Top Unis - am I missing something?

@CherryKefir Oxford and Cambridge have no interest in extra curricular activities that make you rounded, they are completely open they only want 'swots"

One possible argument is the high ranking are less likely to be in clearing so better to apply now and then see if get offer. If she does go to offer day. No need to firm until June there’s still months to decide. Just because you apply doesn’t mean she needs to go.
Have you looked at finances carefully. We completely ruled London out on min loan.

I think the thing you are missing is that there are plenty of students at a number of universities who were predicted and/or achieved all A stars at A level and 8/9’s at GCSE. They won’t even all be Oxbridge rejects! Have a look at the historical entry grades data on UCAS course pages and you’ll see.

If she doesn’t want to go to Edinburgh or Durham due to distance that is fine there are still plenty of options where she will do well. Oxbridge and LSE probably are a bit more prestigious but there is no guarantee even with her academic background she’ll get a place. I really don’t think future career options vary as much as people think for the top 15/20 universities.

One of my dc also has SEN and I would imagine OP would have put it in her post if it was the main factor. From my pov one of the main points of Uni is to BECOME self sufficient and live away from home, regardless of SEN or disabilities - to give them a taste of the real world and skills they need.

Cambridge is a proper campus, it's got cow fields in it.
Seriously though, someone who wants a 'campus' may be even happier with a college within a town where the uni is such an integral part. I went to maybe the best campus in the U.K. (Birmingham) and I can't really see that the Cambridge environment would be inferior from that POV- the town grew around the uni, it's very different to unis which have developed within a large city.

What a weird post.
As her parent, presumably you want her to do as well as possible?
Hopefully she is pushing herself partly because she values learning and education and wants to see what she could achieve if she worked as hard as possible.
Maybe she won't get into Oxford or Cambridge, maybe she won't need the very top grades for wherever she ends up going. But it won't have been 'wasted'. She now knows how to study hard, set goals and (maybe) achieve amongst the top students in the country - that's great.

It probably is.
But it wasn't the university experience I wanted. If someone's looking for a campus-focussed experience it might be perfect. There's a very diverse range of universities being mentioned in this thread, some of them are going to give students very, very different types of experience.

York is a nice campus uni and easy to get to on the train, not sure if their offer would be lower than Warwick for a safety bet?

Why on earth not. They are ranked 7 and 10 currently. They are both extremely good universities.

I suspect many people commenting here are basing their knowledge on their own experiences circa 1990..

And that's on her for doing 4 A levels when it's not needed from a UCAS points pov? Great if she's enjoyed doing the subjects but universities will generally make their offers with the standard 3 A level subjects in mind. My dd's old school wouldn't let people do 4 A levels unless one was FM. They said it was of no benefit. Not sure if I'd go that far but it's not needed.

Do you know lancaster? It's fantastic for students. During term time you'd very much view it as a student city. Its small and compact and the bars and clubs are jam packed

Non issue

I think it's also important to understand that the grades offered are the minimum. There will be lots of students with A*s at the unis mentioned. There will also be students who get more then the minimum offer who don't get a place.

A lot of Oxbridge candidates go thru this angst. Some apply to USA, or European programmes as a backup.

Recommend, to visit the other Top Unis that are best in DC area of study. You might find that there is another Uni where DC will be happy.

DN, went upset not getting Oxford, his dad, all 1/2 siblings went there. He applied to one of most competitive colleges & major. He got rejected and was going to go to another country “to live” was so upset. In the end, took up his offer at another excellent uni and has moved on.

Just because it’s Oxbridge, doesn’t make it any worse than for any other student doesn’t get their top choice.

I think this is true, but it could be that they went home more often because they were homesick in the first place.

We were trying to sell my late MIL's house when DD went to university. It happened to be quite near where she was so we visited a couple of times during the first term. I think that prevented any homesickness DD might have had.

My youngest is at a Uni you haven't mentioned with 11 GCSEs,all 9s, 4Astars plus external competitions so is very academic. He is finding the Uni course challenging (but enjoyable) because the Uni he is at has an excellent reputation for his subject. He is making friends with students who all achieved high grades. He didn't want a Campus like Warwick, especially due to Yr2 living areas.

Conversely his friend at Cambridge 'only achieved' 2 Astars A and is finding the course too intense plus limited social opportunities. He was contextual, as was another boy who achieved AAB but waa still offered his place at Oxford.

