Is Kent a good enough uni?

[RabbitH0LE]

I feel so overwhelmed and out of my depth with this. DD wants to study computer science. Predicted AAA so not enough to go to the top 30 or so unis in the Guardian League table.

Is it worth going to see the likes of Kent at Canterbury, Chichester, Sussex , Portsmouth?

Or better to try and get an apprenticeship? My mum says there's no point getting a degree from these unis. I never went to uni and neither did my husband and DD is also a bit clueless. She's not bothered about a top uni but don't want to waste money on loans etc if it's not worth it.

Please help

Having looked there are quite a few CS courses that don't ask for Maths, but I do think check before you go and see any unis.

I also wish the DD were doing Maths, @PermanentTemporary However I assume that where it is not required the programme compensates for this.

OP, sadly CS at B’ham requires Maths so that’s out. However Lancaster. one of the hidden gems of UK higher education, does not. Nor does Cardiff (or Swansea, of course) or Leicester.

Cardiff is Russell Group and Lancaster, which has come on very strong in terms of both research and Teaching and Learning recently, is referred to as ‘Russell Group +’ together with Bath. The Russell Group is the elite group your mum is probably thinking of. Lancaster and Bath are now acknowledged to be stronger than many RG unis, hence the +.

(As an RG academic I personally think this is a load of nonsense. )

Gently, I wish you would consider Cardiff and Lancaster for DD even though they may be further away. Maybe Leicester. (Unless she needs to live at home, of course. Reality is that some need to live with financial constraints and this can be done with dignity.)

I know, she’ll be 18 or 19. She seems so young and some unis seem so far. But one of the big advantages DC of parents who went to uni have is that those parents are less nervous about sending their DC away! DD like all DC deserves to find her best fit if finances permit. Hopefully she will soon be able to get well paid summer work.

Anyway, the suggestions you’ve gathered here plus your original ideas should give DD plenty to go on with. I am very sorry her CS teacher didn’t help her. Now DD and perhaps you and/or DF should attend some Open Days to see which places appeal to her. They are happening now!

Learning about each uni’s contextual offers is indeed a real slog. I am not sure you mentioned it but some use Free School Meals as a flag. Also the high school or college post code. You can ask the admissions tutors at OPen Days about contextual offers, also. Actually they should be discussed as a point information

This is a random list I found on the Student Room website for courses that don't ask for maths, but apparently there are others. Is she studying Computer science A-level?

Cardiff
QUB
Newcastle
Nottingham
Kings College

Xpost with @poetryandwine whose post is much better!

yeh great post as usual from @poetryandwine . Some good ideas here OP.

If I were you I would look closely at:
Cardiff
Swansea
Lancaster
Leicester
Nottingham

Appreciate some of these may be further away than you thought but all those are excellent unis; not all RG but I don't think that is as important as some.

Thank you . Unfortunately Nottingham open day is same day as Kent. We did consider it

Thank you. So much useful info here. She is good at maths and got an 8 at GCSE but decided to do subjects she found interesting at a level. Unfortunately I didn't have the knowledge to suggest she did maths. Although at that stage she didn't know what she wanted to do at uni

London is out as we don't have the money. Also the ones really far north or in wales just because it's a 5 hour journey from us.

How would your DD feel about being 5 hours away from home?
My DS went to Cardiff (we live in the north east) and during COVID lockdowns, we were able to get to him pretty easily to bring him home.
If the course is right, and the university feels right (sometimes it's just a gut reaction), the distance from home can become less important.
Good luck!

Wow it's slightly terrifying that three As at A-level is being considered as "not good enough".... I mean surely there are loads of people getting ABC, ABB etc who are still getting into uni????

Well that's what I thought! But only A stars for the top 30!

OP, don’t worry about the Maths now. It sounds like you are beating yourself up when you didn’t do anything wrong. The places that don’t require it have adapted their teaching methods for this.

BTW I second Nottingham as mentioned by PPs. Haven’t checked the offer.

About the longer distances: what about giving Cardiff OR Lancaster a punt (I would choose Lancaster on the grounds that so many love it), and applying without going to Open Day? DD does not need a contextual offer but may get one; UCAS will pick up the flags. Be aware that CS is very competitive and not everyone with the PGs will get an offer. If she does you could go to an Offer Holders Day to assess the place.

When DD is at uni you as her family will only need to make the journey once a year, then for graduation. It’s easiest if she puts her things in local storage over the summers, or keeps a private group rental.

