University 2020 :5: Results day approaching and beyond

[MillicentMartha]

Old thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3855474-University-2020-4-The-wait-for-grades-and-better-days-ahead?pg=40

Less than 3 months to go until we have a better idea what the future has in store for our DC. Let’s hope that even if most lectures are online that accommodation is open and they can move up, across or down to their university towns and start their student life.

We should have been in the middle of exams, instead we have this strange limbo of lockdown. It could have been worse, though.

@oneteen sorry you feel got at. The trouble is that there is a grey area; for those 2 music students of Charlotte's, if the one she puts at the top was better or equal to the one who "did not need an A" then it is OK, but if the one who was marginally stronger was ranked below and then decides to do medicine after music college she will have a restricted choice because of that B. Or if she applies to Civil Service fast stream and they chuck out all applicants with weaker A levels, and there could be many other consequences which the teacher cannot foresee.

Also, for this year the universities are vastly undersubscribed and many will accept reduced grades, particularly if teachers say they were strong As moderated by the process this year.

Don't go oneteen.
I may have recently de-lurked but I have followed these threads from the beginning and you always talk a lot of sense.

Oneteen please do stay. You would be missed dearly.

Oneteen I remember your posts from the GCSE days.
Please stay.
The Oxbridge Talk is so irrelevant to me.
DD is going to USW which is somewhere around the middle of the league tables, maybe even lower.
She’s doing a course she’s wanted to do since she was a young child, and lives the area she will be living in.
For me it’s about my child being happy and not all about Oxbridge although I understand it’s very important for some posters.

@Oneteen I will be sorry if you leave mumsnet.
Your view that teachers should consider destinations as part of the ranking process came under fire from many posters including myself.

This is an open forum and different views are encouraged, the criticism is of the opinion not the person.

I don’t have DC relying on these results for their uni place, my DD is on a gap year and will start uni in the autumn. But having had 3 DC go through the process I know and appreciate how stressful it is, it’s bad enough when there’s final exams and as a parent you’re just hoping DC have done their best, focussed in class, revised thoroughly and then got through the exam and felt they had a chance to show what they’ve learned.
Every year there are then issues on leaked exams, poor marking and grades that don’t reflect what the teacher and student thought was possible.

No system is totally fair. But it does have to be unbiased.

And I get why you desperately want to believe that teachers will protect an elite uni offer, whether Oxbridge, Imperial, Warwick Durham etc. But doing that requires another student to take one for the team and lose the grade they deserve.
I’m sorry if you have been left feeling upset or angry that I and others won’t support that view, but I can’t and won’t support it. Not even to stop a poster from leaving.

I hope you will reconsider, perhaps take a break if helpful . I will miss your input and views if you do go.

Hi oneteen, I've enjoyed speaking with you about our one teens.
I'm bricking it that dd's lack of GCSEs due to long term mental health will somehow impact things.
So so many variables, I understood your thinking.
Unfortunately I can't join in some of the conversations because I feel a bit thick with all the stats and terminology.
Hopefully you'll come back soon.
X

Was just going to post but error put it much better then I could. One teen, I disagreed with you point of view but didn’t intend to offend or hurt. I hope you don’t leave. Sometimes we have to accept the we can hold different views and won’t be pursued otherwise.

Oneteen do stay! This is usually a very calm group talking about all sorts x

On that note did you see the bbc news today that it’s UCAS deadline day and of yesterday they were down 65,000 final decisions. Wow. I’m sure some will come in today and some will wait for cleaning but I think unis have massively under estimated the loss of potential students. Surely this means places for anyone who wants them?

I didn’t see that on the news about the dip in final decisions. That is quite a big number. I wonder how many are international v UK students.

Good point - the news piece didn’t break it down. I guess a lot of international students.

I wonder what the figures will be after today.
Hell, I think I might apply, do you think my dd would like a roomie?!

I fancy Cambridge - see you there?!

Ds only firmed in the last few days , but there is nothing to lose by firming , you can always back out later . It just protects your position .i am surprised ds isn’t keener on deferring because that was the original plan but I think he just feels that he could end up spending,in effect, 18 months fairly isolated with few jobs around and even fewer opportunities to travel . He is desperate to just get in with life again and who can blame him .

Newgirls, sounds like fun!

Peaseblossom22, I think they're just itching to make a change, having been trapped.
My dd was thinking of deffering until covid.

