Do we need to be looking at uni’s now for 2022? Dd confused to what she wants...

[Lovemusic33]

I’m struggling to communicate with dd at the moment regarding uni and what she wants to do after A level. She’s at the end of her first A level year and is regretting her choices some what. She is taking English lit, computing and maths, when she decided on her A levels she was planning on going to uni to do computing, this is why she chose Maths as she needed it to get onto the uni course, she’s now changed her mind and wants to do English or politics at uni and is witching she took History and philosophy instead of computing and maths.

Dd has been to look at Oxford (before covid) but due to covid restrictions she hasn’t visited any other uni’s. She has her heart set on Exeter.

She’s a bit fed up because maths has always been hard for her ,despite getting a level 8 in GCSE she’s struggling a little in A level but is still working at a B, her predicted grades are AAB which kind of rules out Oxford and only just gets her in to Exeter.

Dd is also autistic and I’m worried she won’t be ready to be away from home without a lot of support so she’s also considering taking a year out or doing open uni.

I just feel like most of her piers are being more active in looking for a uni and planning what courses they want to do when Dd still doesn’t really have a clue and can’t decide.

Should we be looking at uni’s this summer? When does she need to start applying? Sorry, I haven’t got a clue 😬 and Dd doesn’t really talk to me much about it.

Can she add on an EPQ next year? Some unis lower the grade offer if achieve well in EPQ.

She’s not at all silly for choosing maths. It’s a hard decision and it’s ok to change her mind. I say this to my students.
On a positive note she is still achieving a decent enough grade.

Definitely yes to looking at options for uni now. Use ucas.com
The student room too.

Apply for apprenticeships too. Look at all the options out there.

If she is interested in journalism, an apprenticeship is a good path if she can get one. If she wants to do a degree, I would recommend not doing English/journalism/media studies if there is another subject she enjoys and is as good at as she is English Literature, then getting involved in student journalism, getting work experience, possibly taking a postgrad qualification in journalism if she can't get onto a graduate trainee scheme. The media needs journalists with a specialism.

Has she considered PPE (politics, philosophy and economics)? Is she a good linguist? It is possible to study languages ab initio such as Chinese, Arabic without having taken language A-levels (there is an aptitude test). Both excellent for a career in journalism. SOAS offers intensive summer courses if she fancies trying it out. Even computer science would be a good degree for journalism, although it sounds like she is no longer interested in that. War Studies or International Relations are also good if she is interested in foreign news. There are a lot of jobs in financial journalism, so Economics is also a good option.

SOAS:
www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/enrolment/

I second the idea of tutoring if she has struggled with home learning and isn't achieving her potential. It will option up her options if she can get her grades up, whether she decides to take a year out and consider things or not.

OP to answer your question about universities - DS2 was in yr 12 last year and our planned schedule of open days fell apart.

What we did was go to a few of the cities he liked the course on, just to get a feel for the place. This was last summer when you could do so. We were certainly not the only people doing this at Leeds and Newcastle! Of course we couldn't look round accommodation or chat to tutors, as DD had done two years before, but better than nothing.

It needs to be a place she can imagine living for three years.

Does she want to be near home or far away? City or campus? Big place or small? These are factors that are important alongside the course.

DD does English lit and a lot of the courses seem to be very similar. Is she a voracious reader? English courses have a very high level of reading (and low contact time) so she needs to be able to self-motivate. Lots of essays too.

You mention journalism - if she is genuinely interested in that I would advise her to start now - try to get some work experience, even if it's only supplying pieces to local papers; write a blog on whatever she loves; write for the student newspaper. Specialism is the key here. It's very very hard to get a job in journalism as it is an industry in decline (speaks from experience!) but writers are still needed. She would absolutely need to show some initiative tho.

I hate to say it but if she genuinely wants to be a journalist, a journalism degree is probably the best way in - there are good ones at Derby Uni, Sheffield Hallam and various other less obvious universities. If journalism is just a "oooh I might like that maybe" then honestly I would talk her out of it as it is not for the faint-hearted (sorry not trying to be horrible, just honest) and she would be better with AAB doing Eng Lit at a good uni.

She reads loads and has always been a book worm, loves writing. She originally wanted to be a English teacher but was then given the chance to run a school club (being watched over by a teacher) and realised teaching was hard 😬. English has always been her favourite subject but then she took computing and business for GCSE getting level 9 in both so then decided to go down the computing route, now she has changed her mind and gone back to wanting to do English lit at uni.

