GCSEs 2018 (15) The Reckoning

[mmzz]

thread 14
The next step of the all new GCSE journey.

@mmzz His first choice is a selective 6th form which is asking for 8's at GCSE for the A level subjects he wants to do. 2nd choice is our local 6th form college which is very good. My older DS went there.
We found with my older DS and his friends that by Christmas of year 12 they were kind of 'done' with school and needed a half way house between school and Uni. Hence my younger DS has not considered staying at school nor did he consider the local super selective grammar.

spababe Your DS is hoping to do Physics next year and he needs a 8 for that? DS is hoping to do Physics too, but only needs a 7. I thought the requirements would be similar. Obviously not!

mmzz yes needs an 8 in maths physics and CS

At the moment it’s looking unlikely he will be able to drive for the immediate future. When we thought it was mini strokes then his 3 months took him to mid Sept. if it’s the auriculur thing then that in itself doesn’t preclude driving although it has to be declared, it depends on the level of dizziness. But he is getting a lot of dizziness.

We need to find out how long his sick pay lasts as well but at the moment he’s not fit to work at all.

Mmzz he may be able to do a phased return/shorter hours that fit in with the trains better. On the other hand a singing teacher with serious hearing issues???? He is quite upset as you can imagine.

Acoustic not auriculur I meant to say.

The uni 'debt' they come out with is an additional tax. The money saving expert site explains it well. All 'debt' is wiped after 30 years anyway and you pay a bit more income tax really.

The main problem I think is the maintenance loan. The minimum is about 4K but that barely covers the cost of halls. The max is about 8K and wherever you fall inbetween those two figures, parents are supposed to make up the difference.

There is barely any allowance for having 2 children at uni at the same time eg twins, close siblings so then parents have to find up to 8-9K depending on the family income for maintenance (food and accom)

Alexander re rent it depends on area. One of my DC is renting an ensuite bedroom with use of kitchen but no meals for £135 a week (Oxfordshire). That would rent a whole house at home.

Uni costs - the experience of friends and colleagues is that Cambridge is cheaper than most unis and much cheaper than London or even Bristol. The college rent is reasonable and the fees the same.

The students don’t start to repay student loans until they earn over £25000. Then they pay 10% of their earnings above £25000.

Here are some amounts for annual repayments from moneysavingexpert.com:

If you earn £26,000 in a year, what do you repay?

The answer is £90, as £26,000 is £1,000 above the threshold and 9% of £1,000 is £90.

And if you earn £35,000, what do you repay?

The answer is £900. £35,000 is £10,000 above the threshold and 9% of that is £900.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes/

Alex My DD is currently staying in a non ensuite room in halls for the second phase of NCS. They would cost £110 per week or £124 for a larger room, without any food thrown in. Can you apply for more grants/bursaries/ hardship funds for her?

Alexander Your poor DH. FiL has a vertigo condition that flares up without warning. It's horrible to have dizziness symptoms like that. I hope the medics can get your dh's condition under control once they know for sure.

A friend said she was going to pay the fees but when she realised how much maintenance she would have to make up she changed her mind.

Some of my colleagues paid fees but a little while ago when they were cheaper.

Handy hint if you have a D.C. who might not be great at budgeting, use their maintenance loan to pay rent (hopefully it will cover most of it ) then pay you contribution monthly, fortnightly or weekly as needed.

Sainsbury’s do a great meal ticket card where family can top up the balance and the students can spend it. Great for grandparents wanting to make contribution. One of our put £50 a month on which as actually a big help, especially for toiletries and cider!www.sainsburysgifts.co.uk/meal_ticket_cards.html

I don't believe how many posts we've had today, but I've found mmzz's plea for inspiration. So, we need continuity from GCSEs 2018 (15), leading into Year 12 (16). It's bland, It's boring, but I'm feeling distinctly like a middle aged accountant this evening:

Moving into Year 12 (16) from GCSEs 2018 (15)

You creative sorts can work on that as a starter.

I guess the upside for dd is that she gets an award for tuition fees. It isn’t a loan so doesn’t have to be paid back. However there is no maintenance unless you earn less than £30k so that is entirely parental funded. We always knew we’d pay this in her final year. It’s just come 2 years earlier than planned.

And costs up here are far less than at the London colleges at least.

AlexanderHamilton he has my sympathy. I had viral labyrinthitis a few weeks ago and it was horrible even though mine only lasted a couple of weeks.

Alex can you trawl around any local Rotary clubs or Lions clubs who may be able to make a donation towards her shoes/kit/books etc.? The club my dad is in is always trying to help out talented people like your DD as part of their community good works. As they say in Tesco, every little helps, especially when you are facing so many uncertainties at present.

The problem is that everyone is chasing it. There are talented young people at all the colleges who didn’t get a DaDA Award so have to find the fees & these are the ones the charities tend to help. Also at the moment we have two good incomes. If that changes & Dh has to give up work we do have some insurance & we may then be eligible for maintenance.

Year 12 (16): xxxx it is! I think there were some good ideas for the xxxx.
And we will all migrate to Further Education?? (A board I've never visited before as I always thought it was for the grown ups!)
Thank you, Stickerrocks!

Threads for sixth form seem to alternate between staying on secondary and moving to further education. DS1's thread was on secondary but DS2's moved to further. I guess it is further education to include colleges but sixth forms in schools just feel like an extension of secondary.

So no help from me, I'm on the fence.

I think Further Ed seems more appropriate.

I feel that Further Education would be the right place, as some will be doing their Level courses at at a FE college rather than at a sixth form attached to a secondary school.

Also, it's a quieter board, so easy to find the thread if it drops off your TIO.

Yes, agree with using FE thread

@Alexander - I have messaged you.

The cost of US colleges is insane
The sticker price is over $60k per year including board and food. BUT there are massive need and merit based subsidies.
UK students aren't entitled to federal funding but the Ivy League Unis often do needs blind admissions whereby they assess what parents can reasonably afford to pay and make up the difference - so they don't expect students to have student loans.
Whilst we have been here we have found that many of the Unis that are just below Ivy are equally as generous because they want to attract the brightest students to improve their standing in the leagues.
So...if you have an Oxbridge/High RG DC then it could actually be cheaper than the UK
The majority have a cut off of $160k or even $250k income before you are unable to access the funding.

...however....,many (most?) of the DC don't seem to come home between school years and are expected to do research during break and they are 4 year degrees
So yes, not coming back is a risk/likelihood.
There's also a holistic approach rather than pure exam results- so unless DC have a really good extracurricular profile there's zero chance (sports, head boy/girl/peer tutor/community service etc) - and it's normally expected over many years
We didn't know the extent before we came but they are looking for people who can demonstrate many years contributing to their school and local communities.

All my thoughts and prayers to alexander and dh.

FE section sounds good to me too!

We have been looking at costs for uni too and being poor may be an advantage. My dd only earns about 12k tops so we should be able to get full bursaries for dgd. We will apply for a bursary at current school for 6th form. It is a worry I must say.

Glad all are well and it won't be long till results day and the next phase of our dcs lives start. What about title for thread being something like...the song and dance of opus 2. A bit lame I know

It’s August, it’s results month!!

Anyone got any thoughts about how to handle the big day? Go to school with DC and wait outside until they emerge with results? Go into school with DC? Wait at home? If you wait at home, how can you speak to teachers for advice if results are better/worse than predicted? How to celebrate/comissarate results? To buy or not to buy a present and if so what as a well done? Anything else??