University visits - class of 2020

[tinytots]

Update: DD has received an offer from Durham and is delighted. Reality of trying to hit the A*s is now real for her though ...yikes! Just waiting for St Andrews to respond now.
Hope everyone else hanging in there for offers is ok

[kathrynmc]

Hi all

I have been reading this thread with interest as my daughter is in Year 12 so we will be visiting universities shortly.

How did your children first start to choose university’s did they look at league tables, those ones that are closer to home, the feel once there.

Not quite sure where to start, I know she wants to apply to Cambridge/Oxford and is interested in Lancaster as it’s a campus university.

[Photogirl62]

Originally Posted by kathrynmc

Hi all

I have been reading this thread with interest as my daughter is in Year 12 so we will be visiting universities shortly.

How did your children first start to choose university’s did they look at league tables, those ones that are closer to home, the feel once there.

Not quite sure where to start, I know she wants to apply to Cambridge/Oxford and is interested in Lancaster as it’s a campus university.

See more...

Welcome! What does your DD want to study? That will have a huge bearing on where to think about?
My DD got into Oxford last week to study masters in maths but she has decided to reject it in favour of Warwick which is a campus university and has the better maths course.
As she is doing maths we only looked at Russell group unis then looked at location and league tables but the course content was a massive factor

[tinytots]

Originally Posted by kathrynmc

Hi all

I have been reading this thread with interest as my daughter is in Year 12 so we will be visiting universities shortly.

How did your children first start to choose university’s did they look at league tables, those ones that are closer to home, the feel once there.

Not quite sure where to start, I know she wants to apply to Cambridge/Oxford and is interested in Lancaster as it’s a campus university.

See more...

Hi
I agree it depends on what she wants to study as courses vary hugely depending on University.
We did a lot of research, based on the type of course, expectations of grades etc and the entry requirements, then narrowed down the Russell group ones she thought she wanted to see. Although Lancaster is not Russell group, the Physics department was amazing. Open Days are vital to get a sense of the place and the department. She thought Exeter and Warwick would be in her top five but she ruled them out as soon as we visited( the course/ department I must add not the actual Uni) We started our first open day last April and then visited in June, July and September the others. So it’s worth checking to see when Open days are happening.
So much to research and think about. Good luck

[soooexcited!]

Another big thing to factor in for my daughter was getting a feel of the city where you may end up living. How easy is it to get around? How close is the accomodation to where you may live in your first year? What's the support like if you are struggling. How much time is taught. I was shocked at how many lecture/tutor hours she had.

[kathrynmc]

Originally Posted by Photogirl62

Welcome! What does your DD want to study? That will have a huge bearing on where to think about?
My DD got into Oxford last week to study masters in maths but she has decided to reject it in favour of Warwick which is a campus university and has the better maths course.
As she is doing maths we only looked at Russell group unis then looked at location and league tables but the course content was a massive factor

See more...

Thanks for replying. She wants to study Law. Well done to your daughter on getting accepted into Oxford. I think I will have a look at Warwick she see what she thinks

[kathrynmc]

Originally Posted by tinytots

Hi
I agree it depends on what she wants to study as courses vary hugely depending on University.
We did a lot of research, based on the type of course, expectations of grades etc and the entry requirements, then narrowed down the Russell group ones she thought she wanted to see. Although Lancaster is not Russell group, the Physics department was amazing. Open Days are vital to get a sense of the place and the department. She thought Exeter and Warwick would be in her top five but she ruled them out as soon as we visited( the course/ department I must add not the actual Uni) We started our first open day last April and then visited in June, July and September the others. So it’s worth checking to see when Open days are happening.
So much to research and think about. Good luck

See more...

She wants to study Law.

Can you recommend any websites, or did you just look at each universities individual website

[tinytots]

Originally Posted by kathrynmc

She wants to study Law.

Can you recommend any websites, or did you just look at each universities individual website

See more...

We have used a variety of league tables and also searched for the subject, so for DD its Physics. The complete university guide and the Guardian are ones I can remember but Im sure we have looked at many. DD also watched a lot of Vlogs etc on You tube of students at the UNIs and subjects she is interested in. So much information out there, its quite overwhelming but it helps narrow down.

thecompleteuniversitygui...s/rankings/law

theguardian/educatio...ue-tables-2020

[Leia Organa]

Originally Posted by kathrynmc

Hi all

How did your children first start to choose university’s did they look at league tables, those ones that are closer to home, the feel once there.

Not quite sure where to start, I know she wants to apply to Cambridge/Oxford and is interested in Lancaster as it’s a campus university.

See more...

Helpful to look at what course they want to study. It can be difficult to tell what a course will actually be like. My daughter was determined to do a vocational course but then after a year of nursing decided it wasn't for her. She loved the university and had made really good friends. She has changed course and is really enjoying her new course studying subjects she enjoyed at school.

There are lot of people on here who have children and their friends at uni studying all different courses. It's always good to get some first hand reports from people.

Good luck over the next couple of years!

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by kathrynmc

Hi all

I have been reading this thread with interest as my daughter is in Year 12 so we will be visiting universities shortly.

How did your children first start to choose university’s did they look at league tables, those ones that are closer to home, the feel once there.

Not quite sure where to start, I know she wants to apply to Cambridge/Oxford and is interested in Lancaster as it’s a campus university.

See more...

With us, it was mostly based on the course(s) DD wanted to do and the distance from home. Originally, she was interested in VetMed but then changed to BioVet Science, so that limited the choices out there. From these, she picked universities that weren't too far away and quickly reduced the list down to about 8 universities. Then after going to open days and reading a bit more about the university she/we narrowed it down to her top 5.

I can't say we ever looked at league tables.