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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

DD in year 12, timeline for next 2 years

10 replies

kilmuir · 14/12/2015 10:59

Can anyone give me a rough timeline of mocks , when to apply for uni etc.
She is our eldest child and this is all new to us. School do have evenings/meetings but we always seem to be behind the curve as it were!
My friend has a son in same year and knows what uni he wants to go to, grades needed etc.
My DD always needs leading to things, and drives me mad with her tomorrow will do attitude.
thanks

OP posts:

TheWoollybacksWife · 14/12/2015 11:26

DD2 is in year 12 so I hope I can help a little bit

Mocks vary from school to school. DD has hers in late January. AS exams are in May and June. There has been some changes A levels/AS levels which depends on the subject taken - your school should be able to explain how this affects your DD

UCAS forms for 2017 university entry will have to be submitted by mid January 2017. Your DD can look on the UCAS website to see if there are any courses she is interested in and can check on entry requirements etc.

My DD is going to open days now to narrow down her options as she has a medical condition that is affected by stress so we are trying to do as much as possible in Year 12. It is OK to do it in Year 13 though.

Original poster

kilmuir · 14/12/2015 13:04

Thanks. Will get on to Uni websites over Christmas period

OP posts:

simbobs · 14/12/2015 16:25

I am in exactly the same position as the OP. It seems to be causing my DD stress to know that her friends know where they want to go, what to study and what grades they need. She feels like a freak, but I was just like that at this age, so find it entirely normal. My DD wants to go to uni, but isn't sure at this point which, if any, of her current subjects she wants to continue with. She will have to drop one after AS anyway and doesn't yet know which. Her school said something at the last meeting about them having to start on their personal statement or even application after mock AS, and that they are taking them to some kind of fair/event in a nearby city where several unis set out their stall. Does this seem to make sense? Is this not a bit early. We didn't start looking until Y13.

BackforGood · 14/12/2015 16:38

Universities tend to have open days both in the Summer Term and the first half of the Autumn Term.

Mocks - as said above - vary from school to school, but could be all a bit different now as previous year groups would have had ASs at the end of Yr12, but now only some subjects have ASs.

there was a thread running a few days ago asking about doing 3 or doing 4 or doing 4 then dropping one. I asked at my dd's school and they said they don't yet know how this will pan out.

University applications generally go in during October-ish (ds's weren't until Nov). Although the deadline isn't until mid-January. Some courses start making offers as they receive applications, and some wait until January and look at them altogether. Apparently some Universities call students for interview but not all (so ds wasn't called for any and nor were many of his friends nor my dns - so I'm not sure on the criteria of those that do).

Schools help with the 'Personal Statement' which forms part of the application. this is a bit tricky, as it's one 'statement' for all options. They are generally advised Universities don't want a list of 'I was captain of the hockey team and play trumpet to Grade 4 and I have my DofE Silver Award, but you can mentions these things if you can say "I found my experience on my DofE expeditions helped me...... " and twist it into your communication skills or something.

Aprat from the UCAS website, it's worth looking at push.co.uk for filtering down choices with all sorts of criteria (including things like cost of living, not just course specific). You have to register but don't get bombarded with spam.

cricketballs · 14/12/2015 16:42

As others have said - mocks are different times for each school. The 'real AS' exams take place May/June (all exam boards gave published their timetables). Your DD should have been told if she is doing AS or on the 2 year linear course.

UCAS opens in September, oxbridge, medical and vet applications need to be submitted early October, all others have a January deadline.

For university open days this website lists them all.

If your DD doesn't know what she wants to do there are several useful websites that can help narrow down

successatschool.org
www.push.co.uk
kudos (needs school to provide a licence code)

Finally - there will be someone in charge of careers at school whom she could meet with

bojorojo · 14/12/2015 17:27

The young people at my DDs school who didn't gave a "best subject" or a vocation in mind really struggled to choose a degree. There are always young people who are not aware of the possibilities. I think the first decision to be made is what subject - vocational or academic (or a bit of both). If you tell us what subjects she is doing, there will be people on here who can make a few suggestions. Science or Art or a bit of both?

The next choice is a local university or one further away. What is the best one for the chosen subject? Do you like the idea of a year in industry? London is expensive but may be the best destination for the subject. What grades and subjects are required? Also, very many people do degrees that may not be any one subject they study at school, but are more of an interest or a career choice, Eg History of Art, Business Management, HR, Marketing, PR, Fashion, Nursing, Film Studies, Media, Social Worker, Sociology , Rural Studies, Land Management, Law etc. The list is endless!

Original poster

kilmuir · 14/12/2015 17:51

Wow that's really helpful.

OP posts:

VegasIsBest · 14/12/2015 18:07

Hi. Regarding University applications, the UCAS website has lots of info specially for parents to help you understand the application process. You can also sign up for occasional email updates.
www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/getting-started/parents-and-guardians

BackforGood · 14/12/2015 18:22

I also think it's worth pointing out there really is no rush, if your dc isn't sure. Look into the possibility of taking a year out, getting a job and working. You save money for a year, you can visit lots of friends at their universities and they will give you the honest truth about what they wish they'd known before moving there.

senua · 14/12/2015 20:52

My DD always needs leading to things, and drives me mad with her tomorrow will do attitude.

You have to learn to let go. Tell her about resources but then leave her to it. Let her take ownership of the process. She is going to get into a shedload of debt so it has to be her idea, you cannot give her the get-out clause of 'I only did it because of your expectations'.

B4G is right: there is no hurry. If she doesn't go straight after Y13 then there will be other chances.

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