S5/S6 support thread.

[IHaveBrilloHair]

I know I need it this year with Dd.
Everyone welcome to join in.

I have but they tend not to list in terms of UCAS points.

Worse case and not counting the AH/H twice I would go with he passes them all but gets Cs across the board - that comes to 136 points. If he gets As in his 2 highers and an optimistic B in his AH then that comes to 168 I think. If he is allowed to double count (which some do) then that would give somewhere between 163 and 195?

Not sure if I'm doing it right though.

I don't know what his predicted grades are but he feels confident in an A for Politics.

Compare those totals with what the "typical offers" would add up to. At least it would give you a ballpark guide.

His email sounds good.

Typical offer is AABB which comes to 120. Obviously your DS had higher than that which is what is worrying me.

I was only mentioning UCAS points as an encouragement, so he is not totally disheartened. That it's within reach of at least a conditional offer.

I think the Unis look at subjects studied (so, eg, Dundee might have been wary of his science oriented Higher subjects) as well as the PS.

I always thought that Edinburgh was a stretch for ds, given his Higher results and that his 2nd application there should have been for a more "different" course eg for Maths (even though his PS wouldn't have matched)/a different faculty. But the important thing is that he's very happy with Aberdeen.

Ds wasn't expecting Unconditionals - so if your ds writes a good PS and continues to work hard so that he gets good results, he should meet a Conditional offer.

Ugh. I’ve had to be the bad guy today. PIL came round today and MIL said in front of DC- “We we’re thinking about taking you away over the Easter holidays this year, how would you like that?” DS’ face fell and he shook his head no at me while I had to say, no- his exams start 2 days after the Easter break and the only reason we’re not going away over Easter anytime in the foreseeable future is because we’re now well into exams first for DS and then for DD!!

DS was really good and immediately said a day trip would be fine but he wouldn’t want to do more than that. We’ve agreed they can take DD away if they want, but honestly, they’ve had 16 years to take them away (well, a bit less as you wouldn’t want to take a baby/toddler away!) and they choose this year? So MIL is not very happy, but I’m not budging on this one (fortunately DS is in complete agreement).

On an unrelated note- DS seems to have gotten past the leap from Nat5 Maths to Higher Maths, so much so that he’s thinking he might want to do his degree in Maths. He’s thinking he might want to be an actuary now which is quite the contrast from Philosophy teacher or lawyer which had been his recent leanings.

Getting anxious now......

My DS applied to uni on 10/10 and he has had no offers yet.

Is this normal for Scottish Unis? I see that many English Unis have given out offers.

Am I just being impatient?

He's applied for law at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and he more than exceeds their standard entry requirements.

Thanks

Dd got no offers until March this year. However my niece applied for Law at 5 places and Stirling offered an unconditional place in late November last year.

We’ve only heard back from Glasgow so far - still waiting on St. Andrews , Edinburgh & Strathclyde (for chemistry though not law)

Thanks!

I'm just super impatient and I know he's feeling a little disheartened which doesn't help.

His grades are good so on paper he has nothing to worry about but it's still too easy to worry.

Don't know about Glasgow but I do know that Edinburgh is notorious for not even looking at their applications until UCAS closes

So don't expect anything from them until at least February If it's any reassurance, ds didn't get his rejection from Edinburgh until mid March.

Aberdeen I think was in February - about 2.5 months after he'd applied.

Glasgow was pretty instant and then it was a fairly long wait, think Edinburgh was March and maybe Dundee not much earlier. I think Heriot Watt and Strathclyde were in the middle somewhere. None of those for Law - that was all computing/engineering. DS2 busy working on a draft of his PS, he's gone back to the drawing board now that he's decided he actually really wants to go....

We've been out on a Halloween avoidance plan and he's had a Pint and a half so not sure if that's helping or hindering the creative juices.

DS got unconditional from Edinburgh yesterday 😊.... 2 down, 3 to go !

Congrats! Great news.....

Thank you

Sorry @Aurea , that prob didn’t come across very well. I think law will be totally different than my DSs course and I’m guessing each dept sets their own timetable for these things. Just wanted to share that offers seem to be as & when. I’m sure your DSs offers will be along soon !

Congratulations to your DS Susie. DD has a friend who already has an unconditional for Edinburgh as well. This is also for a science course, so I'm pretty sure it is course specific.

DD1 finally committed to submitting her application on Thursday. She has had acknowledgements from all 5 choices and an offer. Again she is applying for science subjects.

Law is very competitive these days and the range of acceptable subject combinations is broader, so I am sure the offer process will be longer.

Nice to hear the offers coming in. DS now working on 2nd draft of his PS. He will need to do very very well in his current exams to stand a chance. Aberdeen are not even sure they will make him a conditional offer :( They say it depends on what applications they get. If he does get one they say the conditions are likely to be B for his AH and AB for his 2 highers. Dundee have said theirs are likely to be AA for his Highers and they weren't bothered about his AH. Aberdeen say that their minimum criteria at the end of 5th year are BBB and he doesn't meet that with his ABC. They are ignoring the C completely and saying he has AB, i sort of thought that that the A and the C balanced each other out given an average of BBB.

