Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => The Dressing Room => Topic started by: _tom_ on December 03, 2006, 08:27:04 PM
-
Well I need to start thinking about applying for unis soon (although I'm not sure if I will be going but I dont know what else I want to do yet). This ucas points system - do you generally NEED to have the points uni's say to get in? Because I have a feeling I wont get the points required for the courses I'm looking at. Anyone know?
Cheers for any help.
-
UCAS Points?
Bah Humbug Pishh and Tiddle...
I have seen SO many young people tie themselves in emotional knots over this I think it is some form of initiation right.
The system works for some VERY specific individuals.
1) Those fellows who know exactly which Uni they wish to attend eg: Oxbridge or a prestigious Med School and the like.
2) Teachers as a means of motivation and control.
The brief period between reaching the age at which you are "FREE" and knowing what to do with that freedom is a difficult one for all concerned.
You no longer defer to the wisdom of elders and can't be made to do something without the use of fear.
Having to threat of hopelessness from failing to gain UCAS points for entry serves the system by keeping your mind on your work, namely A levels.
If you DON'T know EXACTLY what you want to do at university or which one you wish to attend matters are far more liberating.
99.9% of universities have spaces left on courses. These courses cost alot of money ( a fixed cost) to run... Every space left unfilled is pure financial mismanagement.
At clearing you will be 98 times out of 100 the most powerful bargainer but it takes some guts and flexibility.
You can often get your first choice or sometimes better.
You will be VERY VERY unlucky to be left out in the cold.
My advice? Do your very best but don't let the UCAS system scare you into missing out on some of the BEST GODDAM TIMES OF YOUR LIFE! (Age 17 thru 21)
I myself stumbled through the system being told that I wasn't taking things "seriously" and am now MORE qualified than 99% of those smug "mummies" boys who laughed and remained tight assed till graduation.
Afghan Dave BA hons, MA, VC and bar, esquire.... (only joking about the VC and bar :wink:)
PDT_003
-
it depends. if they think you deserved to get the grades and you only missed by a little, they'll probably let you in anyway (if they have space).
it really depends how flexible you are, etc.
also, don't you have an insurance place down? or is that like most people's insurance offer, one you don't actually want to have to take up?
:D
:cheers:
-
I $%&#ed up my A levels and still went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and then became a barrister (which was my life's ambition) - so don't worry, do go to University (great band opportunities at the least), work like a dog and do your best; there are always clearing places at good Universities, so if you don't hit the grades you want - you will get somewhere.
-
I just missed the points needed to get on my course, but phoned the uni that morning and they confirmed that I had a place on the course that I wanted.
A fair few friends got what they wanted through clearing.
-
UCAS Points?
2) Teachers as a means of motivation and control.
I'd disagree with this. By the time you are ready to apply to university you should be mature enough to motivate yourself - it's certainly what you will need to do once you are at uni as lecturers won't chase you to hand in essays or do the work, they'll just fail you. So why not start before hand. Teachers can give you all the tuition in the world, but unless you are willing to put the graft in yourself they are waisting their (and your) time.
As a rule of thumb assume that universities do require the exact point score they advertise the course at, as you can't always guarantee a place on the course if you miss the grades. However also remember those grades are only "average offers" - if you can write a good personal statement and demonstrate you are exactly the type of student they should want on their course, then you may well get a lower offer. Academic qualifications certainly help here but so do extracurricular activities, positions of responsibility etc.
There is a certain strategy to playing the UCAS game (or at least there was way back when I did it). Don't apply to 6 high offer courses, as you don't have any contingency plans. I decided to apply to two high offer courses, two "mid offer" courses, and two low offer courses, so that I could keep my first choice high offer course, and have an insurance offer that I was certain to make the grades on even if my A levels didn't go well and I missed the grades on my 1st choice. Fortunatly I got the grades to my first choice, but having the contingency was handy :)
*Rahnooo*
-
Cheers for all the help, it doesnt seem quite so scary now :lol: Yeah I've got backups in mind if I dont get my first choice although I still havent chosen all 6..
I've been revising for a few hours today and I'm allready sick of it. Why did I ever bother choosing business studies :P
BTW - how do you choose which is your "first choice" and which are your backups or whatever via ucas? When putting my choices in, it automatically arranges them into alphabetical order..
