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.

Can I join you? DD is Y12. Also have a DS who's just finished his first year at Durham. DD was fortunate to visit the Exeter open day with her brother a couple of years ago and see Durham earlier this year when we visited DS before lockdown. So while she's disappointed not to get the Uni open days, she has a feel for the unis she'd like to apply for. She's tiring of the online lessons and feeling less motivated although she enjoyed her afternoon at school earlier this week.

Hello! We followed the not rushing to open days advice and are regretting it now Dd has 4 virtual days booked in and we're waiting to hear what 3 other unis are planning. Dd is very fed up with online learning, online revision, online personal statements, online epq and now online open days! She's had exams and is having online 1-2-1s with her teachers to discuss predicted grades etc. She says it all seems unreal and can't take it all seriously... and is now worrying about the competition for places in 2021. Aaaagh!

Today (or rather, yesterday now) I should have been tagging along with DS2 at the LJMU open day and looking forward to a leisurely Saturday lunch catching up with a friend who lives near Liverpool (we live 240 miles away). Definitely a weekend, although my allotment is getting a lot more attention than it would have done if I had been spending much of June and early july gadding about the country keeping DS2 company on trains and sussing out the best place for coffee on various university campuses.

Ah marchingfrogs indeed! I was so looking forward to meandering (rushing) about the country, staying in hotels and sussing it all out alongside DD. The bonding would have helped too. I don’t think any of her unis are offering virtual open days yet. And it’s not just about the uni, it’d be the town and the general vibe. Very hard to suss that virtually.

@NotDonna, with the exception of LJMU, all the universities on DS2's list are in places that I have been to before, with or without DH, so I can at least give him some idea ('this city is quite like that city, only with fewer hills' / 'this one's got a massive park right next to the university and what is meant to be one of the best covered markets in the country'. That kind of thing). He has been to a few himself already and to two proper open days, fortunately both of which universities and courses he likes the look of enough to apply to.

That’s so very useful MarchingFrogs!! We don’t do much uk travel. So if anyone has an insight to Birmingham, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Nottingham - the cities and their unis it’d be very much appreciated especially as we are very very South.

Hi all.

We're hoping to do some 'real' visits in the Autumn.

Dd hasn't been very motivated by online lessons recently and I can't blame her! She did go into school for one day last week and has been inspired to start thinking about her personal statement and where she wants to go.

We did go to some last year, so have a few ideas. We are hoping to visit Kent, Keele and possibly Reading before decisions have to be made.

DD is looking at a few virtual tours, she has also signed up to an online university summer camp and a online day lecture just so she can have something to put on ucas. Her college has done really well providing online learning.

Kent and Keele I have visited in the past couple of years with DD - both attractive, green, 'open' campuses, mainly on the flat themselves even if hills are there around the edges (anyone sussed that I may have been just a little traumatised by a visit to Exeter on a hot, damp day?). At Kent, look out for that view - the one down over the city shown somewhere on much of the promotional stuff. We only went on a campus tour there, so didn't see the inside of much except the Registry and the library, but the latter appeared to be spacious and well-resourced. Our DC have a few friends between them who are currently there or recently graduated and I haven't heard any major gripes about the place, from either the academic or social point of view. It is also reasonably easy to get away to the seaside for the day, if that is something that attracts.

DD was keen to look at Reading, but in the event (proper open day here, so she got to go to taster lectures etc), decided that the course wasn't for her and Reading town itself didn't inspire.

I haven't visited Keele since going there from school for something over 40 years ago, but its students seem to be very loyal to the place and again, it is a lovely green campus

MarchingFrogs - thank you for all the details, that's very helpful.

Kent sounds very attractive. It's too far for a day trip, so think we'll try for a weekend (with or without the open day) and see how we get on.

We managed to do open days combined with weekends at Cardiff and Sussex last year and they are both high on DD's list. We also went to Loughborough for the day and that was impressive (I thought), but Dd wasn't keen.

She has recently told me she had a look at Reading during a recent online UCAS event at school and that didn't float her boat at all. Keele is doable on a day trip, so if we can manage that and Sussex we'll be doing well.

Good luck all with your decisions...

Two months since my last post on this thread and all is quiet - or possibly you're all reeling in shock at current events!

Feeling sorry for the current shambles that will leave so many unhappy with being rejected from their chosen uni's and thousands deferring to 2021.

The 2021 intake of students will have so much stacked against them, that I would be very happy if Dd was to take a year out, but she just wants to get on with her life.

So here I sit going grey and gently rocking in the corner with the anxiety of it all.

How are you all doing?

Spooky - I was out and about this afternoon, and randomly wondered what had happened to this thread - I was going to start a new one..... SausageCrush Thank you for re-starting.

I have been commenting on the many and various other threads on all the recent events. The last few days have just been so stressful, and we aren't even involved yet, but the ramifications for our year are yet to be know. DD doesn't really want to contemplate yet, and I am trying not to add to the "what if's", because really we don't know yet. I think we just need to let the dust settle, and in a few weeks, maybe we will have a better idea on what the effect on next year will be.

In the meantime, DD thinks she has her final draft PS, they need to get theirs in for September, and she has been doing lots of reading, listening to blogs, sorting out drafts for coursework, which also need to be in by September, and doing some practice papers for Oxford entrance.

We have done a virtual tour of Warwick, signed up for one in Exeter in October (the September on is already full, and we missed the June one), and also signed up for when the Southampton one may be on. That leaves Kent.

We have had confirmation of September starting, with an afternoon booked for a run down of all the new rules and regs, and back full time on the 7th.

