Continuing Year 13: January 2016

[Needmoresleep]

Only two more terms at school. Let's support each other support our DC in getting through to the end.

dd2's mocks are towards the end of February I think. She has a history trip to Germany first, I know that. She did her EPQ presentation last week, apparently it was 'fine'. And she got an A* for her history coursework, so that's ok. Her main focus though seems to be learning two concerti off by heart for a concert in March. She has declined the opportunity to go to walker stalker in February because of mocks so she is obviously putting some emphasis on them (but on the other hand she hasn't declined going to London to see some other things - she has 3 shows before the end of Feb) so... She has been working so hard for so long though that she's in a pretty good groove. She doesn't need to cram (is the theory, anyway).

dd2's mocks are towards the end of February I think. She has a history trip to Germany first, I know that. She did her EPQ presentation last week, apparently it was 'fine'. And she got an A* for her history coursework, so that's ok. Her main focus though seems to be learning two concerti off by heart for a concert in March. She has declined the opportunity to go to walker stalker in February because of mocks so she is obviously putting some emphasis on them (but on the other hand she hasn't declined going to London to see some other things - she has 3 shows before the end of Feb) so... She has been working so hard for so long though that she's in a pretty good groove. She doesn't need to cram (is the theory, anyway).

Mocks after half term. As are her interviews. Today is Cambridge results day and though she did not apply, several of her friends did so she is expecting tears and cheers.

In the meantime teachers are ramping up the work. Its fine. Better to do it now than panic later.

Good luck to the Cambridge-ees.

DS1 has finally had his last offer from Birmingham. Unfortunately it's another AAA offer, so that's four now. Brum have also allowed AAB if he gets an A in his EPQ, but we really have no idea how likely that is. I was hoping Brum would be a lower offer.

So he has AAA with grade 2 STEP (like your DS BethanKate) or A*AA with grade 1 STEP from Warwick which will probably be his first choice. Then he has to decide between the other 4 for his insurance, which TBH will probably be where he ends up. He's going on two offer holder days at his favourites to see if he can make up his mind.

I hope you are all hanging on in there. My DS1 is my PFB so it's going to be weird in Sept/Oct when he goes.

Well done on getting his final offer EllenJane.
DD2 has 4 offers and withdraw from the 5th choice. Lowest offer is AAA . Mocks start today and DD is still asleep as her first one is this afternoon. DD1 also has exams today ....but in her first year at university.

Thanks, hellsbells. Yeah, a lowest offer of AAA is not good, is it? I think DS was too concerned with looking at Russell Group unis, and not from my instigation, rather from his peers. He's at a grammar school 6th form after a normal comprehensive and the standard and competition is higher than we're used to.

DS's offers are A*AA, and three lots of AAAs (still waiting on one) so I know how you feel. Not exactly a lot of room to manoeuvre.

The amount of work at the moment seems massive. DS was on a three day physics trip abroad last week and as a result has a mountain of catching up to do as well from missed lessons. Thank goodness he is between girlfriends because God knows when he would find time to see one!

DS accepted insurance offer is AAA, firm is A*AA. So not much wiggle room.

Mocks this week. He had them muddled and had prepared for the wrong Maths today. Mistake better made now, I suppose!

DD, in Y11, is just about to choose A level options, and we've been looking at course requirements for her. It seems never ending!

All the top 30 or so universities ask for AAA+ for maths, and even lower tier universities ask for AAB or ABB.

However, since maths is not over-subscribed, many RG maths courses will be accepting AAB (and occasionally ABB) in August, provided that the student has at least an A in A level maths. I wouldn't advise a student predicted AAA+ to hold an insurance at less than AAA for maths, because there is a high chance of being accepted on an AAA course even with one dropped grade. I would advise holding an insurance which is likely to take a dropped grade: Birmingham, Exeter, Nottingham, Southampton etc rather than e.g. Durham.

Mocks finished yesterday, found some a bit tough but think teachers made them difficult to encourage them to work which has to be good. Having results day on Fri when go in & collect envelopes just like it's the real thing, followed by special assembly (in which they'll probably tell them to work harder).

DS's school was on Bristol contextual list so managed to get AAB from them for Maths so they have to be insurance. Others were all AAA (apart from Cambridge which never got off the ground). There were some good Maths places in clearing last year we noticed - even some Russell Group.

When is your DS going to Warwick open day EllenJane? DS is there Feb 17th. Also going to Imperial & Bristol.

