University 2019/20 intake: vacations, vaccinations, va-va-voom restored and virtually into their third year

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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Taking DD up to Staffs uni next week for an individual tour. Same course as their London campus but more modules and I think the campus will suit her more than an east london business park which is where the 'digital campus' is based

Only snag there is her boyfriend may be applying to London unis so that may sway her. So far she has much preferred campus unis though and I think London would be very distracting and possibly impersonal for her. Especially as there won't be 'halls' and eveyrone will be in private accommodation - albeit mixed with other unis so some mixing across courses I guess

Good luck with the visit to Staffs Uni this week @MrKlaw.

Thanks. At this point I just want DD to engage properly with the process. She blows hot and cold and its a little nerve wracking frankly

I have a DD like that but she's not at the applying to university stage yet. We've had the same issue with sixth forms though!

My DD2 is applying to Uni this year and it's really unsettling. She's not asked for help with personal statement, not applied yet and not really sat down with us to talk through applying. I'm in the dark because she's applying for drama schools that are not on ucas. No idea really where she's up to. Such a difference than DD1 who did everything herself but ran them past us, so we knew where she was up to. Good luck @MrKlaw I feel your pain!

@chocolatenutcase I am on the year 13 thread on here. So many have offers of places on there. But ds2 hasn't even started his PS yet either. Or decided on which universities. He knows which one he wants to go to. But has no other choices yet. He's chilled about it all.

@icanbewhatiwant yes I'm trying to be chilled. No point in nagging her. She'll do it in her own time.....I hope

But ds2 hasn't even started his PS yet either.

DD's school got them all started on their PS in year 12. Has there been no input from the school?

@RampantIvy I know school get involved because they did with ds1. But Ds2 just says they aren't sending them off until Jan. so he can't see the rush. Little does he know the teachers will keep returning it for editing...or at least they did with ds1. There really is no point me nagging ds2 though, he always does things in his own time.

DD2 has just finishing her PS after being let down on several occasions by her school mentor. She kept making appointments only to find she was ‘busy’. Mocks in January but assessment for predicted grades done last month and grades good.
DD1 at Durham rang last night. I did laugh as she said it was the first Wednesday(student night) that she could go clubbing but decided not to! She had reached ‘peak club’ finally.

Finished.

DD and everyone on her course have a big essay due soon, and the stress is beginning to show, with everyone snapping at each other. She had a 9 am lecture yesterday and then spent all day in the biomed common room working on it with some of her coursemates.

These essays require a lot of research involving reading very wordy pubmed and other scientific articles. The main problem is working out what to leave out and condensing their research into 3,000 words.

DD always asks me to proof read her essays (my background is copywriting and proof-reading), but I won't understand any of it . I just sensor check and check for typos, spelling and grammar.

@RampantIvy, DS doing History has a lot of 3000 word essays involving at least 20 readings each which I have to proof read despite only having gone to a Poly

You're in good company @bigTillyMint. I only went to a poly as well, and that was just for a foundation course

I don’t know whether to feel left out or count myself lucky as I’m not asked to be involved at all!

Then again I didn’t even make it past A levels.

Ds1 came home for a night last week and showed me one of his essays about why males age faster than females. It was interesting but I didn't understand half of it. I could pick out a couple of spelling mistakes though.
I'm very uneducated.

You are lucky that your DC ask you for help. DS rarely ever asks for assistance, although I proofread all three of his older cousins' dissertations

That is the only kind of support DD asks for. She is slightly dyslexic, so I only proof read for spelling and grammar. I don't understand any of it.

She is a scientist and finds essays/dissertations a struggle. She would have hated a heavy essay writing degree course.

Yes, it's a bit tough!

I know what you mean about not understanding the content. One of DNs did a quantitative study about the HK banking system. The finance-related terminology was well outside my knowledge comfort zone. And then next one was on graphic art, also a 'foreign language' from my perspective!

Lucky? @NewModelArmyMayhem18
You wouldn’t say that when presented with a 15000 word Masters diss

Luckily my two did/do Humanities subjects, so easy enough to understand apart from one extremely esoteric essay on how Sociologists think. Or something!

No, I guess I wouldn't @bigTillyMint.

It's just that I've always offered to help and it's been declined. It's a bit rubbish when I've helped his cousins but not him.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18, I’m sure you help in other ways

chocolatenutcase harder said than done, but I think you have to let them get on with it. We didn't see DD's PS until 24 hours before applying, and to be honest she surprised me - she'd put it together far better than I would. She received two early offers (from unis who are known for sending out offers after xmas) and actually received five offers in the end. We did our best to get her to unis she was interested in, but again it was totally her decision.

Just asked DD2 if she’d like me to read her PS and was declined. Didn’t ever see DD1’s either.