OR 2022 - We are no longer rejects. We are parents of fabulous offspring who will do wonderful things

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

Wonderful tongue in cheek title thread by he words of @ eightytwenty.

Soooooo our thread started out back in March 2022 when our dc were Oxbridge wannabes. After thousands of posts by their nervous Mums, nail biting, discussing applications, grades, will they get to interview won't they, debates such as private vrs state, the Scottish system, then some got rejected and some had interviews and entrance assessments then much more nail biting and eating and drinking a lot and a loooong wait over Xmas 2021 the remainders were then rejected. Then more nail biting for offers to come in from the competitive Unis they had applied to with some ending up with only one or two options - our Covid Kids had it tough.

Finally May came and their actual A-levels then the brutal wait for results. I don't think I can recall any of our DC not getting their first choice?

Lots of DC off to top Unis and achieving the best grades in the land. My DD is off to Bath to do Politics and IR and I am incredibly proud of her, she is a grafter not naturally super clever but loves to learn and god I am going to miss her but she is ready and so I happy for her 😥

So please carry on our lovely supportive thread so we can see where their journeys take them.

TWAT x

Exactly like my two. Ds wants to do well but can't be arsed to try too hard! He's predicted ABB so should be ok with his choices.

@W0tnow mine is at LSE doing Pol & IR.. she did 3 A levels and EPQ.. I would also counsel against 4 .. was interviewed and rejected by Cambridge and many at the time said the sting of the rejection would pass and she would love where she was and they couldn't have been more right .. she loves it .. my advice 3 A levels done well is much better than struggling with 4 ( unless it's Maths and then this advice goes out the window)

I don’t know entirely if it does go out of the window for maths @doubleshotcappuccino . DS was part of a strong maths cohort with the overwhelming majority of his year going into maths or related degrees. He started 4 as did a friend plus they had several projects over the course of the 2 years which were quite similar to EPQ.

Him and friend both dropped one at end of year 12. The 2 other people I know of who did 4 (plus the projects ) didn’t do as well and both felt they would have done better with 3, one missed his Durham offer I think. DS’s friend into Imperial with his 3. College said they recommend 3 these days but were happy for them to do 4 if they wanted.

The 3 vs 4 A level thing is a new dilemma for me. Everyone does 4 A levels at her school. They just do. 🤷‍♀️ I didn’t question it? She tells me that the IB students at her school (they have the option to do either IB or A levels) are so much busier than her, with a much higher workload. They do 6 subjects, 3 at a higher level, community service, AND an extended essay.

As for the EPQ, the school manages this quite tightly. Some A level students were disallowed from doing it after their first lot of mocks came in as their grades were deemed to require more attention.

She has a reasonable amount of free periods. But students are still required to be at the school for a full day, every day. They go to class, or study in the designated areas.

It’s good to hear perspectives though. My daughter has a superhuman capacity to focus and study, and spends a lot of ‘leisure’ time learning about her chosen field. I can honestly see her pulling A* across the board. My other two kids are different. One studies what I would say is an ordinary amount. You know, pretty solid. And I already mentioned my son… 😊 So it’s good to know there is wriggle room to drop stuff for them.

Thanks though. Everyone. We kind of ended up in the British Education system flying blind really. We rocked up at the school, enrolled them, and let things take care of themselves. So your perspectives are helpful.

Ahh Thanks @Volterra .. no maths scholars here so good to know the 3 rule is pretty much standard .. @W0tnow must be hard to gauge for you as you are in an environment where everyone is doing 4 and some limited to whether they can do EPQ ... however can confidently say 3 A levels and an EPQ would be ideal for Pol & IR ... the offers made on 3 grades not overall points so best to focus on that

@W0tnow the question I would ask the school is where have their students got offers and placed with their 4 A levels as evidence that their strategy works.

I don’t know entirely if it does go out of the window for maths

I think what they meant was that 4 A levels are very doable if two of them are Maths and Further Maths, as it's essentially one subject, Maths!

At my dc's school they teach Maths in year 12 and FM in year 13, and so it doesn't even take more lesson time.

Obviously this applies to students who enjoy Maths!

@doubleshotcappuccino oh yes they provide the uni stats each year. Most recently they placed students at UCL, Cambridge, St Andrew’s, Bath, a couple of US universities & also Sydney University.

My Pol&IR daughter is in final year of GCSEs so still has time up her sleeve. Her 4th A level will be a language and she’s hoping to be fluent-ish at the end of secondary as despite coming in cold she’ll have had 5 years in the country (Spain, btw) by then. The idea is to try to find a degree course with a year abroad to further cement the language. Anyway, yeah. Food for thought.

Yes that's what I meant @Purplemagnolias ... we gaze in awe at the maths geniuses from
afar ! @W0tnow she sounds like she will have some fantastic opportunities ahead of her ..

Her 4th A level will be a language and she’s hoping to be fluent-ish at the end of secondary as despite coming in cold she’ll have had 5 years in the country (Spain, btw) by then.

That will be a relatively 'easy' A level then. Some Unis may even discount a language A Level if the student is bilingual or lives in the country of the language.

@W0tnow just to add also science po have some amazing degrees in this particular field.. and have joint programs with other unis ..looks amazing

@W0tnow Bath would be a great place for her to study then as they have a joint Politics & Language department which is quite an unusual combination for a department.

https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/undergraduate-courses-in-politics-languages-and-international-management//*

Students can do a joint degree with abroad options in the third year.

Yes my oldest daughter wants to do biomed science at Bath. My second is my non sciencey one. I’d love Bath for her but it will be a stretch so the flexibility of dropping something is comforting.

I’ve heard that before about language/fluency @Purplemagnolias. They had no Spanish when they arrived, the school language is 100% English and they speak English with their friends. There is no denying the advantage of living here and hearing Spanish all the time. But yes, they have been thrown in the deep end. I guess they will just have to make it clear in their personal statement?

https://www.bath.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-2023/politics/ba-international-politics-and-modern-languages-with-study-or-work-abroad/#entry-requirements

Hopefully this link works. Some great guidance on Personal Statements and the level of detail info they are looking for. Certainly worth a read if applying to competitive Unis.

Oof @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango that looks amazing course! ABB is absolutely within her reach.

makes me want to be 18 again!

Oh I know I wish it were me having my life ahead of me and all these amazing opportunities! The course looks fantastic doesn't it!

Hope everyone well & DC have had a good start to their second term / semester. Imagine strikes and flat sharing of concern to parents and dc?

DS happy to be back and busy flat / house hunting. Knows who he wants to live with but apparently not many 5 bed flats in St A.

I popped onto the Oxbridge board just to wish people well & to say it will all turn out fine. It has for most of our DC hasn't it?

It sure has Eighty . I am now totally convinced that Oxford was not the place for my boy. I see how he's grown and developed and is loving life outside of actual uni work (as well as being stretched and challenged academically) and it would not have suited him. Perhaps - on this Burns ' night- it really is 'Whit's fur ye ll no go by ye'.

DS' English girlfriend has joined us for her first Burns' supper tonight! Her face as DS recited to the haggis was priceless 😆. Happy days. I hope it's all as joyful for you all.

It’s so great to hear that your son is thriving! I’ve just read through DD’s rental agreement. Sounded reasonable. She has done well academically the first term, and has even landed a part time job. So all is good.

@Puffalicious sounds great! Burns passed me by. Quite like haggis too!

Veggie haggis for me- yum too!

Hellllooooooo to you all it has been a while! I was also reading the Oxbridge thread and thinking how bloody fast the last year has gone with all the nerves and associated pressure of it all. I am sure DD would have loved C but as it is she is thriving at Bath and really living her best student life. I thought I would miss her so much but I actually don't, we Whatsapp everyday and FT once or twice a week, but she is so happy that I am relaxed and happy for her. She seems to have the right balance between study and socialising and has made a set of mates that get on well, student house for this year all arranged and there is a mix of 3 lads and 3 girls sharing which is nice I think. She has a PT job at the rugby club and life (touch wood) seems to be going good for her. She is a sensible kid and it seems most of the kids in her flat are also Oxbridge rejects so they work really hard and party hard too by the sounds of it!

I have DS applying for this year and seems set on Cardiff as firm and Liverpool as insurance so now I have to hope and pray he gets his grades and settles in as well as DD has. It will feel very strange to have no DC at home but I am sure I will adapt to the peace, quiet and no mess or music noise 😂

I am so glad to hear your DC are all thriving at their Unis too and everything happens for a reason - this is their path and it was right for them x

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango @Stockpot great to hear yours happy and industrious. DS will definitely need to crack on with getting a job. Next year will be quite different with rental being the same price as halls minus food & heating.
Great that they’re sorted with accommodation too. Going to start fretting if that not sorted soon.

Are any of yours planning to travel or stay in their flats during summer? DS thinking he will get a job in St A. Of course he can do that but I’m surprised that he’s not thinking of travelling. Seems a wasted opportunity. Doesn’t sound like it’s a big thing.