Any Ideas - daughter had 4 rejections

robnye

just to throw something else into the ring...... universities do take into account GCSE results, namely English and Maths at Grade C..... varies from course to course and uni to uni


on another line of thought.
is it the consensus that the higher entry requirements the better the university...... as my eldest daughter is currently trying to choose between universities that have offered her a place, some have lower entry requirements than others.......

Stubert

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Apart from my crack about your poor grammar (below the belt, perhaps, but relevant considering the way you're extolling the quality of your education!) I gave you a polite and measured reply. I'm surprised that you don't realise that you can read anything in a sarcastic tone and make it sound daft! I've studied at three ex polytechnics (including Manchester) and one plate glass university over a period of several decades as well as advising mature students for a number of years so I do think I have some knowledge of what I'm talking about.

Woah woah, Uni of Manchester isn't an ex-poly unless you mean Man Met? I just want to clear that up

Janeyjaz wrote: »

The website is www.organised-sound.com and was designed by my 15 year old son - so please don't be too critical, after last week when my youngest had heart surgery and Sarah was completely rejected and the car failed it's MOT and will have to be scrapped - not a good week.

From some of the bands your daughter has interviewed, she has great taste! I approve.

poet123

I would not choose a Uni purely on status either, but you do have to be realistic,the above stats for Bolton make dire reading, and anyone considering going there would be naive not to factor them into their decision. Especially as there are many other, more prestigious, Universities within the area.

Now that you have seen the stats Freebie_junkie, do you have any observations to make?

chocolatebutton

digsby202 wrote: »

My daughter joined her student newspaper in week 3 at Cambridge and is now Editor-in-Chief (at 19). She appreciates how competitive the industry is but has worked very hard at producing a 40 page weekly newspaper and magazine along with doing an English degree.
Over the last 2 weeks she has been offered internships at both Sky and the BBC, they approached her, saying it was their job to seek out the talent. Some of her fellow students have appplied numerous times to the BBC for work experience/internships and been turned down (BBC has 20,000 plus applicants a year) - These are talented, intelligent young people and I'm sure they will eventually find their niche. Its well known that employers decend at Oxbridge, and if you have a 2.1 , in whatever subject, they're interested.
My daughter still expects to have knockbacks, but I just wanted to illustrate how competitive it is, and how it does matter where you went to Uni.

Love d

Well done your daughter! - and I'm not at all surprised she's been head hunted. However, this story does NOT prove that Oxbridge is all. There are 2 variables in the head-hunting which went on here: 1. Hunting for good Oxbridge undergrads, and 2. Hunting for editors of really first class student magazines. Your daughter hit both buttons.

If I were a Sky executive searching for talent, I would be looking in category 2. When your daughter does go to uni, she should get stuck right in to the local student press, and time spent working in her gap year would be invaluable!

Some of you may know that I was on 'It Pays to Watch' recently. I was filmed for 9 hours and talked to the journalist (employed by Channel 5, IIRC) and the film guy (freelance I think). Neither had been to a particularly prestigious university (again, IIRC): both had demonstrated enthusiasm and flexibility. They would both be considered high flyers.

Of course, all this assumes that your DD does want to go into journalism....

freebie_junkie

chocolatebutton wrote: »

Well done your daughter! - and I'm not at all surprised she's been head hunted. However, this story does NOT prove that Oxbridge is all. There are 2 variables in the head-hunting which went on here: 1. Hunting for good Oxbridge undergrads, and 2. Hunting for editors of really first class student magazines. Your daughter hit both buttons.

If I were a Sky executive searching for talent, I would be looking in category 2. When your daughter does go to uni, she should get stuck right in to the local student press, and time spent working in her gap year would be invaluable!

Some of you may know that I was on 'It Pays to Watch' recently. I was filmed for 9 hours and talked to the journalist (employed by Channel 5, IIRC) and the film guy (freelance I think). Neither had been to a particularly prestigious university (again, IIRC): both had demonstrated enthusiasm and flexibility. They would both be considered high flyers.

Of course, all this assumes that your DD does want to go into journalism....

