Advice on late entry uni chocie/courses in computing for this year

[unichoicehelp]

DS took A levels with AAB last summer and has been working since then. Has now decided he wants to go to uni this year to do computing or something related!

He doesnt know anything about the process as he didnt look at it or apply when at school. Where should he look for courses and unis with spaces?

Any suggestions of locations where uni accommodation is most easily available and cheapest? Ideally 2/3 hours north of London to focus the search.

Looking at unis with lower entry requirements as those grades were obtained with support so that he doesnt struggle.

Thank you

I think you can already look at clearing and then again once A level results come out

You see the places via UCAS

Be mindful that CS was very popular this year and there were a lot of disappointed students not getting any of their choices

He was hoping to sort it before offers day. Should ucas show all clearing places now as we can find them on individual uni sites but not for all those unis via ucas site?

Hi, OP -

UCAS does maintain a database. However the whatuni site is easier to use IMO,

Bearing your comment in mind I did a Clearing search in CS for someone with 3B’s at A level and found 13 pages of options. The more desirable ones seem to come in roughly the first half but I didn’t look carefully.

Some Schools won’t know whether they will be in Clearing until August.

Best wishes to DS

UCAS is fed by the info from unis and can take a while to update.
Also make sure that any vacancies shown on UCAS are for home students, not international.
UEA might be worth a look. Usually ask for ABB, but are usually flexible on grades so there will be others with lower.

He should apply for Student Finance now, even if he doesn't know what university he wants to go to. If he had support at school does he have a diagnosed disability or learning difference? If so he should also apply for Disabled Students Allowance. For accommodation, you will probably find smaller unis can still guarantee places in halls if he applies soon. Student applications are falling significantly next year and this has more impact on the smaller/less prestigious universities.

Thank you. I have found the 13 pages of options! It all feels quite overwhelming

I think UAE may be too expensive. Really needs to be as cheap a location as possible.

Any suggestions welcome of campus uni with cheap accommodation and good computing dept but not too demanding work or some support.

Do the unis vary in amount of teaching/support? If so recommendations of ones that will best support please.

thank you - wouldnt accommodation for uea be expensive?

yes had support at school/scribe for essays etc so i will look at criteria for extra allowance for uni

What type of accommodation would your son be happy with?

DD and I went to look at Essex Uni - we both really liked the look of the campus although she's no longer sure if she wants to do the course (a story in itself!!). Their tower blocks were very cheap - around £4,500 a year but shard bathrooms - and their ensuite buildings around £6500.

Don't know anything about the Comp Sci department but they're ranked 41 out of 117 for this subject in the CUG Rankings so seems reasonable.

How about Leicester? No first hand knowledge of it but I know was in clearing for CS last year at much reduced grades. Cheap for accommodation.

Essex uni is in his home town and he wants to experience uni life away from home but otherwise I think the entry criteria looked about right. Any very basic standard of accommodation would be fine as long as own room but he definitely wouldnt want to pay for ensuite or any mod cons! Just wifi and a bed.

UEA is in Norwich. Cheaper than many South East unis.
It has a lovely campus

What do you mean by 'not demanding'? Assesment structure (exams Vs project work)? Volume and complexity of content?

Contrary to popular perception computing graduates have one of the highest unemployment rates.

Not only is there a large variance in the quality , course structure and module choice across courses. The entry level market is saturated - graduates especially from less rigorous courses will be competing with career changers and STEM graduates.

Does your son have an idea of what he wants from the course? What research has he done regarding course structure and employability?

Also the UCAS website, thestudentroom forum and WhatUni have good comparison tools/information.

If you go to thestudentroom and search how to choose a course for computer science there's a lot of information from current students and graduates.

The two main things are employability (placement year, support offered by career centre). And the course itself, what specific module combos + assesment styles.

Look at University of Gloucestershire, excellent for support, guaranteed accommodation. Brand new Cyber Hub in progress and lots of course options. My son applied for Cyber Security.