-
You don't select choices until you have received all your offers. You then have to return yet another form to UCAS stating which two offers you have accepted and in which order of preference.
So if nothing else the UCAS system gives you valuable life experience in bureaucracy and shuffling paper ;)
*Rahnooo*
-
Many of the top Uni's don't use points, they use grades. Anyway, don't worry about it, since I needed ABB to get into Nottingham, whereas the guy living next to me in halls did too yet got in through clearing on CCC.
-
Sorry to bring this thread back up but its results in less than a fortnight!
When you people say clearing, do you mean the clearing when you dont get your insurance option either and have to wait till places come up anywhere, or clearing at your first choice uni? I really dont want to go to my insurance option now, I just want my 1st choice as they have good industry links etc whereas the insurance choice doesnt, and also has slightly worse technology/equipment etc.
If anyones interested, I'm hoping to get into De Montfort, Leicester to do Media Production BSc (not to be confused with the cr@pper Media Studies BA!).. only need 200 ucas points to get in, but I'm only doing 2 A levels so its harder to get in for me now, wish I kept up at least another AS so it was easier! I just hope they'll let me in because I know I'm not going to get 200 points..
-
the system is a lot more flexible than we tell you at a'level - and de montfort will let anyone in anyway :P
i speak to so many a'level students who are put off uni because of the cost. I know its more for them than it ever was for me but student loans are bigger too!! And having a student loan is the best loan deal you will ever get. if you cant pay it back you dont, if you earn enough then a little bit gets taken out your wages each month and whatevers left after 25 years gets written off anyway. its not like a loan where someone will come and reclaim your possesions and break your legs
-
Well hopefully they let me in then, I've allready been allocated a room in halls etc which seems nice :D
Its costing around £3000 a year for tuition fees and another £3000 or so on top of that for accomodation I think, but I think dads paying for my accomodation ;)
-
well good luck!
thank god i don't want to go to uni, wouldn't mind getting the grades to return in yr13 though
-
I'm starting a uni course this september, but fortunately, because i'm now classed as a 'mature student', i don't have to go through UCAS. I remember when I was in school, it was my year that they rolled out the online UCAS application... it was terrible, they hadn't planned it at all, so every school that was going to use it did so at the same time on the same day. The outcome? Spending 45mins waiting for it to log in, and the other 15 trying to get to page 2 or 3 to enter your details :p Didn't really fill us with confidence that they couldn't even develop the application properly, or use servers that wouldn't die because they had so many clients trying to connect to them- if they couldn't get that right, how could get actually process all the uni applications?!
Good times! :)
But yea, as others have said, there's quite a lot of scaremongering in the system.
-
best of luck with your results, tom.
i don't think it's fair to charge any tuition fees, and i feel sorry for anyone going to uni now. what doesn't help is that those deciding that it's "only fair" to charge tuition fees didn't have to pay fees themselves...
:evil:
-
just so you know grade 6 to 8 in an instrument or theory count as UCAS points, not loads but it's something, I think instruments were worth more points than theory as well
-
I'm starting a uni course this september, but fortunately, because i'm now classed as a 'mature student', i don't have to go through UCAS.
Really? I will be 21 when I can start in 2009 so I will be a mature student as well. Haven't really thought about how to apply yet how does it all work for mature student applications?
I had 780 points and couldnt go anywhere grrr :evil: Just sent off my final notice to Cambridge yesterday that I won't be coming :cry:
-
780 points!? Wow... isnt an A 100 points?! How many do you have? :lol:
-
lol yeah it's ridiculous. An A is 120 points so I had 6 of them plus an A in AS level which is worth 60. Actually I forgot I had a merit in Chemistry AEA so that makes it 800 :lol:
Tariff: http://www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html
-
lol yeah it's ridiculous. An A is 120 points so I had 6 of them plus an A in AS level which is worth 60. Actually I forgot I had a merit in Chemistry AEA so that makes it 800 :lol:
Tariff: http://www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html
depends on what courses though, as some uni's will only accept you based on the subjects you took, not on points, at york they won't let me near the place without an A in maths and an A and B in two sciency subjects
-
I've never stresed about this stuff, there are always places left during the last few weeks leading up to the start of the course.
