Can someone please explain university to me.

[Whitetablefan]

Dd has decided she might want to go to university next year.

Can someone please explain in stupid terms how it all works.

She’s just about to go into year 13.

Unfortunately we don’t know anyone who has been to university and her sixth form haven’t really mentioned it apart from a small workshop on the last day of year 12.

Exciting! This is a good place to start

www.ucas.com/discover

Can you tell us a bit more about what you want to know?

For example, are you wanting to know mainly about how the financial side works?

Or about the application and admissions processes?

Or something else?

We can probably help a bit more if we know what it is that you're looking for. Does your dd know what she wants to study? Her school should be able to provide support as well.

Go to some open days, nearby if there is a good university near you. There will be information talks and she will need to decide soon which subject she wants to study. Lots of information is online, UCAS and the complete university guide are two to look at and you could join the wiwikau facebook group too.

The school will help the students with the application process and probably arrange some information about courses and places to choose.

Once your DD has an idea about what subject she wants to study, she can start to choose where she wants to go. Different universities will expect different grades for their courses, some unis are more prestigious than others. Eg Oxford/Cambridge. The unis that consider themselves the best ones call themselves the Russell Group.

She's best off looking for a shortlist of unis that are in place she wants to live, with courses she wants to do with entry grades she thinks she can get.

Yes, also go to open days for any university that she might be considering.

The UCAS website the previous poster linked to has lots of useful information. Your daughter should ask her school for help too.

The first things for her to decide are what she would like to study (most important) then what kind of place (city, town, at home) would she be happy living in.

I’ll look at that link Sadsadworld. Thanks

• *I’d like to know about the financial side of things. We wouldn’t be able to help with fees or housing costs. But we would help with shopping and stuff like that. Is that do able with a part time job?

When does the application have to be done by. I feel like it’s all going to be rushed.

She is currently doing a levels. English Lit, Psychology and business.

She thinks she would like to study criminology.

Not too late at as all students in year 13 apply next term ( final deadline is in Jan 2025 for next sept )

look at ucas and uni websites re courses and the grades required - there will be open days in September so you can visit then - some you have to book others not . Most unis also do offer holder days . You usually apply to 5 unis and usually pick ones which make higher and lower offers - if you get offers you then choose one firm and one insurance choice ( usually with a lower grades offer )

Re finance the loan’s cover fees and towards housing and living costs - obviously some places are more expensive to live in than others ! Should be doable woth help from you and a part time job .

There's a helpful Facebook group called 'What I wish I knew at University' (WIWIKAU) and everyone is very supportive and helpful. You can ask questions anonymously too. Good luck, you will find plenty of help online

Thank you for all the info.

With university study, we are now asking our kids Why do they want to go to University. Do they need the qualifications for the job they want to do? Is there an alternative route into the role they may want to do?

When I went I would have just said yes go for it, but we had no course fees. Now they are likely looking at £90k of student loans and yes many don't pay it off, but the terms have changed so its now over 40 years before its written off. And does effect your ability to get a mortgage.

DD is going into year 13 and looking at doing biomedical. It would be very difficult for her to get the qualifications she needs a different way so it looks like university for her. We will be asking the same question for DS though when the time comes. I really wish the where more degree apperterships available. I think they need to be going into it aware of costs involved as at the end of the day they will be paying for it.

I would also look at the destinations of graduates - and don't get palmed off with 99% of graduates have jobs within 2 months of graduating but do they have degree related jobs?
Also look at what a criminology degree will lead to

Search up the Sutton Trust which is involved with widening participation schemes.

Her school sounds pants. I would start by:
What does she want to study?
And looking at the UCAS website www.ucas.com
The other question you will want answers to is what grades is she likely to get.

Yor dd has to fill our a Ucas application. Deadline is in Jan for most unis but places like Oxford/Cambridge have an earlier deadline. There is a small charge for this. Thirty quid?

You start by looking at the entry requirements for the subjects your daughter is interested in. Along with where your daughter would like to study. At home and commute (cheaper) or move away? Where to: a northern city? Somewhere more rural (Keele)? A campus uni (everything is more or less on one site)?

Once you have an idea of those things you can figure out the 5 options for the Ucas form. You'll also need her predicted grades.

You should aim for one aspirational choice (grades a bit higher than predicted) a place with about the predicted grades being offered. And one lower. Then you fill up the other 2 how you like. Unis then consider the applications and offers come in. The offer will be for a course and state the grades they will want you to achieve to get in. Then you put one as your firm choice and one as your insurance choice. Firm means, if on results day you get the grades, that is where you are going. If your firm choice rejects you, and you meet the offer requirements of your insurance, that's where you're going. Unless you decline and put yourself into clearing. Clearing is the mad scramble for places after results day.

