Son (18) Distraught Over Results

[annelovesthebeach1975]

Hello everyone! I have been a longtime lurker of mumsnet for years now but today I have felt the need to finally make an account and post here, as my house has been plunged into chaos by the dreaded A Level results day. As the title says, my son has been absolutely distraught all day over the fact that his a level results were not what he wanted, and he got rejected by his dream uni, Newcastle University, and also his insurance choice, Birmingham. Although he only wanted to go to Newcastle so he doesn't really care about that. He received BCD although his predicted was AAB so obviously everyone was quite disappointed, but my son has taken it absolutely horrifically and it is breaking my heart. For some backstory, from when my son started lower sixth, his teachers helped students start looking for unis and courses during free periods at least once a week. From when my son began researching unis, he's only ever wanted to go to Newcastle University. When we went to the open day last year after he got his conditional offer he was hooked even further. He even knew what accomodation he wanted. He's a smart boy so I wasnt too worried about him getting in. However, after some of his exams he seemed quite unsure of himself, saying he didn't feel like he did a good job. I assumed this was just him overthinking it but now I believe the fact he didn't actually sit his GCSEs because of covid has had a negative effect on him since these were his first 'real exams.' He has been on the phone to clearing all day basically pleading for a biomed place at Newcastle and he has emailed them directly as well, although biomed and many other science courses are not clearing and his grades are much lower than the entry requirements so it has made things very difficult. I am putting on a brave face for him but on the inside I am heartbroken. This summer all he has talked about is what he's going to do when he goes to Newcastle, how excited he is, and how he's so excited for freshers week in newcastle. His eyes are red raw from crying in his room between contacting Newcastle over and over. He is not usually an emotional lad so this is very upsetting for me. I have contacted his sixth form for advice and they basically told me there is basically no chance he will find a biomed place at Newcastle with his grades, which were a shock to his teachers as they all thought he would breeze through his exams. It is looking like he will have to resit his a levels which while it is not the end of the world, it feels like it for my son when all his mates got into their unis, some Newcastle, and will be starting there next month. I am just looking for any advice on how to comfort him because I want him to know that I am there for him, and if there's any way I can get him a place at Newcastle on a science course that is biomed or similar.

I haven’t RTFT but your header caught my eye OP. As a former Admissions Tutor I feel deeply for your DS, but at the same time I want to reinforce the advice from @ThanksItHasPockets . It is much the best for your DS to make his own phone calls.

Admissions teams and uni staff really respect that. There is always some concern about rejected applicants who don’t do this.

But @Reusername has the right idea that someone, somewhere may have leads for your DS. If you can develop a script with him, can he call the appropriate Foundation Year or Access office at Newcastle to find out if he’s qualified? (I apologise if this has been discussed already.) His loan will stretch to this. The script should plan for how to ask for leads if the answer is negative.

I would also encourage your DS to join TheStudentRoom online. Plenty of undergraduates there will have similar stories and it may be a good source of leads. Good luck to him.

Oh bless him. That is really tough.
I think resitting his A-Levels sounds like a good option. He’ll likely be surprised that he’s not the only person in his year that this has happened to! Also, without sounding pessimistic, so many students drop out of university in their first year and realise it’s not for them, so he might find that being back home whilst all his friends are in uni isn’t actually the case a few months down the line!!

@annelovesthebeach1975 please please do not worry about this. A similar thing happened to my sister at a levels. She had to redo a year as she missed an a but now is about to get her PHD. It feels awful but in the grand scheme of things, he’ll still do amazing and will get there if he still wants to.

Ok. Is there a college close to Newcastle uNi where he could resit a Levels? Or do an access course which allows him to enter Newcastle uni into second year? How far away from there are you? Would he need to live in a flat?

I love this

I feel so sorry for him but I wouldn't be celebrating with treats etc. I would be saying I love you no matter what & support you & will help you figure it out.

BUT

He simply didn't put the work in. Life is tough & today will help him see that. As hard & horrific as that is. Today is the day he needs to start to grow up.

Not everyone who does biomedical science wants to go into medicine.
My best friends daughter ( studying biomedical science) wants to do a masters in Public Health and then work in that field
Biomedical Science is a great degree and can be used as an avenue to enter so many careers.

Not paid for . We are from a deprived area. I don't remember the eligibility criteria but maybe it was about levelling up? I just assumed it was available to all.

Contextual offers have different criteria. For example it can be simply based on post code.
Therefore if you live in a !deprived’ area you be given the chance to attend uni with lower grades.
My nieces friend got a contextual offer for Bristol to study economics. I think the standard offer was A* , A, A and the contextual offer was A , A,, B.

DD has been told by her college she will qualify for extra ucas points due to our postcode. As she went to a Private school we were a bit baffled and I did phone them and try to tell them that she shouldn’t be on this pathway but apparently she is. My neighbour (both teachers) confirmed that both her DC got the extra points. It’s an anomaly apparently but nothing can be done about it
Its ridiculous

Each university will have its own Widening Participation scheme. These can differ between universities. I know we run a "Scholars" programme for local young people which engages them from post-GCSE onwards and offers them various opportunities to get a taste of campus life and also encourages them to apply to us. Many universities - particularly Russell Group ones which need to keep working to get the best applicants from everywhere - have such schemes.

