The trials and tribulations of Uni Apps for 2018.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Just thought I'd start a wee thread for those with DC applying for uni for next year (or indeed applying for themselves) in ase anyone was up for sharing knowledge/support/venting etc.

I have DS1 applying for this year. Still doesn't know where to or what for .

Not done any open days yet and lots now clashing so can't do them all. He wont go alone and wont ask anything or tell us anything about it if he did, so looks like it might be family days out for the next month or so. Dragging DS2 with us as he is currently doing Highers and given his poor Nat 5 results, he needs some motivation to pull his finger out if he wants to go to Uni.

How is everyone else getting on?

Dd will most likely be entitled to monetary support as my ill health means I'm not working lots like I had hoped to. We've agreed to pay for food and she will still work to pay for her social life.

We still have to factor in the jaw surgery she is due to have.

That sounds sore :( is it scheduled to be done after Uni starts?

I suppose I have failed to factor in the not inconsiderable saving on my own shopping bill with him potentially not here.

We're not sure but so far the results of X-rays etc show she has stopped growing.

So, if she has stopped growing then they can assess and put her on the list?

Wish my two would stop bloody growing...Think that was the issue with DS1s hip today, every time he comes down for breakfast he looks bloody taller.

Not really as she has to get braces back on to put her teeth in the right position for them to be in the correct position for after surgery. The waiting list is long for that as it's done under the hospital orthodontist and not her previous one.

Ds said that the Open Day at Edinburgh was much better organised than Glasgow.

He was very impressed with Physics - nearly but not quite enough to change his mind about what he applies for until this summer he'd been wanting to Maths/Physics He hadn't realised that Peter Higgs (of the Higgs-Boson particle) was at Edinburgh. The friend he went with was very taken with Edinburgh but doesn't think he can afford to go there (he's planning on going to Glasgow).

He loved the International Relations presentation - especially the fact that many graduates go on to the UN.

He's now thinking that he should after all go to an Aberdeen Open Day.

I believe we are going to Heriot Watt this weekend. I was attempting to persuade DS2 to come with us but it doesn't look like there is anything he would be interested in there. Then I can't remember what is on after that. Strathclyde maybe and then a choice of Aberdeen or Glasgow and Stirling in the mix. RG and St Andrews both on during the week so not as easy to accommodate.

For those of you with children thinking about IR in Edinburgh and St Andrews- I have one child who is on the course in St A with 7A Highers, 1B Higher and 2AH. No problem getting in. Also was offered Edinburgh. Next child (applied for Sept 2017) entry with exactly the same qualifications and a much better personal statement including a year abroad at another University learning a global language, rejected from both. DC was gutted. The feedback given was DC needed to have the 5A's at first sitting in 5th Year. I doubt very much that Personal statements for courses other than Med, Dental and Vet are looked at at all closely. DC3 applying this year so the merry go round starts again.

Joining in belatedly, can't post on my phone because Ive forgotten my password and keep forgetting to change to a new one!
So far DS2 and I have only been to Glasgow, he wasn't actually that keen on History at Glasgow, mainly due to the emphasis on Scottish History in first year but he enjoyed the university "ambiance".
He did manage to get lost at one point and was completley oblivious to an attractive girl clocking him at one point, he is one of the youngest in the year and definitely behind socially, which is a bit of a worry TBH.
We are going to St.Andrews on the 4th, it's his preferred option, but not without it's own issues...They no longer do deferred places for History so he would have to go at 17, it's a bit "posh" and, I have just discovered that they prefer candidates with some experience of MFL (only mentioned on the History website not the general arts degree application bit).

DS2 has dyslexia so we dodged language exams as he was keen to concentrate on subjects he would get good marks in, slightly regret it now but he's a perfectionist. Hoping the fact that he got 5As will mean it doesn't come down to that. he hasn't really started on his personal statement yet, i'm a bit clueless, didn't have to do one myself as I went to art school.
Going to go to Edinburgh too, slightly concerned about the student satisfaction and teaching ratings though...
Trying not to think about the money, can't believe how expensive halls are these days....

