University Offers Coming In 23/4 - part 2!

[WombatChocolate]

Following on from the old thread which was getting full….come and share the highs and lows of the journey that is A Levels and UCAS!

Ah ok I have Geography but not Geology. I did notice there was a fair bit for Geology though. Do PM me if you’d like Geography info at all.

@GuacamoleinmyDMs, would you mind DMing me the screenshot? DD has applied for Geography. Thank you!

Still waiting to hear back from UCL, it’s the last one on my DS’ list. He has received an offer from imperial more than a month ago.

We are waiting for UCL too @pinkroseapp . What subject is your ds studying? My ds is waiting for Natural Sciences.

Geology & Physical Geography at Uni of Birmingham was BBB in Clearing for a few hours on A level results day.

Thank you, please would you mind DM'ing me the Geography screenshot as well?

@MerchSwyddEfrog my DS is waiting for biological sciences, he has offers from imperial, Manchester and Lancaster. He is mostly likely to firm imperial and Lancaster for insurance.

I'd love the Geography screenshot as well if you don't mind. Dd has applied for this year.

@loobylou44 @TheOnlyMrsW @Toffeebananachocolate DM’d you all

Thankyou. That was very useful.

Anyone still waiting on Nottingham (Uni of)?

Ooh, that's a grim new development.

@TheOnlyMrsW the FOI website - www.whatdotheyknow.com/ - is a good place to search for information about previous years clearing courses/grades.

If there aren't any previous requests that match the unis/courses you're interested in, it's really easy to submit FOI requests yourself - the unis have to respond within days

@Midlifecryses DD has offer for Nottingham and we went to offer holder day. she ( and I) absolutely loved it both course and campus and I think she will firm it.

really hope an offer gets to your DC soon the long wants are so frustrating

@listsandbudgets thanks for the info. How quickly did it come through? It’s been 6 weeks or more here!!

DS got an offer for Maths at Imperial the other day

Thank you!!!! Really hoping that comes results day we're in a good position but DD is so down and stressed at the moment. Thinking that the more information we have about potential options the better she might feel - having a plan is very much her way 😊

I really wouldn't pay much attention to last year's clearing, @TheOnlyMrsW. It was a bizarre year for very particular reasons and there is little reason to imagine that it will be repeated. If it is, schools should be utterly ashamed of themselves. So if you do a whatdothryknow request, make sure you ask for at least 3 years of data. Although, th ask to covid grading etc, they have all been a bit funny recently so also unlikely to be massively helpful

Yep, think I'm mainly clutching at straws so that I can say "if results are a disaster look at what could be in clearing" but not sure if it would be that helpful! More likely to help is a meeting in school next week to try and work out how they and us can help. DD has been targeted at 3 x A all along based on GCSE grades and predicted 2 x A and 1 x B as recently as October, and getting those results in class tests so that ability hasn't just evaporated. Mocks were awful - partly due to being so stressed that she struggled completing the papers, partly everyone did badly in Physics and Chemistry as the papers were so hard so she got BCD and is now really worried that she won't even get what she needs for insurance which is BBC. I've said it a few times now but I don't remember it being so hard when I was doing this - I wouldn't be a teenager now for anything 😢.
Thank you though @Revengeofthepangolins and everyone else who's taken the time to help and reply the last few days, don't want to derail the thread though ❤️, and I'm very aware that in the grand scheme of things we are lucky compared to a lot of others.

@TheOnlyMrsW
I know exactly how you feel - my DS got BCD in his mocks. He was predicted AAB, needed AAB for firm and BBB for insurance. He would not engage with even thinking about clearing but I was looking from when it opened and even had a spreadsheet iirc
(So there is plenty of time to prepare, but not until after exams. There will be options though, there always are.)

In the end and the real point of the story - he got AAB in the real thing and went off to his firm. So it's more than possible to go from BCD to AAB. If DS can do it, your DD can too.

I would tell her that she needs to put clearing to one side for now because there will be plenty of time to get ready for results day later, and focus on getting ready for exams. So ask the teachers for advice, endless past paper questions (this was DS's tactic especially in physics which went from D to A), maybe some strategies for managing stress too. She has plenty of time to turn things around and go into that first exam feeling super confident, like she's going to absolutely smash it.

@stoneysongs thank you, your post actually brought tears so it's obviously not just DD that's stressed 🥺. We love a good spreadsheet and have one for eventually making a decision! I'm so glad your DS kept going and got what he needed - definitely time for DD to turn things round, it's confidence that she lacks right now.

If she's anything like my DD @TheOnlyMrsW you will probably have to keep reminding her of all the evidence that she can do it. (Schools do seem to make mocks deliberately awful, I guess it benefits some DC. DD also got a D, in her biology mock, she is predicted A* 🤦‍♀️)

Ultimately there's such a lot that's out of their hands in May-June, like how difficult the papers are, whether or not they are ill or a bit under the weather, how well everyone else does, where the grade boundaries are, how tolerant unis are of dropped grades etc etc. I think the goal can only be for them to go into the exams knowing they've done everything they can, and then whatever happens, happens. Hopefully confidence comes attached to that feeling of knowing you can do it (because you've been doing it consistently in class and in past papers) and knowing you've prepared as well as you can. Plus having your mum cheering you on and telling you how great you are of course 😁

Just waved my youngest off to an offer holder day. It will be his first long distance drive but going with his best friend for the weekend. He booked the accommodation, packed himself up, cooked food for the journey and sorted his route out. 🥹

Am so sorry to hear of all the stress everyone is facing. It all seems so needless to do this to young people and their parents. For what it is worth, I have students of all ages who get to university through very different routes - it is not the final word if someone doesn't get into the university they want on the first attempt. You can try again (and again - DD did and got there in the end). Or go elsewhere - lots of great courses and teachers out there!

DD still waiting for Exeter - Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies. She has her grades already and unconditional offers from a couple of other unis but Exeter is her favourite. So hard on them (and us) waiting to hear and jumping on every email alert!

Has anyone heard from Edinburgh yet?