Spanish & Arabic - UCAS Application Going In

[Calmmumnot]

Ok choices made and being sent off. Final 5 are;

Edinburgh
Exeter
Durham
Leeds
Manchester

The waiting game begins as no idea how quickly they respond…
Good luck to all.

That was older DD’s exact list back in 2023 (French + Arabic but she switched to history + Arabic after sitting her A levels and realising she wasn’t ready to give up history).

Great choices and very exciting times! Fingers crossed your DC gets 5 offers. If you’re in England, then your DC may not hear from Edinburgh until March but all being well the others will come quite a lot sooner than that.

@Dery Thank you! do you remember how quickly she heard back? Also, were offer grades as stated on their websites or different? Have heard that Edinburgh can filter and only look at people with higher grades.

I think it's impossible to get a precise fix on what Edinburgh is going to do timing wise. Each of my DC applied there with grades in hand. The first one got an unconditional offer within about 6 wks, the other did not hear for months. Different courses, different years, same top A level grades tho.

@ExclusiveOffersOnly thank you! let the waiting begin.

Great list of unis and course. My Dd had Edinburgh and Durham offers with Spanish and French before Xmas (England) - hope you get at least one back soon as it’s nice to have one in the bank at least. Good luck to her.

@childrenwatchthefools thank you! fingers crossed. Where did she decide to go in the end?
Thanks

@Calmmumnot - elder DD didn't hear from Edinburgh until March but perhaps your DC will have the same experience as @childrenwatchthefools's DD had. From memory, she heard back from the other 4 before Xmas. Her offers were as follows:

Durham AAA
Exeter AAB (but would accept ABB if she firmed Exeter and got an A or A+ in EPQ)
Manchester AAB
Edinburgh ABB
Leeds BBB

She was quite torn between Durham and Edinburgh for a while but had a slight preference for Edinburgh as a city plus, as you can see, the offer was more comfortable. She chose Leeds for insurance, which was inevitable really given the Edinburgh offer, but she had really liked Leeds when she visited and was very happy to have it as her insurance.

Fingers crossed for your DC. I'm on another chat group outside Mumsnet where someone is posting about Arabic and Spanish - I'm going to suggest they join this thread also.

@Dery thank you for this information. Did your DD not think of Exeter over Durham or Edinburgh?

@Calmmumnot - no, elder DD didn't. She didn't prefer Exeter to either Durham or Edinburgh. However, if the offers had been the other way round, i.e. Edinburgh AAB and Exeter ABB, then she would likely have chosen Exeter as her insurance. In fact, it's just as well elder DD didn't choose Exeter because I don't think she would have been able to switch to history and Arabic there since Exeter sends its Arabic students away in the second year but the history + MFL rubric at Exeter provides only for a third year abroad (which works with all its other language offerings). Or she might have been able to study history and Arabic but not have a year abroad in an Arabic speaking country.

This was also what meant that Exeter didn't work for my younger DD either (also a humanities subject + Arabic; only achievable under the Flexible Combined Honours rubric which only allowed for a third year abroad) and this was a big disappointment when we discovered it because she really liked Exeter when we visited it for the Open Day and we both found the Arabic department impressive.

Your DC's situation is different though - assuming your DC sticks with Spanish and Arabic - and I think Exeter would be a very serious contender in those circumstances.

Just further to the above: elder DD did think about firming Durham and having Edinburgh as her insurance but, as mentioned, she did have a slight preference for Edinburgh and didn't want to risk the accommodation hassle which can come with joining your insurance choice rather than your firm choice, particularly given her slight preference for Edinburgh. She's really enjoyed Arabic at Edinburgh and is now in Egypt having a great third year abroad (along with the DD of another Mumsnetter whose daughter is also studying Arabic at Edinburgh!).

@CalmmumnotDurham - loves it!

Application went in later than thought but just got an offer from Exeter!! DC is so happy

Yay - great news @Calmmumnot! It’s lovely when offers start coming through.

@Dery it really is! boosts their confidence. If others can share if have any modern languages offers, that would be great. Thanks

Edinburgh & Leeds have come in too 🙏🎉

Very impressive to have an Edinburgh offer already! Just speaking to my elder DD who’s at Edinburgh and on 3rd year abroad in Cairo 😀.

@Dery i know very shocked! DC was thinking would have to wait until March/April!

Wow @Calmmumnot- those offers are flooding in! How exciting. Can you remember when your DC’s application went off to UCAS in the end?

DD has applied for Arabic and French, so very similar. Submitted to UCAS yesterday (7 November). Edinburgh, Exeter and Manchester are her favourites.

Woah. I just wanted to add congratulations for those speedy offers.
When my DS applied with grades in hand, he got offers in quickly and it took so much pressure off him, for which I was really grateful.

@KittyMacNitty thank you! The pressure is definitely off and DC can focus on studying.

Aww Dundee uni is a brilliant choice too if anything falls thru x

@HighburyHope his application went in on 28th October and heard back from 3 within 10 days. Good luck to your DD.

Thanks @Calmmumnot - she’s had her first offer in already (Edinburgh) so feeling very pleased with that!

@HighburyHope that's fantastic news, congrats to her!

Very exciting to read your DCs' offers coming in, congratulations to all of them, it really does help to take the edge off to re-focus back on A levels doesn't it?

DD here just finishing her 4th year of this combination to include Spanish and Arabic. Has absolutely loved it, and has had positive experiences on her YA with students from most of your DCs' prospective universities, though didn't come across any from Exeter, Manchester or Leeds, probably due to their YA timing/different partner universities.

Wishing them all the best on their forthcoming programmes of study.