If she is doing her work and making friends she won’t be coming much home in term time. That sometimes shocks parents. But I always remind my tutees that even Reading Week is meant for catching up, not going home. We offer a lot of academic and social activities then. All of this is to say that the distance is only an issue once or twice a year.

Kent is a fine uni! We’ve heard nothing but good about it here. But your DD like all DC deserves her best fit. It might be Kent or Lancaster or somewhere else. This is a small island. Please don’t rule out unis a moderate distance away.

My mum says there's no point getting a degree from these unis.

Outdated snobbery.

I've just looked at their graduates outcomes and they're pretty decent with a very high proportion of graduates working in computer science once they've graduated.

Kent is a fabulous university in a lovely city with an excellent reputation, very high student satisfaction and in a brilliant location. Definitely "good enough"!

Some of the unis you mention are lovely - Chichester and Kent both are. But I'd have thought 3 As would get you in pretty much anywhere.

As PP have said, some of the newer unis have great reputations for given subjects. Tell her to focus on the course content and the day to day such as living arrangements and societies she might want to join.

@RabbitH0LE
IT is a bit like Medicine (Industry and Degree choices) - specialisms and variety.
Is DC doing CS A-level? Or wanting to do CS at Uni from scratch?
Are they interested in CS, Programming (do they code), Cyber, Games Development, etc.

Obv, as others say, not having Maths can narrow options. Not having CS (or another science) can narrow some as well.
If you're narrowing by location as well, then you'd need to choose your course options carefully.
Main aim is to get a good degree.
If some courses are more Mathsy, then may be at a slight disadvantage.

Newcastle (I know it's outside the location) is AAB (and 'Students applying with an A level in Computing will receive favourable consideration.' and Maths not required).

Royal Holloway (not quite London!)?

Although Kent is more than fine.

What are her other subjects and why is distance a challenge (beyond the journey at beginning and end of term)? I wouldn't put too much store in the Guardian list frankly and your mum is talking rubbish.

I work for a "big", we recruit graduates for IT from a whole range of universities including computing related subjects from Kent, Portsmouth and Surrey (the latter two have always had a strong rep for computing and applied subjects).

Its worth looking at universities which do industrial year placements - many of these lead to permanent job offers after graduation as well as a year's paid employment during the course.

Have a look at where students end up after graduation and, if they do industrial placements, then ask which companies they use. Any course placing students with a range of large companies is likely to have a good employment track record.

Bear in mind you are interested in a particular department's success in the industry, not the overall rating.

Most of these have been mentioned. Leeds, Nottingham, Lancaster, UEA, Essex, Leicester don't require maths A level but do generally want Computing or a science and GCSE maths grade 6. Some of these do better on other league tables e.g the Times or Good University Guide.

I'm a Kent grad. 2:1, did FE following degree and now into a profession that pays well into six figures after 15 years. A mate of mine was a CompSci and he had incredible success early in his career, then sold his business for millions and retired at 40.
She'll be fine and have a wonderful time. The added bonus is Canterbury as a backdrop.

That view is even better irl (at least on a hot, sunny day - campus tour with DD - although slightly less so in drizzle and a howling gale - campus tour with DS2 a couple of years later, but hey, weather happens everywhere).

Two out of our 3 considered Kent, but didn't apply in the end, as they decided that 'their' courses there weren't quite what they wanted, but we know several of their contemporaries who have gone there and have been very positive about their experience.

Computing Science entry requirements at UEA (where DS2 is now in 3rd year, but not doing CS, and DD currently works) are ABB including Mathematics, Computing Science, Digital Technology, Chemistry, Physics, Electronics or Economics. A-Level, if that would be within travelling distance? Attractive campus, 'venue' (the LCR), arr gallery and sports centre with 50m pool on site, also on the outskirts of a compact cathedral city with lots of quirky bits.

Yes she is doing computer science. Been doing coding since age about age 7 in a coding club.

Ruled out UEA purely because I don't think we can afford accommodation in year 2! People are saying their kids had to move miles away from Bristol to get anything affordable.

There are so many things to consider. I find it overwhelming. I really appreciate this info and wish I'd asked earlier

The distance thing was because of her feeling like 5 hours on a train is too far.

I will look at the other suggestions.

Definitely not the case that 3 As gets you in anywhere!

Could you say approximately where you live?

I’m glad the distance constraint is DD’s choice, OP. Still, she will be a year older and she’s closing off some good options.

In your place I wouldn’t want to put pressure on her but I would have one serious conversation asking her to explore this with me. Gently remind her that CS is a time-intensive degree and she will have few chances and hopefully fewer wishes to come home during term time.

It is very cool that DD has been coding for so long.