Oxbridge has a positive perception no doubt, however all graduate schemes are assessments centres which look for much more than academics. After a few years no one cares which Uni you went to as academics play only a small part in a person's success.

I think you need to make peace with the fact your daughter may decide to go to a Uni that you believe isn't as prestigious.

Anyway, why is she considering Oxbridge if she wants a campus experience?

Completely agree with you@Delphiniumandlupins when you say this:

“It is many years since I was at university but the people who struggled most with homesickness were the ones who went home most often. This was true for both students at my uni and people I had been at school with. Going 'home' at weekends severely affects your uni friendships. If your DD thinks she might find it hard to settle then she would be better further away.”

While I disagree with your view that Durham, Edinburgh and UCL are, along with Oxbridge, the exclusive and prestigious homes of bright young things, while Warwick and Bristol (with the same entry requirements) are mere holes in the ground, that isn't particularly relevant to thinking strategically about her applications.

If she is trying for Cambridge and has an offer from Warwick that she is happy with and confident she will meet, she could just stop there and apply nowhere else. If she wants to add others to apply to, there seems to be little point in adding places with lower entry requirements than Warwick if she definitely would choose Warwick over them if she got the grades.

If it were me, I would advise her to add: 1) a university in a place that meets her preferences and is roughly on a par with Warwick, e.g., Bristol, Bath, in case notoriously marmite Warwick should fall out of favour. Alternatively, she could use this slot for a big city university with a more thriving and diverse political scene, e.g., Manchester; 2) Durham, in case she decides in the end that she would sacrifice coming home often for the friendship potential of a college environment, as the ability to make friends easily seems to be important to her; 3) LSE, in case she decides that the commute and costs are worth it for the opportunities that London provides for someone studying politics.

That kind of mix would keep her options open (supposing she gets offers from all of them) if she is rejected by Cambridge. A rejection from Cambridge necessarily forces people who had up to that point really been focussed only on Cambridge and been a bit whatever about all the other universities to really focus on what actually is important to them. Of course, if she gets an offer from Cambridge and meets it, then great!

I would also advise her that there will be many students just as bright and high achieving as her at universities like Warwick, so she should not count on being able to stop working hard and still be the best. For reference, this is data on students who started the politics & IS degree at Warwick in 2023/24:

Predicted 3 A stars in their best 3 A Levels - 21%
2 A stars, 1 A - 26%
1 A star, 2 As - 28%

The proportion with top grades will be even higher for the straight politics degree rather than politics and IS and possibly a bit lower for politics & history.

I didn't know Oxford did two E offers in the 1980s. I know some colleges there still did closed scholarships. I had to ask what that meant, it's when a college has a certain number of places reserved for kids who went to a particular school like say Eton. Shocking, well I was shocked.
I had a two E offer from UCL and there was a lad on my course who actually stopped working and got two Es! I didn't really mix with his crowd so I don't know what happened to him.
Sorry none of this is anything to do with the thread.

Oxbridge used to give unconditional offers based solely on the entrance exam and interview. But, local authority grants were dependent on matriculation, which required a minimum of two A level passes.

Oxbridge is the most prestigious but then I'd say Durham/Edinburgh/Warwick/York/Bath/Exeter/LSE/UCL much of a muchness to future employers. A bit course-dependent really. Adding things to the CV - SU/JCR roles, work experience etc will give more weight

Yes, this. I can't understand what makes anyone think what Warwick, Bath, York and Exeter aren't up there with the best no Oxbridge unis. Durham and St Andrews possibly maintain a bit of (false) status above the others due to their age and reputation as the default places for Oxbridge rejects. But I don't think they're better in reality. As I said earlier, I went to Durham and yet was rejected by Warwick.

If your daughter has a firm offer from Warwick and is happy to go there, then I would grab it if I were her and relax with the decision made. It's not a pretty place like Oxbridge, Durham, York or Bath and I really valued being in a beautiful, old, small city. Those 5 cities are still my favourite places in the UK. But your daughter has said she wants Campus and Warwick certainly fits the bill - I remember thinking it felt very safe, very 'complete' but also a bit weird - no old people or dogs just endless students. Perfect for many, including your daughter by the sound of it. And most people there will have clutches of A*, I'd pretty much guarantee it. I think she will be very happy and fufilled at Warwick.

Missing the point, but where in the SE is over 5 hours from London?

Queen Mary College, University of London has a campus.

As a PP has said, there are always other options for a Masters.

TBH a first degree is only the starting point nowadays for any highflying career.

There are other options for Masters or PhDs / MBAs.