D of E - how relevant to university applications?

[TwoLeftElbows]

Posting on this board because it's an educational question for secondary age.

Question in the title really - how important or otherwise is D of E for university applications these days? DD is at a very middle class, high achieving comp and quite a few of her friends are doing bronze D of E, mostly "for their uni applications". One even told her it's essential. DD is very academic, articulate and passionate about her subjects and I thought universities are less interested in extra-curricular box ticking these days, but is there still value in D of E? I think she will cover all the elements in her existing activities really, apart from planning the walk, so I'm not sure she would gain loads in personal development from it.

She does do a voluntary activity and a club so she has some stuff to talk about, but not masses compared with friends who do sports, music exams etc. I am not sure what to advise her.

Extra curricular are relevant but it doesn't have to be D of E if she has no interest in it... Unis just want well rounded individuals with extras related to their field of study if necessary

It can be useful I think for those who aren’t doing much else (more for team building, confidence etc I would imagine rather than uni applications) but I very much doubt it will hold her back at all if she’s already volunteering.

Lots of people do DoE bronze, fewer do silver, and even fewer do gold. So, in reality bronze DoE doesn't really make much difference. It won't do any harm but unless your daughter goes on to the other levels it won't make he stand out

I think it’s more important to be passionate about the subject that you want to do, and have things that you can talk about in your personal statement and in person. My dd did summer schools and taster sessions for her subject, entered competitions, was subject rep and did an EPQ.

Not remotely useful for uni applications. Most unis don't read the personal statement, with offers made automatically. Some courses at some unis want to see evidence of RELEVANT activities to the course (eg working with women for midwifery, debate team for politics, and how such experience have helped you), but DofE - no!

A nice thing to do in its own right of course.

Mine never did it and all got good offers from RG unis. They only mentioned their interests briefly, both did sport to a high level which they mentioned and one went on to coach it which she mentioned.

DofE itself is irrelevant.
Showing evidence of independence, teamworking skills, self-reliance etc might be helpful in marginal cases, but the reality is that for most academic uni courses it's grades that matter.
OP - it sounds like your DD would have more than enough for her uni applications!

Schools like to big it up as they can only run it if they have enough kids enrolled and of course it looks good on their marketing materials.

In reality it only appears in uni applications on the personal statement which is less than one A4 page (and less than 4000 characters).
In DS's personal statement he only had enough room for "Completed D of E awards."

Not relevant at all.
Get subject experience instead, like exhibitions, courses, work experience, lectures, even tutoring.
As pp, in his statement, Ds's extra curic. stuff was "I play the violin, cricket and football."
Job done. Offers from all (top ) uni's.

Dds was something like "I play football to a high level and help coach younger players." thst was literally it.

Tbf I think gold is probably worth mentioning

A friend of dds didn't do very well and wnet into clearing - the uni she approached was interested in the gold D of e she said.

Not really anymore.

Mine is off to LSE in Sept. No DofE. Did acting, got a job, and read intensively about her chosen subject and wrote about this in her personal statement.

Irrelevant in itself. Even gold. But the activities could be useful for a CV to show transferable skill etc.

My DC are at or aiming for Russell Group, and don’t think they even mentioned DoE on their personal statement.

@TwoLeftElbows

Posting on this board because it's an educational question for secondary age.

Question in the title really - how important or otherwise is D of E for university applications these days? DD is at a very middle class, high achieving comp and quite a few of her friends are doing bronze D of E, mostly "for their uni applications". One even told her it's essential. DD is very academic, articulate and passionate about her subjects and I thought universities are less interested in extra-curricular box ticking these days, but is there still value in D of E? I think she will cover all the elements in her existing activities really, apart from planning the walk, so I'm not sure she would gain loads in personal development from it.

She does do a voluntary activity and a club so she has some stuff to talk about, but not masses compared with friends who do sports, music exams etc. I am not sure what to advise her.

My dd had no interest in doing it so didn't. She is starting Uni this year

My children didn’t mention D of E when applying for University . All are or were at RG universities.

My sample of one suggests it makes no difference. You’re very constrained in how much you can write in a PS and unless it’s relevant to course, lots ends up being left out anyway. Do DoE for fun - but not ‘for university’.

Agree not important at all. DD1 didn’t do it and got 5 offers from well regarded universities. DD2 did Bronze but only for the fun of doing it.

Not needed at all, unless you literally do nothing else. My two got offers from all their chosen unis without it.

It is really pushed and if you enjoy that stuff then do it but not otherwise imho.

We got caught up in the ‘it’ll be important for Uni applications’ fervour…spent an absolute fortune on the kit & persuaded our not very outdoorsy DS1 to go through it (he hated every second!). I’m the end he didn’t complete it due to COVID restrictions, I wish we hadn’t bothered tbh!

I’d encourage other extra-curriculars if it’s not something they actively want to do - I can’t see the benefit of forcing them to do something they despise rather than encouraging something they enjoy!? Also can’t see how it’ll make him any more appealing when he’s applying for academic courses unrelated to an endurance event whilst wearing wet socks in a tent?

Ironically DS2 loves everything that the DofE challenge will present (tramping miles in the pissing rain with a heavy backpack, camping etc!) & can’t wait to do it. At least we have all the kit!!

Not usually relevant for uni applications but can be very useful when applying for jobs. Can be relevant for uni if their volunteering or skill is linked to what they want to study eg I have some students doing conservation for volunteering for volunteering who want to study environmental science so the practical experience is very important. Same with medical students - have volunteered in hospitals and care homes.

Always particpate in DofE (obviously if it interests you) and mention it on your university application form.
Those advising against it have not waded through multiple samey forms (for one of the most academic degrees). And/or do not realise the determination involved.

Not necessary.

But - the volunteering my dd did turned out to be relevant to her course so she mentioned that on her application.

It’s also good to do outdoor stuff/camping if their lives don’t tend to include it just for their own personal development so worth it for that alone.

@Utility

Always particpate in DofE (obviously if it interests you) and mention it on your university application form. Those advising against it have not waded through multiple samey forms (for one of the most academic degrees). And/or do not realise the determination involved.

On the contrary, having waded through many forms from student work experience applicants I'd argue that DofE is one of the things that makes them appear 'samey'. I'm much more impressed by someone who has done something a bit different, especially if it involves a bit of self-initiation, rather than just being processed through DofE which is provided by the school! (And I say this as a parent who has had 2 DCs do Dof E, so I'm aware of what they do as part of it).

We will have to agree to differ, then.

NB. I am talking about university application forms.

One did. One didn't. Both got good offers.