Child keen to go to University but below entry requirements

[Tig33]

Hello
I have posted a few times about the challenges my DC is having at secondary school, well in terms of ASN support (or lack of) and SQA qualifications. They have their heart set on studying history and I am doing my best to support them to get there but it is not going to be easy!

They got an A at Nat 5 history but a B at higher, along with three other B’s. So this ruled out most Scottish universities as requirements are AAAA+.

Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling offer history and have requirements between AABB and AABBB. As DC has gone from predictions of ACCF to BBBB we were hopeful that with hard work they could achieve AA in s6.

unfortunately the school don’t think so and have predicted a B in AH history and two further Bs at higher.

so if DC achieves predictions they would have (what would be treated as) ABBBBB over two sittings.

so below requirements. School are providing no advice and are just going through the motions of ucas process. I don’t see the point of applying as surely likely to be rejected.

all (and I do mean all!) of their peers (and my friends kids) have a clutch of A’s from S5 so I don’t know anyone in same boat and am struggling.

their friends are starting to get unconditional offers already (many are early applicants) and I really don’t think it would be good for DC to be in s6 with a peer group getting all offers when they get all reactions.

I have emailed school to suggest that maybe a ucas application is NOT wise and would it not be better from them to apply to college this year and so an HNC.

the only university that they meet the requirements for is UHI and from what I can see the first year is v similar to the HNC social sciences offered throughout Scotland so DC could stay at home and then apply through ucas next year with hope of being predicted a B in the HNC.

they mentioned Northumbria university which has entry requirements on ucas point which they could potentially meet but I am less keen on them taking on fee debt and would far prefer them to be able to attend a Scottish university.

in terms of their ASN the universities we spoke to said they would get support while at university. Just seems so back to front that they cannot get support at high school so are struggling to get grades needed to get in but if they got in they would be supported.

any advice or ideas would be much appreciated thank you.

will try posting in the HE board but think that SQA highers cause confusion!

Looks like the ASN would come under category 2 for Dundee Uni.

thank you so much @stormsurfer we went to the Dundee open day and loved it. The student disability person was great and it sounded like there would be lots of support if they can get in! Will have a look at the HNC at Dundee and Angus college.

Well I can only speak for my own DC but honestly they have had far better support at Dundee than they did at school!

finance is very much a consideration unfortunately @JohnsShirt I would far prefer not to start out with tuition fee debt if possible. Although if the only option was HE outwith Scotland and that appears to be the best route then I would do my best to support him financially although it would be tough

That is the impression I got from five minutes speaking to them at open day @stormsurfer ! Although to be fair it is a very low bar coming from my son’s school… just seems so odd that secondary schools seem to offer so little support but the grades kids get there are any decide if they can get into university. And then university offers good support. But surely many of the kids who need the support won’t get in as they were not supported at school so didn’t get the grades ?!

Forgive me if I’m misunderstanding but aren’t there other universities in Scotland?

google brings UHI asking for three Scottish highers at BBC for their history degree.

OP ask the school to link your DC in with the school careers adviser (there is one in every state school in Scotland) or say to your DC about the CA as they would usually offer lunchtime drop in sessions. The CA can go through different pathways with them to get to where they want to be

PS you can speak with the CA too with you DC!

Not sure what other university courses are like, but if you get into Glasgow university for anything at all, in first and secondly year you pick 3 subjects and as long as the subject you pick to study is in the same school, you can switch subjects come your honour years. The 3 subjects you study equally in 1st year, then you drop one and pick another new subject for 2nd year. Then come 3rd year you pick the one you want to focus on out of the two you carried from 1st year, or you do a joint honours with them both. Just an idea , so you can research and see if there is any courses that might have lower acceptance requirements.

I thought Scottish students had their fees paid by the Scottish government?

