DS undecided on future options

[mamapama]

My DS has no idea what he wants to do. He is in year13 and unsure if he wants to go to University or apprenticeship. He has predicted grades of BBB in Psychology, English Language and Politics. He has lost a bit of motivation as he was expecting predicted grades of AAB and now feels he has limited uni choices. I have told him to narrow down a course choice first and see where he can apply to. He feels a bit overwhelmed as at his college personal statements and UCAS applications need to be done by begining of November and he doesn't want to be rushed into making choices. I don't know what to advise him for the best. This is all new to us. Any advice would be welcome for things he needs to consider.

Bbb is great!
Plenty of options
But he can work hard and apply next year? Prove them wrong?
Can he see a careers coach? They do questionnaires to try see where his interests might lead

Or online ucas
www.ucas.com/careers/careers-quiz

DD was in the same position last year. Her predicted grades (from exams sat on first day back after lockdown 😩) were also BBB so she didn’t apply for some unis she’d hoped to. She got AAB and, although happy with uni she’s at now, did go through a time where she was going to take a gap year and reapply but felt it risky given covid impact on admissions. By next year things will have settled down more so your DS could reapply and by then he’ll have a better idea of what he’d like to do. Good luck.

What was he planning when he thought he would achieve AAB? What made him choose those A levels? Has he looked at any uni prospectuses? Or the government website for potential apprenticeships? The deadline for university applications is mid January so he does have a bit of time if he wishes to apply this year. But there’s no point starting a personal statement as it needs to be incredibly course specific. Apprenticeship applications usually start around November/December but vary considerably depending what industry he’s interested in. Maybe he is better off taking some time out, getting some work experience and applying with grades in hand next year. BUT that depends on affordability and if there’s opportunities for him locally.
If he really has no idea a good starting point is to order a few uni prospectuses and flick through those to understand the array of possible courses and see if anything gets him excited. Uni Websites are great if you know what subjects are if interest. Once he has an area of interest he can look more thoroughly into apprenticeships or degree courses.
Is there any career guidance with school?

Bbb is great, particularly when he has had more disruption in the last 18 months that anyone would have thought possible. Alot of youngsters will be in the same position, so the careers adviser would be geared up to help.
Would retakes give him breathing space alongside work experience?

I would focus on what he currently enjoys about his subjects and look at a few courses he might not have considered such as social policy, business or management. The latter two offer great flexibility when it comes to work.

If he ends up with BBB, the top universities might be out but I would look at the next tier down and look at a course where most grads get jobs. So look at former polytechnics and for courses which are work related.

I would not necessarily advise doing an academic subject such as politics at a former poly but there are so many other subjects which can lead to great jobs he could look at.

You are absolutely right to tell him to focus on what he wants to study first and foremost. I don't know much about business or management courses but as a general rule I think TizerorFixx is right to say they give a good grounding and are very flexible.

Also, don't look at general league tables, look at subject-specific ones. Lots of newer universities have one or two areas in which they are particularly strong (possibly even stronger than RG universities in some cases).

You’ve had some good advice here but I would also add, UCAS doesn’t need to be done by beginning of November. That’s an internal deadline set by college. Actual deadline day is the 26th January, although it needs to be with school slightly before that for checking and reference.

If he’s not ready at in November let school know, the extra two months till early Jan can be really valuable

Hi similar dilemma with Ds predicted BBC in history psychology and politics and C in EPQ
He wants to go to “uni” more for the lifestyle I think than the learning! Wants a city but those grades sadly rule him out of a lot and those grades don’t seem bad to me ! He’s thinking media and communications. Was looking Brighton Leeds trinity Manchester met and university of Sussex. Any thoughts ? If he does better in the real exams can he go through clearing for a uni that wants higher grades or does clearing only work when you have missed the grades ? Any advice on whether it’s best to take a year out ?

Hi similar dilemma with Ds predicted BBC in history psychology and politics and C in EPQ

Have his school not advised him to drop EPQ in that scenario? Our school won’t allow pupils to spend the enormous amount of time needed for EPQ if any predicted grade is below a B. Particularly if the EPQ isnt predicted an A since it doesn’t benefit university admissions unless it’s an A grade (at least not directly). I’d be speaking to school about stopping EPQ and spending the time saved on his c grade A Level.

Ah that’s a shame. Never mind, at least he isn’t spending time on it this year.

My son applied to both university and degree apprenticeship, and got offered both.

He accepted the apprenticeship, and deferred the Uni entry for a year. He continued with the apprenticeship.

Incindently,, I think ucas applications can be submitted later then November. Maybe the school wants them then to get them over and done with.

ucas applications

Deadline for Ucas is in January but schools may well ask for ps and application earlier so they can do their reference etc. He can do that and submit a form with only one course choice then add more later. If he has an idea of subject or uni he can still put down an optimistic choice or two, above BBB entry grades, then a couple of safer ones. Some interview or base offers on ps as well, or lower grades with an epq.

Same here.
DS got 8s and 9s and was predicted As when he started. But really struggled with lockdown Learning at the end of L6 he got BBB. His ‘best’ subject he now hates and he thinks his other one isn’t good for careers, not that he’s looked into that anyway.

He’s meh about apprenticeships because he doesn’t know what he wants to do.

I’m massively resisting the urge to wrestle him in front of the laptop and prod him all the way through it, as I know if just end up taking over and doing it for him.

We also have an early November deadline for personal statements and choices.

He’s driving me mad.

Thank you all for your responses, lots of good advice and things to think about. He has booked a careers guidance session with college, to help him look at options, only slot in two weeks time and he is also thinking of deferring for a year as he may have a better idea of what he wants to do.

I think the key to all of this is think of courses in a more practical way. Best subject at school isn’t what you need to do.

My DD, many years ago, did a Morrisby test for career aptitude. (I think that’s what it was called). I found it again the other day. It was surprisingly accurate! It was a series of questions and tests to attain suitability for careers. She didn’t do the obvious degree for her career but the analysis of her personality, strengths and dislikes lead to a remarkably accurate career steer! Not sure if such advice is available but it can help crystallise ideas for DC who haven’t been exposed to a wide range of degrees or careers.

Both my children have done career aptitude tests through their schools; the Morrisby test one was offered I was impressed by and would recommend if you can afford it.