Widening Participation

[Baileyscream]

Ds has been offered a place on a wp course for a uni he would see as a 'back up'. He's applied for other WP courses but hasn't heard back off any others yet.

He does not meet all essential criteria for most courses (we don't live in a deprived area and gave a high rate of people in the area who attend HE).

He does meet additional selective criteria x2.

What's the likelihood of him getting a place on either Durham's or Oxford's WP courses? Does anyone have any experience of applying for WP places?

Depends entirely on what the WP course is? If they’re the Sutton Trust ones, the criteria is strict so if he doesn’t meet it he won’t get on.

UNIQ at Oxford typically has around 7 applicants for each place. They do tend to offer more places on their online programme to encourage applications.

Thank you, he has applied for the Sutton Trust at well as a couple of the other Durham ones and two of the Oxford WP courses. He does meet the essential criteria for ST and then two of the additional and he's also classed as a young carer.

We'd never heard of these types of courses until Nov last year so he missed Manchester and Warwick's cut off date. Seven students for each place?! That is a lot.

I'm wondering if they'll be aimed at students from more deprived areas rather than the other criteria (we arent from a hugely wealthy area). I really hope he gets on so I guess im asking if anyone knows if they offer to the additional criteria too or if they have that many applicants that the places are filled by those who meet nearly every criteria, essential as well as additional or if they prioritise those from areas with low progression to he rates/fsm?

My DD had a week at Cambridge last year with The Sutton Trust. The only criteria she met were the first in family to attend Uni and the GCSE grades required.

Sounds like he has a good chance. They do a bit of shuffling about, e.g. DD was on a Sutton Trust online course but not the in person one the applied for, and had a place on slightly different UNIQ course from the one she applied to - still relevant though. I didn't think she'd meet any criteria, but I think she must have ticked postcode-based low progression boxes.

Thank you, I guess we'll just have to keep everything crossed.

Everywhere will do it differently depending on how they’re set up, what’s in their APP etc.
At my place every applicant who meets minimum eligibility is considered, and the students who meet the most criteria are given places when we’re oversubscribed. We might also make selection based on specific WP issues within an area - so we’ll try our best to accept any boys for a vet focused outreach programme because they’re massively underrepresented in that course.
There are also some programmes where we provide X number of places to schools with minimum criteria and it’s up to the schools to do selection within that criteria.

He's had an email from Bath saying he hasn't got a place on theirs but they've suggested the paid for Summer school.

Slightly at a tangent, but if he's eligible for WP, do you know about the Oxford Astrophoria and Cambridge Foundation Years? They're both fully funded so taking a foundation year doesn't disadvantage them financially.

foundationyear.ox.ac.uk

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/foundation-year

Surely a foundation year is only a consideration if you won't make the grades for uni this year

Thank you @TerriTowelle, he's currently on track for four amazing grades in maths, f.maths, physics and chemistry. Although year 12 do I guess things could change and it's worth bearing in mind. If he let's what is expected I think he wouldn't want to do a foundation degree and would rather go to another university.