After school I just turned up to the local college on the day everyone was starting - asked where the Engineering intake 'line' was - studed Electrical & Electronic Engineering for a year, then I.T for two years.
I applied to do my HNC in IT a couple of weeks before it started, same with my BSc in Broadcast & Multimedia Technology and same again when I did my Cisco CCNA.
:twisted:
-
lol yeah it's ridiculous. An A is 120 points so I had 6 of them plus an A in AS level which is worth 60. Actually I forgot I had a merit in Chemistry AEA so that makes it 800 :lol:
Tariff: http://www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html
depends on what courses though, as some uni's will only accept you based on the subjects you took, not on points, at york they won't let me near the place without an A in maths and an A and B in two sciency subjects
I'm not sure how you meant that as a reply to my comment. I just couldnt go anywhere coz I'm an international student and couldn't afford to pay the tuition fees. I got offered places from all 6 unis I applied to.
-
lol yeah it's ridiculous. An A is 120 points so I had 6 of them plus an A in AS level which is worth 60. Actually I forgot I had a merit in Chemistry AEA so that makes it 800 :lol:
Tariff: http://www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html
Fancy lending me a couple-a hundred points? ;)
-
lol yeah it's ridiculous. An A is 120 points so I had 6 of them plus an A in AS level which is worth 60. Actually I forgot I had a merit in Chemistry AEA so that makes it 800 :lol:
Tariff: http://www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html
depends on what courses though, as some uni's will only accept you based on the subjects you took, not on points, at york they won't let me near the place without an A in maths and an A and B in two sciency subjects
I'm not sure how you meant that as a reply to my comment. I just couldnt go anywhere coz I'm an international student and couldn't afford to pay the tuition fees. I got offered places from all 6 unis I applied to.
old habit of hittin the quote button lol
-
Well I havent got the results yet but I just looked on the ucas site and my place at De Montfort has been accepted, unconditional offer :D Either I got good grades, or they felt sorry for me :lol:
-
^ sweet! as long as you're in, that's the main thing. congratulations!
-
Well done Tom, bet you're well happy. No go out and drunk/laid like your supposed to on A Level results day.
I'm about 10 miles south of that uni (about 5 miles out of Leicester) so I'll buy you a "well done" pint when you get settled.
Well done dude.
-
Well I got 2 C's in the end, which was surprising.
In my January business modules I only got e's on them, retook them in June and got c's on em :D :D Looking forward to getting to uni now.
-
congrats tom, i looked at the post before i left to get my results and saw a nice thick letter from York waiting for me, so i didn't know what to expect, somehow managed to pull 3 A's out of it :D :D
downside is i now physically can't stop grinning :D
-
Wow 3 A's? Nice one :D My mate got DEUU and still got accepted for sound recording or something at De Montfort :?
btw am I meant to have received a letter from Ucas/uni yet? I've only found out I've been given an unconditional offer by looking on the Ucas site, whilst other people seem to have been sent letters with instructions for what to do allready.
-
depends on the uni, York had sent out the letter before i had the results, but judging by the state of the postal service thses days, yours could be a while yet
you could always call and confirm your place
-
Yeah if I dont get a letter tomorrow I'll probably ring, probably really busy today.. mm pub later :D
-
congrats guys!!
Most of my sociology students did excellently, some unexcepected A's, my psychology ones did ok but no a's in that group. quite a few b's though!! Quite a few U's as well but no unexpected ones
-
congrats tom, i looked at the post before i left to get my results and saw a nice thick letter from York waiting for me, so i didn't know what to expect, somehow managed to pull 3 A's out of it :D :D
downside is i now physically can't stop grinning :D
congratulations!
-
I phoned the uni as soon as I got my results to confirm my place.
Might be worth giving them a bell.
-
Got my letter today so I'm definitely in :D Guess I should still ring to confirm that I still want to go though. Theres too much paperwork now, loads of stuff for the accomodation contract to fill out :(
-
congrats tom, i looked at the post before i left to get my results and saw a nice thick letter from York waiting for me, so i didn't know what to expect, somehow managed to pull 3 A's out of it :D :D
downside is i now physically can't stop grinning :D
Congratulations mate. Does that mean you're heading to York uni?
