Almost adult teenager and studying - or not!

lika_86

Nobody here seems to have mentioned here that if he goes to university there will be greater temptations for procrastination than Facebook and nobody to force him to go to lectures or seminars.

With resits now so easy, it might be kinder to allow him to fail and realise that he needs to put the work in himself in order to succeed.

Equally, if you're worried about his motivation, he might be better on an accountancy degree which leads directly into a job rather than a general maths degree which will have less of a focus on a career path. I always knew what I wanted to do and so it was easy to focus on the results I needed to do what I wanted (law) but some of my friends lacked that focus and being on more general courses didn't help that constant reminder of what they needed to do to get that all important 2:1.

kazd

Well a few months on and there have been some changes. January exams not good, last chance saloon and more re-sits involved. However, a re-sit he did has been improved to an A in one of his Maths modules. Son and Tutor still think he can pull an A out of the bag for Maths and a B for Further Maths. Prediction is B for biology so fingers crossed..

Changed his degree course, said he didn't want to study maths for the sake of studying maths and wanted to study something he would actually use in the work place. Think he is missing the point that a maths degree opens many more doors.

Changed to an Accounting and Finance degree which was fine but his first choice Leeds do not make any allowance for FM so the entry requirement is AAA (Maths was A*BB because of FM) His second choice however (Liverpool) has the same entry requirement ( ABB) so I think that has now become his first choice.

After attending the post application visit he then changed again from the 3 year course to the 4 year (includes a year in Industry) as the University were promoting this quite heavily.

He was able to secure a weeks work experience with PriceswaterhouseCoopers which he really enjoyed and I think helped make his mind up.

So it's a wait and see game now.

Lara44

That's great to hear.

I wilted under the pressure that I put on myself, and my parents put on me during the A-Level year and failed to even apply for University. I ended up scoring highly but getting a place that didn't suit me in clearing. The fact that your son is getting work experience and weighing up and changing courses is something REALLY positive, as it means he is taking the time to think about what is a good 'fit' for his life.

In my experience nagging is not very effective compared to a proper motivational chat. Talk to him about what he enjoys about his work, what he could improve and how. Let him know how different and exciting Uni will be. Encourage him to really pay attention in class, and ask questions there rather than bringing problems home and muddling through them himself. Short periods of real revision can be better than hours and hours spent in his room only half paying attention. There are cheap software programs that will block Internet access for a set period of time that might be helpful for him.

I hope he does well

chiefpossession

Great news

I am a sixth form group tutor and I know that it is very difficult for some students to really get down to hard graft without a specific goal. Once they see the grades required for their uni/apprenticeship/etc they start to focus much more. Sometimes poor performance in January modules is the kick in the pants they need and shows them where they are in relation to where they need to be.

I have two children at uni myself. They are constantly being tested or assessed. I do have sleepless nights about my son who definitely enjoys the party life but the tests and assignments seem to be going well, so it is about getting the balance right. Your son is developing the study habits that he will need at uni and the fact that he improved in his resit shows that he is on the right track.

Best of luck to him over the next few months.

Threebabes

Im in the same position but a year behind you.

Its got to the stage that we are letting him get on with it. We can't make our son want it.

He reckons he is starting to revise for his exams tomorrow, so DH and I are making sure one of us is in the house as much as possible so he knuckles down. Its ridic, I do know that Im not sure what else to do.

Hes a lovely boy, doesnt really drink, doesnt smoke, or party, just lazy.

Could he not resit the year, if his grades arent good enough?

onlyroz

I am assuming that he would be due to start uni in September/October this year? Would it be possible for him to obtain another (preferably paid) internship at Price Waterhouse over the summer? This would gain him valuable work experience and should hopefully give him a bit more drive to study hard for his final exams, and would be a good preparation for the start of his degree course.

Threebabes

chiefpossession wrote: »

Great news

I am a sixth form group tutor and I know that it is very difficult for some students to really get down to hard graft without a specific goal. Once they see the grades required for their uni/apprenticeship/etc they start to focus much more. Sometimes poor performance in January modules is the kick in the pants they need and shows them where they are in relation to where they need to be.

Ive sent this paragraph to my son, hopefully it will spur him on. Lazy little toe rag

neverdespairgirl

I come from a family of 4 children (I'm the eldest) where education was regarded as very important, and further education expected, rather than just thought about.

I too got through GCSEs without too much effort, because they aren't that stretching, and with a minimum of work and a lot of common sense, you can get through most of them fine.

A levels were different - much harder work, and for the first term, I sat back a bit, then realised that I could actually get much more pleasure out of the course if I worked harder, so I did, and got AAA (1995). I did a law degree at UCL in London.

My next sister was very bright, worked reasonably hard at A level, and got OK but not amazing grades (ABC). She did a foundation Art course, then a degree in primary teacher training with additional French and German, and she's now a journalist.

My younger sister is fairly dyslexic, worked incredibly hard for her A levels, and acheived a very impressive ACC (A in Art, Cs in Chemistry and Biology). She didn't go to university, but did a long part-time course to become a chiropracter.

The youngest, my brother, isn't stupid, but was fairly idle. My parents, mostly my Mama, had to put more pressure on him to work than the rest of us put together. She bullied him through his A levels, he got AABC, and went to Sussex to study law. He's now a teacher in Korea. without my mother's coming down on him like ton of bricks, he wouldn't have got there at all.

ognum

the good thing about life today is that you do not have to know at 18 what you are going to'be for the rest of your life.

There are plenty of opportunities to change direction and walk a new path if your chosen one is no longer right for you.

I believe all you can do is talk with your son, then it's down to him. many young people are not ready for University at 18, they would be better going out and finding out about life, working or traveling as long as they have to support themselves.

They do need to find their way with a gentle guiding hand not a prod.

System

At university he will not have somebody to instill discipline or make him work. There will be more temptations and with no parents around to nag him, more freedom. He needs to want to study, otherwise he may well end up quitting, be it at degree or at A Level.