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!

@lastdayatschool i have no superior knowledge to bow to on any subject and can only apologise if I presented it that way. I can only talk about my sample group of 2 children and their experiences. Dd will happily go to North Road on a Saturday (there are two clubs there) and has only had positive experiences in Durham (save for the aforementioned lads from a different college).

All I was trying to do is present an alternative to the narrative in MN that all Durham social life is limited to college bars. Yes there are some places where the clientele is predominantly students but that is also the case in Manchester and I imagine every town / city with a university.

Any offers from St Andrews?

My son applied in October for History but still no word

I see offer holder day is April 6. Assume offers will be made prior - and with sufficient time to make travel plans to attend - but who knows?

@UZS ds has an offer for maths, hopefully you will hear in time for the open day 🤞🏻

@Rollergirl11 With that much difference between offers it would be very hard to say no to Exeter, especially as it sounds as though she likes it best anyway. They obviously really like her! Does she have to put down an insurance choice if all her other offers are higher?

@stoneysongs DD felt the same about Warwick. There was a lot she liked about it, but the general first year plus being a bit too close to home put her off. Edinburgh doesn't specialise until Year 3 (!) but the flip side is that she is excited about some of the electives available and loves the city, so she is prepared to accept waiting a bit longer to get stuck into the neuro courses - or at least she was until she went to Exeter! Where is your DS planning to firm?

He is at Nottingham @PumpkinKnitter

His insurance was Aston which I think looks like another great course, very practical.

I hope he is enjoying it @stoneysongs

Dd is very excited after attending the offer holder day. By fate Come from Away was on at the Empire and we managed to get cheap tickets.

Leeds offer in, so now only waiting on Bath. I wish they'd get a move on...

All offers in now but DS cannot decide between Warwick and Exeter for finance. He knows Exeter well, as my other DS is there, and likes the uni but the course and reputation of Warwick Business School and the fact that it’s a target for finance, while Exeter is a semi-target uni, has made him hesitant to firm Exeter. Also Exeter is the lower offer so that leaves him without an insurance. What mainly makes him hesitant is Coventry - he prefers Exeter as a city to spend his uni days in but will it be foolish to ignore such good opportunity as WBS for this reason only? I really don’t know what to advise him. Any opinions, information and advice welcomed, especially on Warwick Uni and Coventry, if you have children studying there. Thank you in advance!

My ds was put off Warwick by the location - too campus based with Coventry or leamington as the options for going out / living. It is top 3 for his course but the full package is as important to him, so it depends whether the prestige outweighs those other aspects for your ds.

@g1c2d3 he should go where he would prefer to spend 3 years of his life.

Yes, WBS is rated higher than Exeter, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll get better job offers at the end of his degree.

Ooh that's a tough one. I am not a finance expert but my impression is that an offer from Warwick Business School would ordinarily be a no brainer. But there's no use going if he's going to be miserable. Exeter does have a more accessible and prettier city, but it's quite small. Warwick has Leamington nearby for prettiness (smaller than Exeter but big student population) and Birmingham obvs much bigger just up the road, which has everything.

What is he into and how important are these vs the relative graduate prospects?

Clubbing and gigs every night, go to Warwick as there's more of that within easier reach.

Beach? Choose Exeter.

Sticking around on campus? Warwick, because they both have that and Warwick is more prestigious / better for the CV.

@g1c2d3 my DD is firming English at Exeter over both Durham and Warwick which are higher ranked for the subject. Her Exeter offer is lower than both so also leaves her without a lower insurance. She’s just going to put Durham as the insurance even though it’s higher just in case anything happens with the Exeter course but it’s low enough to be unlikely for her not to make the grades even on a really bad day. Your DS should go with what he likes the most!

Thank you very much for your quick replies, ladies. It is not so much the ‘prestige’ of Warwick, it’s more about the course and career options that it opens up that is its biggest plus, while the course at Exeter looks good on paper but it will be its first year running so no idea what to expect. It is really only the city of Coventry that he is not excited about - please, I don’t want to cause any offence, I think there is nothing wrong with Coventry! Also, Exeter is more familiar to him as we have visited our other son there and DS really can see himself there as well while he has not seen much of Coventry and also does not want to travel from Leamington. He is not a ‘party animal’ so that’s not a big factor in his decision but would like to be able to explore the area he ends up in and have plenty of exciting things to do outside of uni. I keep telling him to just make a spreadsheet or something with all the things important to him and rate the two universities and hopefully it will help him get a clearer picture. He hasn't done that yet.

@g1c2d3 which course is it at Exeter ?

And why would the Warwick course open up more career opportunities?

