Exeter: uni de jour ! Why ? Everyone we know wants it ?

[PaperTyger]

My DD is high achieving and has offers from all she wants but she's thinking of Exeter.,it was the most popular place at her school last year and everyone else I'm chatting to says their DC want it.
We didn't visit but I can see it's in a beautiful place. Any thoughts ?

I hope she goes somewhere she really wants not becsuee it's the fashion.

My son has current offers from both Durham and Exeter. Durham is one grade lower then Exeter for his subject.

So many out of date stereotypes on here. The University landscape is vastly different from.when us Gen X parents went in the 90s.

The data for entrance grades is readily available. Exeter publicise high grade requirements for applicants but happily accept lower grades come results day or through clearing. They could just advertise lower expected grades in their prospectus.

What has changed since the 90s?

What I think has changed since the 90s is young people - not just private school students - are much more interested in displaying symbols of having money. Expensive fashions change rapidly so people with the most money can indicate to each other that they are the ones with money.

Students at Exeter will wear their school branded sports hoodie or joggers like a badge of honour. Like the Ralph Lauren shirts you see them wearing at post GCSE music festivals or on holiday, they want to give off those signals to attract similar people to them.

Not all from private schools, but a subset who make this their identity. Still not a reason not to go to Exeter university but it's weird to pretend that Exeter doesn't have this vibe more than most other universities.

Every kid I know wears their school leavers hoody in the first term at whichever uni they go to, and the private school kids wear their sports tops, its a thing. I have kids currently at Southampton and Nottingham university and they are both crammed full of private school rugby lads from the South of England, but nobody makes a big deal of that, the world doesn't end and they all end up in mixed houses in 2nd and 3rd year.

The data on eventually accepting lower grades isn't what I commented on. I commented on the fact that the offer they gave is, currently, higher than the offer made by Durham. Which doesn't fit with the narrative that Exeter is where people go if they dont get into Oxbridge and then also dont get into Durham.

The point is that parents give far more of a crap about this than the kids themselves do and I don't see why certain unis get singled out as being 'worse' than others for daring to be popular with kids from certain schools. Imperial is full of London super selective grammar school kids, because they've been selected for being clever and are more likely to get the 4 A stars required. So what.

The whole point of university is that their horizons expand and they meet all different types of people from different backgrounds and are forced to mingle - like in the workplace. Parents going on about oh full of private school rugby lads just perpetuate stereotypes and encourages their own children's reverse snobbery.

My point was that this is how things have changed since the 90s. Young people would not have thought it cool to wear their school games kit at University.

The thing that makes me laugh about the private school stereotypes trotted out on these threads and how the state school students say that the PS don’t mix is that if I started a thread about state school pupils all having coloured hair, not liking rugby and not mixing with ps pupils I would be shouted down! Anyone would think that the state school students wanted to mix with the PS, they clearly don’t and mostly don’t like rugby types who wear their games kit (how awful!) so just stay clear and mix with people you feel more comfortable with.

I think technically if you look at the stats it not mostly private school kids ... but I would agree there are a lot of kids from comfortable families there.
The accomodation issue was/is? exeter building more on campus accomodation but knocked some down to do it. If you have a child with ADHD who struggles with time management - you can get their ADHD doctor to write in saying they need an ensuite and on campus accommodation.
2nd uni accomodation is eyewatering unless your child is not so keen on a bathroom and happy to share a 5 bed with one bathroom.

Quite. Some of the stereotyping and assumptions on this thread are just silly. My DS doesn’t even wear his sports kit at school so he certainly wouldn’t be seen wearing it at uni! 😄

There was a fairly recent thread slagging off St Andrews for being ‘posh’ as well. I wonder at what stage in private school students’ lives the blanket prejudice against them stops.

Tiny violin.
Whats the stats on privately educated kids (7%) getting the top jobs? Something like 47% ?
Based on their parents ability to buy a specific type of education. No wonder higher ed are looking to attract them. Makes their stats better when their alumni move into work.

Tiny violin? Spiteful. You’re talking about young people here and your attitude doesn’t show you in a good light.

@Buddinghellat least private school parents are open about the fact they are paying and ‘buying’ a specific type of education unlike all those state school parents tutoring to within an inch of a student’s life to get to grammar or buying in catchment of an outstanding state school then paying an annual fee for better facilities. Or like someone I know who ‘doesn't believe in private education’ but pushed to get her children into one if the best state sixth forms. Oh and lastly then getting contextual offers for their DC into the likes of Bristol.

