This board can be a bit intimidating but ...

[ButtonintheBox]

what the hell - I'll give it a go 🙂

DD17 isn't naturally academic but she's a grafter and passionate about studying.

She wants to do French and History at University (neither DH nor I went to uni but are very supportive).

Her predicted grades at end of Year 12 were A (psychology) B (history) and B (French). French teacher says they will give her extra support to get A.

Most of the posters on this board have A* kids and I'm just wondering if DD is setting herself up for disappointment 😞

Another option for your DD could be a BA in Politics and French in Manchester. Entry requirements are ABB.

I've come across quite a few students who were initially interested in studying history but then found that courses in politics were a closer match to their interests.

in my view it can be harder and pointless to do two different subjects and also makes you a bit unsure of yourself. Could she just do history perhaps? (French is over 4 years so even if there are no student fees in the year abroad there will still be costs for that year so it can mean more debt)

in my view it can be harder and pointless to do two different subjects and also makes you a bit unsure of yourself

That's an interesting point of view, Xenia DD loves both subjects, hence she'd like to study them in depth. If she had to choose, it would be French. And she very much wants the year abroad.

@Xenia If you can do a MFL it’s far from pointless. MFL grads are rarer these days and you have more strings to your bow. Few employers are bothered about what history you have actually studied but they might want your MFL. The advantages outweigh the cons if you are actually good at MFL and going abroad is a huge bonus others don’t have.

@ButtonintheBox
Its fair to say the degree would be harder but that’s because it’s challenging. I really would not advocate doing just French. If she’s not sure about literature, she would find it difficult to avoid on a 4 year French course. It’s always good to challenge yourself. For some jobs, studying literature is a bonus too. There is a reason top universities insist on some literature as a core subject.

Our students who go abroad often find that this experience helps their CV stand out, and is something interviewers ask them about. My sense is that it is a plus with employers across most sectors.

DD17 isn't naturally academic but she's a grafter and passionate about studying.

In my experience the further on in education you go the more it relies on grafting and passion. At GCSE a 'naturally academic' child can probably get ok grades through sitting in lessons and mandated homework, further on in education it relies much more on perseverance and grafting so she may surprise herself and you.

She's also benefited from some extremely dedicated and inspirational teachers both at her comp and Sixth Form college. Lucky girl.

Offers are frequently low for languages because so few students take them. One of mine got offers from Edinburgh and Warwick with those sort of grades, also maybe look at York and Royal Holloway. Good luck!

Warwick is a super place in every respect except that the DD wants a city uni. Otherwise, @Moominmammacat has great suggestions.

Offers for French will probably be lower than History and French because History tends to push up the grades required. As there are fewer and fewer linguists, MFL Departments need them, so applicants may well get offers. There will be a variety of grades required but it’s wise to look at, say AAA to ABB. Look at the courses but do consider challenge. If she’s concerned about native speakers, they have a bigger advantage in language based courses. Also what she wants now won’t necessarily be what she likes at 20-21. My DD would have run a mile from Medieval French at 16. At 21 she loved it. University should inspire and lead you to try new areas of learning. So I would say look at traditional and language based courses but be prepared to develop tastes!!

The year abroad really does make a difference on a cv. There can be times of adversity and how you cope is a talking point. DD has been asked at interview what particular challenge she overcame at university. Her answer: the semester in Italy

Slight update: DD has just informed me that her predicted grades are AAB. So they'll be going on her UCAS application. Don't know where I got ABB from 🙄

And her "target" grades are A*AA. Not sure what they are.

Thanks for further advice - I can see the year abroad will be a challenge- for her and for me 😃

Excellent news,OP. She will have superb options.

@ButtonintheBox just a thing. If her target grades are A star AA then that's what her UCAS grades should be. Why is the school predicting lower than her targets ? Makes no sense.
PS I'm a teacher dealing with UCAS grades. They matter as offers will be given based on those grades.

😳

Deletion message: This thread has been withdrawn at OP's request because she is an utter numpty who cannot read the guidance notes accompanying her daughter's report. OP is much obliged to mumneedswine for signposting her towards what the UCAS grades are.

🙂

@ButtonintheBox 😊😊😊😊😊

@ButtonintheBox
No real need to downgrade university choices then. She’s bright enough to be bold!

She’s bright enough to be bold!

Unlike her mum 😂

@ButtonintheBox
We all discover things together!!

Button in that case we’ve done a great job of thinking through plan B scenarios with you 😁
It turns out she has loads of choices. How exciting. Enjoy having a look at places together.

She's a lucky girl to have great support from you. You can come back to the board as one of the scary A * A A mums 😘

If it's at all possible try to arrange a 'working holiday' for her. The two weeks I spent working as a chambermaid in France gave me more confidence in the language than any tutor...

You can come back to the board as one of the scary A A A mums*

😀I'll have to name change to NumptyintheBox after this! I do think those grades seem a bit ambitious - but what do I know? Clearly nowt!

If it's at all possible try to arrange a 'working holiday' for her. The two weeks I spent working as a chambermaid in France gave me more confidence in the language than any tutor

She was hoping to work in France next summer, possibly as an au pair but not sure if that'll be possible because of brexit?

@ButtonintheBox my daughter is off to Marseille as an au pair at the end of this month - she has managed to get an au pair visa but she is going for 10 months (deferred uni place). She will doing MFL at Uni results allowing. She used aupair.com - posted a profile and had loads of offers. we did go and visit three of them in February - well we went with her to Marseille but she wouldn't let us meet the families...

I think if your DD was only going for the summer ie less than 90 days she could just go - and fly a little under the radar as no visa is required for visits under 90 days and €80 per week pocket money hardly counts as a wage.

These boards only exist because of the people who post on them. If you want more representation for lower achieving kids, then contribute more.

Thanks Juja - very helpful.