Your view that teachers should consider destinations as part of the ranking process came under fire from many posters including myself

And other posters, such as myself, are fairly clear that it will happen in some cases, regardless of whether it should or shouldn't. That's just the reality of a wholly new challenge thrown out to teachers, which carries with it unrealistic demands - in particular, that no two students can be equal. So the opinion wasn't all one way errorofjudgment, although the language used by one group was more strident ('disgusting' etc).

No system is totally fair. But it does have to be unbiased

This is a nice aspiration but it just won't happen across all schools and subjects. That's life.

But then this is incredibly patronising and probably worth an apology:

And I get why you desperately want to believe that teachers will protect an elite uni offer, whether Oxbridge, Imperial, Warwick Durham etc

@Oneteen, posting late last night I neglected to say that I also think you make valuable contributions and agree with me ost of your opinions. I think that we all understand your empathy for the teacher whose decision in these weird times can potentially have such a massive impact on the lives of their students and the students who feel they have lost control of their destinies.

most of your opinions

I hope we can agree to disagree, oneteen, and get back to being supportive of our DC.

Really interesting Newgirls to hear that the Unis were down 65,000 final decisions/applications compared to a normal year (as of yesterday)
I think that's going to change things a lot, and hopefully there will be some generous outcomes for those brave enough to go for it this year.
DS is sticking with going for it this year as he's keen to move to London and get on with student life - looking forward to taking up his offer to play trumpet at Trinity Laban in Greenwich.
And he was offered a place following his audition last autumn so he'd rather make the most of that success and take up his place this year.
Fortunately things are beginning to look possible for some face to face opportunities in the autumn such as he just heard that his brass band are going to resume small group (5 people) rehearsals at the end of June following guidance from brass bands England.
So, hopefully similar will follow for other music ensembles, and indeed small tutorial groups in all subjects.

Also great to hear, a few pages back, about your brother working the cruise ships Newgirls - great to know it can be done!
I also like your idea of taking up a place this year yourself - best be quick with that application if today is deadline day!
Thinking of anyone making more serious decisions today on that front too.

Hi all,
My son is deferring anyway (he could probably upgrade this year but is determined to have a gap year!) but what are students getting offered? Does it vary by establishment?

My friend’s husband who is a professor at at local university (in a practical subject) said that they are having to backtrack and offer more on site experience due to feedback and low uptake.

Having seen the amount of work that has gone into our school’s plans allowing for the 2m rule, I do not envy the universities having to manage this alongside financial implications. Nightmare.

Ooh Juggling, pleased to hear that music is re-starting . DS really hoping there will be opportunities to sing this year and it was looking a bit hopeless.

Do you think after the deadline today, uni’s will change some of their offers to unconditional??

Millicent there's no issue whatsoever around any lack of 'support'. The point about ranking sits completely to one side. The issue is about some posters shouting 'disgusting' when a perfectly reasonable and realistic alternative view of how things might work is proposed. There's also a bit of an issue around anyone saying anything relating to a so-called 'elite' university. Those holding offers at the latter are still young people equally meriting 'support'. People can be quite ridiculously peevish. If all those who believe so forcefully in there needing to be a lack of bias, how's about stopping the anti 'elite' bias on these general Y13 threads?

I don’t want to prolong this argument but I feel I should state, as a teacher, that setting grades allowing for destination is not a “reasonable and realistic alternative”. It is contrary to Ofqual guidance. This is to reassure parents reading, it shouldn’t be that the poster that shouts the loudest is the only one heard. No matter how loudly @goodbyestranger shouts and bullies others who disagree, she’s fundamentally incorrect. She will now go for my professionalism as she has previously but I’m not sorry for standing up for what is right.

@Oneteen - sorry you feel upset. Not my intention at all. It’s a very emotional time for everyone and we all want the best for our pupils/children. Unfortunately you can’t make others agree with you especially when it is contrary to guidance. Don’t go though, it sounds like you have lots of friends here and it’s a great place to get support in these crazy times. 💗

@goodbyestranger I’ve said my piece, I don’t agree with you and find it laughable that you accuse me of being anti- elite when my DD has an unconditional offer from Durham.
But I’m not interested in prolonging the argument. Another poster commented that you always like to get the last word- please go right ahead.
I will not respond to you.