Agonising between university offers

[Redhotchillipeppers]

DS had narrowed his university offers down to Warwick, Durham and Leeds. He has applied for maths and is predicted 4A stars. Warwick is ranked considerably higher for maths than the other 2, but not keen on the travel from leamington spa/coventry in years 2&3. It is 2.5 hour drive from us. Durham seems like a great student experience, but heard some stories about lack of student accommodation in years 2&3, coming with a very high price tag. Leeds is on the doorstep and several of DSs friends are planning on going there. Both he and us are struggling to decide on what would be best.

@poetryandwine Thank you for your insight and well considered thoughts.

One further thought, OP -

The rule of thumb is that if you’ve made your PGs (or in this case, close, because the PGs are maximal) and realise early in first term (or sooner) that you made a mistake, then you can usually transfer to a university you rejected that isn’t (over)full, if it is a less competitive one. You must approach them humbly, of course.

I am not suggesting this is ideal and it isn’t guaranteed, but knowing the principle may take some pressure off DS. In his case, because this is Maths,

Warwick > Durham > Leeds

The Durham offer certainly suggests that they want DS very much. So unless they are already full, assuming he is doing well at his initial uni but wants to be elsewhere, then through Oct (but the sooner the better, ideally before term starts) he has good chances of transferring to either place from Warwick and to Leeds from either place.

He is lucky to be in such a strong position. But obviously it is best to get things right the first time, as there are no guarantees.

Warwick is an excellent university in many ways but they are a sink or swim type place, I know half a dozen young people who dropped out due to poor support, poor teaching and mental health issues not being taken seriously.

@Redhotchillipeppers just like I feel your pain

I really hope DS does not choose Imperial and goes to Warwick

Can I ask if your DS goes to a private school because that offer of a C from Durham is lower than my DS offer from them (he's at state school)

@UpsideLeft I will also be interested in the OP’s answer, but the offer her DS got was unusual! A bit of wooing there, I think.

There is quite a lot of accommodation on campus for post Y1's in campus at Warwick. There are also private halls within walking distance (eg Student Roost - The Oaks or Westwood Student Mews). There's also accommodation in Canley (10 mins walk) or Kenilworth (25 mins on bus or 12 mins cycle ride).

My son lives in Leamington but he spends all day on campus, hanging out in the common room most of the day, going to the gym then takes bus back in the evening.

@UpsideLeft and @poetryandwine DS is at a state school. Our postcode may have had something to do with it potentially. But I’d be taking a guess.

@Sparsely Thank you. I imagine everything will change once he’s at whichever uni he ends up at, the friends he makes and the decisions they make together about accommodation in later years.

You don’t need to take a guess. If your postcode is POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2 and you are at a state school then you qualify for a contextual offer.

@UpsideLeft

Firstly, congratulations to your DS. Offers from both Imperial and Warwick - just superb! I am just curious why you hope he won’t choose Imperial? There is a good argument that it is even stronger than Warwick.

I am really writing to clarify that I very much doubt the Durham offer received by OP’s DS has anything to do with the type of school he attends. It is really too low even to be a contextual offer, IMO. I think it is a mark of esteem, a milder version of the Unconditional Offer made by some universities but mostly frowned upon.

A long time ago DH got a standard offer from Oxbridge (which he made) and an EE offer from his genuine second choice. (He had taken one exam after Y12) I think this has the same flavour.

Yeh agree with @poetryandwine the Durham offer is bc they want him. And they suspect he might prefer Warwick - so they want to lure him.

Back in the day I got 2 x EE offers, one from a uni known for offering EE, and the other from a uni I put fifth on my form (I told you it was a while ago) who clearly knew I wouldn't pick them but thought I just might, I guess.

This, OP. It is very rare for Durham to woo a UG. Does DS know he’s got something special?

I’d be a strong supporter of Warwick, it’s fantastic for maths and very good for post graduation job offers too. One of my DC went to Warwick and did Morse (maths, operational research, statistics and economics). They are now 7 years post graduation and on a good 6 figure salary with very good job security. Most of their university cohort are also doing very well. They loved the halls, they were at Arthur Vick, about 8 rooms to a kitchen so really sociable. They moved to Lem for subsequent years but didn’t have a struggle with the transport.

