Which Uni?????

[UniMum2012]

Not sure if I have posted this in the right place....

My DD is 17, in the lower 6th at school and is now thinking about University. Her favorite so far is Durham because she likes their mix of liberal and traditional outlooks. If she can't go to Durham she wants to go to a University in the south because that is where we live and she would therefore be able to visit home to see us and her home friends easily and as frequently as she likes. She also doesn't want to got to a London university because we live in London and she wants a new experience. She wants to study history.

Here are the 5 possible choices we have picked out so far (in no particular order) but she needs a 6th choice....

Durham
Cambridge-not banking on getting in, just want to apply to see what happens
Sussex
Bristol
Kent

We were thinking of warwick but apparently you have to study a language alongside history and this is not something DD wants to do.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be much appreciated. :)

Also worth pointing out that offers are very subject specific in most places - Bristol in particular of those mentioned by BringBack1996 - for instance, offer last year fr English was AAA but for my sons year for Physics was ABB - so I really wouldn't assume that Bristol could be an insurance offer in many subjects. (.i doubt if ABB would be an offer there now, with the AAB quota rules)

Depending on the subject, and I know we're talking history for the OP, I would be really cautious about the suggested group of Oxbridge, Durham, Bristol, York all on one application - these universities reject fantastic candidates and you only need to be unlucky to get a fist full of rejections (been there, done that). Caution suggests you should have at least one big civic RG on the form with a big intake to give you any kind of surety of getting an offer - so Birmingham, Nottiham, Manchester.

Hopefully everyone in this position is getting good advice from their schools careers advisor.

Offers are subject specific at all universities really. History is at the more competitive end.

How a student plays their UCAS form is very personal. Some students are clear that they only wish to go to one of the very top universities and if their GCSEs shore this up, and they can contemplate the idea of re-applying if things don't work out - why not? Others prefer to play it safe, but that actually carries with it as much risk of disappointment for high achieving students (by limiting 'top' choices) as the bolder approach.

For Durham for History at the moment students need to have a very long string of A at GCSE and that has to include an A in History.

FWIW, my DS is at Durham now reading Politics. His choices were Durham, Bristol, Exeter, York and Warwick. Only Bristol did not make him an offer.

He's having a ball at Durham.

Oh, and if this year is anything to go by, be prepared for a very long wait indeed until you hear from Warwick. I think it was March when they finally made their decision about my son's application, which went to UCAS in early October. York and Lancaster made their decisions within a week, UCL took a bit longer.

The waiting is awful. For both my eldest two, their applications went in on 1st October, and then my DS had all his offers in by early January but my DD, last year, didn't hear back from 2 of her 5 until the end of feb. we were nervous wrecks.....

York is a much nicer student town/place to live than Nottingham.

I know that wasn't necessarily offers, but if you're applying with the base offer of say AAA with a B at AS you'll have 410 points. If the average is over 500 you'll need to bump that up somehow to be considered, surely?

I don't think so, BB1996. Most applicants apply before taking A levels so offers are made on the basis of predicted A level grades along with personal statement, reference, GCSE grades and (if they've got them) AS results and interview/test scores.

I'm sure if university departments were choosing from a pool of post-A level applicants they might go for those with the highest achieved grades (contextualised - another complicating factor) but as they're not, they have to second guess what the applicants are actually likely to achieve. Not easy, especially as I believe that it's an accepted fact that state schools and FE colleges are more cautious about predicting grades than independent schools are.

Good point. But surely such high ucas tariffs cannot be bumped up so highly by a few extras? To gain 570+ would that not require 4+ A levels, thus separating the academic high flyers?

I studied at Birmingham , Beautiful red brick campus uni but 3 miles from the city centre and easy travel to London...

DD1 having fab time studying at Portsmouth Uni. Just over an hour's drive from home (she has her car there now). Pops home whenever she likes. Loads to do in the compact city (all in walking distance), good train links to London. Great beach, hovercraft to Isle of Wight, Gunwharf Quays and Spinnaker Tower, Historic Dockyard with Mary Rose and HMS Victory etc. DD1 is studying Masters in Mechanical Engineering and finds the university course and staff extremely good. Being able to have a car and get yourself around is really important to her - useful for a supermarket shop, a late dash for lectures and when lectures are late at night.

Academic high fliers, yes, but what about the very bright kids who didn't get the chance to do four A levels? I'd guess anyway that most four full A level types are doing maths and sciences, which I would say is easier than doing four humanities/arts subjects.

You don't need four A2s to go to any of the RG unis, not even Oxbridge. The whole UCAS points debate is a bit irrelevant for most places as they only express their offers in terms of the A2s you are taking (usually 3) and they don't give two hoots about UCAS points (especially pony care!). But if you are taking 4A2s, they may express their offer as 4A2 grades.... Certainly usually the case for those taking further Maths as a 4th A2

However, for most students they make their offers to, they already have very high banked points from their ASs but it's not necessariy against you if you've gone a different route or have different skills to offer.

BringBack1996 the tariff tables are here - www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/tarifftables/

To go from AAAb (410 points) in proper subjects (3 A2 + 1 AS being pretty standard), then all you'd need to get up to 570 points would be

• an A Level (grade A) in General Studies (NB general studies is not normally seen as a proper A Level, and is usually ignored by good unis) which gives 120 points
• a merit in a grade 6 practical music exam. The extras aren't excessive, but they aren't really going to be considered by a good university (unless they're going for music).

You really don't have to meet the average UCAS points score to be considered. I'd go so far as to say that UCAS points are irrelevant. So long as their predicted grades meet or exceed the entry requirements stated on the university's website, then they have as good a chance of getting in as anyone else - after that point, they start to look at things like personal statements.

Kent is organised as colleges as well. Some teaching is faculty wide but you do tend to identify with your college rather than simply with your subject area. Most of my uni friends did not do my subject.

One thing to note about Kent is that it is a campus university just outside the city so its worth thinking if your DD wants to be right in the centre of a city or on a campus or doesn't care either way.

They hold the graduation etc in Canterbury Cathedral which is as good a venue as you can hope for .