Choosing DC's Degree Course & University

[MessyandLost]

DS's school will support him with A-levels and applications for university. However, they don't provide any direction or information about the courses and universities so basically we have to do all the research on our own.

His prediction for GCSEs is all 9s. He is very bright. So I believe there is almost nothing he cannot do but only if he knows what he wants to do...DS has no idea what he likes to do and what is available out there yet. He definitely needs help from experts.

How does your DC know/decide what they want to do at university? Does their school invite people from universities and experts in wider areas so DC get to see and hear their stories? I feel DS needs this kind of experience...

We are of course thinking to visit some universities but DS needs to be more informed so could narrow down his targets... I am seriously thinking to move him to a school with better support after GCSEs but if other schools are equally rubbish about providing information and experiences the move would be just a waste... I don't know if his school's attitude is normal or outrageous...

I feel totally lost... Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

I chose law aged 14 by the way when we had careers guidance at school, particularly because it looked interesting and partly because it is fairly well paid and stable and i wanted a "profession" rather than a trade I suppose not that that really matters. I do a lot of work with inventors and intellectual property rights and in that part of the legal profession those with science degrees are very useful to hire.

Just doing your best subjects can lead to doing the wrong combinations. Trinity College Cambridge expresses this well in their Informed Choices web page. For example, do
physics and maths for engineeing. Chemistry for chemical engineering. Just look though courses and booklets to see what combinations work well together snd which complement them.

@MessyandLost having been through this ourselves you are completely right to look ahead and assist your child. My advice would be for your son to set up a spreadsheet. My DC did this to keep track of the unis they had looked at, whether it was campus or city based, what features it had such as Oxbridge with the collegiate system or Durham with the college system (half way toward the collegiate but not really) plus the course and the entry requirement from grades and subjects. Also how far by car and by train We then looked at attending a couple of open days in the summer of year 11 just to get a feel for what uni looked like. But I feel it is also worth going just to visit the town/city whilst the uni is still in term time to really feel the bustle of the students. Check dates as they are all online.

There have been posts on here over the years where a child has decided they want to do X university course only to find that they should have taken Y subject at A level because it is listed as a requirement for their course. Looking ahead and supporting your child is not a bad thing. You are a sounding board for them to talk through their thoughts. It does not mean that child is incapable of independence.

Most universities want 3 A levels including for medicine and the vast majority of students take 3. According to .gov figures between 63% - 68% depending on the year take 3, only around 7% falling every year and down to 4% for 2019 take 4 A levels and if memory serves half of those take further maths. DC did 4 A levels including maths and further maths. They still had free periods in sixth form and handled their work load well gaining all A⃰ s.

You are correct that the sheer number of courses available are mind blowing especially if your child has no idea what they want to do. I have one child who knew by year 10 and continued in this love for their subject and is now loving it at uni. I have a second child who knew what they didn't want to do, started sixth form and has been blown away by how much they love a new subject. Research into this subject has started plus they chat to their teacher who is equally enthusiastic. I think a lot of students access some kind of online assessment thing to help you learn what you like/don't like subject wise. Mine both attended a state school and definitely did that in secondary.

Did you go to uni yourself? Your DP/DH? Early entry for medicine, Oxbridge (Oxford or Cambridge you can only apply to one in the UCAS cycle) dentistry, veterinary means personal statements, teacher's profile, GCSE details entered etc has to be in before 15th October in year 13. The normal deadline is mid January. Please don't be disheartened by some of the less supportive posters who think your son should be alone in his endeavour. MN is meant to be a place to discuss these things and support each other. Hopefully you will continue to post and ask questions.

Hello! I just wanted to update the situation.

DS has got an offer from a school with a strong STEM department so he is joining the school in September. They allow very able students to take 5 A-levels but he wants less work (understandably...) so he has picked 4 subjects - Maths, FM, Computer Science and Biology. He could drop one along the way - he'll see how things go.

He has booked a few open days at local universities. I think it will give him a chance to think of what he wants to do in future, or at least what he wants to study after A-levels. So far he is interested in bioinformatics thanks to a poster who suggested it😄

Thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom and all the informative advice. I am less anxious and can sleep better now...😄

That’s great that your son has made his choices …good for him .