DD2 would probably agree with both of you actually. She never had any desire to do medicine so that definitely wasn't true of her. However, during her placement year (in the NHS, unpaid), she realised she equally definitely did not want to be a biomedical scientist in a hospital lab because it wasn't very rewarding work.

So she 'upgraded' and did a Masters at LSHTM which, as you both probably know is pretty prestigious in that field, worked all hours and got a distinction. Is now looking at PhDs and/or a career in research in her particular area of interest (vector-borne diseases).

@Lampzade LSHTM do a Masters in public health, DD2 knows several people who did that course and seemed to enjoy it.

Sorry meant to tag @Forumqueen too then.

Similar to our son last year. He's also at MMU. He got ABCC. Loves the course and loves Manchester.

It's been awful to watch our young adults pass through their school/college life with covid on their backs. As people have said though, it's all about dusting yourself off as there will be an alternative door that opens.

Not everyone who does biomedical science wants to go into medicine. My best friends daughter ( studying biomedical science) wants to do a masters in Public Health and then work in that field. Biomedical Science is a great degree and can be used as an avenue to enter so many careers.

I agree. DD had some failed medical students on her course and they were so negative to be around. One young man kept saying "I shouldn't be here". He was so bitter.

DD also doesn't want to work in an NHS lab @thing47

DD is planning to do a masters in a health related subject, not medicine though. Post grad medicine is even more competitive to get into.

DD has been told by her college she will qualify for extra ucas points due to our postcode. As she went to a Private school we were a bit baffled and I did phone them and try to tell them that she shouldn’t be on this pathway but apparently she is.

Oh, I've had this argument so many times. The trouble is that postcode-based measures (POLAR, TUNDRA, etc.) are very easy to access, so they become shorthand for widening-participation (WP) when actually there are lots of privileged people living within neighbourhoods with low participation in HE. Even the Office for Students (OfS), for which POLAR is the preferred measure, says it shouldn't be used on its own to define WP status of applicants. It is intended for monitoring how many students from target areas have been recruited, not for defining who should be recruited. If you actually target people with personal indicators of disadvantage (free school meals, 16-19 bursary, parents' eligibility for means-tested benefits, etc.), the number of students from low-participation neighbourhoods will go up without making entry easier for more advantaged students from those neighbourhoods. The other side of the same coin is that some areas have high levels of participation in HE (e.g. most postcodes in London) but also have some very disadvantaged young people, who can end up getting excluded from WP schemes because of their postcode.

@mumsneedwine
To be fair I did qualify my comment on reduced grades for summer school participants. However some DC need to have jobs and presumably have parental support to get to the summer school. I feel these initiatives are well meaning but not always well targeted.

They added a small cul de sac of 6 houses to the end of a road of terraced houses and bungalows. Also as these 6 houses were new and young professionals moved in at first nobody from here HAD been to University (although almost all of the adults had previously to moving here). It IS odd and I have explained to college but they can’t change it so I guess we just get to take advantage of it
Its not a great way of working it out though as DD is certainly NOT disadvantaged

OP hasn't returned. Let's hope there is resolution seeing as it's practically now the weekend.

@TizerorFizz Sutton Trust are fantastic and their summer schools are very targeted, very hard to get into but do enormous benefit. As do things like Insight at Bristol. You need to hit quite a few contextual flags to qualify. And I'm sure most parents work - doesn't mean they are not poor ?
Sometimes I think people get the wrong idea of WP. You still need to be a good candidate and be able to cope with the course. It just gives you a more level playing field to get in, either by one or two grades lower or by interviewing. You've still got to be capable of graduating.
Being taught in classes of 5 students with lovely facilities and parental support is much easier than classes of 26, sharing a bedroom with siblings and parents not able to support as out at shift work a lot. Makes me laugh when people claim it disadvantages the middle class kids (which mine are). They really have no clue how some people have to live in this country.

Newcastle Partners has quite a wide criteria so worth looking at.

Newcastle college is also in the city so theoretically yes.

@mumsneedwine
I do understand all of that. What I do wined is if these various schemes really do pick up all the DC they should. I have looked at Sutton Trust criteria but I do think these schemes get the highly motivated (with parents able to support ambition) but do they really pick up all who should go? Or those that would go anyway?

Schools could do way more to support DC in less good living conditions by having an extended school day. Boarding schools do it, so why not state schools that are empty after 3.30 (DC I mean)? If they really want DC to succeed, give them the conditions to succeed. Lots of grammar schools have big classes for A level around here. If there are small numbers, courses don’t run.

wined?? Wonder

Er, actually lots of biomedical scientists aren't failed medical entrants, yes lots of people do want to go into it as a career. Most labs are overwhelmed with applications.
The pay does increase with responsibility and it is very rewarding - depending on speciality, you have autonomy and the possibility to make a massive difference to lives.
There's an increasing scope to take on advanced roles, with similar jobs to pathologists, including dissection, cytology and histology reporting as a Consultant Biomedical Scientist.
It's sad you and your former colleagues felt like that but I've worked and currently work with many people who are passionate about their work as biomedical scientists.
Try following #IBMSchat on twitter.