Just because it's a higher ranked business school or something more specific?

I think if the Exeter course is brand new that would definitely tip the scales towards Warwick and its track record for great graduate prospects. Especially as there doesn't seem much that he actively dislikes about it. He wouldn't have to live in Leamington, lots live closer. I get not being hugely excited about Coventry but then he hasn't seen much so presumably doesn't hate it. Is he maybe tempted by the familiarity of Exeter and the security of having his brother there? Very understandable if so, but he will settle in wherever he goes, so imo should try to set that aside. The scary part only lasts a few weeks.

Son rejected for History from St Andrews this morning. RUK. Independent school. Predicted 3 A stars at A Level. GCSE was 999997866

Has offers from Durham (A star AA), Bristol (AAA) and Exeter (AAA)

Went to open day at Bristol last summer and really liked it. Never been to Exeter or Durham but going to offer holder day at Durham next month. Focus seems to be on Durham and Bristol

Any feedback/advice from Durham, Exeter or Bristol parents would be greatly appreciated!!

The course in Exeter is BSc Finance and 2024/2025 will be its first year. It is not the ranking of Warwick that makes it the more desirable option but the links of the WBS with financial institutions for placements and graduate prospects.

Yes, familiarity is definitely a reason for Exeter being more appealing, although DS will be on his own there anyway as my other DS graduates this summer so he won’t be overlapping with his brother.

I'm guessing that's the new BSc: Finance: Investment Banking course at Exeter starting this September.

In terms of the links of the WBS with financial institutions for placements and graduate prospects that make it more desirable - whilst WBS may get more company visits, presentations etc. than Exeter (who seem to get quite a lot of these too based on my DS's feedback), your DS will still be up against all the very driven candidates from other universities when it comes to jumping through the application hoops (forms, aptitude/psychometric tests, workshops, interviews etc.).

Additionally, if he's thinking about IB Front Office opportunities, unfortunately he'll probably be considered less favourably than candidates doing Engineering, Economics and CS degrees - something my DS, who's studying A&F, is starting to appreciate after undertaking their 1st year, Year In Industry Preparation module.

My view is that our DC should go to the university [within reason😀] that they see themselves being happiest at for 3/4 years. If they're happy, they're more likely to engage/be successful in their studies, which will hopefully lead to further success in gaining internship/job opportunies.

@g1c2d3What kind of "exciting things" does he want to do in Coventry (or Exeter)?

We've pretty much wrapped up the Glasgow offer holder day. DD liked the Sociology talk more than any other (Exeter, Durham, Bristol are ones she's had on other open or offer days). The look is beautiful and library comprehensive and everyone was friendly, and the West End reminds us both of Boston/NY with all the brownstone tenements! Certainly loads of restaurants and cafés.
But it doesn't outweigh the fact it's four years with the accompanying cost, and it's another major city.
She's now saying if she gets an offer from LSE she's likely to go there (we live in London). She's unconvinced about 'uni life' and really just wants to be academically challenged, though will join societies etc - not totally antisocial! She says when she's thinking about it she finds herself trying to find a reason not to go, whereas with someplace like Durham she's trying to find a reason to go, iyswim.
No definite decision yet - I mean she's still waiting on LSE (and Bath)! But I think Glasgow is out of the running.

@lastdayatschool, your input is very insightful. Thank you very much!

@Phphion, what ‘exciting things’? I guess, the standard ones like days out with friends exploring new places and activities. This is what my other DS has honed to perfection at Exeter. 😁

@mondaytosunday bit by bit she is narrowing it down which is a good thing. Sounds to me though like she’s getting a bit overwhelmed and tired with the process? It is long and drawn out and ,dare I say it, it almost gets a bit tedious! DD had a bit of a wobble on Sunday and suddenly started saying maybe she should take a gap year. This came completely out of nowhere (although the majority of her friendship group are doing gap years). But I think she’s just dog tired (we did Durham in a day and Exeter last week) and would just like some space and time not to have to think about any of it.

Probably right @Rollergirl11. Last week Durham, Glasgow now - when getting ready to go yesterday we both felt we had only just got off the train from Durham! Anyway not a lot she can do except wait for the other two to either offer or not.
Back at college for one day then Easter break!

Mondaytosunday, my other DD is at Lse. Because you mentioned your DD keen to be academically challenged, just to mention that DD loves London and Lse. She has access to/been to talks at various other unis in London; KCL, SOAS. Has received business card of the embassador of the USA 😁.
Her younger sister avoided applying to big cities while dd1 avoided small places like Durham, Bath ...

Dd1 had to wait till end of April before she got her offer though.