AIBU to still be annoyed about my oxbridge rejection years later?

Nope. I asked how they made their million by 25 but nothing, not even a hint. All a bit odd really. If you’re savvy enough to make a million by that age against all the odds (hard upbringing etc) then you’re surely savvy enough to know you don’t get rejected by something you’ve never even applied for.

What about doing an MBA? Oxford's Said business school is great, they do run Executive MBA's which could tie in with your work times so you don't take too long off, and it's a way to get it out of your system a little.

I do understand though, I don't think anyone including me realised I was smart so I had no structure or suggestion to apply to a good uni or to pick a proper course/ career, it was only after the final exams it came out that I had the points for medicine or vet. and could have had my choice of courses (Irish system so it's different to A levels). I've always had a regret that I could have had a different life if an adult back then had given me more time or if I had internet access and knew myself what to think about but worked through it and have done a masters in Oxbridge and worked at Cambridge afterwards which did address it a good bit.

I never had the confidence to apply to oxbridge, imperial, LSE etc so I'm not sure if I "technically" got rejected or not but I've only got more and more bitter about it with age.

I would say you are EXTREMELY unreasonable to feel increasingly bitter about something that never happened, yes.

I’d question your intellectual fit with oxbridge if you consider yourself being technically rejected by oxbridge when you never actually applied in the first place.

I’d also question the legitimacy of this whole
post based on the fact you allude to failing GCSEs but still doing A levels getting to uni, doing what appears to be a science degree (not known for its riches) and still making a million by 25.

Do we know what OP does yet??

Oxbridge do take GCSE results into consideration, don’t know why people think they are irrelevant!

OP you've done amazingly well, from where you were at 16, really great achievement against the odds. Maybe you should look at why you're focusing on not doing one thing, that hasn't held you back in any way, rather than all the other great things you have done. You don't know you'd have enjoyed it anyway. Its not your fault you weren't confident, in my opinion you're much more likely to gain confidence through private school and that's one of the reasons that applications are so much higher. Please stop beating yourself up for having a completely normal reaction to your upbringing

@bridgetreilly See above

I think you are right to be annoyed but not with the universities you didn’t apply for! There’s obviously a lot in your life which didn’t set you up to have the confidence needed to try for that, but really it’s your teachers who I would have hoped to encourage you more. They must have known your abilities and seen your potential and I would have hoped that one of them might have been able to push you to give it a try.

I went to Oxbridge and got a first. I'm now a successful professional.

I've often regretted not doing something else which I think would have suited me more and set me up for a career that I would have enjoyed much more.

How did you make your first million by age 25 when you can't grasp simple logic? Not saying it to be rude, just genuinely interested. Nevertheless you have achieved more than most people. (Assuming this is a genuine thread).

Well done on your achievements but how can you be rejected from a uni you never applied for? I can understand you might be disappointed your school didn't advocate for you to try the big unis, but otherwise it doesn't make logical sense.

I rejected Jeff Bezos's no strings hundred million dollars that he didn't offer me.

This is ridiculous.
You weren't rejected. You didn't apply.
You then went on to get excellent A-levels.
You could have taken a gap year and applied at that point.
Instead you went to another university and presumably did very well there. Did you get a first?
You could have applied to Oxbridge at that point for further study. You didn't.
You have since apparently made a million and you are now 25.
You could apply to go now with all that money behind you but don't want to.

You've done very well to make a million and get such good grades when you don't even seem to understand what "rejected" means.

@WithManyTot

A few years later we ended up doing similar PhDs at the same University, Imagine how inferior I felt. However, my friend struggled, but I, in a massive bit of overcompensation published in 'the top' journal and was awarded the prize for the top of the whole university. Now I really really had regrets for not applying.
Your regret was totally misplaced. Had you gone to Cambridge for your undergraduate you wouldn't have 'overcompensated' and you wouldn't have been the person who ended up producing the best work in the university at PhD level which is far far more impressive and industry relevant

Not at all. The OP had extenuating circumstances. Universities are always wanting people who prove they have the resilience to cope with the workload. GCSEs are relevant when there is nothing else to pain a picture. They offer contextual offers that are lower to those with extenuating circumstances. Someone who actually got outstanding A levels with those circumstances would be a very attractive candidate

Well it doesn't sound like not having an Oxbridge degree has held you back? Maybe if you had attended Oxbridge, things would have turned out differently, and you wouldn't be in the position you're in now. Regret/Anger is pointless - move on, you should rather be celebrating the sucess you've achieved despite your difficult early circumstances.

Oh me too, but I couldn’t have married him because I was too busy turning down Tom Hardy’s marriage proposal that he didn’t make either. I’ve been busy.

You must be my age or younger as you reference A*s at A Level - I'm surprised anyone around you is bringing it up, if youre early 20s I imagine that will change very soon as people have more interesting life experiences to brag about
I went to Oxford from a state comprehensive, I enjoyed my degree and time there but a) there were also lots of negatives, including classism, B) the old boys network in my experience is more for the people who already had it via private schools - it's not helped me as far as I can tell, but maybe that's more because I gravitated towards other creative people and others from similar backgrounds, c) no one brings up which uni they went to in my work or personal life

You were very unlucky with your Cambridge experience. Sounds like your college wasn't a good fit for you. It was a really long time ago, so I don't remember the details, but I can't remember my parents' jobs ever being mentioned. Nor was my college full of right wing wankers. They were probably there somewhere, but there were plenty of other, nice, normal students to spend time with. Maybe I got lucky with my college. On further consideration, I think a lot of my uni friends' parents were teachers or worked in jobs connected to education.

Where is the Oxbridge reject 🤪 and however did she make a million by age 25? She seems to have disappeared……,

your original post confused me hugely.

I was encouraged to apply as well. I chose not to because I didn't think I'd cope if I got in. The school were so adamant they called my folks in for a meeting to try to persuade me.

I haven't done anything like what you've done and I'm in my 40s.

you could still apply. I don't find it gets brought up unless anyone knows my A level results.

neither of us were rejected. We chose not to apply. But if you want to, you have the time and the money and the ability to make a success of it.

When I went, they asked for your parents' professions, so I lied because I suspected the confidential "just for data" forms were actually there to filter out the poorer applicants.

I was right: I was asked in both interviews about the pretend parental professions I'd made up (computer programmer and artist; real professions: unemployed and activist).

Just go now instead if you really want to.

I went from a poor, abusive family and I had a terrible time there because it was a misogynist, classist place full of right wing wankers who weren't that bright, just had cosy lives and prep/boarding/grammar school help.

That was a while back, though, so it might have changed. :)

It really isn’t. The old boy network is alive and well. This is unbelievably naive.