Hotandverybothered - thank you.

As to the other subjects he loves but has not been picked for A-levels, he has found some fun alternatives - he is doing the language exam run by the country of the language (so not recognisable in the UK but that's OK as he is not doing it for CV) and also a diploma in music, prob the end of this year. He isn't planning to do them at university so wants to keep them as fun subjects without pressure.

I am quite happy with how things have fallen into place.

There's nothing at all wrong with doing your research, OP, as long as your son is on the same page. Ideas are great, but just be very wary of being tempted into feeling like you've got a plan. Even if he were currently sure about what he wanted to do at university or beyond, there's a high chance of him changing his mind.

I'm a teacher and I have a Y10 ds and a Y13 dd about to go to university. I feel very strongly about them going their own way, as I have seen what happens when parents try (usually from good motives) to push their kids in a particular direction (I'm not suggesting you are doing this). Being helpful but impartial is quite hard!

Why would a maths degree only be a good choice if he 'still doesn't know what to do for his career'? Unless he was to develop a particular wish to do nursing, medicine or engineering that seems a strange thought pattern?

Just as a ponder - are you well informed about the pathways the most able kids might like to look into?

I had my DD look at the prospects careers website just to be aware of all the different careers out there and ensure she wasn't doing the wrong A levels. Then, during Year 12, ordered a few u I prospectuses so she could get an idea of what sort of courses there are at a uni. Then she did the rest. COVID meant we missed out on the open days we'd booked, so I had even less input, but we made visits to a few ourselves and she chose her firm and insurance. In year 12, her college had specific meetings for those identified as looking Oxbridge/medicine/higher tier unis, but moreso to support those students from homes with little knowledge of the uni process. They also had a careers event when universities visited and had a stand.

It seems a bit early to be stressing OP. On the other hand, you do want to know he's at a decent enough 6th form. Did you not do any 6th form open evenings? We visited 4 and asked about the careers provision at each.

@fortyfifty out of interest how much did the careers provision vary?

Glad he has made his A level choices. Maths, FM, Computer Science and Biology. are a good combination.

Fairislefandango
I know what you mean. I know of a few parents who are hugely involved in their DC's decision and even day-to-day study at Y11. Their DCs are mostly doing well on paper. But I do wonder how they will cope with the university once they are away from their overly supportive parents. They still have time so may be fine, but researching or/and trying to understand the system for their DCs and invading their space and removing every opportunity for them to learn how to stand on their own two feet are totally different ways of parenting.

jayritchie
I never said a maths degree would 'only' be a good choice. 😊

fortyfifty
Unfortunately, DS expressed his mind a bit too late so he didn't have many choices left to apply for. So he only looked and applied to one school but it happened to seem to be the best choice for him. We are happy with what the school showed us.

Xenia - thank you. Your input was greatly helpful. I really appreciate it. 🙏

The independent school and 6th form college seemed similar in their approach although there wasn't a qualified careers adviser at the independent school. The other two were state 6th forms and the bigger of the 2 had a qualified careers adviser, with scheduled careers lessons. The other state 6th form didn't.

@fortyfifty thanks for that. Interesting. Where I work I think the value is in 1:1 with careers. Students get a lot more out of it.

My dd school offers only 1 session. Doesn’t feel enough.

I have had two at two different schools (both different subjects choices and different in academic achievement levels) in the last couple of years and in our experience schools didn’t provide any support with narrowing down choices of subject whatsoever the pupils had to do their own research on this (with our help and support). Both schools did have different guest speakers in but none was particularly relevant for either of our two. DS’s school did support with Oxbridge application in terms of help prepping to pass the tests but that was it.

Many children are still unsure at this stage, university isn’t for everyone and gap years might help provide more time and take the pressure off.

Our two hadn’t decided on a definite course subject until the end of year 12 for DS and about mid October for DD in year 13.

I think the Covid cohort in particular would benefit from timely careers advice. They seem so unsure about options and their future.