to think that it does matter which university you go to?

[OrmRenewed]

My godson is brilliant. Bright, articulate, good-natured, good at sport and academic. He got 11A*s at GCSE. His school has told me he should apply to Oxbridge. He wants to do law.

His parents have basically conducted a campaign to discourage him. Why? As far as I can tell down to a really unpleasant reverse snobbery (Reading was good enough for me, it should be good enough for you, sort of thing). His dad maintains that all universities are as good as each other these days. AIBU in think that as the world and his wife go to university these days and now ones seem to spring up like mushrooms after rain, it matters even more that, if you can, you should take your chance to go to one of the top ones?

I am actually quite cross but it's not my business

Nah not always LeQ, thatc an be remiedied- if I went to RG Uni to do my next MA (I like studying OK - fends off the age lines LOL) my Cv would hold up next to any other RG ones. Only probably on a par with a straight degree of course, I quite recognise that, but it can be remedied.

Just because something can be remedied does not mean you should set yourself up for a harder haul than you need to. Mature students are one thing, pretty much any 18 year old with the ability should be pointed firmly in the direction of the most highly regarded uni that theya re capable of getting a place at.

They should of course be also prepared for alternatives- my cousin is currently mortified because he was refused Oxbridge (nobosdy is sure why, he has all the requirements both on paper and off- guess his interview must have been shaky) and is now heartbroken that his medical degree has to be taken at a mere RG Uni; that's not a healthy attitude either (his Mum has an LSE first and a sense of inferiority so anything she can do must br easy IYSWIM) and a shame to witness his confidence plummet for what the vast majority would consider a great achievement

But it isn't just Oxford and Cambridge versus post-92 universities - there is a big range in betweeen the two... What do you mean by RS, LeQ?

LeQ Bristol etc don't operate that now- I put Bristol as a last place simply becuase I didn't think I stood a chance LOL, and then kept them on for insurance (PMSL) JIC we won the lottery and could afford a house there.

And the system had changed again when Dh applied last year.

LeQueen, I went to Durham - it is not a RG university, and they held (and possibly still do hold) their interviews late in order to take the Oxbridge rejects.

OPOOoh Durham is good

I know for a fact that the elder child of one of the RG University's top bods went there and the Mum was most pleased (think the other child went to Newcastle)

LeQ - you're definitely wrong there about Bristol in the late 80s only taking you if you put them first, and not liking to play second fiddle to Oxbridge. The place was stuffed full of Oxbridge 1st but rejected people! But you did have to have them 1st or 2nd-only-after-Oxbridge.

They were quite tickled with me because I turned Cambridge down because they only wanted me if I took a year out first (because I was 16) and had my photo behind the bar so I wouldn't be served underage (really! Can you believe they bothered to say this at interview?), and they clearly had no idea of Scottish qualifications (why would admissions tutors not know about that?). I was seriously unimpressed with CU. Brizzle on the other hand was fantastic. Loved it!

If he has the chance to apply then he should.

Oxbridge get the best students, by and large, and have the most distinguished tutors, by and large. The highly personalised very small group tutoring and supervisions means the quality of teaching, by and large, is also far higher than at many other universities.

Of course, there are exceptions galore but reverse snobbery is a really stupid reason for pointlessly limiting future career prospects.

I went 17 years ago. I don't know what the situation is now but know an admission tutor there. I will ask him next week and find out for future worried parent advice threads!

I am wondering though Orm- is perhaps the reason for the parents being wary not about anything to do with not for the likes of us (something I actually felt quite strongly though that was about me not the Uni IYSWIM), more to do with wanting not to set him up for a big fall? Concern rather than lack of aspiration?

I find the parents' attitude strange. They should let him try out for Oxbridge because there are an awful lot of stumbling blocks along the way and the chances are that he will mess up the entrance exam / the interview / his A Levels. The parents don't need to cast themselves as the bad guys in this scenario who are thwarting his ambition - let the admissions tutors do that!
Seriously though, he has still got the other four UCAS choices to fall back on. Why not let him have a shot at Oxbridge.

Lots of good univs are neither Oxford/cambridge or RG. Durham, St Andrews, York, etc...

yadnbu. parents being a bit short sighted imo.

The best thing to do is to ask industry professionals what the best course is and where the best graduates come from.
it's what my son has done. He is also predicted all A* and at GCSE (14 subjects) and wants to pursue nuclear physics, he has been told that only 2 uni's cut it. Imperial being one of the best.
So that's what he is gunning for...
FWIW my brother knows an Ldn recruitment firm, clients fall over themselves for Oxbridge grads no matter what your degree so there is a bonafide demand, but whether it translates to academic brilliance is another matter again.

The reverse snobbery might relate to the stigma bandied about that only the hoi polloi go to Oxbridge and perhaps they worry about him being accepted despite his brilliance.
And that students are forbidden from working during term time... which if you are financially dependent on grants and loans you might incur a larger debt than others.

Piffle wrt to banned from working in term time I know a course at Glamrorgan that says that to new applicants to.

Adn a large number of students on that course who are working (and one who is too scared to break rules and didn't eat for a few days until a friend realised he was so broke )

So even that is not a RG / Oxbridge thing

YANBU, but if your DGS's parents are only opposed to oxbridge there are some other great universities out there for him to go to.

My sis went to Cambridge and it did help her get to interview in jobs but the old toffs then wanted to know which school she went to and were disconcerted when she named our local comp, which of course they had never heard of. The "old boys network" still thrives but going to oxbridge doesn't always cut it if you havn't been to a "good school" before it. Oxford and Cambridge are not the only good universities in town and it may be that your DGS finds a place in some of the other ones more suited to his choice of career. Right I'm gonna try a link here to best universities by subject www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6643 hope it works

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if I am repeating something but I would suggest to your godson that he should go to as many open days as possible to get a better idea of what the universities, law departments, tutors, students, digs/halls/colleges/ and towns are like before he draws up his shortlist! It is all about finding the place that is right for him, not about doing what is expected.

I do think that his parents are bu and I totally understand your point and yanbu BUT it is ultimately his life and his choice and hopefully the adults around him at home and school will encourage him to to explore ALL his options, and find somewhere that will make him happiest and give him the best chance in his chosen career. If it was me I would be encouraging him to explore Oxbridge and compare it to other courses/ uni's he is attracted to.

Piffle, I am not sure Oxbridge will be too pleased to be informed that only the hoi polloi go there. The hoi polloi are the masses, the great unwashed. Oxbridge don't want to appear to be snobs, but I think they may draw the line at the hoi polloi.

hoi means the. It's hoi polloi, rather than the hoi polloi. Just thought you'd like to know

not read the whole thread but Ime all A* at gcse does not guarantee that someone is oxbridge material

thanks Jux, I knew that.
www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/bill-of-rights-will-help-the-hoi-polloi/story-e6frg9 86-1111116155863

ggirl

Agreed - I know someone who got all A*s at GCSE but did not get into Oxford.

Also know someone with a mix of good but not jawdroppingly good GCSEs (a couple of Bs, the rest a mix of As and A*s) who did get in.