Any Ideas - daughter had 4 rejections

gulife

Janeyjaz wrote: »

Thanks again for the suggestions - the idea was that she got a good English degree and then did a course on Journalism - I kept telling her that a degree from a good university meant more than a degree from an unknown uni - maybe me being too optimistic, but lets face it, her teachers have been singing her praises for years and are also in a state of shock - that doesn't do her any good

A degree from a good University isn't everything. One thing I have learned from 4 Years of Geography at Glasgow University (allbeit, My Uni is seen as one of the Top in the UK), is that it isn't so much the quality of the degree, but the results you achieve when studying. It is also beneficial to go to a University with good links to the real-world (a good research based university, or, a university that specialises in certain courses, and where placed-based learning can be achieved).

Also, if she is interested in Journalism/English, research the current big names in these degree programmes and their fields, and try and go to a University where those people teach. You may be surprised to find that the leaders in the field of English do not necessarily teach at the Big-named Universities.

If she is interested in Musicians and Interviewing, then she may want to do a BA in Music (no instrument required!) alongside English...

She may want to look at Universities in Scotland. Caledonian University in Glasgow has a very good Journalism course.

auburnette

Some terrible advice from her school re: insurance offers. I got 5xA at A-level and one A at AS and I had an insurance offer of BBB. What were the careers advisors at your daughter's school thinking?? Insurance offers should always work on a fairly pessimistic assessment of results. I'd be tempted to complain to them once this is all sorted out and she has her results.

She should probably get into somewhere good through Extra and/or clearing. I know of someone that had a disaster with results and got a place at Exeter through clearing, so there are good unis out there for her. She needs to concentrate on getting those results so that if Extra doesn't work out, clearing still can. And not to be too disheartened. I also know an AAA(A) student who got rejected from 3 of her 5 choices and went on to get a first from LSE. This isn't the end of the world for her, though it might feel like it. Hope she is ok.

Nicifer_noonoo

The only advice I can give is to tell her to keep her chin up and go through clearing. Providing her A levels are okay, she'll be fine They don't really look at GCSEs.

Bamber19

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

She also seems to have been misled by the school's over enthusism for her academic prowess when, in fact, her anticipated grades are not that special.

I've Been trying to think of a nice way of saying that since I first read this thread.

Voyager2002

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

No offence meant at all here, but please don't get sucked into the mindset that only 'some' degrees from 'some' universities matter. Particularly in the case of more vocationally oriented courses, it's often the case that the lower ranked universities have certain courses and departments that are actually world class in that particular field. It's far more worthwhile to look at the reputation of particular course, the reputation/skills of the tutors and how it's viewed in the field before you dismiss it for being at an 'inferior' university. One example I can think of is the CASS business school at City University - City's not particularly highly rated, but CASS has a very prestigious reputation, with lots of people choosing it over somewhere like LSE. Same as somewhere like Westminster for Fashion, or Roehampton for Education/Philosophy of Education, or UEA for Creative Writing. If your daughter's looking at taking a degree in Journalism, then you're really going to have to be a bit more open minded about what's a 'good' university ...

I agree with this comment, but also with the post that you quoted. As you say, many (most?) of the best vocational courses are at universities that are not considered top-notch on a general ranking. However, English is not a vocational course, and I think that a degree in English from (say) Manchester would be a good deal more marketable than one from Salford, although for courses in media the positon may well be reversed.

freebie_junkie

I got rejected by all but one of the Unis I applied to for English with AAB at AS Level. In the end I did Creative Writing and SSR at Bolton and it's the best decision I ever made. I achieved a 2:1 (despite being very dyslexic!) and am now both doing a PGDE and building my professional poetry career. If your daughter wants to carry on doing her website/similar in future, may I suggest she goes down the creative writing/ journalism route? I've always loved English with a passion too, but in teh 2nd year I did one English unit and absolutely hated it, it's nothing like Lit/Lang at A-Level. When stydyign courses such as these, the newer universities are better- so the likes of Bolton, Man Met etc. would be ideal and could be applied to through clearing or directly for a Feb start. Best of luck to your daughter, she sounds like a very bright and capapble student, she just needs to find the Uni course that will suit her and her future aspirations.

Oldernotwiser

freebie_junkie wrote: »

I got rejected by all but one of the Unis I applied to for English with AAB at AS Level. In the end I did Creative Writing and SSR at Bolton and it's the best decision I ever made. I achieved a 2:1 (despite being very dyslexic!) and am now both doing a PGDE and building my professional poetry career. If your daughter wants to carry on doing her website/similar in future, may I suggest she goes down the creative writing/ journalism route? I've always loved English with a passion too, but in teh 2nd year I did one English unit and absolutely hated it, it's nothing like Lit/Lang at A-Level. When stydyign courses such as these, the newer universities are better- so the likes of Bolton, Man Met etc. would be ideal and could be applied to through clearing or directly for a Feb start. Best of luck to your daughter, she sounds like a very bright and capapble student, she just needs to find the Uni course that will suit her and her future aspirations.

I'm very pleased that this worked for you but as another qualified Careers Adviser I think that this is probably some of the worst advice I've ever read! I'm afraid that Bolton has the most appalling reputation and would not enhance someone's career plans in journalism one iota. I cannot understand how someone who "loves English with a passion" wouldn't love studying it at a higher level. The fact that you hated the unit you did at Bolton is hardly a recommendation for English courses at new universities; quite the opposite, I would have thought.

mummytofour

I have not read all this thread but she can now re-apply via ucas extra.

poet123

UCAS Extra is open from March. This is for students who dont want to wait for clearing. You can go online and see which Unis have places for the course you want. Places come up now because as people get their offers and make their firm choices the places open up.

You can only apply to one Uni at a time and need to have no outstanding offers, or rejected any which have been made.

It should be online now,but study the options well before you make the first application as timescales mean you may get only 1 or 2 shots at it.

A friends son was rejected by Manchester last year then applied through UCAS extra and got a place on the same course!!!!

TBH Manchester is quite difficult to get into because of the number of places they reserve for overseas students. On my son's course 70 of the 120 places available were earmarked for those coming from abroad.

Good luck,and tell your daughter not to let this affect her studies. The
lad mentioned above was predicted 5 A's and was rejected by every Uni,but it did have a happy ending.

poet123

freebie_junkie wrote: »

I got rejected by all but one of the Unis I applied to for English with AAB at AS Level. In the end I did Creative Writing and SSR at Bolton and it's the best decision I ever made. I achieved a 2:1 (despite being very dyslexic!) and am now both doing a PGDE and building my professional poetry career. If your daughter wants to carry on doing her website/similar in future, may I suggest she goes down the creative writing/ journalism route? I've always loved English with a passion too, but in teh 2nd year I did one English unit and absolutely hated it, it's nothing like Lit/Lang at A-Level. When stydyign courses such as these, the newer universities are better- so the likes of Bolton, Man Met etc. would be ideal and could be applied to through clearing or directly for a Feb start. Best of luck to your daughter, she sounds like a very bright and capapble student, she just needs to find the Uni course that will suit her and her future aspirations.

Bolton has a terrible reputation,:eek: and one of the highest drop out rates in the country. I hope that when you leave academia and venture into the real world you do not regret this choice. Where you study does have an impact on how prospective employers view you.

Some of the older "red brick" unis also do the course you mention. Salford, has a much better reputation for this particular course for example but only do Sept intake as far as I know.