Could your son do one of the OUs YASS language courses alongside his S6 AHs/Hs. I think most of these don't start until next month and don't need any prior experience. Might be enough to demonstrate MFL experience for StA. Plus I don't think they ever include these in offer grades but I heard this from DS2 so might not be accurate.

Has anyone got any thoughts on Abertay? Will try to send him up for the open day - as it's actually looking the best for what he wants to do. (Bit of a trek though).

My Ds20 (with Aspergers) just started in 2nd year Abertay on a games course. He's really enjoying it and the Uni seems to be well-organised and helpful. He is in Uni accommodation and it's great, albeit almost a mile away from the main campus. For 4k a year he has a huge room in a flat with one other student.

My Dd20 has just started at Edinburgh in 1st year. Before she left school she applied to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St As for IR/Politics courses. She had unconditionals from them all except StAs. We were a bit surprised by the rejection from St As as she had 5xA Highers in 5th year, but she said that the prospective students were quite clearly told at the open day that they would only consider statements which were geared towards their particular course and not others. Dd ended up taking a year abroad on a scholarship instead of going to Uni, but she loved the Edinburgh open day and has now started there studying languages instead of IR.

Dundee have brought out a masters in Education. Dd says it’s a bit confusing!

That'll be because all newly qualified teachers are expected to have Masters qualifications by a certain date, Groovee. I expect all the other unis will follow suit. Is it replacing the BEd?

dotdot thanks for the Abertay feedback. Beginning to seriously wonder why I’m bothering as DS doesn’t appear to be putting much effort in to ensure he’s even predicted high enough grades!
grovee DD will need jaw op when she finishes growing. As a bad mother I keep forgetting to measure her as requested. No braces until nearer time for jaw op. Hope all goes well for your DD.

Sorry groovee!

dotdot thanks for the Abertay feedback. Beginning to seriously wonder why I’m bothering as DS doesn’t appear to be putting much effort in to ensure he’s even predicted high enough grades!

Ds had 3 highers ABC after 5th year and only needed a couple of Bs in 6th but ended up with one C and couple of Fs!

Off to college for 2 years to study the HND. In hindsight it was the best thing for him as he wasn't mature enough to leave home until this year. He's gone straight into 2nd year at Abertay.

dotdot they're asking BCC (A level route) for the course he wants. Whereas i think with a lot of hard work he could achieve that - i'm not convinced he'd be predicted that (which is what counts for the offer of a place). However he is also doing an EPQ (worth half points of an A level), so if they base it on UCAS points he could be in with a shot.

Took ds and a friend across to St Andrews yesterday (I'd forgotten just how far it is from Glasgow ).

He says that the course sounds really interesting but that he's not sure that he could cope with the "nothing but the university" aspect of life in St Andrews.

I couldn't disagree with him as life as a student there is extremely intense and you live in a wee bubble of unreality.

So his order of preference remains Edinburgh (applying twice - for IR and for politics), Glasgow then St Andrews. He's still to go to Aberdeen and is also considering Dundee and Strathclyde (after some prodding from me telling him to stop being snobbish about Strathclyde gets that from his Glasgow Uni graduate dad )

I had a nice time having a wander around St Andrews visiting old haunts

Being a non weegie I didn't realise there was a snobbishness about Strathclyde. The entry requirements for DSs type of subject are broadly similar to those of Glasgow and Edinburgh etc. and if he wanted to travel it's definitely handier for the train.

I'm not sure we are going to bother with St Andrews or not. DS only got AAABB for his Highers so even though he is doing AH in both his Bs plus another AH in one of his As, I'm not sure he'd get in. I suppose the same for Edinburgh really. Or are we thinking overcautiously?

This is first time for Uni from school for our family so not really sure what we are doing. All I've managed to establish is that there is no point applying to Edinburgh for more than 2 courses as they only look at the first two. Since DS is looking at either computing or Engineering, there are about 30 courses to choose from which isn't helping!