The biggest gap and worst for paying for advantage is in the state sector.

At the end of the day, it’s what you can do in your job. More than 7% go to private 6th forms. It’s also blindingly obvious many of these dc come from very successful families. Sometimes going back generations. It could just be they are better at their jobs snd deserve the top positions?

My son has an offer for Exeter, it's his current favourite so we are doing the offer holders day next month.
It's just over 2 hours from us by train and road so very desirable for kids around here.
Yes he also has offers from Warwick, Bath and Bristol. All are easily reachable from us. So I assume many have the same thought process. He didn't.like Bristol, wasn't overly keen on Warwick. I think he rather likes the idea of being near a beach if we are being really honest!
I don't know if I should be worried or not about the reputation for private school children, DS is state educated. But as I said it's popular in our area due to distance ( south East). So I hope it will not cause any issues for DS .
This thread is absolutely insane with this strange idea of private and state school kids being almost a different breed. DH went to one of the top public schools in the country , I went to a local comprehensive so rather lucky neither of us turned up to university with any prejudice isn't it!
My son is at a 6th form college with quite a high number who came from the private sector and no issues exist so I hope university will be similar.
I am rather interested in if he needs a school leavers hoodie with school name on though as DS is not the most fashion conscious, Is this a thing? Is a state school one ok though?

My ds got 5s and went on to do philosophy,history and psychology A levels,then on to get a First in Philosophy. Children should be given a chance to do well. 6th form was the absolute making of him even though he struggled with GSCES.

Jeez, not sure why kids can't play nicely......maybe look at the parents. Lots of vitriol on here.
Exeter is a good place who pitch as being noticeably better than their grades accepted; they went very early with clearing last year and with big and wide drops. Clearly it has much going for it but won't suit all.
Personally I think it's fair enough for kids to take 'vibe' into consideration, most have a range of choices available and assuming they have researched the facts first then getting the feels right might avoid the stress and expense of false starts.

@Ladyinamask ? If they produce leavers hoodies, buy one if he wonts one! Let him decide.It’s truly not fashion! So if he wants it at university, let him take it if he’s got one. It doesn’t have to be worn. Plus my DDs swapped hoodies. You don’t always wear one with your school on it! I never packed for dc. They were adults.

I fundamentally object to parents who actively make dc unable to mix with dc who have been educated in private schools. They have clearly briefed against these dc for years and it’s such a narrow view. My niece would not even engage with dc in more expensive parts of her city. On other threads people bemoan the lack of good jobs acquired by comp dc. Is it any wonder when they actively dislike chunks of the population and won’t mix with them? It’s unbelievably self limiting.

My point exactly.

I think for some subjects, a 5 in GCSE will make A level a challenge; for others, if a candidate works hard it will be fine. And often the focus of A levels and uni (when disliked subjects can be dropped) allows a student to really shine. Well done to your DS.

It's called nepatism

Indeed, and leavers hoodies, year 6 and year 11 proms (state school invention), gender reveal parties etc weren't a thing. Many things have changed since the 90s, so judging unis by parental experience is just silly. My school barley did any sport and nobody had expensive games kit. All school kids do now so great that they get a bit more use out of it a uni! My son plays football for the uni and uses his school games kits for practice. It was bloody expensive so good to see it getting some more use. Lots of kids aren't sporty of course or have come from sixth form colleges not schools so there are no blanket rules...

Wait till you see the crocs trend if that is still a thing?

its called nepotism and nobody gets a job nowadays because their Dad worked there 😁😄😃😀

My SD is at Exeter and got in with their contextual policy offer. She’s changed her accent, barely comes home and seems to resent her upbringing. I’m hoping it’s a phase and she will graduate with a good degree and thrive.

It’s always worth bearing in mind that many employers want a cohesive workforce. They need people who work effectively with each other. No one wants employees who immediately take against others because of ingrained prejudice. We need all dc to mix and be friendly.

Wearing school hockey and rugby gear in first year was very normal when I was at Durham in the early 90s And at a hill college too !!!

Such a shame that we have a system which allows people to opt out of letting their children mix with others from the moment they go to school! (Responding to oh dear’s comment on employers wanting employees who mix with other)

The increasing Oxbridge intake from state schools means the MC and UMC kids who traditionally went there for the connections have decided that it isn't to their advantage any more.

This just shows that the system was never about what you know but who you know. It works in many walks of life.