I spent 4 very happy years there, and still live in Yokr so you'll have to give me a buzz and we can go for a pint.
*Rahnooo*
-
Good job guys =)
-
firstly- congrats to the guys going to uni. must be very, very relieving!
secondly- my GCSE results will be in about 6 days :oops: :oops: so in a year or two i'll be in toms position... and bricking myself :lol:
a few of the older guys have mentioned this 'clearing' thing- getting in at the last minute... i was just intrigued because i've never heard of that before... it sounds like a really useful piece of info to know...
but it just seems EXTREMELY high risk... leaving it 'til that late... ?
can anyone fill me in a bit more about it..?
cheers,
sam.
I've never stresed about this stuff, there are always places left during the last few weeks leading up to the start of the course.
After school I just turned up to the local college on the day everyone was starting - asked where the Engineering intake 'line' was - studed Electrical & Electronic Engineering for a year, then I.T for two years.
I applied to do my HNC in IT a couple of weeks before it started, same with my BSc in Broadcast & Multimedia Technology and same again when I did my Cisco CCNA.
:twisted:
-
If you dont get accepted by your first choice and insurance option uni's you can go into clearing which is basically other universities trying to fill up empty places on courses. I think :lol:
-
My sister needed AAB to get into History at Sheffield - Which she wanted to do.
And she also was offered a place at Queens Mary on their History Course with ABB.
She got ABB and wasn't interested at all in the Queen's Mary course (even though it's a really good course) and instead rang up Sheffield and asked them what they could offer her.
Now she's going off to Sheffield to do POLITICS?!
She hasn't got a clue or any interest in or about politics and the only reason she's taking it is because - I quote.
"Nobody goes to uni to study anyway"
:|
-
Well done Tom and congrats to all who have made the grade-I never made it to Uni on account of some very unpleasant things happening in my life at the time.One of my mates has recently finished a degree course as a mature student at Brighton -he was/is a professional actor but thought it would give him something to fall back on.I admire him greatly for it because it aint easy as you get older. There is a chance that I might lose my job in the next year or so and if so, I have promised myself a change in direction-my redundancy can pay the mortgage whilst I do so.
-
as a teacher i think these things get easier as you get older...I am not supporting the media idea that qualifications actually are easier to pass than they used to be but as you get older your focus in life changes . At 18-21 people are possibly not focused enough to get the most out of uni - at least i wasnt.
i have worked in a school the past 6 years. GCSE's are a piece of piss to me now and i am fairly sure i could get a's at a'levels in my chosen subjects compared to the c's i did get. Infact if i went back to uni i reckon i could get a first this time round. This is not because its easier to get qualifications, this is because i am more mature and more focused... sometimes i think we expect too much from students at an age when so much other stuff is more important to them!!
-
sometimes i think we expect too much from students at an age when so much other stuff is more important to them!!
like guitars and beer :D
-
She hasn't got a clue or any interest in or about politics and the only reason she's taking it is because - I quote.
"Nobody goes to uni to study anyway"
:|
:lol: Thats probably sort of true, the experience of living away from home and meeting new people is actually one of the main reasons I'm looking forward to going, the degree is just a nice bonus on the side :P
I tell you what makes me feel even better about my results, the head of 6th form was convinced I was going to drop out after the first few terms because I wanted to drop half of IT as I hated it.. ok so my grades arent the best ever but I still proved him wrong :D
-
Congrats all! :)
CaffieneJunkie: York is a really cool place, i visit there a fair amount cause my best mates are at uni there atm. Good pubs, good beer, and the campus is pretty cool- Langwith being the best, or so all the others living there said :p
-
Congrats all! :)
CaffieneJunkie: York is a really cool place, i visit there a fair amount cause my best mates are at uni there atm. Good pubs, good beer, and the campus is pretty cool- Langwith being the best, or so all the others living there said :p
yeh can't wait, i put on my accomodation that i wanna be in langwith, but i doubt if "they have the best parties" counts as a viable reason
-
Congrats all! :)
CaffieneJunkie: York is a really cool place, i visit there a fair amount cause my best mates are at uni there atm. Good pubs, good beer, and the campus is pretty cool- Langwith being the best, or so all the others living there said :p
yeh can't wait, i put on my accomodation that i wanna be in langwith, but i doubt if "they have the best parties" counts as a viable reason
Congrats on gettin in. York Uni is a cool place my gf goes there and I visit there a lot what with Leeds being so close. I heard Langith and Alcuin are the best. Just hope you don't end up in Goodricke (where my gf was til June)! It's like prison there.