Plan was to go to Exeter to do computer science, for this she needed AAB to exclude maths.

We have been visiting Exeter to get used to the city but not had a chance to go visit the uni other than the virtual tour. She likes Exeter because apparently it’s very left wing 😐.

She’s always been obsessed with politics and debating. Funnily enough a teacher years ago (primary) said “that girl could be a future politician” 🤣. She was on the G&T register through primary and has found school a breeze up until now, I think doing A level maths has been hard and the first time she’s really had to work hard.

For me it’s important she’s not far from home, despite being very bright and being very sensible her Aspergers also makes her very vulnerable, she has been bullied throughout school and struggles to make friends, her life skills are pretty poor so she will need some support. If she goes to Bath, Southampton, Bournemouth or Exeter she will be within a hours or hour and a half away and could easily jump on a train to get home.

I hate to say it but if she genuinely wants to be a journalist, a journalism degree is probably the best way in

I agree with everything @clary says except this. There are thousands of students who graduate with a degree in journalism every year all going after the same handful of jobs. There are far less graduates who speak Mandarin fluently or who have a science degree AND have a journalism qualification and/or work experience. You can teach someone how to write a story on the job, it's not hard, but you can't give a journalism graduate a crash course in science or international relations or a new language on the job.

The old Guardian graduate trainee scheme used to advertise for journalists who "speak another language, whether that is a foreign language or the language of science, music or economics" or something along those lines.

@chesirecat99

I hate to say it but if she genuinely wants to be a journalist, a journalism degree is probably the best way in

I agree with everything @clary says except this. There are thousands of students who graduate with a degree in journalism every year all going after the same handful of jobs. There are far less graduates who speak Mandarin fluently or who have a science degree AND have a journalism qualification and/or work experience. You can teach someone how to write a story on the job, it's not hard, but you can't give a journalism graduate a crash course in science or international relations or a new language on the job.

The old Guardian graduate trainee scheme used to advertise for journalists who "speak another language, whether that is a foreign language or the language of science, music or economics" or something along those lines.

I am really not a fan of a journalism degree (I mean really - three years to learn journalism? Whatever do they do? etc) as I am very much un favour of learning the skills while doing the job.

Sadly that is unlikely to happen nowadays as there is not the same structure of experienced subs passing your copy back to you and asking you to write it so it makes sense (which explains some of the nonsense printed and published online).

But I said that about a journalism degree bc the chances are the person appointing you will have one; more and more it is seen as necessary, It's not. But it is seen as such.

I guess a science degree and a whole host of work experience (not so easy if you are busy all day doing a high-contact science degree) could lead to work in a science-specialism media outlet. That would be great. But to be fair it doesn't sound like that is the OP's DD's passion.

I certainly agree that "you can teach someone how to write a story on the job", and I have done that myself, sadly there is no one there to do that any more.

anyway @chesirecat99 I think we broadly agree about this. Specialise and get in that way. Or find a paper with an old-school subbing team and learn from them.

Lots of journalists earn very little and many have excellent first degrees from top universities. Then a masters in journalism. Don’t do undergrad journalism and definitely not media studies.

Take every opportunity to write. School magazine, blog, letters, opinion pieces etc. Do as much as possible at Uni and then cross your fingers! But possibly a young Clarkson, Coren or other young person with a background in journalism will get the gig! So make sure you network!

@User27aw
The universities themselves often list their clearing courses. Look at the target university courses.

I don’t think she’s looking to do undergraduate journalism, it will be English lit or English lit and creative writing. She’s not keen on languages despite doing ok in languages at school.

Sounds boasty but the fact she did well in all subjects at GCSE made it so hard to chose which A levels to do, she could have took any and achieved quite high, she had too many options open to her which really confused her.

Yes, I agree that everything else you wrote is excellent advice @clary

Except maybe this:

But I said that about a journalism degree bc the chances are the person appointing you will have one; more and more it is seen as necessary

IME I think it's quite rare for journalists to have a journalism undergraduate degree. Far more have a degree in something else and a postgraduate journalism degree. I know one bureau chief who claims to file any CVs from applicants with only an undergraduate degree in journalism or media studies in the bin

When I said "on the job training" I meant one of the few graduate trainee schemes, not old school being left to get on with it and teach yourself. I don't suppose that ever happens nowadays.