University applications for 2023 entry

[Thepaintedgarden]

Is there a general thread already? Please can someone post a link if there is and I'll get this one deleted. I couldn't see one.
My dc2 is applying this autumn.
Currently Bristol, Leeds and Manchester are definitely on the list and the other 2 look as though they will be between Exeter, Nottingham and Birmingham.
Not even started personal statement yet but I think they think it'll take half an hour 🙄.

As a very general point, however high-achieving your kids are, they shouldn't restrict their choices to Russell Group universities. For some courses, they are going to have a better experience and gain more useful learning in some other institutions. Most obviously, this includes very high-reputation universities that just don't choose to align themselves with the RG (Bath, Leicester, etc.), but also ones with a very strong record of placing students for industrial years (e.g. Surrey) and others with very strong industry links that feed in to their facilities and delivery. I'm not saying that no RG universities do this but there are others that also do it, and some that do it better.

It will depend very much on what they want to study and what they want to do post graduation. For some career pathways there is a significant benefit to having graduated from a short list of high-prestige institutions but this is absolutely not universal and some of those industries/professions are starting to change how they look at applications.

At the other end of the spectrum, a regularly high-achieving student probably won't be happy studying alongside other students with a very different ethos. So a course/university that looks strong on paper but typically takes students with much lower grades might not be the right fit for this reason. But even this isn't always cut-and-dried for all courses.

Number 1 message, though, is don't take any notice of league tables.

Just for interest, I greatly enjoyed this blog post by Mary Curnock Cook (former CEO of UCAS): www.hepi.ac.uk/2022/08/20/its-time-to-talk-about-the-russell-group/. I don't think much of the RG when it comes to undergraduate education but even I've never put the boot in to quite that extent.

Hi OP, my DS will be applying too for 2023. I have just had my daughter go through the application process so know the drill now! What is he hoping to study? DS wants to do some sort of Computer Science course. His front runners are Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff and Nottingham. He is predicted AAB at this point although he needs a rocket up his arse if he wants to achieve those grades - he should be able to get contextual offers too due to postcode as did DD.

Joining as going in for round two here.

DD1 has just graduated and is due to land back home next month so I will have a houseful for a year.

DD2 is a very different proposition to her sister. DD1 was really independent and managed the whole process herself. DD2 is only 17 tomorrow and incredibly immature in so many ways. So whilst I consider myself a seasoned pro at the application process I'm going to have to be far more hands on and involved this time round.

Also big difference is we'll be looking at non RG unis from the start as opposed to the first time. So although I've done it once I'll probably need to seek a lot more advice.

As for me, I'm already dreading DD2 heading to uni next year because she cannot so much as boil an egg and has absolutely no discernible life skills

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne

At the other end of the spectrum, a regularly high-achieving student probably won't be happy studying alongside other students with a very different ethos. So a course/university that looks strong on paper but typically takes students with much lower grades might not be the right fit for this reason.

This interests me. My son is incredibly hard working but relatively low achieving so where does this leave his ethos?* * It reads a bit like you think he wouldn't be welcomed by his peers in some situations. Interestingly my other child hardly worked but does well in exams so would be classed as a high achiever 🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree with you broadly though - it's a massive bug bear of mine that there's no discussion on Mumsnet of lots of perfectly good universities and courses as threads are inevitably dominated by people going on about the Russell Group even if the OP has already stated other preferences!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango
DC is planning to study international relations. Older sibling at Cambridge so he was very tempted by that for a while but has decided against it.
He's predicted A A A so am hopeful that he should meet the grades for the universities he likes - a number offer AAA but also A* A B which feels like a nicer buffer.

@drivinmecrazy
DC is very different from older sibling too but still quite independent - just more laid-back and last minute!

@NegroniNonna

Sorry posted too soon

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne yep I've told him not to focus on league tables etc. He's focused mainly on course and type of place. He's really disliked some cities we've visited - very keen on vibrant multicultural cities (so I think Exeter might not make the cut in the end). The courses at Manchester and Bristol are perfect apparently.

My biggest concern is her personal statement.
DD1 had loads of school things; sports colours, prefect, lots of extra curricula accomplishments.
All of DD1 extra curricular stopped at the beginning of pandemic and we're not restarted. So she has very little value added to contribute.

Only good thing is DD1 has said she will help her develop her personal statement. Though the phrase 'making a silk purse out of a sows ear' comes to mind 😂

Hoping that three years studying English and Spanish means that DD1 will know how to spin things 🤞

@NegroniNonna - Sorry. You're right. "Ethos" wasn't the right word. I'm referring to a combination of effort and inherent academic ability. And I was looking at it from the opposite point of view: students who work hard and/or are naturally "bright" can find it frustrating working with others who don't share these characteristics.

I have just been through the trauma the Cambridge application process with DD who was rejected post interview & is going to Bath to Politics & IR. I can't say I'm sad that DS will not be applying to highly competitive Unis!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango I recognised your name from that thread (I was posting under a different name). I'm a tiny bit disappointed that ds isn't applying just because he'd love a lot of the aspects but I think he's doing the right thing for him. He needs a better work life balance than dc1 has.