I was looking at the criteria for a contextual offer which at the moment he doesn't meet on a residency or school basis. The primary school he went to would if that was a thing. DH and I were both brought up in poverty and neither went to Uni from school. I later did day release from work and attended a college that is now a Uni and DH did nursing at the same place but in those days it wasn't a degree (and he did it in his 30s) he also did an OU degree at around the same time. Do you think DS therefore meets the criteria of being the first generation in his family to attend Uni? He's also due to see the GP about his potential dyspraxia - also worth mentioning?

He is definitely clever enough to complete a degree successfully and is very motivated at the moment too, he has just made some poor subject choices and went through a very depressive period (no GP intervention) which affected his motivation. I also think for him that 7 nat 5s was too much. Just too much switching his brain and diverting his attention between too many things at the same time. He does much better with a lesser amount of subjects. Uni with 3 classes per semester will be much more suited to him.

@Wax. Has your DS looked at this
www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk/courses/diploma-higher-education-social-sciences-scqf-level-8-2018-08-27
One of DS1s friends did this and has gone into 3rd year of a Strathclyde degree so no longer than going to Strathclyde immediately after S6. I think other unis accept this as DD knows someone who is finishing a similar course in Fife and is applying to St A for a general degree. Hoping to switch to honours if she does well enough in 1st year. DDs friend S5 results were similar to your DSs - AAC.

That looks very interesting Clerk. Thank you for that. He has his heart set on Aberdeen at the moment but really liked Stirling too and hasn't been to Dundee but it seemed a good fit/achievable for him. He hasn't yet looked at any insurance options. He wants to live away which is the only issue he had with Stirling. DS1 travels to Strathclyde and DS2 said he definitely didn't want to go there, but I think that was a combination of wanting to do something different to his brother and also not having enough to go.

I'm away to do a bit more digging to see if Aberdeen/anywhere else he fancied would take this at advanced entry too.

Thanks again, I would never have spotted this.

Wax living in the north east of Scotland, I do know that Aberdeen accept advanced entry onto History and Politics and perhaps other courses with a B and above gained on this course from the further education college in Aberdeen nescol.ac.uk/courses/social-sciences/hnd-social-sciences
My friend’s son is currently studying History and Politics at Aberdeen after doing well in his HND. He was given second not third year entry.
It is definitely a recognised route. An application to college would be outside the UCAS process so I think could be worth having as a back up.
I know several of my oldest daughter’s friends have now completed their degrees after obtaining a 1 year HNC or 2 year HND then transferring to Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. The 2 + 2 at RGU (first 2 years at college followed by 2 at uni) is a widely recognised route here.
It’s great that you are doing the research now. Also your son sounds engaged, motivated and focussed on his subjects this year so is in a great position to get the grades he needs. Along with a great personal statement that will give him the best chances of offers. I would ask that the school reference includes any periods of ill health etc particularly if evidenced by any meetings with guidance or support teachers etc
Re the “did both your parents go to uni question” personally I would say not as day release doesn’t equate to being an undergraduate in the traditional sense. It does seem like the contextual conditions carry more weight these days.

Thanks HotGinger I have been looking at all the partners Aberdeen has with colleges. They link in with quite a few but unfortunately not our local one and none are travel-able daily so he'd still either need to move away or do something in Glasgow and apply with that or go somewhere else. Lots to look and and think about which we will do when he gets his PS done and ready to go!

I'm definitely more of a mind to push for any contextual advantage he can get. He's sort of caught between a rock and a hard place, neither well off enough with the appropriate background to have parents that can navigate the system and lots of useful contacts for work experience etc and not poor enough to get any contingency from that. Not that I'm complaining that DH and I have done well enough for ourselves that he's had a more "middle class" upbringing than we had.

But. DH and I were both brought up worrying about having enough to eat and living in very cold cramped conditions with no opportunities for higher education so perversely we sort of feel "owed" by the system.. :o If DS wasn't bright and able then I'd be happy to tell him he needs to find another way in life and Uni wasn't for him.

Wax my DD2 is currently in year 2 of the course Clark linked to and loves it . Currently working our way through Personal Statement for 2nd and 3rd year of degrees at Caley and Stirling (she won't touch Strathclyde either) which way out my comfort zone despite mentoring many UCAS applicants over the years they've always been school leavers .

Her progression route is 3rd year of degree but in a disarmingly self aware manner she's observed how that might be too big a step for her. The college is huge and that course has a high uptake. For DD it certainly hasn't felt like "plan B" she's commuted but had the big city buzz and kipped on many sofas after dancing (drinking) the night away.

If I was mentoring your DC for UCAS I'd get him to mention that he's first generation to apply to uni in the conventional manner but due to having parents who attended as mature/day release/OU students he's keenly aware and appreciative of the benefits of FE. I'd also get him to refer to his barriers to learning but in a positive framing as they have helped him rise to challenges, think creatively, recognise and respond...

Sounds like he's in a good place though and that's the main thing. Long may that continue 

That's brilliant thank you for that Lidl and great to hear that your DD is enjoying the course. I have one nephew (now in his 40s) who went to Uni from school so DS1 is only the 2nd ever in the family to go on my side. DS2 will hopefully be the 3rd. On DHs side his niece and nephew in the states have both been but that doesn't count! :o

Exciting news at last.......!

My son has just received an unconditional offer for Law at Aberdeen Uni.

He applied on 10 October. He's still waiting on his other choices of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford and Durham.

Hope good news starts coming through for all.