My DofE didn't get accepted, what do I do now?!!

Hey guys,
I'm in year 10 and I applied to do DofE bronze award, but the tacher running it only accepted 30 people and mine didn't get accepted so I feel pretty defeated. I would like to become a doctor or something high up in healthcare. I know that universities prefer to take people who did extra curricular activities and stuff like that.
The extra-curricular activities I have done are:
competitive swimming for 4 years
Tennis
School Council in year 7
Junior maths challenge

I am also planning to do HPQ, work experience in nhs, join my school debate club, St John's ambulance etc.
Is there anything else I can do since my DofE didn't get accepted.
Many thanks x

Reply 1

username3434964

21

Is the junior maths challenge just when you have a bunch of questions to answer without a calculator, and after a certain point you lose marks if you get answers wrong in year 7/8?

Reply 2

fefssdf

20

There's lots you could do
Things like getting a part time job, taking part in national citizen service, becoming a volunteer at a local charity shop/ youth group. Please don't feel as if not being able to do your d of E is going to hinder you in anyway in terms of getting into your chosen uni. As long as the experiences you have are relevant and demonstrate your willingness to study X course it will be fine.

Reply 3

assassinbunny123

17

apply next year and do your bronze and silver together. Now a days everyone is doing the bronze award to stand out i'd advise you to do silver. Dont stress to much on extra activities, but since you want to go into medicine be sure to do something that helps the community so you can write something about that in your application in year 13 to show universities that you are an active member of a society.

Reply 4

username3614280

10

Original post by assassinbunny123

apply next year and do your bronze and silver together. Now a days everyone is doing the bronze award to stand out i'd advise you to do silver. Dont stress to much on extra activities, but since you want to go into medicine be sure to do something that helps the community so you can write something about that in your application in year 13 to show universities that you are an active member of a society.

i did my dofe outside of school because my teacher didnt accept mine, PM me and can send the info i know

Reply 5

Democracy

20

Original post by Reviser101

Hey guys,
I'm in year 10 and I applied to do DofE bronze award, but the tacher running it only accepted 30 people and mine didn't get accepted so I feel pretty defeated. I would like to become a doctor or something high up in healthcare. I know that universities prefer to take people who did extra curricular activities and stuff like that.
The extra-curricular activities I have done are:
competitive swimming for 4 years
Tennis
School Council in year 7
Junior maths challenge

I am also planning to do HPQ, work experience in nhs, join my school debate club, St John's ambulance etc.
Is there anything else I can do since my DofE didn't get accepted.
Many thanks x

Your existing extracurriculars are fine. Having a DofE bronze/silver/gold/whatever does not by itself increase your chances of getting into medical school - that's not how it works.

Probably wouldn't mention being on the school council in year 7 when you actually come to applying though, you'll be in year 13 at that point!

Reply 6

AspiringUnderdog

21

Original post by Reviser101

Hey guys,
I'm in year 10 and I applied to do DofE bronze award, but the tacher running it only accepted 30 people and mine didn't get accepted so I feel pretty defeated. I would like to become a doctor or something high up in healthcare. I know that universities prefer to take people who did extra curricular activities and stuff like that.
The extra-curricular activities I have done are:
competitive swimming for 4 years
Tennis
School Council in year 7
Junior maths challenge

I am also planning to do HPQ, work experience in nhs, join my school debate club, St John's ambulance etc.
Is there anything else I can do since my DofE didn't get accepted.
Many thanks x

If you only want to do it because of your uni applications then it probably isn't worth it. I didn't even mention it in my personal statement generally universities are more interested in seeing why you want to study the subject, especially for medicine. They're more interested in relevant work experiences rather than the Duke Of Edinburgh award.
Also, to be honest schools stress you out about extra curricular but when you get to writing your statement you probably won't end up mentioning stuff you did in year 10 unless you've kept it up to year 12/13. Even year 11 is pretty irrelevant to be honest.

Reply 7

Someone123123

11

DofE is useless. Consider this a blessing. You have great extracurriculars already; just continue them. Add a couple more if you want but don't go crazy with it, there are other aspects of the application (grades, work experience, volunteering) to focus on too!

Reply 8

Abcdefghijk123

20

When you’re 16/17, you can do NCS (National Citizen Service) whereby you have two residential trips for one week each, and the other two weeks are spent doing projects. I had friends who did it and they had a lot of fun, I wish I’d done it.

http://www.ncsyes.co.uk

Reply 9

Prefect1992

20

Air cadets, scouts, army cadets there's lots and lots to do believe me.