Concurrent to some of the above stuff happening, you apply for student finance. You apply for the fees and then a there's the living costs or maintenance loan. This loan is means tested on your income. There's a sliding scale. The less you earn, the more your daughter will be awarded.

The maintenance loan, even at the full rate isn't loads. It may or may not cover the costs of accommodation. Any shortfall you top up your young person or they get a part time job. Lots of kids have no financial parental support. It's not unusual.

You apply for accommodation, but this is very uni specific, re timings and how. There are uni owned halls and there are private halls. Private can be cheaper. But aren't exclusively for your uni, but are exclusively for students.

Does this help? Is this what you meant?

With student finance, it depends on your household income as to how much maintenance loan your daughter would qualify for. If household income is above about £60,000 then she would only get the minimum loan of approx £4500. This wouldn't cover accommodation costs in most universities now. Below about £25,000 is the maximum of about £10,000 which should be plenty if she chooses somewhere with cheap accommodation. There is a student finance calculator which will give you a good idea of what she will be entitled to.

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

If she wants to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, she'll need to apply by mid October, otherwise she has until January so plenty of time.

Martin Lewis has some good information on student finance. Your family income will determine the level of maintenance loan she’s get if it’s the min parents are expected to top up and ot could be £4-5k min to cover accommodation costs. Plus living expenses.

For finance check out MSE

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/

Hi, OP -

I am a former admissions tutor. I know the process can seem overwhelming.

The link from @Sadsadworld should be helpful - UCAS are the central admissions organisation for undergraduate admissions in the UK.

Here is a brief summary.

The Open Days people are referring to are large information sessions. The Central Admissions team for each uni will have a big booth and run some talks, and usually various subjects and degree programmes will have their own booths, staffed by Admissions Tutors. There will often be talks in various subject areas as well as the talks by the Central Team.

Sometimes the audience is limited to prospective applicants and a plus one, as otherwise whole families like to attend and crowd out the prospective applicants. Sometimes you need to register for talks ahead of time. All of this should be on the website for the Open Day.

Are you near any universities? Just getting to an Open Day is the first step.

DD will get predicted grades, usually early in the Autumn. These should be used to guide the choice of university and degree programme. I usually think applicants should apply to one degree programme that is a bit of a stretch, if they are really attracted to it, 3 programmes that are a good match for their predicted grades (I will return to this), and one absolute safety programme, with entry requirements 2 grades below their PGs.

In a super competitive field like Economics or Computer Science be aware that for highly ranked programmes, to get an offer of a place you need PGs one or two grades higher than the stated entry requirement.

As DD figures out what universities appeal to her you can line up other Open Days, if she wants. But visiting for an interview, or at an Offer Holder Day, is generally more satisfying. These happen later.

Timeline: Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine
Anything else, MumsNetters?
Applications due in October

Other applications due in January

You will learn the results of your 5 applications through UCAS. It takes variable amounts of time.

Select your Firm and Insurance choices, dropping your other choices, by June

Obviously, check my dates against what UCAS gives for next year!

Then wait for your exam results

I hope this helps. Best wishes

Our family’s experience is that the most important choice is the city or town you decide to study in. The best course in the world can’t make up for having to live a student lifestyle (ie limited budget) in a place that’s at odds with your gut feelings. When we were visiting universities with our daughter, the head of school at Cardiff gave this very wise advice, which I’d already worked out as an undergraduate. I’d also suggest deciding if you want a campus university, purpose-built on a separate out of town site, or a town/city centre one.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/

Help understanding money side ^^.

While tuition fee same living costs vary with location.

They apply Y13 up to Jan - I'd look for open days for any interested in next term if you can do them or you can try career fairs like - https://www.whatcareerlive.co.uk/events/london/.

@miggril I work at a university within biomedical and not to sound negative as I think it's an excellent course but please look at earning potential in the chosen field, it's much lower than you'd expect and with the costs and high contact time I'd definitely make sure the outcome is what she wants

I'd be interested to know how you genuinely think they are going to get a career they want without a degree. Unless they want a manual type job - plumbing, hairdressing etc.

The best course in the world can’t make up for having to live a student lifestyle (ie limited budget) in a place that’s at odds with your gut feelings

I don't understand what this means.

Also, the course is the MOST important thing about uni.