Know what you mean by Sept/Oct will be weird. Get these odd moments when it hits me that my (6ft 4in) baby is going to leave home.

DS isn't revisiting Warwick as it's definitely his favourite, but he's going back to Southampton and Exeter to decide between them as (highly likely) insurance.

Its quiet here!

DD has her first rejection. Not critical as she has three interviews. However these and her mocks are all after half term, so its a bit of a nervous limbo. Its difficult as almost all her friends have offers. Her 18th is in the middle of A2 exams so I don't know what we do. Perhaps a meal in a restaurant at either the start or end of the exam period.

In the meantime I am planning long overdue home improvements, delayed because of five years of public exams. It may be an empty next, but it might as well be a smart one.

Out of interest what is the process in May if you don't get any offers. At the moment DD is saying she would not want to reapply for medicine as she has not enjoyed the drawn out application process. She is also really enjoying physics and chemistry, so might like to study one of these, and is taking maths, though not FM.

Mocks done last week and results to be given out on friday I think.

NMS UCAS extra is a second dib for those who get no offers. There is also clearing, a decent choice for those holding A grades. I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to go through all that stress again but fingers crossed, three interviews is excellent.

DS was late putting his UCAS in but now has offers coming through and is considering Offer Holder visits to a couple of places.

In the middle of mocks still here. Accommodation applied for at Manchester and Liverpool universities. Still not made the final decision of where to firm and insure. I think we will go back to look at both Leeds and Sheffield again maybe over half-term.

Mocks still to come for ds. Good luck for your dcs in the middle of them or waiting results like SecretSquirrels ds. Sorry to hear of the first rejection NMS. Could be the only one - fingers crossed!

Ds is finally telling me which offer holder days he wants to go to and I am at the prices of hotels nearby. It's like doing the Open Days all over again but with a lot less notice to plan and get cheaper deals. Hopefully it's just 2 to see....

Glad to hear someone has managed to book at reasonable prices Gloria Ds tells me he doesn't need to see Exeter again, thankfully, even though they're 50/50 with Warwick for his firm choice ATM. Hope you enjoy the day.

Sorry about rejection Needmoresleep, hope something good works out for your DD.

DS said today was mocks results day. Said he'd text me. Waited all day for text. Just came home & said 'Oh I got it wrong, results are next Friday.'

Needmoresleep hope your DD does well in her other 3 interviews - she has done very well to get this far.

Bethankate my baby DS is also well over 6ft but probably an inch shorter than yours. I too have found myself welling up at odd moments over the fact he won't be here next year. It's when we're chatting at bedtime, I'm usually in bed and he pops in for a quick chat, or when we're having dinner and I find myself thinking 'this time next year'...

Just looking at train fares and accommodation costs in the private sector to get a feel for how much this will cost DS1. He'll get the full loan, but will need a job as I can't support him on my earnings. I'm hoping exH will cough up something, but their relationship isn't wonderful. It looks like Exeter private lets are quite expensive compared to Southampton, Brum and Warwick. That might put DS off a bit, but he really doesn't have much concept of how poor he'll be.

Thank you everyone. We knew it would be rough, because medicine is. But still not easy when all your friends know where they are going.

Accommodation is a worry. Universities are expanding and the government has introduced various measures to level the playing field between first time buyers and buy to let investors, so things were bound to get tighter. The slack has been picked up by private provision, often aimed at richer students. DD's top choice is Bristol. Having heard about the impact the high speed trains are having on property prices I can see a silver lining should any offer be elsewhere.

We are obviously not there yet but is there an easy way to compare accommodation provision in different towns.

I've no idea how accurate it is, but I just posted each town into this website
www.accommodationforstudents.com/searchresults.asp?city=Leamington+Spa&lookingfor=any&searchtype=city&numberofbedrooms=&cost=
and looked at a rough average of weekly costs. Exeter looked like about £120-£130 per week and Brum £90-£100. It may not be particularly scientific but I guess you can get a feel for a rough comparison.

Thanks for that link Ellen, interesting reading. mygrandchildren with my brother being 6ft 6 I think my baby may still grow some more inches. Think I need to follow Needmoresleep's example & plan something exciting for next autumn.

DS back at Imperial today.

I am also feeling a bit Septemberish . . . . DS is 6 ft 1 and whilst he can inevitably be a stroppy bugger on occasions, we share an identical sense of humour and he is a very kind and affectionate boy. He's also an only child so it will be very quiet when he goes and very odd just to be the DH and me again.

The food bill will be a lot less though!