters in Psychology is only in its second year if your DC applied for that so that would explain a delay too. Now the deadline has passed there should be movement soon.

Psychology and Computer Science are the two fastest growing degrees offered in terms of the numbers of people applying so I suspect it is a waiting game together with higher numbers that is causing the hold up.

@FlowEr262

Dd is deciding between Loughborough and UEA. Does anyone have any thoughts on either? Studying History.

It’s hard without going to visit.

@FlowEr262 DS2 had the same issue two years ago, same subject and all along Loughborough had been his first choice. This included after open days which discounted others.

The applicant day however was the big eye opener as it became clear both course and location at Loughborough actually were not for him. Whereas the UEA applicant day suddenly catapulted it to this is a place and city I feel really comfortable with / in . He’s in his second year there now.

Loughborough is still an excellent uni and DS2 has friends there who absolutely love it, and it is 100% the best place for them.

This year’s applicants, and my own DS3 is in that, do not have the luxury of visits, applicant days and whilst unis have made great efforts in delivering virtual events these will always struggle to match physically being there and seeing it / meeting people up close and personal. Norwich as a city was an additional plus factor for DS2 he had never been to it before and it really just chimed with him.

Ironically DS3 also has UEA and Loughborough in his five. Although I think his first choice may be elsewhere.

Has anyone’s dc firmed and insured their offers yet? Dd is still thinking about it but I think she will do so soon

[quote pistachioicecream]@TailTale Here’s the link to the Bristol thread on the student room. Don’t think you have to join to read it : www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6675690&p=90822306#post90822306

My DS is applying for Geography.[/quote]
Thank you @pistachioicecream There doesn't appear to be much recent movement on Psychology for Bristol. It feels a bit weird looking at that site - like I am intruding somehow!

[quote SeasonFinale]**@Tailtale Regarding Bristol; muy undertanding is that they make a number of offers early to people who fall very definitely within the grade range that previously get accepted at those grades, but then they have to stop because they need to leave spaces open so that equal consideration is given to all those that apply before the equal consideration deadline (which of course was extended from 15 January to 29 January) so there may be movement soon. The Masters in Psychology is only in its second year if your DC applied for that so that would explain a delay too. Now the deadline has passed there should be movement soon.

Psychology and Computer Science are the two fastest growing degrees offered in terms of the numbers of people applying so I suspect it is a waiting game together with higher numbers that is causing the hold up.[/quote]
Thank you @SeasonFinale. It sounds like DS was a bit late in applying to be in that first lot of offers then. He is predicted the highest grades at A level, but as you mention, he has applied for the MSc, which I assume is a much smaller cohort and will need those high grades.

Why do you think that because the MSc is a new course, offers might be delayed, out of interest? I picked up you had a bit of an inside track - what is your role? Have you spotted any interesting trends this year?

Those applicant days really make the difference. A couple of years ago ds was dead set on Lancaster till applicant day when he suddenly switched to Bath. And has been very happy there! It is so hard to even get close to replicating any of that experience virtually.
I am reminded of the extremely poor process I used to chose my university almost 30 years ago. I was choosing between Warwick and UEA, never having visited either or done any research other than from the glossy stack of prospectuses in the school library. When the deadline loomed I dragged a friend with me on the train to the one which had the cheapest fare. Wandered round the city, saw the campus, got suddenly excited by the idea of university and firmed that one without even looking at the other.
So so very different from the experience of my dc and not one I would ever recommend. I went to UEA and loved it immensely but really wouldn't recommend that as a process!

@Beetlesand

I think DS is going to firm Bristol & Exeter (insurance) tomorrow. He’s discounted Durham now, which was his other main contender.

@Applepieco - phew. Decision made. Must be a relief for both of you. Well done.

Can I ask why Durham has been discounted? Appreciate it is a personal choice but DS still convinced Durham is firm. I, however, still leaning towards Bristol. Fully cognisant it isn’t my bloody decision though 😳

We were lucky enough to to visit both Durham & Bristol in the Summer, DS is History and this is his reasoning, obv all personal, some I agreed with others not.

Reputation wise - Durham has a highly regarded History dept, but he feels that’s not a good enough reason to spend 3 years there, as outside academia it is rather irrelevant as Bristol as a Uni is highly regarded by employers & much higher international standing.

That aside, as he feels a degree from either is ‘good’ he decided to go with the city/Uni where he felt he could have the wider experience for 3 years. His cousin is at Bristol & told him there are so many large companies there, many students get placements/internships and work experience days whilst studying. He felt a real buzz in the city and feels that unless you are into a particular sport, he just couldn’t see enough to keep him engaged in Durham. After we walked round in the summer, he was a bit ‘is that it’ especially when we saw the history dept. Felt it was a bit of a bubble. The earlier offer from Bristol followed by positive online offer holders sessions, I think clinched it for him. I would have been happy with either, though being in London, the journey/distance to Bristol is much easier for us.

As I said, all personal impressions. Just glad he’s made a decision!

Thanks @Applepieco. that’s interesting.

I so wish we had visited in the summer as I truly believe DS would come to the same conclusions. All your DS’s reasoning seems absolutely valid and what I’d expect DS to feel. Oddly though, he is still favouring Durham.

I just hope the virtual offer holder days manage to ensure he is making the right choice. He’s applied for modern languages and personally I feel Bristol will have a better international reputation and connections.
I’ll obviously support his decision...
Grr. Bloody kids.

@Crikeyblimey

If you haven’t visited, there really is plenty of time. Acceptances don’t need to be in until May and will make no difference if students take their time. Hopefully lockdown will allow for some travel before that.

@Applepieco I’m really hoping we get the opportunity. I truly believe he shouldn’t make a decision till he has stepped foot in both places.

He has said he won’t press the button till he has to but I also think he wants to get it done and dusted.

Here’s hoping for an early release from lockdown. At a push we could do (very long) day trips to both.

@Applepieco @Crikeyblimey interested to know what you are basing Bristol's higher international standing on?

I do get that there isn't much to Durham apart from the Uni and Bristol is a big City but in all the league tables I looked at Durham is ranked higher than Bristol for History both in UK and internationally. Was just wondering if you had different info

May I ask a perhaps rather obvious question?...

Ds1 has applied to 5 universities and has had offers from all of them.

His original thoughts were Leicester (firm) and DMU (insurance)

However, he decided last minute to apply to Nottingham - not thinking he would get an offer (AAA plus EPQ at grade A which he doesn't have)

But Nottingham have offered him a place - same offer as Leicester!!

So...now he is thinking Nottingham as his firm (AAB) and potentially Loughborough as his insurance (ABB)

Is this a good idea or should he stick with DMU (BBC)?

Hope that ^ makes sense!

He managed to visit DMU, NTU and Derby before the first lockdown. He only liked DMU.

A family member works at Nottingham University so we are somewhat familiar with the campus etc

Sorry @Crikeyblimey just noted that your DC is for MML and not History

@Bee0808 congratulations to your DS for securing five offers! unsure of the subject but Nottingham and Loughborough has a much higher reputation that all your other mentioned Unis.

I personally have only visited Nottingham when I did a course there a lifetime ago and I loved the Campus feel -it was literally walled in and I believe Nottingham is geared towards students

If it was my DS I would firm Nottingham and maybe DMU as his insurance?