Every real life open day DS has booked himself on so far has been cancelled, though he's done a fair number of online ones. As he's planning to give Oxford entrance a shot, there really isn't much time to fit a great deal in now.
The whole algorithm debacle is really worrying. I felt so angry for individual kids let down by the system, and now it seems the only way to honour all the offers made and accepted would be for a good number to defer. That's more of an issue for me than the missed learning, as DS is very independent and determined in his studies.

Kent and Keele I have visited in the past couple of years with DD

Just reread that and no, I haven't. Kent, yes. Keele no - not since circa 1976, as I wrote further on. Might have been Reading I meant there (fits with quite flat, but with hills around the edges, anyway).

Current favourites for DS2:
-UEA
-UEA
-UEA

• Birmingham (real and virtual visits)
• Sussex (ditto)
• Warwick (virtual)
• York (ditto).

Birmingham being a bit of an outlier here, at least in terms of architecture, being an original 'red brick' and also evidencing plenty of other building materials other than his beloved concrete.

The Highfield campus and Glen Eyre accommodation complex at Southampton are quite visually pleasing, I think (not visited the other bits, apart from once, for work, Primary Care, which is based in a health centre and to which, due to time constraints, I had to take a taxi and consequently could probably never find again - I'm much better at getting my bearings if I have time to get the bus). Doesn't offer DS2's subject, though.

Hi Can I join you? I'm currently getting all worked up about the implications for 2021. Youngest DS is considering Oxford which would be PPE or straight economics elsewhere. We've been working away on all the extra reading but not started the actual person statement yet! And now I'm wondering with all the deferrals, how many places they'll actually have next year.

Hi, can I join you too? DS is applying for vet med at Surrey, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham an is studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths & Further Maths. Luckily we managed to visit all except Nottingham last year so he already has a feel fro his favourites.

NotDonna Older DS was at Birmingham Uni for two years, and we really liked it. He's decided not to go back for his third year, but this was nothing to do with the university itself. Nice campus, felt friendly and the staff in his department were really very helpful, always responded to queries straightaway etc (unlike Warwick...). That could just be a department issue though. Let me know if you want to know anything specific.

Thank you DoIStay there’s been a bit of talk about the ‘dodginess’ of Selly Oak but I’m thinking most student areas are a bit dodgy. We did have a drive around over summer but everything was closed so very peaceful and quite lovely! Probably not very realistic. Birmingham is a definite for her but she’s still thinking through others. Bath is now on the list along with Exeter & Bristol but I’m a bit concerned regarding the potential lack of places at somewhere small like Bath. We’ve not visited Bath, Bristol or Exeter and I’m not sure which virtual ones she’s done. I’ve lost track.
If we do visit Exeter marching Ill be sure to take crampons! Your hills & concrete make me giggle!

NotDonna I don't think Selly Oak is any more dodgy than anywhere else. DH checked out crime figures beforehand and wasn't horrified! It was definitely lively when we dropped him off for second year, but as far as I know he always felt safe and it is very close to campus, literally just over the road.

We visited Bristol with DS2 and it was very hilly! Some of the accommodation was a fair walk out of town and at one point I told them to leave me behind as I couldn't breathe

Any one have any thoughts on Bristol v Bath, not visited either? Son really wants a campus uni and I can't work out what Bristol is.
@NotDonna I have the same thoughts about Bath being small. On their website it states that they filled all their spaces on results day and anyone using CAGs has been deferred to 2021. Also I wouldn't be too worried about Selly Oak, I lived there for 2 years when I was at Birmingham Uni albeit a very long time ago. My son might be putting it down as one of his 5, it's a lovely campus.

@calculatorqueen thank you. Birmingham will definitely be one of her 5. What’s your DS wishing you study? Is Bristol or Bath better for his course?

Other residential areas are available around the Univetsity of Birmingham, if you are bothered about Selly Oak, although they won't have Falafel Munch, Yakinori or the rather nice Korean restaurant at the end of DD's road that DH and she had lunch at on Monday to celebrate her birthday. It's just a residential area with lots of students living there - and families (one of the main 'student' streets has an Ofsted Outstanding primary school on it). Some of whom may feel that it's the presence of so many students that makes it 'dodgy'...

Welcome all.

We're all heading off on a journey into the unknown, with a lot at stake. Let's grit our teeth and try to keep smiling through.

Dd is back into the rhythm of school, though was so exhausted in the first week that a couple of evenings she fell asleep around 7 pm and didn't wake up again until the following morning!

We're going to spend a weekend in Canterbury next month. We originally booked very early this year for the open day at the university of Kent. Now of course it's all virtual, but we'll be able to get a really good feel for the place and hopefully it'll go on the list.

We haven't been to the university of Bristol, but have spent a weekend in the city recently and found it a very lively and exciting place.

My DS has just gone back for his third year at Bath and absolutely loves it there. It was the first one we visited and he was immediately smitten. Home for us is a quiet village and I think Bath is just the right mix of campus and small city for him.

calculatorqueen I wouldn't say Bristol was a campus university at all, certainly not compared to the likes of Birmingham, Warwick, Loughborough and Surrey, which I'd say are real campus unversities.

@doistayordigo Yes we've had another look tonight, I think it will probably be Bath over Bristol. He's definitely more of a smaller city person. 5 favourites so far are Oxford (will be a big ask!), Bath, Exeter, York and Birmingham. He wants to do economics and the courses are pretty much the same everywhere and unfortunately the grades are high. An attainment offer from Birmingham would be nice of CCC but we'll see if they're still giving them out this year.

Economics is pretty popular calculator and standard offer grades are high at a lot of places. I think all those you’ve listed are A*AA-AAA. If he’s looking at Oxford, then why not LSE? Warwick’s also good for economics.