Looking for a University

[Georgieporgie29]

My DS is just coming to the end of his first year of A Levels. Should we be looking at universities now? He doesn’t know what he wants to do after college and even if he wants to go to uni. I feel lost and not sure if we should be looking but then if he doesn’t know what he wants to do then how do we know which uni’s to look at. What would you suggest? Is there a tick list of uni’s we should go though?

Yes, he should be starting his application in September. Lots of the open days are running already

But if he really doesn’t know what he wants to do he’s likely to be better to take a year out

The school should be advising him but if he is going in September 2023, he should be deciding now. If he really doesn’t know what he wants to do he might be better off taking a year off. DD found that a year working as a PA in a publishing company focussed her mind wonderfully as did a Saturday job in Halfords.

If he wants to go to university then yes you should thinking about it - probably start by choosing a course and then see what universities do that course and what their grade requirements are.

However, uni is expensive so if he doesn’t know what he wants then perhaps planning to work during a gap year first might be helpful.

If he has no idea what he wants to do, he could take a gap year and then apply? He doesn't need to go to university straight after 6th form.

He can go to university later. It won't be a success if he has no idea at this stage.

He needs to look at some online prospectuses to see if there’s any courses he likes the look of. He may well decide uni isn’t for him but then he can also start looking at alternatives such as apprenticeship schemes, jobs.

if he does get inspired for a course then he needs to think about what unis offer that course, some unis he may discount because they’re too near or too far. Or he doesn’t like the city. Then it’s a case of going to open days, some will be now, so June and July time then some in Sept and October. So he needs to get cracking. Open days are where he will get a feel for the course, modules, staff, facilities, etc.

whatuni.com might be a good start

Thanks for all your advice. Will he still have the same chance of getting a place if he takes a gap year?
I think I’ll look at the what uni website tonight with him and we’ll get cracking from there.

He went to college thinking he would definitely go to uni, then I think A levels were a lot harder than anticipated so he couldn’t face more education after this. He got a little lost on the way in his first year but now he has realised how to do college he is ending the year pretty stable so I think he’s entertaining the idea of university again.

thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. He’s our eldest and neither of us parents went to uni so it’s all new.

Yes. Ucas applications are normally open from sept/oct to about Jan/feb. If he wants Oct 2023 he’ll apply in a few months.

if he takes a gap year he won’t apply until sept/oct 2023 for Oct 2024 start.

it would definitely give him more time to think about what course he wants to do rather than rushing into a decision and potentially choosing the wrong course. Has he got any thoughts at all?

DS didn't really engage with going to Uni steps until November of yr13. All you can do is encourage.

If he wants a gap year he can either apply for a deferred place for 2024 this year or delay his application a year and apply with grades in hand. Unis may have a limited number of deferral places but he has as good a chance. By waiting to apply in 2023 he would receive an unconditional offer and either way he can book accommodation and course options as soon as it opens.

As well as actual open days, most unis set up 'virtual tours' during covid which afaik they're maintaining, those might be helpful to get a feel.

Is there a tick list of uni’s we should go though?
No. We have so many unis in this country, and one size doesn't fit all! There are all sorts of factors to consider. In no particular order:

1. what course - which in turn depends on what his A levels will allow but mostly what he wants to do both as a degree and after (he may not have decided but I'm sure there will be lots of things he won't want to do so it's not an infinite list). Some unis are better for some subjects than others.

2. what are his expected A level grades and his GCSEs. Be realistic- one persons list will inevitably be different from another's.

3. does he care about how far from home the uni is; will travel time/costs be an issue?

4. what sort of uni - campus or city? Busy city or smaller one? What's the accommodation like? (That's where going to a few open days can be useful).
   There's usually some right after A levels and then more in September/October.

When our dc started looking, we sat down with them and discussed/looked up courses to make a short list (easier if it's a more specialised one, not so easy if it's one that's available everywhere!) We looked at the course content as they do differ.

We then looked at uni satisfaction scores, talked about whether they thought they would prefer a city uni/campus uni, quiet life/good nightlife, how easy/cheap or would be to travel home, the accommodation/cost of that, and they struck some off the list.

