Countdown to A level results day - 2023

[HereWeGo2023]

Following on from the A level support thread I thought I would create one for results day.
Hopefully you will all join me for the long nail biting wait and the big day at the end of it!

We haven't heard from DS' firm either but have from his insurance @Travelban - the irony being it's the same university for essentially the same course (his firm is the integrated masters and his insurance is the BSc version of the same course).

I have to say, I prefer this compared to the kind of attention @PettsWoodParadise and @HappySonHappyMum describe. That is just way too much pressure. They should just be making unconditional offers if they want students to commit to that extent ahead of the results.

I do understand why unis contact their offer-holders to maintain interest and engagement, but it does put the DC under a lot of pressure too!

That's true!!

No contact from dd's firm choice either, which we're quite happy with. She's started thinking about clearing, although she's in the privileged position of having predicted grades higher than her offer. No guarantee though!

Dd has an Access to Leeds assignment to do in July. Needs to pass it to go apparently.
It was all about why she wanted to go to Leeds, why she wanted to do the course she has chosen and how she thinks she is suitable. It asked for targets to be set for the first year in relation to certain skills and needed to be submitted via Turnitin. Which I think is the plagiarism checker.

Quite a bit of pressure for her as she took it v seriously to do her best with it, not even knowing if she has the grades to get in.

If she does get in then she has the award that means she only pays half her course fees, and we think this is for every year when she looks online, not just for the first year. So even more pressure for her to hope she gets her place!

Apart from having to confirm timing for allocation of accommodation email, DS hasn’t had to do anything for his firm choice.

He’s had a couple of postcards from his insurance choice.

I think it is pretty poor making students prepare work etc if they only have a conditional offer.

Just talking to DD about the uni contact and she’s delighted neither of hers have been in touch. Her friend with a Bournemouth offer has had similar contact and what’s app group with people in ‘her’ flat. I understand pre-reading as wherever they go it’s be relevant but what’s app groups for flat mates or course buddies is too much.
Fingers crossed @PettsWoodParadise & @HappySonHappyMum that the uni’s do indeed welcome them!!

Who are the emails from?
Some courses are in clearing for overseas students only. But yes, if there’s clearing places it does suggest the course is not oversubscribed according to their usual acceptance data.

I think those sound like offers from Cambridge. Dc1 didn't have to do any work/reading beforehand (or didn't, anyway) but did have to upload a lot of things plus decide on the first year's "modules" before even starting or getting the A level results.
It has felt a lot less pressured this time round with no contact from either uni thus far.

@DrMadelineMaxwell half fees would be lovely. Good luck to your DD! They may also consider her more favourably if she does well with this assignment and just slightly misses her grades. But who knows.

That's her hope too!

@DrMadelineMaxwell is the assignment linked to the award?

or is for all on her course

No link.
The award was granted a while back. Apparently they look at all business school applicants as standard and offer 15 of them this particular scholarship. So she didnt even have to apply for it (and wouldn't as wasn't aware of it!)

The access to Leeds bit came later.

@PettsWoodParadise I'm almost glad it's not just my DD - I am willing myself to believe that her firm will accept her despite her results. I do feel the same way about the mental and emotional challenge not making results would present.
@toomuchlaundry I do agree about the commitment required to do work for a conditional offer - and it's not just pre-reading - it's written work that requires a fair amount of time. They were given a 20 page document of work at the Welcome Day.

I would also say that the insurance choice has not been in contact at all - which has made my DD feel ignored - whereas this is probably more normal by the sounds of it.

I don’t think DS has heard from firm choice either, apart from accommodation allocation, or from insurance. I do have to nag him to check his emails regularly though.

They shouldn’t be hearing anything from this Friday I think once the embargo clicks in

Dd1 went to York. She heard nothing pre results day apart from the request to indicate accommodation preferences.

DS just getting generic emails through, lots from York (back up option) regarding student life, cooking, making friends and so forth. Not much at all from Oxford - but as others have said, I’m quite glad it’s like this. The pressure is off a bit and he’s not too invested should the results not go his way.
Saying that, he has “only” to get an A star AA and not 3 A stars or 2 A stars and an A like his friends. All the hard work was done with the exam last year and interviews. I much prefer Oxford’s process of application compared to Cambridge. I really feel for those kids having to do the extra exams during exam season and the higher failure rate of passing so late on in the process.

I'm only talking about "if" dd gets into her firm to try and take the pressure off and hope she won't be too devastated if she doesn't get in. She isn't getting involved in any chats with flatmates etc until she knows where she is going. She has very high grades to achieve which she has worked incredibly hard for but you just don't know which way it will go. It doesn't help that her boyfriend is at the uni she has firmed so she will have someone she knows. She has always struggled with friendships so I will worry more if she goes somewhere that she has noone else. Just keep telling myself it will work out either way!

DS2 has to get 2 x A star + an A, at minimum. Just so happened I was in Oxford for something else this weekend and went past both 'his' college (fingers crossed) and 'his' department building, at which point the butterflies really kicked in. He says he's not too worried but I think I detect some tension. Just have to get through the next ten days or so and try to be sanguine about all possible outcomes.

That’s great. I tried to wake Ds up at 10 at time if your post to see what if he had missed an email but he wasn’t that cogent ;

I’ve googled now and I get what Access to Leeds is

Re posts on marks Ds needs an A star and AA

Feels tough, especially on hearing news item this morning about fewer A stars and A this year

He seems quite relaxed I just really hope he gets it

Ds ruefully says that because 'we live in a shit hole' she has been given a contextual offer. (We dont - a town in N Wales and not a terrible one - but a few flags like % of students going to good unis etc trigger it still)
Instead of AAA she will get in with ABB. She has an A in Welsh Bacc but they will accept that as one of the B grades but wont take it as the A, that needs to come from one of her subjects instead.

Last year she got AAA in AS levels and has resat one of the maths units as her overall A was made of a v high A for pure maths and a C for stats) to try and bump it higher. She also spoke to the uni who determined she had some processing speed issues and who gave her additional exam time. As a teacher myself I scoffed at her for that, but they did proper tests and that was the outcome. It did mean a little less stress due to a little more time.
She said her Business exams were fine, she had fallen lucky with what she really hammered in revision that then came up in the paper for law. And enjoyed one maths paper, but said the other was the worst exam she has ever sat.

I think she will be fine. But seeing her 3×A* and A predicted sister get AABB showed me that sometimes they miss their target no matter how well they prepare.

If DD2 does better than DD1 it will be interesting to say the least as she is far less outwardly academic and invested than DD1 was.

Spoke to her college, not uni.

It is starting to feel quite soon now. We’ve not spoken about it all summer but this weekend the conversations around hopes, insurance and clearing are emerging. Tonight she logged into a couple of universities to receive ‘clearing alerts’ albeit a couple didn’t have her department which makes me think they could be oversubscribed.
She mentioned tonight that she’s more concerned about Wed 16th as last years clearing students were emailed/called and asked to come in at 8am on results day for support. I’m not sure if this was a call/email to the parent or the teen. Or if entirely correct considering the embargo. Albeit they weren’t told grades. She’s 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 that there’s no call/email from school on Wednesday!

@NotDonna , the school should not do that, it's against the embargo to give an Indication of results in that way.
Fingers crossed she will get great results from 8am on the 17th!