@drivinmecrazy I was under the impression that barely any of the personal statement should be about extra curricular things? DS has been told 80% on the subject and 20% extra curricular if there's anything useful to say.

Thepaintedgarden that's probably true re personal statements now.

I hope that's the case cos spending hours in her room typing to her friends isn't really gonna cut it!!

My younger DS is applying this year for computer science. He’s got big boots to follow as his older sibling studied law at Oxford.

He’s pretty motivated ATM and already has the required grades for Scottish unis (where we live). He has 6 As at higher and advanced higher maths which is a similar standard to A level. He’s taken a couple of exams a year early but he is still set on studying another four advanced highers this year.

He’s planning on applying to Cambridge, St As, Edinburgh, Glasgow and one other.

His personal statement is written but unchecked as yet. He now has to work on practising for the admissions test and hopefully then he’s almost good to go.

It will be a long and bumpy ride for everyone this year but hopefully with lots of positive outcomes.

Is there anywhere I can get information on which universities have the strongest pastoral/SEND support? Dd is academically very capable, but will need support due to her ADHD and autism.

Just for interest, I greatly enjoyed this blog post by Mary Curnock Cook (former CEO of UCAS): www.hepi.ac.uk/2022/08/20/its-time-to-talk-about-the-russell-group/. I don't think much of the RG when it comes to undergraduate education but even I've never put the boot in to quite that extent.

So shoot me now, but I did, too😀

I have yet to see any research into students’ preferences for their university choices which includes ‘large research intensive’ as an indicator...

Not to mention, choosing a university for all the famous academics from there you keep seeing and whose research you keep hearing about in the media leads to an awful lot of disappointment when you discover that they spend 99% of their time doing the things you keep seeing / hearing about them in the media for, and the other 1% nowhere near an undergraduate either.

@Thepaintedgarden Ds is a different kettle of fish to DD, he wants to do well but can't be arsed to put the effort in I am really hoping he pulls his socks up this year 🙄

Hi guys - you might be interested in this thread I started last year - gives a few ideas about good courses that you may not know about and certainly is NOT all RG…

www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4287321-Particularly-fantastic-less-conventional-undergrad-degree-courses?page=2&reply=108756838

Not to mention, choosing a university for all the famous academics from there you keep seeing and whose research you keep hearing about in the media leads to an awful lot of disappointment when you discover that they spend 99% of their time doing the things you keep seeing / hearing about them in the media for, and the other 1% nowhere near an undergraduate either.

Even Brian Cox's Wikipedia entry says he lives in Battersea, which isn't an easy cycle-ride from the University of Manchester.

There was a famous piece of graffiti at the University of East Anglia in the nineteen-eighties:

Q. What's the difference between God and Malcolm Bradbury?

A. God is everywhere. Malcolm Bradbury is everywhere except here.

May I join in please? DD has been working hard on her PS and EPQ over summer as well as working. It seems U6th has an extra class per subject too so everything seeming very intense.

DD has pressure from her non-Uni Dad to ‘do a trade’ but that just isn’t her. She is feeling unsupported on one side and I am trying to balance things out with my understanding of her hopes and dreams. She is a top achiever at a top grammar but struggles with the differences of my and DH’s backgrounds. I know her desire to be a teacher with predictions of top top A levels may seem a ‘waste’ to her father but I am so proud of her.

I know her desire to be a teacher with predictions of top top A levels may seem a ‘waste’ to her father but I am so proud of her.

Well at least your DH wouldn't be one of the How can that person be allowed to teach my darling Aspidistra subject X, when they only got a B in it themselves? crowd, so every cloud etc.

Seriously, though, you are right to be proud of your DD's efforts, achievements and aspirations.

RG unis maybe do expect students to work more independently, it's not school, but d'd loved having tutors that were passionate about their areas of expertise. She chose a humaniities subject it's worth looking at whether courses are all exam, she had modules that were marked on prpresentations for eg.

both my dds only put RG down and got enough offers and made the grades. No point putting places down you don't want. Worse case scenario there's always clearing plus if you get no offers you're able to pick another.

DS is still deciding whether to apply for Maths or Economics. He doesn't want to go too far from home so is only looking within an hour and half on the train from Manchester.

His personal statement will be "Yo bro, I'm good at Maths" or something similar. He'll probably end up joining the RAF 😂

All Russell Group is fine, but it should be because all of the universities they apply to are the ones that best suit the applicant's requirements / abilities etc.

Although i suppose 'must be Russell Group' might actually sum up the first for a lot. The power of marketing.

Thank you @MarchingFrogs

Agree with all this

Can I join too? My ds has just received his A levels and is taking a year out at college for some essay based certificates before applying for university.

He was originally planning on chemistry but an unexpected higher grade in geology has thrown in some other options (geoscience/earth science/natural science) to the mix. Distance wise he wants to stay within a couple of hours from home so that limits him to the midlands from the south and he looses out on some great geology choices further north. However, he is a bit anxious about going and we are trying to find a good fit within his criteria - it's a challenge 😀