Exam stress

[Podgedodge]

My DD just completed her Highers, 2 As (maths, English) and a B (history). She is desperate to go to University. She is going back to S6, but is convinced she needs to get three more As at Higher to get into any university. She says there is no teacher at school she can talk to, I obviously know this is not true, but she says her Careers advisor teacher doesn’t even know who she is and had marked her down as a leaver this year, so would be no help.
I want to help her but am at a loss, I don’t know where to advise her to turn. Any suggestions?

Have you had any communication with the school about whether she is leaving or not? I would think you need to phone the school and tell them she’s coming back?

She should have a pupil support contact at the school. Did she fill in a leavers form because if she didn't she would be expected to return to school? Did she choose options for S6 as they would normally have started the new timetable before breaking up for the summer?

Sounds like she's shutting down all your suggestions. Does your school have in-service days next week? Maybe you could contact them at that point

Does she know what she wants to do and where she'd like to go? The minimum and expected requirements will be detailed on the uni website.

They do know she is going back and she has completed her options. She started S6 about 4 weeks before break up. Yes, to the shutting down of suggestions, I think she is just in a panic as she wishes now she had done 4 Highers last year, but’ no-one told her’. I am at a bit of a loss to be honest, she doesn’t want me to contact the school, but just says none of the teachers know what they are talking about etc.
I expect all her friends got more Highers than her and it’s sent her into a tizz. Unfortunately her Dad died in July of last year after 9 weeks in hospital so I took my eye off the ball with her choices then, I think.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. It's understandable that things maybe went a bit awry. But that might also have contributed to her success as she didn't spread herself too thin. My DS is about to start 4th year at Uni, he got his requirements over 2 years as he wasn't very focussed until half way through 5th year. I think technically they look for a bit higher than standard entry requirements when it's been been completed over the 2 years but not necessarily.

If she has a favourite subject/uni I would write to the head of the department prior to applying explaining her passion and her circumstances and asking what they'd be looking for her to achieve in 6th year in order to meet their requirements.

I'm convinced that DS doing that made the difference as it was the 2nd highest ranking Uni that he'd applied to and the one he really wanted and was the only offer he received. His offer was the minimum required and he ended up exceeding even the standard offer with his 6th year results (and he's doing really well).

So what she will need is entirely dependent on what she wants to do and where she wants to go. She could possibly even gain entry to one of the lower ranked Unis with what she has now, but based on her results, she is certainly more than capable of doing a decent course at a decently ranked Uni. She should also check if there are any specific requirements in terms of subjects for what she wants to do.

Personally I'd encourage her to choose at least 2 more highers and get really good results at those and enjoy her year (obviously after checking what she might need).

Is she doing any advanced highers or just highers in S6? Think my dd did 5 highers in S5 and then 2 advanced highers and 1 extra higher in S6

Has she not looked at the entry requirements for courses?

Great results in really rubbish circumstances for your family. She should make sure her referee explains in her uni application why she only did 3 highers (there might be a section where she can explain herself).

You could help her investigate uni courses online that she might be interested in. They all publish their entrance requirements but don't be afraid to email admissions to be sure which applies to her. You might want to ask whether they favour AHs over Hs in S6 and whether you need a minimum number of subjects at H. Open days are usually in September so encourage her to go. Lots of parents go too. I went to some with all of mine (even the one who is socially most able appreciated a 2nd opinion). There are also some routes from college to uni that are worth looking at too.

Hopefully school will step up too when she returns. One of my DC found school favoured the kids aiming for medical professions/law giving them loads of help but the rest just got a 1 hour session on applying to uni generally. If school is rubbish then I suggest you help out.

Thank you all for your kind, supportive messages, they really help and have given me a plan for my next conversation, assuming I can get her to sit down with me! Between her work and friends, she keeps very busy, and I am having treatment for breast cancer since November, which means I am often too sleepy/ unfocused when she is in if it is after 8pm😀.
I really appreciate the time you have all taken to reply.
I will let you know…🤞🏻

If your DD helps you out at home because of your illness she should make sure unis know about this as they should adjust offers to attempt to compensate.

If she is considering Uni, does she know what uni/courses she is interested in and their entry requirements. She can then email the admissions department for each faculty to find out if they would potentially offer with 3 highers in S5 and more in S6.

All the information should be easily found online for the unis. It will depend on the courses she wants to do, if she hasnt got the highers needed there are sometimes alternative routes through college HNC/HND to degree.

Ds emailed the unis when choosing his options for S6 and they were helpful.

Hi Op. I am sorry for your loss and the difficult circumstances you find yourself in. Is the school fully aware of this, as they can let staff know to keep an extra eye on her. I teach and I would not know how to advise a student about uni entrance - it's not part of my job and I wouldn't want to get it wrong. You need to speak to her guidance/pupil support teacher. I would email them and ask for a phone call (next week!) I do not always tell my dc when I contact their schools, I am doing it to help them.
She sounds like she's getting herself wound up and needs to avoid becoming too anxious. She's done really well so far!

Hi OP, I'm a careers adviser and used to work in schools. It may very well be that the careers adviser marked her down as a leaver. This could be because that's what the school told us or what the pupil told us, but I've had many pupils coming back after being marked as a leaver. We operated a mixture of self referrals and referrals from teachers. you can even refer your DD yourself so why not give the adviser a call?

The exam results helpline is still open too on 0808 100 8000 so there's nothing stopping you as a parent from calling it and asking questions on her behalf.

As for the grades she needs for university, it can vary depending on the course or university she wants to go to. I have noticed, however, that grade requirements seem to have gone up during the pandemic and I personally suspect that it has to do with the lack of exams over the last 2 years and the higher number of people passing that resulted from that.

Sorry for your loss too. Feel free to DM me if that also helps.