University 2020 :4: The wait for grades and better days ahead

[MillicentMartha]

New thread for us. Interesting times.

Old thread here

...but monkey, how do we know how many empty places there are due to people missing their offers. I do know that Camb normally has a fair number of unfilled places every year. They also run a process summer pool and also adjustment which will probably be reduced.

I also know that DD has an offer for a subject that looks like it over offers. However she had an email effectively saying that they have a place on the course for everyone who makes the grades

I think I said on another post that I think Unis will try to smooth between 20/21....including dropping grades to make sure that 2021 isn't filled with people retaking in autumn (and that they have fees coming through the door) refusing recent requests for deferrals, and turning offers into unconditional (which is what the gov was worried about)

If (in the unlikely event) it looks like the opposite is happening and everyone is making their grades and not deferring then they won't reduce grades and may offer inducements to defer.

Just applied for student finance.
I don't have any of the documents they list to prove I am divorced.

They tell you to phone them if this is the case.
Phoned them, and a council tax bill with 25% discount for single occupancy is permitted evidence, so need to send it in.

Why on earth don't they put that as one of the options!?
Would save having to phone an understaffed hotline.

I was also told if I wish to tick one of the options, ie decree absolute, letter from solicitor instead.
But this isn't what I'll be sending!

Seems crazy.

If this council tax bill thing works I've saved 45 quid instead of having to get a copy of divorce.

Any experience? Thoughts on this bizarre way about proof?

As no one will sit the Autumn A level who has already been given an A star, will this not skew the bell curve to give a better chance of gaining an A star if the most able students of the cohort are not sitting the exam?

Will any school realistically submit a U grade for any of their students?

bpi - thanks for this and I do hope you’re right.

The problem for current Year 12s is that they will have to have their Cambridge applications in before the Autumn exam series takes place. So, in the absence of any statement / plan from Cambridge or anywhere else, they have no way of knowing whether the stakes have been raised significantly or, if there is a high percentage of deferrals for particular courses, how Cambridge intend to balance things out.

If you are right that Cambridge have excess places on courses anyway, then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I also expect that more students will get the required grades via teacher assessment than in a “normal” year and so hopefully, not many will need to take the exams anyway. I realise things are not as clear cut as the stats suggest but still, it’s still reasonable to expect, in the absence of any reassurances from the uni, that places could be seriously impacted on some courses for the following year.

Re STEP My understanding is that Cambridge eg. will allocate the number of places to those who meet their A level grade requirement and then the top placed students doing the STEP exam. So if there are 200 people who meet their A level offer then the top 200 will get the place ie . the grade boundaries are set according to the number of places Cambridge has. Cambridge is also sent copies of the papers (others are not). They can therefore see what questions they attempted (some may have done all others the bare minimum). Some may have done the more difficult ones. Anyway in the event of a draw they can see the actual papers and how the students attempted the questions.

@thesunwillout, I’ve got a copy of of my decree absolute from when I divorced. I thought the council tax bill with single person reduction was included on the list? It certainly used to be. Be aware they can ask for proof every year. They don’t keep a copy on file or a note that they’ve seen it. Council tax bills come every year, so fair enough, but my decree absolute is just the same every year! I won’t be getting the single person reduction next year as my DS2 with ASD will have left education. If you have a similar situation you’ll need that decree absolute.

Never send them originals. They used to ask for originals and they sent me a bad photocopy of my marriage certificate back and destroyed the original. Then denied they received it.

Yes, only send a photocopy. They don’t need a solicitor authenticated copy.

@MillicentMartha

I'm an idiot, I threw everything out last yr, it's yes later and I just didn't want the stuff in my home. It was a long drawn out mess.
BUT, I'm cross with myself as I'm normally a stickler for keeping the most important documents.

I'm thinking that next year if DC is at university, being a student will make her exempt from council tax, even if my home is her permanent address?

I would still qualify for 25% discount.
Not sure.
At least for now I'm hoping the CTax bill will be proof.

No the option isn't there to tick council tax bill, seems crazy doesn't it.

I meant years not yes.

DC is disregarded for council tax apparently.

Yes, DC is exempt from council tax while a student. You have to prove that to the council, however. If they are living away from home, proof of their accommodation contract worked with DS1. If they are living at home, (like DS2) the university student services can provide a document showing they are a full time student. They may need that if they are in private accommodation at uni, too.

