Thread 14? Corona Cohort Yr 12 2021 - 'Vaccinations and Eliminations'

[orangecinnamon]

Just place marking for the New Thread!

Do any of the universities send out a prospectus in the post? Ds1 had several in the post and also he went to a big 6th form event at the Norfolk show ground, he brought several home then too. I know the same event won't be on this year. It was at that event ds1 decided he wanted to go to university.

I've looked at a few universities online and the prospectus is download only. It's nice to have something in your hand to look at, plus I can't get ds to download anything.

We have quite a few hard copy prospectuses. they are here next to me not over invested at all so I can tell you there are definitely actual proper ones from at least :- Southampton. Loughborough ,Bath, Lancaster and Sheffield!

@Piggywaspushed ok thanks. I've looked at a few universities and so far they've said download prospectus. I'll see if those you've mentioned have anything along the history line. Thanks.

I think you have to dig a little for hard copies as they prefer people to use electronic versions as much cheaper. We have Loughborough, waiting for Strathclyde and Manchester.

I’ve got Liverpool’s prospectus from 2019.

York is top of my list for DD - Another non invested mum ;-) DD had Durham top of her list but seems to have been put off recently from all the bad publicity but who knows where she will decide to apply next year. I have started to apply for prospectuses too. I did try to add course details to my spreadsheet but it was all too much info - There seems to be a LOT of optional module for Biology so I thought it would be easier to just get the prospectus and hope DD will read them at some point.

Yeah, I think subjects like biology, geography, history and English are overwhelming : so many modules and so many unis offering different specialisms. It is not very easy to sift through and find out, eg, which unis have lots of choice in coastal geography, or which unis have a focus on social history or military history. Not necessarily a thing most teachers would know either. Some MNers say that doesn't matter because a broad degree is a means to an end and it is status of uni, followed by location of uni (bit of an obsession with campus v city) that matters most but most students I have taught are actually most interested in the content of the course and the assessment types once they have narrowed everything down a bit.

The other thing that influenced me when DS1 applied was cost of accommodation : if I recall , Oxford Brookes was eye watering, which could go some way to explaining why it has a high public school representation. Aberystwyth , by contrast was really cheap even for the lovely brand new stuff.

I think there is a lot of luck with where you end up. A friend's DS was a bright boy who got average grades with no effort, went to Swansea for History with very average grades, was inspired by the lecturers and is now heading for a career as an academic. Swansea has some excellent history lecturers who are top of their field and are invited as experts on media programmes. Sheffield Hallam also has some high profile people. I agree it is really difficult when you want a subject offered at over 100 universities. I saw a video somebody made saying that for most people it is better to go to the second "best" university you can get in to so that you don't feel overwhelmed, may have been Mr Salles on youtube. It is certainly true that people who have worked really hard to get grades can struggle at the next level when they are with people who have easily cruised to the same grades. That is also true at A level.

What are you all doing in half-term? I tried to persuade DS into some "family time" and a walk yesterday, but he was like "Please let me sleep in and do nothing", so I let him be. He starts his internship tom anyway. So tired of lockdown though and the weather too.

I'm impressed with all this uni activity: ds (& I!) haven't made much progress on that front although he did attend a couple of the russell group lectures and found them quite useful and inspiring. He has very positive looking goal grades (AAA*) but is definitely someone who will be happier somewhere he feels confident and capable rather than stretched/stressed and 'inspired'. He's currently loving the look of St Andrews, but it's a looonnnnnnggg way away!!

His school don't seem to be pushing UCAS prep very much and i'm conscious there's so much less that they can be doing this year vs other years :-( He's volunteering for a local charity that I am involved in, but otherwise his extracurricular is pretty much zero (unless you could managing D&D campaigns: which i guess is leadership and planning of a sort ;-)

What is D and D? Dungeons and Dragons?

DS is supposed to organise Virtual Work Experience but buggered if I can find anything. Got momentarily excited about Red Cross but they aren't doing anything. Am surprised more of the social action charities don't have Virtual Work Experience.

Not sure where you live Foff but how is your DS with cold? St Andrew's is - ermmm- bracing.