It's not always the most obvious routes

Reply 10

Muttley79

20

Original post by Reviser101

Hey guys,
I'm in year 10 and I applied to do DofE bronze award, but the tacher running it only accepted 30 people and mine didn't get accepted so I feel pretty defeated. I would like to become a doctor or something high up in healthcare. I know that universities prefer to take people who did extra curricular activities and stuff like that.
The extra-curricular activities I have done are:
competitive swimming for 4 years
Tennis
School Council in year 7
Junior maths challenge

I am also planning to do HPQ, work experience in nhs, join my school debate club, St John's ambulance etc.
Is there anything else I can do since my DofE didn't get accepted.
Many thanks x

Be thankful as D oF E is meaningless. You are better arranging something for yourself like helping in a charity shop, gardening for old people etc. There are loads of opportunities to volunteer.

Reply 11

Prefect1992

20

Honestly I tried it got kicked off my expedition for reasons that seemed pointless

Reply 12

K8e.H

12

I know a lot of people have said it’s not worth it, but if you still want to do it talk to your teacher at the school who organises it. My school’s DofE programme was very oversubscribed and a lot of people were devastated when they didn’t get in. However, the reality is that a lot of people will drop out - about 15 did at my school. So bide your time, and ask your teacher about a waiting list so you are first in the queue when a space does come up.
Another option is to ask the teacher if they can find a group out of school for you, or find one yourself.
** Also, check with you teacher if there would be a chance to do silver direct entry. A couple of people I know who didn’t get in the first time did this. The only catch is that you have to do an extra 6months volunteering. Honestly I wish I had done this because you can just miss of bronze altogether (universities are never going to ask if you got all 3 awards, they only care about the highest level)

My advice is to start volunteering and to join that debate club for your skill. You have swimming for your physical. This means if a space opens up you’ll have all your sections covered.

Reply 13

Talon

18

Original post by Muttley79

Be thankful as D oF E is meaningless. You are better arranging something for yourself like helping in a charity shop, gardening for old people etc. There are loads of opportunities to volunteer.

You still have to arrange volunteering for yourself even if doing DofE. The whole point of DofE is to recognise the fact that you are doing something yourself. It is not organised for you.

Reply 14

Muttley79

20

Original post by Talon

You still have to arrange volunteering for yourself even if doing DofE. The whole point of DofE is to recognise the fact that you are doing something yourself. It is not organised for you.

Not true in my experience - it has to be approved and often you have to choose from a list. D of E is so far away from its origins that at Bronze it is a tick box thing these days - very sad.

Reply 15

Talon

18

Original post by Muttley79

Not true in my experience - it has to be approved and often you have to choose from a list. D of E is so far away from its origins that at Bronze it is a tick box thing these days - very sad.

It is true - I am a DofE leader (+ expedition supervisor and assessor). There is a list to choose from however it is a big list and many of the items on the list cover a wide variety of things e.g. for the physical there could be a "team sports" option which would cover every team sport on the planet. The participant still has to decide what they want to do and find someone who can write their assessor report, and organise to do the activity. A leader has to approve it but this has always been the case. They don't organise it for you.

If someone is deciding what you do for you, they are doing it wrong.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 16

Muttley79

20

Original post by Talon

It is true - I am a DofE leader (+ expedition supervisor and assessor). There is a list to choose from however it is a big list and many of the items on the list cover a wide variety of things e.g. for the physical there could be a "team sports" option which would cover every team sport on the planet. The participant still has to decide what they want to do and find someone who can write their assessor report, and organise to do the activity. A leader has to approve it but this has always been the case. They don't organise it for you.

If someone is deciding what you do for you, they are doing it wrong.

The person decides but it is not how the scheme started at the beginning - it is soooo much easier. You know the assessor will agree as they wouldn't be on the list otherwise. There were NO lists at the beginning ....
People don't tend to try new stuff they just use things they already do. It's not the scheme Prince Philip designed any more untill you get to Gold and even that is diminished.
It is a waste of time to do 'just for UCAS' as other things benefit the student more.

Reply 17

Talon

18

The scheme itself hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. eDofE has made things easier to keep track of, but that is about it. I would not necessarily recommend it for trying to get a place at university, but it is a good thing to have on a CV when looking for your first job. It doesn't meant much in itself, but it shows that the person has actually gotten off their arse and done something. It won't get you a job like a qualification, but the person sifting through CVs wants something to tell applicants apart.

Reply 18

Chloe2004.

2

Well you can do Air Cadets or Army Cadets or any club and you can still do it.

My DofE didn't get accepted, what do I do now?!!

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