Starting Year 13 - September 2015

[hellsbells99]

Welcome to Year 13!
Their final year of school;
Applying for university/college/work/apprenticeships;
A year of 18th birthday parties;
Going to their first nightclub (unless they already have fake ID!);
The year they turn into adults!

DD2 has been back at school for 3 days and has lots of work already.

Thanks!
Two years ago we looked at Exeter, Bristol and Bath in the same day. We felt much the same about Bath, though assumed it was an urban/rural thing as we know others love it. The faculty were really helpful but this only served to convince DS it was the wrong course. To me it felt like the Barbican, stuck on a hill and under maintained.

It's good though when DC really like somewhere. Then all you need is a realistic offer!

Uhtred
FWIW DD who is a leisure (albeit grade 8) musician - the Birmingham music was just the business

THe form went in with the three we visited plus York and Warwick : as we have time to visit the other two before having to accept an offer knowing that the top three are set

everybody
A silly thing
here in Hampshire, the schools do not have 6th form
so you have to pick a 6th form college
when DD and I first walked across the campus of PSC we both knew she'd be happy there for 2 years - it took seconds
and we have been proved right

the uni visits were similar : and its given us a mahoosive insight into reading prospecti

TalkinPeace I have had that feeling too.Once when I was job hunting, I wa driving past a place and just got a sudden feeling that I knew I would be working there.I wrote on spec and they rang me the next day and called me for interview.I worked there for 5 years!

Talkin

how brilliant she has found the places she is enthused about.

Intrigued re your (rather cryptic) point about reading the prospectus - could/ would you expand? Or do you just mean you can get the course stuff from the literature and then you need a gut feel ?

Hocus
Bath : now we know why there are lots of pictures of the town and none of the central campus

Birmingham : contrariwise, but also the sports building we looked round gets demolished at Easter

Exeter : look for the buildings without pictures and ask yourself why - music is ripe for demolition

sports : are the facilities just for the students or are they open to the public

halls : are there shops and bars in the halls complexes or just in the union

pictures : are there any taken on a grey day (dramatic clouds) or do they need sunshine to sell the place

I see. In which case Talkin I think you and Dd should enjoy a game of Prospectus Bingo when you go round the next two. .

Is there anywhere that doesn't have duff bits though? Even the v. old universities have grim bits and unphotogenic students, even if these hideous aberrations get airbrushed out of the prospectus.

Rhoda
The campus I know best like the back of my hand is Southampton.
There are manky / tired bits - but they are in service areas away from public thoroughfares.

It was the poor standard of maintenance and piles of rubbish bags / broken kit under routes between buildings that was genuinely unusual at Bath.

Interestingly they rate poorly for "investment" in the league tables ....

Just over from the starting Uni 2015 on High ed thread here
Someone said you may appreciate our input.

Noticed a few concerned about the social side of the larger Unis for their quieter DC's, real shame to be put off because of that if the course is right.

I agree with those that said about first impressions on seeing a place, but there are many we could have been scared off from visiting on paper. And one that had the perfect course that DD absolutely hated on arrival.

This time last year, I never thought DD would even go away as such a home bird. Even DH said we were wasting our time by going to so many open days. But I really don't think DD would ever have been 'ready' had we not done so.

She is now at a large Uni, massive SU, huge campus, few miles from Town Centre, more than 2 hours from home.
On paper doesn't really suit her personality, known for partying, but best course fit and fell in love with the place. Sorry, can't say where as smallish subject, and many distinctive things already posted would out her
From London suburbs, so DD very streetwise as far as travelling and multi-cultural goes, though not into clubs at all. Drinks very little, likes to be in smaller social groups where the evening revolves around something other than the drink. Friendly, but not the type to go and chat to anyone she doesn't know.

She was worried about Freshers week, stressed over whether to get pass for main events, as all the hype gives impression you will feel left out if you don't
Opted not too, and really glad. So much going on outside of the club stuff. What gets forgotten is that the Uni bars etc are still open for their normal events during freshers, overseas and postgrad students already there, other years arriving, and lots of other first years that don't want to do all Freshers events. She went to one or two of the bigger events, but always had a like minded person with her, so someone to leave early with.

Her social attitude unchanged by it all.
What is noticeable though, is most of the party types slow down when workload kicks in or they run short of money.
And many of the quieter ones start to venture out a little bit because its available and they have the freedom to.

Southampton isn't too bad. I was there in the 80s and it's unrecognisable now, with the smart students union and coffee bars and wotnot. Coffee bars! A union bar coffee in the 80s was a cup of brown liquid with some sort of Camp stuff in it. It was undrinkable. Mind you, back then it was trendy to slum it in a donkey jacket with a stolen loo roll concealed inside (before heading home in holidays to nice mc house in home counties). Kids today, huh!

Rhoda
At least they built the pool in the end

That's useful, circular. Ds rather horrified by the pics in the papers of freshers vomiting in the streets etc. We witnessed a bit of this at local university and I must admit - and I'm probably being sexist - the girls looked particularly undignified. I suppose it's the lack of clothes. If the boys were shirtless and in short shorts they'd look like idiots too. And the going round in packs. It must be difficult for those who don't feel it's their sort of thing.

Can he put two different courses down from the same uni or does that look flaky?
DD was planning to, but changed her mind for non academic reasons

GloriaHotcakes Doh! Why didn't I think of that? DS can't decide between some similar courses but Has no fifth choice of uni. Two applications at the same uni might work.

Thanks circular I think I posted on the first thread as it's second time around for me and one or two others.
I'm sure there is one thing we have all learned in parenting and that is that all the lessons you thought you'd learned with DC1 are useless with DC2 who is totally different .

Oh flip. DD has decided to change a subject. Honestly..... teenagers!

Zet,

Has she considered you in all of this

I was informed it was a done deal. Miss Determined has decided. Full stop.

She is switching to Further Maths as Maths is too boring. She must be a Changling as I hated maths.

Hi squirrels
DD is our first, another 6 years till DD2"s turn comes..
Just wanted to post while so fresh (pun not intended) in our minds remembering DD's anxiety about Freshers in the few weeks before she went.

Gosh Bath sounds a bit of a dump. Dd had had an invitation to a post offer UCAS day there but I don't think she will go.

Gloria
Warwick is on the form but not visited yet : looking forward to your views

brioche
Bath gets sky high student satisfaction - so they myst be doing something right, just DD and I could not see it.

DS really liked Bath last year.
Mind you, he also really liked everywhere else he went except for Warwick.