Y12's - Have you started thinking about your options for after Y13?

The main issue I personally find in terms of researching unis virtually is that there's only so much I can find out online..I'm the sort of person who would go and get a feel of a Uni's vibes and chat to students...
In terms of unis, I know I should probably be looking but at times I find it quite overwhelming: there's soooo many out there, I kind of just postpone it for later, tho that probably isn't the best thing to do aha.

yessssss, like it is so much pressure, and it is kinda hard to get a feel for the uni online so im nervous to make the decision. hopefully this summer is better though

Sometimes, I'll sign up to a virtual event and then I'll totally forget about it/not get all my questions answered..so in that sense it's frustrating.
I'm hoping unis etc. will be open the summer to look around.
My school wants us to us to start our UCAS applications and draft our personal statement in the summer, ready for October time, wbu?

The main issue I personally find in terms of researching unis virtually is that there's only so much I can find out online..I'm the sort of person who would go and get a feel of a Uni's vibes and chat to students...
In terms of unis, I know I should probably be looking but at times I find it quite overwhelming: there's soooo many out there, I kind of just postpone it for later, tho that probably isn't the best thing to do aha.

I actually think generally you can narrow down your options quite a lot more then you think before visiting universities.
You might filter geographically, cost of living, course, structure, academics, career opportunities, the city/culture/lifestyle, grade & subject requirements...

I suspect you could make a fairly short list after finding universities which best suit your preferences in each category.

TBH when you visit a university its almost never the atmosphere as being a student anyway. Most of the time open days are July or early September, universities deliberately pick the time when all the students are not actually on campus. And most of the student life doesn't happen physically on campus, it happens in some dodgy student flat.

It’s always possible to travel to different cities and towns and university campuses outside of official events.

I would always recommend hunting down a university student union/guild accounts on social media to get a less polished view of a university.

I forgot all the time and sometimes I just lose interest when I am meant to be listening cos I have such a short attention span. Yeah same, I was planning to book an open day next week but it was all full :/. Yeah my Ucas exams finish next week so as soon as that is over, I'm gonna start on my personal statement so that I can get that over and done with.

May I ask whether student unions are separate from the University, or are they affiliated?

sometimes it all just sounds like a dribble. That's my main worry about going to uni, I wouldn't personally go to a uni that's further away only to stay at home and do online work..i don't really see the point, if that makes sense.

Truth is, I'm super insecure about my grades for A level. I used to be an extremely dedicated student, but something happened in lockdown, and my grades have gone from A's to D's and C's. Honestly, I'm not sure about myself at this point, and if possible, I might just resit my A levels if they aren't great.

same with me..my grades have all just droppped aha...I put the work in but sometimes it just feels like i'm stuck at the same place (especially for bio and chem)

I know right??? I think I'm getting better at chem, but biology is so much CONTENT, it's unbelievable.

At the start of the year, biology was my best subject, so I was like "Oh, bio is easy.pff" Now after several tests, I have come to the conclusion that biology is literally evil, purely based off the exams and the markschemes, at least chem is straightforward and logical

Agreed. Honestly, it's just BIOLOGY in general that I don't understand.