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.

errorofjudgement What course is your dd hoping to do at Exeter?

Snozzlemaid she’s got a place on the History with a year abroad course. How about your DD?

it’s going to be so much harder to do that with no clue on what clubs and societies will be open, online lectures mean less chance of meeting others on your course, and possibly only your kitchen to socialise in and it’s a very different experience to what DD had been hoping for.

^ yes absolutely! Dd is so motivated by her course but other things matter too & she was really looking forward to a fresh start after fairly awful 6th form experience (& already has a list of societies she was interested in).

She was working up until lockdown - in a job she loved & living with colleagues - she’s been furloughed since then & it’s miserable tbh ... no work, no social life, all her friends at uni who have missed most of the last semester are miserable ... she’s feeling a bit hopeless. Any communication from the university would be a huge morale boost.

One of dd’s best friends is doing liberal arts at Exeter - I think of all of them she’s had one of the happiest years :)

error My dd will be doing Medical Sciences.

Laniakea that’s so good to hear! DD had offers from both unis she applied to, and ultimately she felt that Exeter had a better buzz, though it was a hard decision,

Snozzle they’re doing very different courses then! Is that a 3 year course?

Snozzle, DD1 did medical sciences at Exeter, graduated last year. Loved every minute.

Yes another friend at is King’s doing war studies ... she’s having an incredible time. dd spent loads of time up there with her over Christmas/new year - fabulous but OMG the cost (of everything)!

A big group of them went to Cardiff & from the snippets I hear that’s party central ;)

@Hoghgyni Yes A*AA - big ask but he did well n his mocks and at parents evening just before lockdown, they said he was on course for that. Hopefully, their official predicted grades say the same!!

@Monkey2001 and @Alittlewornout hopefully my DD will be going in September

DS still hasn’t decided his firm and insurance but it will probably be Warwick firm, then either Bristol or Leeds as insurance. He’s applied for physics.

error 4 years with a placement year.

Oratory that's good to hear.

Ducky they wouldn't have offered if they didn't think he could do it. DD knows a few who were turned down with higher predicted grades.

Hello @Alittlewornout and @idsisatwat!

DS is a gap year student (so unconditional) starting medicine in September. He is philosophical about the hit to the social life this year and just has everything crossed that they will be able to start on 7th September as planned. The route map for ending lock-down said that in Phase 3 (virus under control but still a significant threat):

We are planning for a phased return for universities and colleges with a blended model of remote learning and limited on campus learning where prioritised. Public health measures including physical distancing will be in place.

.... so don't know what "limited" means.

I saw on the St A website that for now they have closed all non-en-suite accommodation, but hope they will decide it is safe to open the standard accommodation again in September. I assume there will be no shared rooms this year.

What subjects are your DC studying?

That was the Scottish govt route map, so relevant to any Scottish universities

I think I remember you monkey2001 from last years med school chat! So pleased to hear ds is starting in sept!

Hi @Monkey2001and idsisatwat
My dd has an unconditional for Mmath (Scottish student). Hoping for direct entry to second year dependent on Advanced Higher results. She did well in her prelims(mocks) so fingers crossed. Might see you there in September! Monkey my son has friends studying medicine there and they love it. He is studying history just finished 3rd year. Hes sad next year is his last.

Hi @Monkey2001 and @Alittlewornout. No unconditional here unfortunately, so we’ve got to wait until results day in August for confirmation .
She’s got an offer for Environmental and Earth Sciences.

Hi, good to find you all, am sure lots will know me from previous year group threads.
Thanks to Laniakea for the signposting!
DS is hopefully off to Trinity Laban in Greenwich to continue to play trumpet.
Really looking forward to this next stage of his life, with student life and the move to London, as well as the support to improve his trumpet playing.

So, like it is for all of us I guess, just wondering how things are going to develop for them with all those hopes and plans this autumn.
We've booked some accommodation in halls and applied for student finance.
Waiting to hear about the place in halls but most first years are usually lucky I think.

Felling slightly encouraged by news of the shop and partial school opening during June, and also the new testing and tracing scheme, that maybe this is encouraging for a September start of some kind for our students?

I also have a DD moving into finals year in Swansea. She's stayed on there with a flatmate and has a project she's working on under the year in industry scheme she's been involved with this year.

Both of them doing OK with it all in the circumstances. DS plays some trumpet, occasionally plays his new piano keyboard, has been reading and sunbathing in the garden, messaging friends, and playing Brawlstars - whatever that is!
Pretty laid back about it all and not too upset to be missing out on A levels!
A lot of uncertainty to deal with though isn't there, for them and us.

Good luck @idsisatwat, must be frustrating for all those DCs who have lost control over their A level results.

Thanks @Alittlewornout and @specialted for the encouraging words.

Juggling this is particularly tough for musicians. DS1 sings but is assuming that choirs will not happen for quite some time. I don't know how teachers of wind instruments will manage any sort of distancing.

The encouraging thing with regard to musicians is that a lot of tutors have been able to adapt to using zoom and the like, not ideal but the technology does seem to exist to allow some kind of face to face tuition even if they aren't in the same room

DS is really enjoying his zoom lessons - and his practice hours are massively up due to boredom!

Yes, teachers can do a bit on zoom, but it is not the same and must be particularly difficult at music college level. I also don't see how ensembles will manage. On a positive note, I have never heard DS2 do so much piano practice as he does now!

I think choirs are particularly challenging in the coronavirus situation as typically lots of people standing close together and I've heard that singing tends to mean lots of potential for infection, breath and droplets wise (Eughh!)
Yes, think I'll just have to keep encouraging DS to practice trumpet and piano (I try to say something encouraging when he has been practicing rather than nagging too much, hopefully)
And maybe see what we can do regarding getting some tutor input as musician lessons seem to have rather fallen by the wayside though his teacher did offer that zoom could be a possibility.
Part of the problem is that I feel he is ready really for a new teacher and looking forward to that when he moves up to Trinity!
He kind of feels he's just as well off practicing on his own at the moment, but ideally I'd like to see some input from a tutor to hopefully keep him more on track. Surely some input could be encouraging for him if we can find the right person?
He's recently made some efforts to contact the person he'd like to teach him at Trinity and apparently a free consultation lesson is on the cards which might help move things forward a bit - and be really encouraging in itself.