Dd has a plan for university decision making which involves collaborating with her best friend (different school and area) to apply to the same ones!

Her friend is looking at Law, dd is probably going for Psychology! Friend lives about an hour away from us, but when we move it will be more like an hour and a half. So we’ll need to think about travelling distance to different universities from our house and then factor in travelling distance for friend! In some ways, maybe not a bad thing as it will reduce options down!

Course content or structure doesn’t seem to be at all significant in DD’s mind at the moment!

Yup, dungeons and dragons! Lol, @Piggywaspushed: I don't think he can really imagine it tbh, as a southerner born and bred (I lived in Scotland for formative childhood years and my main recall is the weather ;-) He is however a MASSIVE fan of thermal clothing (it was on his birthday list!) and a keen wildlife/bird watcher and I can see St A will work with that. I don't think it'll be his final choice tbh, but I think it's useful to have a 'ohhh, that looks fun' to inspire some more digging. He's not a city person really and campus's have the danger of feeling a bit sterile/new so I can see why St A's appeals.

I am super invested because DS is my second child. I have an older DD who I think on balance ( and she agrees) made the wrong choice for uni because I left it entirely to her. She chose it bcos she had friends studying in it, and while she is doing ok, she now realises she should have gone with another choice. TBH it was also cheaper, but probably is a false economy.

Frequentflier DS has managed to squeeze in some last minute virtual work experience starting today for the week. Apart from that, nothing else planned. I think he’s relieved to have got his last piece of work (Economics essay) in (1 week overdue) very unlike him.

Ah, St Andrews is magical, DS1 loves it. Here is the view from his bedroom window last week and a photo I took when dropping him off and we had lunch at the Toastie Shack

Oh well, St A's sounds perfect if he has thermals!

When DS1 and I went to Aberystwyth he could not cope with either the hills or the wind. Have no idea where this southern softie came from!

(To be fair, I had earache for two days after my day in Aber)

Ooh piggy, that brings back memories of the open day I went to in Aber in 1993/4! The wind really put me off!

@Monkey2001: wow, those photos are amazing!! Just showed DS who loved them, thanks. Any drawbacks/disadvantages from your ds's perspective? What is he studying (if you don't mind me asking, fine not to say if it's a bit too outting!)

Just checking in to say that I have taken some time off and am sitting with DS while he does some much needed catch-up, the list of topics that he's behind is daunting. I am practicing my deep breathing and fake cheeriness.

@AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore he is doing medicine, but most of his friends are doing other subjects. Happy to answer questions, but here are a couple of links:

Really nice mumsnet thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4103843-St-Andrews-into-2021-new-thread

Great summary of the good and bad by a former student in the first post on The Student Room thread - www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6431074

I love that it is small (7,000 students) so there is a real community and you see familiar faces on the main streets. It is BEAUTIFUL, think Cambridge by the Sea with lovely beaches. It is very international, DS has met people from all over the world, a couple of his good friends are from Kazakhstan and Canada. In normal times the social life is around house parties, university societies and balls rather than clubbing, but they can go clubbing in Dundee.

The only downside is that private accommodation is expensive, but still affordable if you don't mind living more than 20 minute walk from lectures. Hall accommodation is expensive if you want en suite, but the older halls with shared bathrooms are fine if you are happy to be catered (and your bathroom is cleaned by a cleaner!)

PM me if you want more info so we don't hog this thread.

Just one more photo which somebody posted on the parent FB group last week.

DD seems keen on Welsh unis, but luckily Swansea and Cardiff, not Aberystwyth! I've never been, but have always heard that it's a place people fall in love with. I have been watching Hinterland on Netflix which is set there and I cannot imagine falling in love with the place - admittedly it is a dark programme, but the place seems to be in a permanent hurricane and semi-permanent twilight!

Aberystwyth town centre needs urgent investment. Sadly, it was looking very run down. I grew up in a seaside town but I think it was a bit of a shock to DS's system (he is hardly metropolitan himself!) to see such old fashioned shop fronts and so many semi derelict buildings.

The uni itself is very nice.

THanks - I shall continue to encourage her interest in the south of Wales