Good advice If you want to be a journalist or similar, its no good spending 3 years 'wanting' to be it, you have to actually do it. I did my degree with people who would say things like 'when I graduate, I'll be writer' (what by magic?!) This enthusiasm, dedication and willing to do potentially ill-paying or non-paying experience is worth more than what Uni you went to.

freebie_junkie

poet123 wrote: »

I would not choose a Uni purely on status either, but you do have to be realistic,the above stats for Bolton make dire reading, and anyone considering going there would be naive not to factor them into their decision. Especially as there are many other, more prestigious, Universities within the area.

Now that you have seen the stats Freebie_junkie, do you have any observations to make?

That was a newspaper article, not always objective, do you have anything that is more balanced that we can look at?

System

robnye wrote: »

just to throw something else into the ring...... universities do take into account GCSE results, namely English and Maths at Grade C..... varies from course to course and uni to uni

You'll find the majority of requirements are VERY low for GCSE compared to A level.

e.g. GCSE requirements will be C/B and on an AAB A-level requirement course.

I saw someone with mainly Bs and Cs and only 2 As at GCSE get into Medicine with AAAA at A-level. They were very extracurricular. I think with A-levels apparently "getting easier" unis look more at other achievements outside of education.

Another example from my college - someone with straight As & A*s (at GCSE and A level) who was very anti-social - she never went out, attended school events etc. - she basically dedicated her life to education. Well, she got rejected from many unis on the grounds of her interview performance.

It's not only about results, it's about being an all-over well-rounded individual - mentally, socially etc.

Anyway, speaking as a student, I'd just like to say: degrees aren't everything.

poet123

freebie_junkie wrote: »

That was a newspaper article, not always objective, do you have anything that is more balanced that we can look at?

That was a newspaper article containing stats garnered from the definitive yardstick for university grading,which all Unis accept as a true representation of the facts. As you are in the media field, you can rightly say that a certain slant can be put into an article, but the highlighted figures really do speak for themselves.

If you read the article, you will note the spokesperson from Bolton did not actually challenge the figures, he merely said each student should visit and then make a decision.


I can appreciate you may not like the conclusions drawn from the stats but I don't think you can say they are not true,nor unbalanced.

The Sunday Times list is published every year and the figures for Bolton are similar for each year,so neither is it a "blip"

freebie_junkie

candyflossing wrote: »

You'll find the majority of requirements are VERY low for GCSE compared to A level.

e.g. GCSE requirements will be C/B and on an AAB A-level requirement course.

I saw someone with mainly Bs and Cs and only 2 As at GCSE get into Medicine with AAAA at A-level. They were very extracurricular. I think with A-levels apparently "getting easier" unis look more at other achievements outside of education.

Another example from my college - someone with straight As & A*s (at GCSE and A level) who was very anti-social - she never went out, attended school events etc. - she basically dedicated her life to education. Well, she got rejected from many unis on the grounds of her interview performance.

It's not only about results, it's about being an all-over well-rounded individual - mentally, socially etc.

Anyway, speaking as a student, I'd just like to say: degrees aren't everything.

Well, in this case we agree.

freebie_junkie

poet123 wrote: »

That was a newspaper article containing stats garnered from the definitive yardstick for university grading,which all Unis accept as a true representation of the facts. As you are in the media field, you can rightly say that a certain slant can be put into an article, but the highlighted figures really do speak for themselves.

If you read the article, you will note the spokesperson from Bolton did not actually challenge the figures, he merely said each student should visit and then make a decision.


I can appreciate you may not like the conclusions drawn from the stats but I don't think you can say they are not true,nor unbalanced.

The Sunday Times list is published every year and the figures for Bolton are similar for each year,so neither is it a "blip"

I have read the article and as you say, I cannot argue against the stats but this does not detract from the fact that my colleagues and I have achieved BAs at a 2:1 grades (no mean feat I can assure you!), it doen't mean that we didn't work hard and doesn't mean we're not 'bright' as Oldernotwiser might put it. It also doesn't mean that we weren't given copious opportunities to take part in meaningful extra-curricular activities which now make us very employable. I agree with the spokesman, once you're at Bolton, you would feel differently about it.