Only if they attend a Scottish university

Not in Scotland but your post resonates with me as one DC has DCD and the other had a medical issue that meant one of their A level history papers was essentially a write off even with the princely 3% special consideration so they missed their offer. DC2 has emailed the staff most likely to be involved in admissions and the head of department (ancient history) at each uni to explain their circumstances and have found all except Birmingham and Durham to be really helpful and in two cases have asked for a heads up when the UCAS form goes in. So I'd strongly recommend that your DS contacts the unis to see what they can offer on the back of DCD. DC2 is doing an EPQ in their gap year - can't do more than this due to needing major surgery - which has also been well received by the universities as it demonstrates commitment. It would also be good for your DS to try out what uni level history is like - ie quite a lot of independent research.

DC1 found that Uni support for DCD is really good and was all co-ordinated by the Disabled Students team (they got their own printer and laptop, a lot of free software, a seemingly endless supply of white and green paper, significant extra time for written work and a dedicated person in the uni to go to if they have issues who can refer them to coaching and academic support)

One of DDs barista colleagues was in similar position (economics not history). She did 1 or 2 OU courses whilst working part-time and applied again. Got offers from quite a few Scottish unis and is now at Aberdeen uni.

Agree with the advice others gave about contacting Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling as perhaps the quantity of passes she will have by end of S6 will trump the A requirements. Also some colleges do a really good social science HNC which has a history module. A couple of people my DCs know have gone down this route and have got entry to Glasgow uni (although this route is maybe only guaranteed if you meet the widening participation categories or do exceptionally on the HNC).

Your DDs school doesn't seem too helpful. My DCs school where 4Bs in S5 would be a great result were very good with advice about retaking/upgrading with AHs/taking new highers to meet requirements (however it was a school that would get contextual offers).

It sounds like you and your DS are both getting into a bit of a panic about him being "left behind " OP.
I think the first thing is to take a deep breath and try to step back from that feeling as it can cloud the judgement.

Have a really good discussion with him about where he sees himself going in the future. Does he realise history is only one of several subjects he will be studying at university? It won't be 4 years of purely history so he'll have to come up with other subjects he's interested in too.

If his heart is really set on history then you've had great advice already on emailing the universities directly. But come up with a plan B which he also applies for- some of the HNCs suggested on here sound good option. A lot of the colleges have accommodation too if he really wants to leave home.
Within a few months of starting college he'll be doing UCAS applications for university again. The mantle "no wrong pathway" is a very good one.

And if he turns out to not be so 100% hung up in history but it's just that he thinks he has to choose a favourite "school " subject then start looking at other options, careers, go to open days, make appointment with careers advisor. That way you can focus on courses he is likely to meet the entry requirements.

Good luck

Hello! You asked about my experience of UHI Perth. Well it was about 4 years ago and I wanted to go back to uni myself as an adult with ASD.

I was blown away by the support they offered with a dedicated disability officer whom I cried on. 😳 nobody in academia had ever acknowledged my struggles before - I was a student in the 90s and you were just left to drop out get on with it.

in the end I didn’t go because (lots of reasons).

my NDN did the access course and it was run a lot more like sixth form rather than traditional uni. Despite her written English being poor she obtained excellent results - but said those who’d pissed about at school still weren’t mature enough - but if your son is willing and able…

personally I think it might be worth a phone/visit. Perth is a lovely wee city, small campus and limited accommodation on campus. Everywhere is walkable and it’s about as safe as you’ll get with good transport links.

one of mine is ASD and simply would not cope in a bigger city so is looking at Aberdeen/Dundee/UHI.

like I say, I was really impressed with Perth but it wasn’t the direction I wanted to go and Dundee was too far for a daily commute (single mum with SEN kids).

They should apply. Lots get in under the advertised rates, especially through clearing and even more so if flexible with subjects. Eg combining history with something else or not straight history eg classics, economic and social history, history of art.

I don't know if it has changed but three years ago my son got into Glasgow university with an A In HNC Social Sciences (he also had to attend their summer school). He was also offered a place at Stirling Uni with a B in his HNC.

if you look at the Strathclyde and Edinburgh uni sites widening access pages they give a list or allow you to put in your school name to see if your school makes you eligible for a widening access offer. Ds got one last year.

Glasgow doesnt have the same on their site, so not sure if they take the school attended into account.

Thank you so much for all of the helpful advice and ideas I really appreciate it. Will investigate some other options and have a think. There are definitely options out there just need to work out what the best ones will be.