-
Congrats all! :)
CaffieneJunkie: York is a really cool place, i visit there a fair amount cause my best mates are at uni there atm. Good pubs, good beer, and the campus is pretty cool- Langwith being the best, or so all the others living there said :p
yeh can't wait, i put on my accomodation that i wanna be in langwith, but i doubt if "they have the best parties" counts as a viable reason
Congrats on gettin in. York Uni is a cool place my gf goes there and I visit there a lot what with Leeds being so close. I heard Langith and Alcuin are the best. Just hope you don't end up in Goodricke (where my gf was til June)! It's like prison there.
yeh apparently they don't allow any noise after 10pm in one of the colleges, must be that one
kinda defeats the point of going to uni lol
-
There's one campus, i forget which but my mate was there, that was a 10min walk away from the main campus! That was rubbish, although the accommodation was quite nice, it was cr@p being so far from all the action!
Ah, many days spend in The Deramore Arms pub (came to be known simply as "T'Deramore"), just a short stagger from the main hall :)
-
Congrats all! :)
CaffieneJunkie: York is a really cool place, i visit there a fair amount cause my best mates are at uni there atm. Good pubs, good beer, and the campus is pretty cool- Langwith being the best, or so all the others living there said :p
yeh can't wait, i put on my accomodation that i wanna be in langwith, but i doubt if "they have the best parties" counts as a viable reason
Congrats on gettin in. York Uni is a cool place my gf goes there and I visit there a lot what with Leeds being so close. I heard Langith and Alcuin are the best. Just hope you don't end up in Goodricke (where my gf was til June)! It's like prison there.
yeh apparently they don't allow any noise after 10pm in one of the colleges, must be that one
kinda defeats the point of going to uni lol
Yeah that's one of the blocks in Goodricke. The other bits are bad as well though my gf had to share a kitchen, about the size of a regular toilet, with about 6 people.
-
We had a big house off campus (although affiliated with one of the halls - we could walk 1 mile to get dinner if we wanted), that in the first year had 18 people in, second year (I went back even though I got thrown out in my first year) had 14 people in, 1 of which is my wife now :P
God I miss uni, been out for about 4 or 5 years now :cry:
Have fun guys and enjoy it while it lasts
-
I'm surprised none of you guys are going to music college. Seems the perfect place for a Bare-Knucklehead (and I just finished a course in Guildford's Academy of Contemporary Music myself, excellent fun)!
-
I'm surprised none of you guys are going to music college. Seems the perfect place for a Bare-Knucklehead (and I just finished a course in Guildford's Academy of Contemporary Music myself, excellent fun)!
yeh my mate is going to ACM next year for a part-time course, but personally i'm more of a computer/maths geek than a music geek
-
I was going to do a music course but then I realised that theres probably not much use having one as jobs involving music probably arent that well paid anyway, and all the well paid ones are probably few and far between..
-
I was going to do a music course but then I realised that theres probably not much use having one as jobs involving music probably arent that well paid anyway, and all the well paid ones are probably few and far between..
Ahh, but you see it pays for itself over time. Whatever you're doing, wherever you are, there's always people to teach and sessions to play. I really think the most sensible way to treat playing music professionally (unless you're really good) is to have it as a secondary, supporting source of income. Plus, you get that extra income doing something you love!
-
I was going to do a music course but then I realised that theres probably not much use having one as jobs involving music probably arent that well paid anyway, and all the well paid ones are probably few and far between..
this is true to a degree, it's not easy to get work, you have to be the BEST at what you do! most musicians like myslef are self employed, it's a combination of muti-tasking that's the KEY word. I am doing loads of jobs at the moment, teaching guitar in 2 local community centres, selling/promoting my own music/cds, playing live, forming a record company, transcribing music, private tuition, music production, working as an administrator, sending off press packs to game designers, film directors, record comanies, as well as practicing guitar most days.