Struggling with letting go

[Moomin]

One of my parents came with me to my university open days and that was 20 years ago, it was the norm amongst friends and the majority of people I saw there. Big decision at 16/17 and I wanted a second opinion I guess (and of course they were contributing financially!). It definitely wasn't a lack of independence as I chose to move to London from a small town and never looked back or felt homesick really!

[LinMM]

Well I'd already travelled to France and Germany on my own to stay with pen friends there etc by Uni interviews so it was nothing to go Exeter and Reading!!

I didn't get interviews at all six places just the first two I think......it's almost getting too long ago to remember!!

 

I do remember having a lovely interview at Exeter and really wanted to go there but alas two of my A level grades were not good enough

[LinMM]

In fact I still have a soft spot for the city to this day because of that day all those years ago!

[aileen]

I think that my mother travelled to the universities with me but she didn't attend the open days. I went round on my own. That was 34(!) years ago.

[2dancersmum]

I only went to one open day and I know I was driven there but believe I went round on my own.  It is organised differently by the universities these days though.  My son attended some open days on his own and some with a parent, depending how easily he could get there on public transport.  Once he had his 5 offers however all of the universities invited him and his parents to departmental open days where separate events were held for the potential students and parents.  I attended one and it really was a big sell for why to chose that university in preference to the other 4.  At the end of the day they can only accept 1 firm and 1 provisional offer from the 5 universities applied for and the universities do not want potential students choosing their rivals.  It is definitely about the finances.

[aileen]

Oh, that's interesting: the universities specifically cater for the parents. I'm not sure that it's just about the finances though. It's also a recognition that many of today's parents are *much* more involved in all aspects of their children's lives and education is towards the top of the list of most parents' concerns. A friend of mine is a teacher and he feels that parents and pupils (and, by extension, students) have a much more 'consumerist' approach to education which is bound to have been exacerbated by the introduction of, and subsequent increases in, tuition fees. My friend is routinely asked by pupils "What do I have to do to get an 'A'? When I was at school no-one asked this question. You just worked hard and if you did well enough you would get an 'A'.

[2dancersmum]

I would agree that there is a more consumerist approach and definitely the increase in tuition fees plays a large part in it.  Tuition fees are not really the issue (although that is always what is discussed) but more the student loan for accommodation and living expenses.  Part of this is fixed and part income related but I doubt that for the majority of students the full loan even covers the cost of the accommodation, especially for the first year which is typically in halls and therefore more expensive than houses.  My son did not go in halls, nor is he in one of the more expensive towns, but his student loan was still about £800 short of accommodation costs and that did not include food or other living costs.

As for the 'A', these days a lot of the universities require A*, let alone A and there is a tremendous amount of pressure to get an A in every paper or the A* is impossible.  I went to university myself and the course I did required B,B,C.  The same course these days gives the offer A*, A, A.  My father went to Oxford and can be quite scathing about the educational standards of young people today but even he had to admit when he saw my son going through the whole process that then and now cannot really be compared because so much has changed and he sees my son work so much harder than he ever did.

[LinMM]

I think it's completely different now.

 

I was doing all this and I can't believe I am writing this 48 years ago!!

I am pretty sure there were no open days then.

You had six choices and did have to look very carefully at the order of the first three....eg I originally had wanted to put Exeter first and Bristol second but the head said if I wanted to include Bristol it had to go first!! ....They wouldn't be happy unless it was your first choice!

In the end I didn't apply to Bristol so Exeter stayed number one.

Then I think you only got to see the Uni when offered an interview and usually just the first two I think

 

I had to get B's in all three subjects and Latin O level to get a place at Exeter in 1966. Well I got a B and two C's and one of the C's was for the main subject so lost my place there to my chagrin. A's were for the truly brainy lot in those days!!

 

I don't know whether it was the Head of German or the Head of Modern Languages at Exeter in year 65/66 who interviewed me but he was such a nice man and I was truly annoyed with myself for messing up and not being able to go to Exeter which I fell in love with.

 

The A* thing seems a very recent development but in our day they were trying to attract students to Uni whereas now as with jobs etc there are more students than places though tuition fees may change this again.