Once we had a shorter list they looked at them more closely and booked some open days - I think they went to about 5. One problem was the unis had them on the same days as others so they had to choose. When they were ready to make choices they scored the unis out of ten on various things to help them make decisions.

Does his college use Unifrog at all? That is a very helpful resource.

Also have a look at the “notgoingtouni “ website to allow you to think about the alternatives. I’d also encourage your DC to set up an appointment with careers adviser (or whatever they are called now) at the college to get some advice.

Is there a nominated coordinator for HE applications, apprenticeships etc he could meet? Many schools and colleges have a programme of talks from past students and seminars about the UCAS process and other options, often towards the end of year 12. Some will even organise trips to a local uni or popular open days.

I hope someone currently involved in admissions can confirm, but my impression is that applying after A levels is not a disadvantage, maybe even an advantage. If he applies in autumn 2023 or early 2024 for entry in September 2024, many universities/courses would give him a decision very quickly, as he would be a known quantity, with actual grades on his application, not forecasts, which may or may not be good forecasts.

If he doesn't apply to UCAS during his A level year, there is the option to apply during the period called Clearing or Adjustment immediately after the A level results come out in mid-August 2023. I would say this is only something to do if he's put in a bit of work in the weeks/months beforehand thinking where he'd like to go and which courses, as then he can spring into action on the morning the results come out with a clear plan and just a few targeted applications. People who apply on impulse and accept the first thing offered very often drop out early on as it turns out not to be what they really want.

Clearing is a way for universities to fill up the last places on their courses. Some courses that still have places available at that point may be less popular for a good reason, but that's not the only reason they may still be recruiting. Sometimes they have a lot of applicants who've accepted an offer but don't meet the grades. Those who are close may well get accepted anyway, but to those who've fallen well short the university will have to say no, and look for last-minute replacements.

Adjustment is a process for applicants who've done a lot better than expected to make a last-minute application to a course they previously thought was out of their reach. Not many people will qualify for this, or be interested, but it's worth knowing about for a really bright student who takes time to hit their stride. I did a couple of stints on the Clearing and Adjustment hotline at the university where I worked, and it was always lovely to get a call from an Adjustment applicant. Typically they would be saying 'I got A A A and I'd like to apply for Law' and there would be a good chance they'd get in with those grades. My university always offered extra places for Adjustment candidates on courses that typically didn't go into Clearing.

However, he doesn't have to go university. There are some excellent apprenticeships available and they have the huge advantage of coming with a salary and no debt.

Good luck!

Will he still have the same chance of getting a place if he takes a gap year?

Of course. He will already have his A level results and will then only apply to universities where he meets the entry requirements. It will be far less of a lottery to gain a place.

IMO he will benefit enormously from a gap year. Having said that, having a look round some universities now - open days are happening now, might give him an idea of what he wants to do, and what university life is like.

DD took a gap year after unsuccessful applications for medicine. She decided that medicine wasn't for her, but wanted to take more time to decided what she wanted to do. So we did another round of open days in the September (her going on her own was impossible due to train strikes every Saturday between August and Christmas).

She decided that she still liked her first choice of university, and applied there for a different course with A levels in hand, and got an unconditional offer straight away. She is just about to graduate.

Adjustment as a generally-available post-results option has now been discontinued, btw.

When you say, he doesn't know what he wants to do, what interests him (both re his A level subjects and outside of college)? There are far more interesting degree courses at university than just 'school subjects'.

Start a conversation with what interests him, go to a Uni open day to look around, there may be lots of things that exist that he doesn't even know about

What A levels is he doing, and what is he interested in outside College?

I have a yr 12 boy too going through this all

What A Levels is he doing? If you know what sort of thing he picked for those, someone may have an idea of a good option for him.

He is doing Maths, Economics and geography. He originally thought he might go down the Economics route but that seems to have changed to geography at the minute. He has no idea what he would like to do as a career although his dad works in finance and he’s been mulling over that.
he’s very sporty outside of college, although that has tailed off a bit with the amount of college work he’s been doing. He also has a part time job.

There’s some really great advice on here btw, I just wanted to say thank you very much. It feels like just a minefield to me.

I haven't read the full thread but I believe that there is a website where you type in the subjects and it gives you the names of courses applicable.

I will try to remember what it was called.

This is what Skiing meant: www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer