Is there an applying for 2023 thread which isn’t early entry

[KittyMcKitty]

I can see there’s the Oxbridge one but dd isn’t an early entry applicant.

anyway she’s finally submitted her UCAS I know school have added the reference so imagine it’ll be off in a day or so 🤞🏻

Shes applying for sociology and has applied to:
Durham
York
Lancaster
Sheffield
Birmingham

her predicted grades comfortably exceed all the standard offers so I hope she gets some offers (and please please please let Durham offer!!).

anyone else waiting?

That’s great to hear but do you think this is becoming a thing of the past? My ds took (or didn’t take) a levels in 2021 and that year essentially all the RG with the exception of Cardiff, Notts, Liverpool and Southampton all issued statements before results day saying if you haven’t met the offer you will be rejected and last year was pretty similar in terms of what was in clearing.

@KittyMcKitty We still had plenty of pleasant surprises last Results Day with people who had missed grades. (Not everyone is going for RG unis!) The last two years have been wild, as the CAG/TAG fiasco led to many, many, more people than expected getting their offers, and many having to defer entry (skewing the next intake). The system relies on a certain percentage of people not living up to predictions, so it collapsed when everyone did better than expected.

The grade distributions are being restored to pre-pandemic patterns as of next summer's exams, and although this cohort might still be a little unusual, I'm positive that we'll be back to business as usual next year.

regarding the grades for 2021 I think it’s been harsh for that year group - whilst some (in our area predominately private) schools vastly inflated grades - several issued press releases announcing their best ever grades (strange that) whilst many other schools err’d on the side of caution and graded students on their performance in their worst day - certainly my children’s school had significantly better results last summer in A levels then for the previous 2 years (it’s a selective school so cohorts are always pretty similar). So it saddens me when people think these students were given high grades like sweets - as I know many missed out on very deserved places (full disclosure I have no axe to grind as my dc met their offer).

I do feel that this years cohort have had a fairly normal 6th form experience certainly comparing my dd's with that of my ds’s although I must confess to be slightly nervous for them being the first year back to full spec (incl core pracs in science) which means a lot more content and I know the students are very worried about the grade boundaries.

And of course not everyone is going for RG and RG is certainly not the be all and end all - I was just talking from the experience of my dc’s cohort.

I agree, @KittyMcKitty, and I was responsible for handing out some of those high grades! The problem wasn't with the grades themselves - we went through endless hoops to quality-check them - but with the fact that it didn't mesh with the university application system which relies on failures (like airline overbookings). Which also isn't the fault of the universities, who didn't have any advance notice of the last-minute U-turns in 2020 which set the whole snowball rolling. My DD took exams last summer and benefitted from the reduced content and lowered grade boundaries (although she was playing a completely different game as she's an artist).

Fingers crossed that this year is "back to normal" in leniency about offers, though, as the bulge of deferred students should now have mostly passed.

I have everything 🤞🏻for this years cohort - looking at my dd and her friends they have worked so hard - she’s doing sciences so the core pracs are a massive amount of work / content. And at the risk of being a VERY stuck record I do hope Durham aren’t going to drag this process out interminably as it then completely messes up chances with places like York and their quite frankly discriminatory accommodation policy (my ds is at Manchester and they don’t allocate accommodation till after results which imo is much better).

Yes, the whole "first come first served" accommodation only makes sense if all the unis offer at around the same time. (My DD benefitted from that as she could arrange accommodation, down to the exact room, as soon as it opened, and picked the cheapest room on the entire campus. But that was only possible due to very rapid replies!)

Welcome to all newconers to the thread!

Congrats @Travelban, @OriginalFlake ,@HappySonHappyMum on the offers and to @Onceandfutureking on the completed set!!!!!

@PhotoDad please stay on the thread with us, your contributions are really valuable and insightful!

@DinkyDaisy glad the form is in, I think students have to go for the uni and course they love wherever possible. It doesn't have to be the one with the highest grade tariff! They have to study and live there for at least 3 years so they have to be happy with their choice. My DC is also one with really good predictions, but wanted a course that was only offered at non RG unis. Not a problem for us and nobody at school has said anything negative at all about it. After the last couple of years, it's more important they be happy, engaged and enjoying uni....

From our side, DC has booked the offer holders day at Hull in Feb half term. It was the only one we didn't go to an open day for as there was a train strike that day. Whether it can usurp Staffs as first choice remains to be seen, but I think offer holders day at Staffs will be booked as soon as they send an email about it.

Update, all five came in the following order :
Chester - Animal behaviour BCC or 112 ucas points
Lincoln - Zoology Unconditional firm or insurance
Reading - Zoology BBD if firm, BBC insurance
Bangor - Zoology with animal behaviour BBC 112 ucas points
Lancaster - Zoology ABB if firms AAB if insurance.

I know she had Reading as firm Chester insurance, but they could be switching down to what they offer as a study/work abroad option. So shes sent some emails out asking all about that as it could influence her decision to have Chester first. This does compromise the Reading one having as insurance as the results are higher, so shes got a lot of thinking to do.

sammyjoanne wow those look like great offers - what a fab situation for your dd to be in 😊

@KittyMcKitty thanks:). She was not confident in two of her subjects to get an A and above, so she chose unis that are around the B mark so its nice they gave her offers :) . Still waiting on whether Reading can support this work abroad programme (it means an extra year onto the degree), so will see what they say before she makes a decision.

@KittyMcKitty
'I do feel that this years cohort have had a fairly normal 6th form experience certainly comparing my dd's with that of my ds’s although I must confess to be slightly nervous for them being the first year back to full spec (incl core pracs in science) which means a lot more content and I know the students are very worried about the grade boundaries.'

I am also concerned about this! But then i think that grade boundaries may well be adjusted regardless of what the current rhetoric is! There has to be a certain number of the whole range of grades - so hopefully all our DCs will be treated fairly.

Nottingham run a 'first come, first served' system too.
It worked out well for my DS in 2019, but I can still see that it doesn't seem very fair. At the time, the accomodation booking opened on 1st March, which was well before all university offers may have been received.

Fourth interview done today - and it has thrown up a huge quandary - my DD was sure that today's interview was the place for her when we visited back in June. Today she said it felt like a College rather than a Uni and is really unsure about it. She really liked number three which is a campus Uni! She's not sure that the course is exactly what she wants either. But if she goes there she'll be able to commute so she's torn. I've told her she's got tons of time to decide. I've told her that it's her decision to make and that we'll support her whatever she chooses - what else can I do?

Hopefully she’ll be able to get more of an idea at the Offer Holder Events? But you’re right there’s loads of time so she doesn’t need to rush into a decision. But well done to her!!

About to burst!!

DS got the offer he's been waiting for most of all!

MEng at Manchester. A Star. A Star. A.

What he was expecting it to be, if it came, he's so fired up now!!

Massive congratulations to your ds! Fantastic news!

Brilliant - congratulations to him

That’s so brilliant! Well done to him!

Wow, some fantastic news there!

Lots of unis still haven't given out any offers, so DON'T PANIC if that's your DC!

Brilliant, well done

HUGE congratulations to him!
Do any of you know if it’s just the DC who go to offer holders or parents too? DD has one for York. We missed the open day. We are hundreds of miles away so I’ll drive her up, stay over etc. Don’t mind having a nosey myself but don’t want to cramp her style.

My DD wants me to go to offer days with her and for Bristol the invite explicitly says they have a parents session but there's no room for us in the subject sessions.

Most offer-holders days have something for the parents. If not, you can mooch around the city!

@sammyjoanne congrats to your DD on a fantastic complete set of offers and congrats @ShowMeABrexitBonus to your DS on getting the offer he most wanted!