I think you might be thinking over cautiously if you think he'll get good results in his AHs. A lot might also depend on the supporting letter from his school - but there again, while I might have confidence in the one ds will get from his school, I'm not sure you would have the same confidence Have you asked the school for advice? Ds' school is good at managing its pupils expectations - but at the sane time encouraging them to aspire high - and succeeding

Re the multiple subjects: remember that they study c3 subjects in 1st year (may vary between Unis) even though they've only applied for one (or two: eg I applied for joint French/Russian) and then take any two of those forward into 2nd year and then specialise in the Honours years. So you could go to study, say, Geography, do Economics and Physics as additional subjects and end up doing an Physics degree.

I have a friend whose son didn't follow her advice that Edinburgh wasn't actually that good for Maths (which is where she'd done her Maths degree ), went there to do Maths and ended up with an Engineering degree!

Or in my case, I started off doing French and Russian, did Economics as my 1st year subject in 2nd year (in St Andrews in the Arts Faculty it was compulsory to do a 1st year subject in 2nd year but you could choose anything provided you met its entrance criteria and Economics didn't have any ) and I enjoyed it do much I chose to repeat a year to be able to take it forward and did a joint Economics/French degree.

So your ds should looks at the combinations that could keep his options open. He doesn't necessarily need to decide definitively now.

Dd1 is applying to do Fine Art.

She really wants to go to Glasgow School of Art but her higher were a bit disappointing - she got ABCCC. She's doing AH Art and English, H Photography and Nat5 Maths again!

Most people get in to GSoA with a portfolio course - she's already been accepted to one run at the Tramway in Glasgow, which is likely to be a year after S6, when she'll stay at home. Then she'll apply to all the Art schools and see who will have her!

Personal statements are being done in school right now, it will be good to see what she writes!

I think that although the school isn't that big, becasue most of the pupils will be looking to go to Uni it means that it's quite a big job. I think over a 100 pupils some of whom will be applying to Oxbridge and Medicine/related subjects.

DS has been allocated the Engineering teacher as his mentor and has to ask (I think 3) teachers for input to his recommendation.

I'm not sure yet what his predicted AH scores will be given the Highers debacle. My complaint about the remark issue is now with the council investigator but I don't expect anything to come of that. Are the results of remarks due out tomorrow/Monday?

I guess becasue it's such a high performing school that his results are very ordinary so it makes it feel not that great in terms of applications.

And thanks for the info about how the courses work. :)

It's a big job at ds' school too, also with Medicine/Law/Vet school applications (ds is not sure if this year there is anyone is applying for Oxbridge but last year the girl who ended up joint dux got in to Oxford to do PPE). Most years there are successful vet school and medicine applications (at least 2 medical school and 1 vet school students from last year that I know of and that was just because they spoke at the Awards Night ); I know a few years ago the headteacher said it was unusual because no one had gone to med/vet school - but she says it was because no one had wanted to, even though they had good results. (By the same token, the dux-to-be for this year, who sat his AH Maths in S5, and got a good A, got straight As for his other Highers, just isn't interested in medicine). The school won't force kids down routes just because they "could" get in with their exam results (Caveat: I do know that medical school requires good UCAT results and the motivation to do it; it's not just about the exam results, before I get flamed )

There are over 150 in S6 and the vast majority of them will go on to HE/FE.

I believe that the re-marks are out at the end of this week/the beginning of next week. Ds is being deliberately vague

Sorry, wasn't implying that your DSs school wouldn't have a lot of uni applications, just that the proportion for the size of school at DSs school is particularly high given the location. That puts additional pressure on less people. Not that I am minded to make excuses for them given recent and previous events. I did finally get and attend an appointment for ds2 with his pupil support teacher. Only took 6 weeks, 4 emails, 3 phone calls, 1 phone discussion and a f2f request...and one cancelled meeting (by them).