[ClarkyC...]

Right I have nearly finished my GCSE's and the time has come where I have my offers and I need to decide on my college choice. The truth it I really do not know. I have narrowed it down to two but I have advantages and disadvantages for both.
College one: nearer so travel isn't a problem, friends are going there
College two: apparently one of the top colleges in the country, higher pass rate and generally better teaching.
However there are disadvantages, for example college one isn't the best for academic and to be honest accepts far lower abilities than myself (I am a straight A/A* student). The disadvantages of the second college however is the travelling, fact that I don't know a lot of people and whether I would thrive from the environment there.
Thanks for reading and hopefully you can help me out

[StacFace]

I think it depends on how bad college one is, how much better college two is and how far away college two actually is. Do you know any statistics for them like percentage of students with x grades or above? Also how far would you have to travel for both, how much will it cost and how convenient are the transport times?

[ClarkyC...]

(Original post by StacFace)
I think it depends on how bad college one is, how much better college two is and how far away college two actually is. Do you know any statistics for them like percentage of students with x grades or above? Also how far would you have to travel for both, how much will it cost and how convenient are the transport times?

College one pass rate is around 96%, and is literally on my doorstep, but is a much lower level college

College two pass rate 100% with many subjects like maths and science having A*-B 85% + approx. and is around half an hour away plus 10 min to walk to bus stop.

The thing is, I keep thinking about whether do I actually need a better college because if I have the ability then I can do it anywhere. It's really quite stressful at the moment

[DeathByBSOD]

(Original post by ClarkyC...)
Right I have nearly finished my GCSE's and the time has come where I have my offers and I need to decide on my college choice. The truth it I really do not know. I have narrowed it down to two but I have advantages and disadvantages for both.
College one: nearer so travel isn't a problem, friends are going there
College two: apparently one of the top colleges in the country, higher pass rate and generally better teaching.
However there are disadvantages, for example college one isn't the best for academic and to be honest accepts far lower abilities than myself (I am a straight A/A* student). The disadvantages of the second college however is the travelling, fact that I don't know a lot of people and whether I would thrive from the environment there.
Thanks for reading and hopefully you can help me out

Getting High grades & fulfilling uni/job prospects >>> Losing your friends

In other words, College two. Because anyway, you will start making friends anywhere to go, so thats it really.

[StacFace]

(Original post by ClarkyC...)
College one pass rate is around 96%, and is literally on my doorstep, but is a much lower level college

College two pass rate 100% with many subjects like maths and science having A*-B 85% + approx. and is around half an hour away plus 10 min to walk to bus stop.

The thing is, I keep thinking about whether do I actually need a better college because if I have the ability then I can do it anywhere. It's really quite stressful at the moment

The travel time isn't too bad for college two so I'd probably say going there would be better. You can still keep in touch with old friends and make new friends too. Are they both offering taster days? I know the two colleges my sister applied to have their's coming up in the next couple of weeks, this could be a chance to compare them and see if you get a feel for which you would be happiest at.

Theoretically you should do well regardless of where you go but a good teacher can make the difference when it comes to answering in a certain way to get the highest marks. For example in Law with OCR one of the papers has four statements which you have to evaluate the accuracy of for 20 marks. The exam board wants five bullet points for each statement, with each statement dealt with seperately. They also want you to argue one way or the other, even if it is something that could go either way they want you to say what is likely and you can get full marks arguing either side as more likely. However some colleges teach their students to write one big paragraph like an essay and say that it could go either way, which wastes valuable exam time and caps their answers costing them marks.

[tupac makaveli]

Go to the one with the higher pass rate, to be honest better to not go same as friends ( don't hate me lol) : that way people tend to concentrate more and friends are a distaction and with a levels the work is harder and workload increase so can't really afford to waste time. So overall I think college 2 : I have found for example most of my friends went college and I went sixth form with a few and we were performing better. Anyway good luck and take care

[ClarkyC...]

Thankyou everybody, I am not really that bothered about losing some friends (some I never want to see again haha) but its more the fact do I need to go somewhere with, yes, a higher pass rate and arguably the best in the uk or would I still perform well at the other based on my ability. I am also fairly crap with time management so waking up early and getting home late is not high on my list. But I guess I need to move on and get on with it as it prepares me for later life. I don't know what it is but going to college one seems like more homely and like me and I worried that college two may push me too much (then again that's a good thing as it worked at GCSE) so really I'm slightly puzzled at the moment

[Alexandra's Box]

(Original post by ClarkyC...)
Any guidance people...

Can you use the travel time to go over notes or else use it wisely? Can you afford it? Is the quality of your education more important to you than your social life? Can you see your old friends outside college? Do you feel that you will be able to make new friends that you can sit with at lunch etc relatively easily?
If you say 'Yes' then the second college would probably be better!