Ok, thankyou for that information. DC will be living in halls.
Hopefully quiet living one.
We're also applying for dsa, so many bits of paper to dig out.

I'm guessing I'll inform carers allowance in September, but DC will still have the pip award as it runs till Jan as a top up.
I think !?

How similar are we, thesun! DS2 gets PIP until he’s 26 but I earn too much to be eligible for carer’s.

Seems so!
I'm thinking they'll probably want DC to apply for pip again pretty soon as the award only runs till Feb 2021, and they do like to shorten it.
I don't know if DC will cope with applying if already away at uni.
Also I'm the advocate or whatever it's called when you take care of the money.
Do I change that myself, or keep the money coming to me then transfer to DC bank account like I do now.

I'm on ESA myself, long term so it's getting complicated.

If I'm totally honest I'd just rather DC stayed here 😂

Appointee!!

There was no way DS2 was ready to leave home at 18. He’s not really ready to start work at 20, but he’ll have to find something. I still look after his PIP money too.

thesunwillout the County Court should be able to provide you with a replacement or indeed your solicitor may hold a copy too and be able to certify it

Hi SeasonFinale

Solicitors don't have any info left, only my name on file as it was years ago. They did tell me what court it probably was so I emailed them. It costs £45.
It's £10 if you have the reference number. Which I don't have.
I'll probably get one at some point.
Maybe someone else will want to marry me, then I'd definitely get one!

MillicentMartha DS is high functioning but the idea of him living independently is still a bit scary (for me; he is looking forward to it).

Luckily we have all summer to practise skills. He is now doing all his own laundry, can cook pasta, and is taking responsibility for requesting and collecting his own prescriptions. It's the unknowns and unpredictables that are a concern.

I don't think learning to drive is going to be feasible for him at his current level of development, and he isn't interested anyway, so that's one less thing to worry about.

DS has had a package of DSA-funded learning assistance approved, and his GP has written a letter to explain why quieter accommodation would be preferable.

@Ironoaks

These are things I'm going to teach my dc. Getting her off the Nintendo switch she got for her birthday would be a start!
I'm a bit overwhelmed by what to provide for uni re info, some of the letters from camhs are vague, but I do have two letters with diagnosis and meds on.
We've requested quieter accommodation on the uni accommodation bit, stating reasons. Hopefully this will cross reference to her initial application to them where she has mentioned her difficulties.

One bit of evidence they're asking for from student finance for extra maintenance is proof of pip award.
I thought extra maintenance was for anyone as long as family income was low.
Unless it's something extra for disability that some universities offer.
The details need to go in and evidence to Dsa, which I wasn't even aware of until this week.
Could possibly be a little extra in that.
As for driving lessons she isn't interested either, just sees it as more anxiety.
Suits me fine.

God it's a process 🙏

@Ironoaks, from what I have gleaned about your DS, he’s much more capable than my DS2. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Would he try to access support if he felt overwhelmed? My DS would just have a meltdown and wouldn’t even think of asking for help. It’s a difficult concept to get across.

@thesunwillout, Re DSA. The funding for that is separate from the student loan and isn’t a loan. You don’t pay it back. It’s not paid directly to the student, it funds technological aids including laptops and speech to text software if deemed necessary and regular time with a mentor, again if necessary. My DS2 did get extra money on his maintenance loan as well. He was living at home so was eligible for the lower amount but ended up getting almost as much as his brother who was living away.

Your DD will have to have an assessment at some point to work out what she’ll be entitled to with DSA, not sure how that will work currently, but it was a face to face interview and I was allowed to support him at that. The evidence of his ASD was just getting his GP to fill in the form, which they did at no cost for him. I think this varies from GP to GP though. He had an EHCP and PIP as well.

@thesunwillout... My Dd has regressed to Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch She also found out her old DS too!

She's been making loads of different smoothies and frappuccinos (plus cocktails) .. I brought her a very good food/drinks processor and the quality of the drinks is the same as Starbucks etc.. Hopefully she's going to do some more cooking and baking too.

Not sure whether she should have mentioned her Hypermobilty on her Uni application she qualified for rest breaks during exams... She still has extrusiating pain every month in her legs and is on medication... Just means at these times she can't sleep very well and obviously concentration is affected.

Dd has been driving for sometime now...it was important because we live in a village so she's cut off unless I drove her places... fortunately she took to driving like a duck to water.