Help - DD wants to study her weakest subject at Uni

[cassgate]

Ok. Dd has since year 10 said she wants to study a particular subject at Uni. Her A level choices were made on the basis that they were the combination that most uni’s asked for to study the subject. Roll on to year 13 and we are now in a situation that she has just found out that her predicted grade in the subject she wants to study is lower than most uni’s will accept. Unis want an A, she is currently sitting at a C with a predicted best grade of B. Her other subjects she is currently sitting at a B with best grades of A in both. We have had a heart to heart tonight and I have explained she has two choices. Pull her socks up and seriously put in the time and effort to pull up the grade to at least a secure B ( there are a few uni’s that will accept B) or change direction and look at alternative subjects that will accept lower grade. I also offered to find her a tutor. The problem is she is adamant that she does not want to study anything else but still puts off opening a text book or looking at past papers. I really don’t know what else to do. Any words of wisdom that anyone can offer would be grateful as I am seriously floundering and flit from wanting to back off because I am fed up of seemingly talking to a brick wall to feeling guilty of not trying to help her.

If she's not prepared to put in the work to get the grade, to even get onto the university course. then it's unlikely she would put in the work to get the degree either. She'd drop out in the first year.

So the best thing is to let the matter run its course, her application will get rejected, she won't get the grade , she won't get a university place for that course.

Better to take a gap year , get a job, grow up a bit and decide what she really wants to do their her life. She can always apply to university later in life.

@cassgate
That is really positive news. The advantage to a tutor is also that they will teach good study habits. Your DD seems willing to put the work in, and not everyone can successfully revise by re-Reading a textbook or doing past papers. We all have different learning and revision styles.

I remember my DC getting frustrated over the school mandated “mind maps” and other suggested revision tools. Never worked for them, but we had a good tutor who tested different revision techniques on them until it just clicked and they were off and happy to study and revise. It was essential to their success at uni because it made them fully independent at studying.

Sometimes lack of motivation isn’t unwillingness to put in work, it’s frustration that the way the school has told you to revise just doesn’t work for you.

If she is struggling to understand concepts because the teaching at school isn't very good a tutor is a good idea. If she needs a tutor because she is really struggling with the subject she will struggle at university.

At university the onus is very much on the student to get on with their work. They won't get chased by tutors and lecturers. Any work handed in late gets marked down. I agree with Graphista and 2bazookas.

I think your DD should seek extra support and step up to see if she can achieve her potential.

Other options to consider are applying to Scottish universities - where students study a range of options in their first two or three years before settling on their final degree subject, and/or taking a gap year before deciding what she really wants to do.