[JollyGreenAtheist]

I can only talk from personal experience, so I don't know how useful it would be to you.

I went to a pretty average inner city state secondary and got pretty strong GCSEs, so I was in a position to choose between a range of sixth forms/colleges. Ultimately, it was between my school sixth form, that wasn't great academically, but had most of my friends; and a grammar school about an hour's commute away.

In the end, I chose my school sixth form, and on balance, I think I regret it. Certainly, I've strengthened pre-existing friendships and made some new ones, and I have thoroughly enjoyed many aspects of my AS courses. However, I did struggle because the learning environment wasn't conducive to success in my view, and some of the teachers were genuinely poor, to the extent that we had to make a class complaint because we entered our English exam having not been taught one of the texts at all.

It's hard to say whether I would have done better elsewhere, because I can't compare and I don't have results yet. However, I think it's a fair guess that I would have achieved more and bolstered my university chances at the grammar school.

What you must bear in mind, is that A-levels aren't really fun. Don't make your decision based on social life, because those are fleeting aspects of education. Qualifications endure, and it's important that you get the best ones you can.

[ClarkyC...]

(Original post by JollyGreenAtheist)
I can only talk from personal experience, so I don't know how useful it would be to you.

I went to a pretty average inner city state secondary and got pretty strong GCSEs, so I was in a position to choose between a range of sixth forms/colleges. Ultimately, it was between my school sixth form, that wasn't great academically, but had most of my friends; and a grammar school about an hour's commute away.

In the end, I chose my school sixth form, and on balance, I think I regret it. Certainly, I've strengthened pre-existing friendships and made some new ones, and I have thoroughly enjoyed many aspects of my AS courses. However, I did struggle because the learning environment wasn't conducive to success in my view, and some of the teachers were genuinely poor, to the extent that we had to make a class complaint because we entered our English exam having not been taught one of the texts at all.

It's hard to say whether I would have done better elsewhere, because I can't compare and I don't have results yet. However, I think it's a fair guess that I would have achieved more and bolstered my university chances at the grammar school.

What you must bear in mind, is that A-levels aren't really fun. Don't make your decision based on social life, because those are fleeting aspects of education. Qualifications endure, and it's important that you get the best ones you can.

Very valid information here and I Thankyou for that. It seems like you were in the same boat as me and therefore I think the right decision could possibly be with the second and more successful college. I just worry that I won't enjoy it and the travel is a real pain. But then again as you pointed out its worth it in the long run. It's not so much the friends that is the problem tbh because I live near most of them and I am quite a sociable guy.

[JollyGreenAtheist]

(Original post by ClarkyC...)
Very valid information here and I Thankyou for that. It seems like you were in the same boat as me and therefore I think the right decision could possibly be with the second and more successful college. I just worry that I won't enjoy it and the travel is a real pain. But then again as you pointed out its worth it in the long run. It's not so much the friends that is the problem tbh because I live near most of them and I am quite a sociable guy.

I'm glad I was of some use. If you're a sociable guy, you shouldn't have much trouble making friends at the new college, right?

[ClarkyC...]

(Original post by JollyGreenAtheist)
I'm glad I was of some use. If you're a sociable guy, you shouldn't have much trouble making friends at the new college, right?

Exactly, there's just something in my brain which is stopping me and I cant pin it down, if you understand where I'm coming from

[JollyGreenAtheist]

(Original post by ClarkyC...)
Exactly, there's just something in my brain which is stopping me and I cant pin it down, if you understand where I'm coming from

Certainly. It's probably the same thing that stopped me from going to the grammar school. Fear of the unknown can be quite a formidable obstacle, but sometimes it's best to take a leap of faith - in your own time.

[ClarkyC...]

(Original post by JollyGreenAtheist)
Certainly. It's probably the same thing that stopped me from going to the grammar school. Fear of the unknown can be quite a formidable obstacle, but sometimes it's best to take a leap of faith - in your own time.

So to summarise and with my high expectations at college, what do you think I should do and what is your opinion ?

[Mocking_bird]

I was in a similar situation. A college where it was a very short travel time and quite a few people I knew were going, or a college which was an hour away and I didn't really know that many people.. but, it was one of the best in Manchester.

I chose the latter and I don't regret it in the slightest.
Don't worry too much about the travel time as it just becomes routine and you get used to it.
As for not knowing people, again, don't worry about it. You'll meet new people as long as you make yourself approachable/approach people... and chances are, even if you did go to the college which your friends are going to, you'll grow away and make new friends anyway.

Go with what your guts telling you and what will give you the best opportunities and by the sounds of it, the one that is further away will for you