[Legseleven]

You are so right LinMM, As at A level really were for the very few, very brainy students. I do understand that it must be infuriating when the older generations are, shall we say, rather amused by the plethora of A*s and As, but to be honest it shouldn't happen - top grades should be rare, say for the top very small percentage nationally.

 

You simply can't compare today's exams to those of up to c the 1990s and nor can you compare the results. Coursework, modules and the availability of retakes until the required grade is achieved (although I understand that this may now stop) are totally different from exams marked on the basis of final exam papers only - although I agree with 2dancersmum's father that today's students need to work more consistently because they don't have the 'all or nothing' final exam, for which it was possible to cram.....;-)

[Legseleven]

You're also right about the 'politics' which had to be understood about which university to place where on the list of 5, LinMM! As far as I'm concerned, getting that right was an exercise in diplomacy and tact which stood every applicant in good stead for life!

[straceydor]

When I was at school, university was not even mentioned this was 25 years ago. I don't think I would of got in any way. Four years ago I did a HE college course, and three years ago I got into uni, this year I am graduating with a 2.2 something I thought I would never get.

[Jan McNulty]

Congratulations on your success Straceydor!

[Lisa O`Brien]

When I was 16 and in my first year at the RBS I still didn't have contact lenses (they forced me to get them my second year and I have blessed them for that ever since!) and vain creature that I was, I refused to wear glasses.  I had to change to an overground train at Victoria from the underground and I was forever getting on the wrong train, because rushing to look on the board and not seeing well enough, I would jump to conclusions and end up in wierd places.  My poor dad was always having to rescue me from unknown stations!   I think he was very glad when I finally got contacts!

Dance is life,I can completely identify with being as blind as a bat and needing contact lenses.Finally realised I really did need them [after wearing glasses since I was 15],was one night dancing at the Moulin Rouge. I fell off the stage .Just didn`t see the end of the stage and missed it completely. I was ribbed about that for weeks.!

[Lisa O`Brien]

The thing which concerns me with successive UK governments these days is this. They have an ambition for 50 per cent of the population ,in generations to come,to eventually have a University Degree. Half the population? Are they serious? I thought the whole point of a university degree was for the very very brightest to excel. How on earth are people supposed to get jobs that require degree -level education when they are becoming so run of the mill that the government wants 50 percent to have them? Surely, if every Tom,Dick and Harry has a degree,doesn`t this devalue the whole thing?

[Lisa O`Brien]

BUT... Having just said that,yes i`ve seen the standard required for University entry nowadays. Professor Brian Cox [who is coming to University College Dublin this Friday and I have reserved a ticket to listen to his live speech;he`s officially opening the uni`s new  science dept. I can`t wait.!!!!!].Anyway,I`m digressing. After he toured the world with Dare before joining D:REAM, he applied to the University of Manchester to do a Physics degree. He was accepted immediately. He only has 2 A Levels. Physics and Maths. He got,naturally Grade A for Physics but a Grade D in Maths;mainly because D:REAM were performing on stage the night before his exam supporting Take That and he fell into his maths exam after getting home at about 3 in the morning. Anyway,he now lectures at Manchester,teaching 1st years Quantum and Relativity. If he had applied today to do a Physics degree at Manchester with his 2 [one of them very poor]A Levels, he would have been laughed out the door.To be taught by Professor Brian Cox at Manchester University you have to have minimum A Star,A Star,A Grades. That ,apparently is tougher than Cambridge for entry requirements.

[LinMM]

You lucky thing thequays seeing Brian Cox for real!!

My friends make fun of me for it but I really like him and his science programmes!! I'd love to see him live!

Sorry this thread is going wildly off topic.....unless you can count not being able to let go of an addiction to Brian Cox!

[BankruptMum]

The sadest thing of all is that often what used to be considered a 'run of the mill' job require a degree to even be considered for interview - they are creating a divide.

[Lisa O`Brien]

I agree ,Bankrupt Mum. Plus the competition for Uni places is just insane. In the last few years, applications for Queen`s University Belfast Social Work degree has just gone mad. Over 2,000 applicants every year for the full time 3 year degree. There are 46 places available.

Edited October 15, 2013 by thequays