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.

[ISingSoprano]

Grrrrrrr - I could put a rocket up dd, really I could. She is plagued with self-doubt and an 'I can't do it' attitude at the moment which is in danger of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. This covers just about everything from arranging some work experience to her driving and singing lessons to her college work. Methinks this is going to be a loooooooong year.

[raspberryrippleicecream]

DS1 hasn't been given his predictions yet, apparently the school explained how grades/A work with them this week and asked them to think what they realistically felt their predictions might be. DS1 thinks AA*AA

First draft of PS handed in to school this week.

[dolcelatteLover]

DS is having an aspirational whack at Oxbridge and the school have set an internal deadline of 20th September, but they haven't issued predicted grades yet!! So how are they supposed to know they will even be predicted the right grades!! he is assuming he will but it isn't a great situation is it?

[eatyourveg]

ds came home this afternoon from his first day back to say his 2 best friends have decided to get jobs next year so he is now the only person from his faculty applying to uni - no-one went last year and only 3 the year before. Have to say I'm not convinced he will get the same support that he might have if the whole cohort expressed an interest in going.

[Brioche202]

Well DD has got hers predicted grades of 4 A*s + she is doing some extra maths the equivalent of another AS plus preparing for 3 STEP papers so a very busy year for her.I hope it is not too much!
She has nearly done her PS but the trouble is it sounds so dull and formal and staid.Not as though it is written by the enthusiastic 17 year old she is!

[Dunlurking]

Think ds is doing the opposite of your ds Coconutty and asking for A*AA when we think he's going to get AAA. Would be interested to hear people's thoughts on this strategy:-

Having been to the open day talks we are sure his 2 aspiration universities will expect to see AAA predictions but both have hinted there are circumstances/years they allow a slipped grade. He has another university he really likes that ask AAB, so IF they give him an offer they would be his conditional (and he could even make them his firm in the end as he likes them so much). He has decided this week to do an EPQ specifically relevant to the degree in the hope that the aspirational unis would take this into consideration if he slipped that A grade.

Is this a rubbish strategy?

Anyway first draft of PS sent to tutor yesterday. Now negotiations with teachers on predicted grades begin.

[Dunlurking]

Have just thought about your post homebythesea and realised we are in similar position to you!

Brioche I wish we were in your position. She sounds like a fantastic mathematician. Congrats to your dd. I'm told that Maths and Physics departments don't actually care what's in the PS - it's all about the actual grades/papers.

[Brioche202]

FRom my experience with ds1, unis accept that predicted grades are just as often wrong as right and an a*aa course will treat applicants with a prediction of a grade or 2 below the requirement the same so long as their AS grades don't make it an unrealistic stretch

[eatyourveg]

He's at a land based college coconutty and there are approx 100 in his faculty - agriculture, horticulture, equestrian and forestry are all bigger faculties and I have no idea what the progression numbers are there but he's going for S&E Science.

[MrsUltracrepidarian]

Thanks to this thread I am pleased that DS predicted grades are 2A 1A, and not 3 A like some of his friends .
He is capable of getting 3 A*, and I think this will spur him onto put more effort into the predicted A.
His school have a lot of Oxbridge candidates and according to DS today, they don't allow more than one DC to apply for the same college and course.
This seems a bit odd, as they are competing with vastly more other candidates that just the other one from their own school, and strong candidates will get pooled anyway.
No idea how the school divvys them up - scissors/paper/stone?

[UhtredOfBebbanburg]

DD1 has predictions of A A A although she could easily get all 3 A*s (or, frankly, BBB). The predictions are reasonable to harsh based on her ASs though, so that's fine - and since she is doing 3 subjective subjects she needs to be realistic - sometimes the marking is a bit wonky. Quite a lot of kids are applying to Oxbridge from her school but nobody other than her is applying for her subject. It's not clear whether anyone will be applying to her choice of college - it's possible given that one kid has just started at that college (for a different subject) from the year above. But DD1 has solid reasons why that particular college as opposed to others so...either they like her on paper or they don't. She is supposed to be completing both application forms today and she keeps emailing me questions I have NO IDEA what the answer is, though. Sigh. School internal deadline for the Oxbridge kids and the music kids (which is only her) is Friday. But DD2 has been in hospital having an operation so everything's a bit arse over tit in this house right now.

[HocusUcas]

Mrs U , you joke but , - DS's school had the same , one candidate per college per course advice (it can only be advice they obviously can't stop you applying where you want) and when he and his friend chose the same college, they tossed a coin.
DS won but the other boy is delighted to be going to the one he is, so all well.

[MrsUltracrepidarian]

lol at the coin.

I emailed a friend of mine (who is a don in another college, completely different subject) and he said it was baloney - he like all other tutors wants the best - if they happened to come from thee same school no-one would care and he has himself last year admitted two from one school on his course...

[homebythesea]

We had a remarkably harmonious session with the personal statement last night. It's looking OK I think (what do I know???)

Struggling to identify a 5th "insurance" place still. Oxford Brookes seems to be his school's go to back up but I still think this would potentislly be under selling himself- their typical offer is at least 1 whole grade below all the others across the board. He Says he wouldn't accept a place if he missed the usual AAB or ABB offers for his subject and just reapply so what's the point?

[UhtredOfBebbanburg]

DD1 has just heard that she is one of the winners in a national writing competition. In time for inclusion in her PS! So that's nice. Although she thinks maybe it would be better to be mentioned in the school reference - she is going to discuss tomorrow. She's been having nightmares for days about the application process so it's nice that she's happy about something.

[millionsmom]

Is it too late to join?

DD2 is in the IB and needs pretty much 6 level 6s to get into a veterinary course! The equivalent to 6 A at A levels. No pressure then pet.
Not to mention the melt downs over the PS.

I thought this was supposed to get easier with each child?

[hellsbells99]

PS underway here too but still very much draft! DD2 is supposed to have her application ready for her reference by this weekend.

[MyVisionsComeFromSoup]

knee deep in sorting through doctors letters for DDs school reference - they were happy enough to take my word for things to write her care plan, and sort out exam arrangements, but now they need to see letters . So trying to find ones which are relevant, but not overly intrusive.

School lets them go right up to the deadline for applications, though obviously they'd prefer not to. Currently we have half a draft PS, but she's not started on negotiating predictions (school won't predict A* on principle, but will if you make a good enough case).

Thankfully DD has started being a bit more realistic about her Oxbridge chances, although her next choice wants the same grades, so looks like the pressure won't let up all year .

[Cherryburn]

PS still being finalised here (latest draft still with form tutor although it should have been done and in for the reference by now )

DD has been predicted A A A D1 (the latter being in her Pre-U subject and equivalent to A). No pressure then. Think she'll be giving Exeter a swerve!

[homebythesea]

myvisions I'm at your comment that school doesn't predict A "on principle" and that there is a negotiation re predicted grades. Surely teachers who know their stuff will be confident enough in their own abilities and exoerience to know what an appropriate prediction is without any input from a teenager!! And so limiting for able students if some misguided principle means they can't apply to courses which require A