nervousmom wrote:
Thanks for your replies, this is extremely helpful.
He did extremely well in his GCSE's so this could be helpful in securing a place.
His latest report shows predicted grades of A* A* A, so if he keeps up the hard work, hopefully he'll get some good offers.
From your advice it would be a good idea to have a uni with lower grades (I think Nottingham is AAB, whereas Bristol is higher)
He is booked onto talks at Bristol for Civil and Mechanical, as he doesn't know which to take, so hopefully this will help.
We are visiting 6 unis, at the moment, Bristol is preferred with Nottingham second, but obviously once he visits, that could all change. Both are about an hour from home, so weekends back would be easy enough, if he wants to!!
I will no doubt have many more questions.
Thanks again.
Interestingly, Bristol on paper was DS1s preference, but when he went for the Open Day, although he said it was OK, by the time he had visited others, it didn't even make the UCAS cut. With regards to which to firm/insure, you may not have the luxury of a lower grade offer for insurance - warn your son to think carefully about which one he would prefer to go to - some unis are a bit sneaky and offer things like a lower grade if you firm them....not always a good thing....!
I do second the accommodation thing - some of the unis take your choices and then effectively do a ballot on a set day, so everyone has an equal chance of getting one of their options (Birmingham require you to list 6 choices), others (eg Nottingham) do the first come first served which is massively unfair to Medics/Vet/Dentistry students who, although they have to apply early, the process can take months before offers come through with interviews etc. Don't choos a university based on a lovely ensuite bedroom they showed you - the chances of getting that are slim - and the chances of affording it are even slimmer! (Most loans don't even cover the cost of the rent at some unis).
And Tinker is the expert in engineering - completely agree about the placement year - it really will be invaluable for a Civ Eng degree - but if they don't help with placements it can be very stressful...!