He has done no research to my knowledge as discounted uni whilst at school but after a year at work told me yesterday he wants to go to uni. He has saved some money. By not too demanding I meant so he is not surrounded by kids who got A*s and have a great work ethic as he wouldnt fit in. He did no work for his A levels but is bright and had support/extra time and does better with exams than course work so ended up with better results than he deserved from his lack of effort. He may likely just apply where a friend goes or tells him is fun! I would like to offer some helpful tips if I can from MN to give best chance of success (i am not that hopeful of his lasting the course). Is there any area of computing that would give a better chance of employability?

Why has he chosen to do computing? Has he got any personal projects?

I don't mean to sound discouraging OP it's just that I work in the field and hire lots of graduates.

There is no computing related degree that's 'more employable' based solely on degree content (caveated later). Most people who get jobs have work experience/personal projects outside their degree. Like contributing to open source code, building their own passion projects, Hackathons, etc. learning is non stop throughout your career so employers need to see that you're a self starter.

There are specifics, some programming languages for example are mostly used for legacy apps/small and medium sized companies , not the greatest example of modern practices or beginner friendly. But still have entire modules using them.
If your son isn't going to do any research into the ins and out of modules this information isn't going to help him.

A PP mentioned cybersecurity and here again it's nuanced. There's a lot of demand for cybersecurity professionals, however it's an area that requires niche knowledge and a lot of self-learning. Most entry level jobs don't require a 'cyber security' degree - many prefer in fact computing/computer science graduates as the information in the latter degree is covered by professional certifications, and the former gives a stronger base knowledge. A lot of the theory isn't the challenging part it's the hands on experience of relevant situations

Anyway, it's your son's money and choice to make, you cannot stop him from going. In which case, I strongly suggest he do a course with a placement year/work-based learning. Look for universities that have strong relationships with employers and a robust career centre. Some offer a placement year but don't offer students much support in getting one. If no company wants to hire them they just roll on the final year.

If he's starting out from Colchester, then UEA is almost commuting territory (definitely not if Southend, though) but definitely not an 'expensive' university.

Aston? BBB but is in Clearing and the Clearing requirements will be published on August 14th.

https://www.aston.ac.uk/eps/computer-science-and-digital-engineering/computer-science

Thank you. We looked at UEA accommodation and cheapest available now is very expensive compared to available at unis further north. Dont think he has looked at Aston so will suggest looking at that.

I agree a placement year would be ideal. Any suggestions of unis who have best success with employment that might fit his requirement/grades but still in cheap locations

I'm going to give a different suggestion. Given what you are saying about having support at school/ extra time etc. and lack of effort etc. I think he should enroll at an FE college to do a relevant course and then transfer to uni if he does well. There is a lot of course work and project work on computing courses and it sounds like he needs to get used to that, colleges usually offer more support than unis. He would have to live at home for a bit longer to avoid the extra expenses but I'm a bit suspicious that he wants to go to uni for the student lifestyle as much as the subject and a dodgy work ethic is often not a good combination with student partying.

This makes more sense but it doesn't sound like OP has said anything to her son about considering his reasons for going to uni.

There's a thread on here about someone whose son failed and is leaving with 70K debt and no degree.

At the same time I've seen uni be the making of people like OP's son.

Thanks but I think going to FE college or even uni whilst living at home would not show if he would manage uni living away from home. At home I will ensure he has the support/takes meds/wakes up etc. He managed computer programming course work for A level with A*. Yes his desire for uni is as much about opportunity to live away from home as the course as otherwise he could live at home and go to local uni but at some time he needs to learn to manage for himself.

As I mentioned further up, Uni of Gloucestershire is best in the South West for employability. Oxford Brookes also good but more expensive area.

Not north of London but easy journey, cheap or very reasonable and fun cities to be a student in and should have the sort of balance he's looking for- Swansea or Carfiff Met?

Cardiff Met I mean