My DC also went to a standard comprehensive, there was quite a lot of privately educated kids there, but that didn’t cause an issue at all. Great music centre too from what I remember.

@poetryandwine yes he does and so do we. I said as much to him when he received the offer. Which is why it’s been in the running as either a firm or insurance around the other offers.

The Durham contextual offer for maths is:

Contextual offer – A star A star C including A star A star in Mathematics and Further Mathematics or A star A B including A star A in Mathematics and Further Mathematics and a suitable performance in an accepted mathematics test.

OP says that the offer is Durham A star and A (maths and FM in any order) C in either of the other two A-levels and DS has a high TMUA score so it’s better than the standard contextual offer but not by a huge amount. His PS and a 4th A level might have swung it a bit.

I wouldn’t go to Warwick because mairead works there and she is mean.

@SabrinaThwaite

I genuinely do not know WTF you are talking about from your post

'You don’t need to take a guess. If your postcode is POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2 and you are at a state school then you qualify for a contextual offer'

I’m not sure why you’re ‘WTF’? You just need to look at the eligibility criteria for contextual offers from Durham.

State school, home postcode (ACORN or POLAR4), FSM, caring responsibilities etc.

You can easily look up your home postcode to see if you fall into the relevant postcode areas.

@poetryandwine yes Imperial is meant to be better as does he but

I'm just worried it'll be too unsociable there, the North Acton halls to far if he's unlucky enough to get those, too expensive day to day esp yr 2 & 3

Plus the buildings seem all over the place and it slap bang in the most expensive part of the UK

I'm not getting any positive feedback from what little I can find out about studying there. Lecturers bing more interested in their own career than teaching that sort of thing

Hopefully that's all wrong and it's a vibrant exciting experience not cold and toxic

He's going on an offer day there soon so I'll have to let him make up his own mind

@Redhotchillipeppers firstly, your lad sounds like a lovely, thoughtful boy who listens.

I think I would encourage him to strike Leeds from the list. If he can cope with Warwick's campus vibe, then it would be Warwich above Durham from my perspective. Ultimately as said above, it needs to be where he is both happy and challenged.

Also, if he hasn't made his mind up, he doesn't have to go in September. He could always get his results and reapply/reassess when he's a "known quantity". Did he apply for Oxford or Cambridge? If he bags 4 A*s he may want to reconsider.

If he is truly a bit of a homebody who likes his comfort zone, did he not consider York which I am.pretty sure is a better choice for maths than Leeds although others may shoot me down.

@UpsideLeft this isn’t to put you off in the slightest and it’s just one example - my cousin’s son was at Imperial a couple of years ago and hated it. He transferred after the first year to another RG. DS didn’t choose it as one of his 5 after he visited. He said some of the same things you have mentioned in your post.

Can't argue with the maths reputation of Warwick. Just come on to say do not underestimate the benefits of the collegiate system at Durham. It really helps students settle into uni life. It would also offer additional opportunities for him to play music. My goddaughter ended up playing in a number of orchestras and bands. She even secured college funding for one band for a trip to Europe.

Durham private rental in year 2&3 is pricey but the Covid bulge years have moved on and the university took fewer UGs this year to ease the accommodation issues, and from reports that seems to have worked.

Oh dear she sounds like DS current physics teacher, she's mean too

Not a patch on DD law teacher though who's a misogynistic pig and gets joy from belittling has female students to the point of making them cry and laughing about it with the posh boys who had to downgrade to a state 6th form

Fortunately he was unaware of the wrath of these me too generation 16 year olds who eventually gave him short shrift as did their female friends who told him in no uncertain terms never to behave like that again.

God knows why he's still there but he has listened and taken it on board

Lecturers bing more interested in their own career than teaching that sort of thing

I was told on my degree 40 years ago that teaching undergrads was an annoyance and an interruption to their proper (ie research) work.

The difference is that I had lots of contact hours (I had a full week of lectures and labs bar Wednesday afternoons) and no fees / full grant compared to much fewer contact hours and £9k fees a year.

@RosesAndHellebores he does listen and while that’s great for a parent it’s also worrying as I want him to make the decision selfishly for himself. Cambridge was a rejection after interview - great shock for the school as they were so confident and had their hopes pinned on him. Rejection said they were confident in his abilities and potential - so go figure - unless that is a standard response.