Applying for uni in 2021 part 2

[poppycat10]

Hi all, this is a continuation thread from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3828249-applying-for-uni-in-2021?pg=40

Just had another read.. it looks like there is a guarantee of accommodation as long as application is made by set date and then the offer become unconditional firm by the 30th of August.

If she has the option of doing that then I definitely would encourage her to do so. However if she doesn't want to go there despite it being her insurance choice, that's another matter

dc only booked accommodation for her firm choice. Confident she will get the grades.
But don't think dc1 booked accommodation for his insurance either few years ago.

DD only booked accommodation for firm, but then her firm offer is lower than her insurance! Something would have to go spectacularly wrong for her to miss her firm.

Thanks all. I think I’ll leave it up to her. I take your point Chopc .. it’s difficult for them to imagine the other uni ( ins) when they are already picturing themselves somewhere isn’t it. I’m sure it’ll all work out...

DS3 able to book accommodation for insurance, and did so when it opened for bookings. Accommodation at firm yet open to book - in past years they have been post A level results before accommodation portal has opened. He does need to check if that is still the case this year.

Wholly separate DS3 is in various Whatsapp type groups for his firm, and whilst purely anecdotal, the sheer breadth of what schools / sixth forms are doing in terms of assessments for A level grades does give pause for thought. He reckons about 50:50 in terms of doing some sort of exams as opposed to nothing of the sort. Clearly a less than scientific study and not a huge sample. Goodness knows what is actually going to happen come results day in August.

DD's school have recently put up a table of the last 5 years of examinations results in easy to compare format . Interestingly, despite everything, the A Level results were slightly down last year, although their GCSE's were slightly up. Over the 5 years, there is only about a 5% deviation across all the years, so all in all, I think our school, despite being independent and therefore suffering from the accusation of grade inflation, was pretty good at results last year, and should be in line this year as well.

DS has just finished his assessments and finally firmed and insured his unis. Now he just needs to finish a extra-curricular qualification, apply for accommodation, sort out a job and (hopefully) pass his driving test

@poppycat10 great your DS is done and dusted. DS3 had his last one this afternoon. All seems a bit of an anti climax. in reality although earlier possibly not that different to his elder DBs, apart from the lack of formal A levels exams of course!

Hope all those other bits your DS has on the to do list work out well.

Can I join? DD has finally chosen Exeter to study History. Luckily it’s unconditional as she already has her exams, unluckily it’s after a 2 year gap, her intended break between school snd uni has stretched 2 years as she (& we) felt starting in Sep-20 would be a really difficult year for freshers. Hoping this Sep will be more like a normal year.

Good luck to all those still sitting assessments. Sounds very stressful.

My son also firmed Exeter yesterday, after visiting it on Monday. Waiting for August now for results day.

@g1c2d3 that’s great to hear, did you/he see much accommodation? DD is looking at the guide and is hoping to make her selection choices this weekend.
Also what is your DS looking to study?

@AvocadoPlant , he went on a guided tour for an hour and the guide showed him some of the catered accommodation buildings but he was not allowed in for obvious reasons. We then explored on our own as he wanted to see the accommodation he was interested in - the closest to the Business school as he is hoping to study management there. Again only from outside but all the buildings looked well maintained. The campus looked very clean and very green. DS was told that East Park will be very popular as its the newest. There were still finishing works going on so we couldn’t go close to those buildings. Both DS and I are happy with what we saw and it was good to be able to go and see the University to really confirm it is the right one for him.

interesting the approach between different Unis. DS3 at Loughborough today; small group tours, so not along the lines of a proper offer holder day but with social distancing and masks he was allowed inside a limited number of buildings including accommodation. I think this must have been a hall that had been part of a rolling refurbishment programme perhaps as the particular flat was not lived in.

@g1c2d3 - thank you! East Park is DDs preferred option, the kitchens & communal lounge areas look inviting. I think for DD it’s important to have a cosy hang out space, but of course wherever you are so much depends on being with people who’s company you enjoy.

@AvocadoPlant, I said the same thing to DS - it’s the people who you end up with not the accommodation that is important because, after all, even if the latter is not what he chose, it will only be for a year and then he can move somewhere else with the friends he has made.
East Park is very close, 5 minutes walk, to the centre of the campus - the Forum, where the library, shops, etc are. I don’t know where the history block is though, so maybe have a look on the map in case it is on the opposite side of campus to East Park. The girl that did the tour told DS that she walks everywhere, never uses the public transport. He wanted to see where the train station is. It is about twenty minutes walk from the campus.

Thank you! We went to an offer holders day last year (before lockdown) and came away with the idea that History is mainly in and around the main central hub (I’m guessing proximity to the library would be helpful on a humanities course) but I will ask DD to check that as she’s joined a freshers group on fb. At the time we visited East Park was a building site!
We did get to go into Lafrowda and the kitchen was pretty dingy to be honest, though the pics on the website are nicer. (Maybe we were just unlucky)
But we didn’t venture off campus so it’s useful to know it’s only a 20 min walk to the rail station.

Great that you have been able to see the Uni before lockdown. It is difficult to judge the atmosphere when only a small number of students are there. Interesting about Lafrowda. This is one of DS’s choices as it is very central.

Looking at the website I think we were shown a kitchen in the “old” Lafrowda building, & to be fair it needed the curtains rehanging and a fresh coat of paint but probably a lot of teenagers wouldn’t even have noticed.

My son definitely would not have noticed or been bothered by those things 😀.

AvocadoPlant My DD is Exeter History too. We decided not to visit today, what with reduced train services and roads apparently rammed..... shame, but DD feels fairly relaxed about it all. There is a "whatsapp" group for Exeter History, DD says it is very friendly. I had a look last night and they were posting photo's taken during the offer days, which was lovely. It all looked very green and lush.

DD has put East Park top, as have most of the group, looks like it has taken over from Holland House as the most popular accommodation. DD was initially going catered, but then we decided self catered is more flexible, and in any furhter lockdown scenarios, better for bubbling. DD's other picks are all self-catered, and with en-suite. En-suite being her red line. She is not prepared to share a toilet, and I can understand that.

Hi @BigWoollyJumpers - DDs red line is Catered! She really doesn’t want to sit in a large dining hall for every meal - looking at the costs I’m very relieved!
Though I suspect she may feel quite envious of the catered students on the days it’s tipping with rain and she has to walk back from the supermarket with heavy bags up cardiac hill the halls.

Also, our DDs may “know” each other from the WhatsApp group - his weirdos that! Makes mental note to check if DD is actually on the group! She’s certainly in one history group .......

“His weirdos”?? epic spell checker fail!!
Try again....
How weird is that!