Mechanical engineering clearing help pls i'm stressing

Hey.

missed my first and second choices (by a lot lol oh well). I got CCC in maths physics and chemistry and an A* in a mechanical engineering related EPQ.

I really want to end up at a decent uni that's good for the course, and I've got some offers, but I just don't know what I should accept. (or if I should keep ringing around and trying my luck for offers from other universities)

Right now I have verbal offers from...
Sheffield Hallam, Liverpool John Moores, Coventry, Swansea, Uni of Lincoln, Hull, Aberdeen and De Montfort.
(most of these verbal offers will only stand until 12:00 so I've got to make my choices ASAP.)

Obviously Aberdeen is great for the course and probably the best offer I'll get, but it's very impractical for me, it's 10 hours away from home, in another country, and the accomodation I can find is very expensive (cannot afford). Also, I'm worried that a degree from aberdeen would lock me into a carreer in oil and gas.

If anyone more knowledgeable than me could offer me some advice regarding the matter I'd be extremely grateful.. I've not really slept for 2 days and I'm totally lost in a sea of league tables and uni websites.. I need helppppp

I've called a lot of unis who have said something along the lines of 'we require bbc for this course at the moment, and I can't tell you if this will change in the coming days'.. does my epq not do anything regarding missed grades?

If i've missed anything critical off this please just let me know and I'll update asap, sorry for a messy post i can't get my head round making it nice atm


thanks in advance

Call your universities up and ask them to extend the deadline on your offers so that you can visit/look into accommodation options over the weekend

I'll do this now, thanks for the advice.

A point I forgot to put in my original post - could a foundation year be a good idea?

It might be but it isn't something to rush into - make sure you do your research

Common problems with foundation years (so the sort of thing you want to watch out for/ask about) include:
High failure/drop out rates
No guaranteed progression onto the degree you're interested in
Teaching taking place at a local college or private college (which can feel isolating)
Cramped facilities/high staff:student ratios
Majority international students leading to a lot of time dedicated to language learning rather than subject study
Poorly designed foundation years leading to high failure/drop out after starting the main degree course

There are some excellent foundation years about, and they're 100% right for many people. Unfortunately they're also often treated like a cash cow by some universities so they cram students in without checking suitability and use the foundation year exams to filter out the students who aren't able to succeed.

Hey.

missed my first and second choices (by a lot lol oh well). I got CCC in maths physics and chemistry and an A* in a mechanical engineering related EPQ.

I really want to end up at a decent uni that's good for the course, and I've got some offers, but I just don't know what I should accept. (or if I should keep ringing around and trying my luck for offers from other universities)

Right now I have verbal offers from...
Sheffield Hallam, Liverpool John Moores, Coventry, Swansea, Uni of Lincoln, Hull, Aberdeen and De Montfort.
(most of these verbal offers will only stand until 12:00 so I've got to make my choices ASAP.)

Obviously Aberdeen is great for the course and probably the best offer I'll get, but it's very impractical for me, it's 10 hours away from home, in another country, and the accomodation I can find is very expensive (cannot afford). Also, I'm worried that a degree from aberdeen would lock me into a carreer in oil and gas.

If anyone more knowledgeable than me could offer me some advice regarding the matter I'd be extremely grateful.. I've not really slept for 2 days and I'm totally lost in a sea of league tables and uni websites.. I need helppppp

I've called a lot of unis who have said something along the lines of 'we require bbc for this course at the moment, and I can't tell you if this will change in the coming days'.. does my epq not do anything regarding missed grades?

If i've missed anything critical off this please just let me know and I'll update asap, sorry for a messy post i can't get my head round making it nice atm


thanks in advance

Thanks for the reply, looks like more trouble than it's worth!

Can anyone offer any opinions on de Montfort or Lincoln? Or Coventry... Or Sheffield or Liverpool haha

Are all the courses you have offers for accredited?
(it should be clear on their site if they are or you can check here: http://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/acad/ )

For MechEng if you're looking for a career or CEng status then accreditation is key

(other than that all those universities will offer a decent level of education and student experience - but they're pretty different in terms of learning environment/location etc so I'd suggest you filter it down based on finding somewhere you'll be happy living and where the course content and environment are likely to suit you so you do well)

Thank you so much for all your help, you're really helping me sort myself out!

I checked, and the 3 I've narrowed it down to (Coventry, Lincoln and De Montfort) are all accredited, but only Coventry and Lincoln have 'additional accreditation'.

I don't know what that is but it sounds good, and I think it's probably between coventry and lincoln at the moment, but I have one worry.

Lincoln isn't on any of the mech eng league tables and I can't figure why! I am struggling to get a comparison between the two