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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

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Original poster

Is your aspirational worth it if it’s really an Oxbridge insurance?

72 replies

eatinglesschocolate · 30/08/2018 20:00

Basically...DD considering Durham. It would be her aspirational (predicted 3A’s aiming for IR). Anecdotally...does anyone know of students who are there NOT just because they didn’t get their Oxbridge offer?

OP posts:

ShanghaiDiva · 31/08/2018 07:10

Yes, student from ds's class for history. He did not apply for Oxbridge.

Whatfrenchplacename · 31/08/2018 07:29

This is interesting because I would have thought the opposite might apply - but I may be wrong so do check! - if you don't get the grades for the Oxford offer you have probably missed the Durham grades as well.

Do check on the UCAS website (as i am not an expert!), but I think in some (many?) subjects Durham's offer would be as high as (or higher than?) Oxford's. So then it would not really make sense to have it as an insurance offer, unless you thought Durham would accept dropped grades - others will know more but my impression is not that it does! (if you see what I mean)

ShanghaiDiva · 31/08/2018 07:33

Ds and his friends took the IB - Durham offer was 38, but for Oxbridge you generally need 40/41/42.
IB pass is 24 points and maximum score is 45.

Whatfrenchplacename · 31/08/2018 07:43

Ah! Had not thought about the iB. Although I think in some cases the IB requirement is no higher at Oxford than Durham - I expect it varies by subject.

On another (but thread-related!) subject, OP what's IR?

Margaurette · 31/08/2018 07:46

Lots of them have applied to Oxbridge... but why does that matter?

It's a good, well respected uni, and the college system (which is what attracts many who also look at Oxbridge) is great.

wigglybeezer · 31/08/2018 08:00

My DS is going to St Andrews on a high tariff course, it was his first choice, he did not apply to Oxbridge but achieved grades that meant he would have had a very good chance if interviews and tests went well. There will be quite a few Oxbridge " rejects" on his course but not every one feels Oxbridge will suit them. It doesn't bother him at all but it annoys me that some people might think less of him for not trying! I'm sure the department is happy that at least some good students don't put Oxbridge first.

MissMarplesKnitting · 31/08/2018 08:06

I had an Oxford offer but put Durham as top as I was scared I wouldn't get the grades.

I got the grades, but glad I went to Durham because it was a great experience.

I think for my course it was AAB at the time at Durham, which was one grade from Oxford, but the Durham department was actually rated as beat in the country, which is why I went.

It's worth looking at the department rating and course content as that's what'll make the difference.

Original poster

eatinglesschocolate · 31/08/2018 08:07

It’s more that she is predicted 3A’s. She will have excelled to get that. She likes a challenge. She’s aiming for that but it would not be expected if you see what I mean. All other choices are ABB/AAB. While she’d be delighted to get offers/in to any of these, she feels she should have one that is at predicted level. So is anyone aware of students who aimed high and got it?

OP posts:

MissMarplesKnitting · 31/08/2018 08:07

But yes, there were a few "missed Oxbridge by a grade" students!!

MissMarplesKnitting · 31/08/2018 08:10

Me. Predicted As, and got 5. Terrified I'd miss one, hence turning down the Oxford offer.

annandale · 31/08/2018 08:10

My friend's son. Loved the durham engineering course. Applied, offer, heading there this autumn having got some ludicrous fistful of A*s. There will be plenty like him.

Wonderwine · 31/08/2018 08:10

Yes, lots from DS's school felt Oxbridge not for them but had Durham as a first choice. It's worth noting that for Oxbridge the challenge is getting an offer in the first place, rather than getting the grades in A levels, so by the time A level results come along many will have firmed it as their 'first choice' and will have mostly forgotten that their original 'first choice' was Oxbridge some 8 months ago!
Is Durham highly ranked for your DD's course though OP? I've seen a lot of students blindly rush for Durham based on its reputation alone, when in fact other top unis have a better record for teaching and outcome in some subjects?

MarchingFrogs · 31/08/2018 08:19

International Relations (I assume). DD will also be applying for IR (with French), but not at Durham.

Even if a university is a major 'Oxbridge insurance' magnet, should one avoid it because one is likely to be surrounded by resentful teens who would rather be somewhere else, or embrace it because one is likely to be surrounded by brilliant minds (as evidenced by their original offer) who just had an off day or two during their A level exams?

Or ignore both of the above and just go for a course one is interested in at a university one would like to go to?

Anecdotally, a friend's DS is at Durham and loving it. As far as I know, it was always his top choice of university / course.

Whatfrenchplacename · 31/08/2018 08:25

Aha - well IR at Durham is typical AAA offer, so if it is the same at Oxford I wouldn't have thought you would put it as insurance.

Wonderwine · 31/08/2018 08:37

Does IR in this context not mean 'in reality'? I read the OPs post as
Predicted 3As, in reality that's aspirational....

Tartle · 31/08/2018 08:54

I don't think Durham is more full of oxbridge rejects than UCL, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester etc. Pretty much all of the Russell groups have a high proportion of students who put oxbridge down first.

It's all forgotten by the first week and becomes totally irrelevant. Take her to look round, see what the departments, courses and environments that she likes best are and let her pick like that. The behaviour of other students shouldn't be a factor in her decision making.

wurzelburga · 31/08/2018 09:18

A number of DS’s friends put Oxbridge, Durham, UCL, Imperial, St Andrew’s etc on their UCAS forms. Where they got an Oxbridge offer, they received identical offers from the other choices. So they ended up without an insurance choice. Most were confident of meeting or exceeding their offers though. In the past incidentally it was common for Oxbridge to make much lower offers than other universities - two Es was the norm.

Some very bright students only applied to Durham and other northern universities because living costs are far lower than those in the south. I think this is becoming much more prevalent.

Others only applied to Durham because they preferred the course and/or did not want the additional work/stress of the Oxbridge application. It can be very distracting with extra essays to be written and up to five days away for interviews etc.

At least two applied only to Durham because they were white, male and from private schools and were not among the top performers in the school’s cohort despite having up to 10 A/A* at GCSE and had been advised by their teachers not to try for Oxbridge as the additional scrutiny of Oxbridge admissions meant their applications would be weeded out.

WomanInBoots · 31/08/2018 09:56

I went to Durham (few years ago mind but the "Oxbridge rejects" meme was alive and kicking even back then)... I did not apply to Oxbridge, I would have got the grades to get in but I just didn't want to go down south and I was frightened of the pomp. I loved it at Durham, the collage system is supportive and fun and you get a bit of dressing in gowns and formality but it all feels more tongue in cheek than pretentious if that makes sense . My perception was that the "hill" collages were more mixed in class terms, whereas the "town" collages were a bit more upper class? But that could just be me being resentful because I didn't get into the town collage I applied to and ended up being segwayed into Mary's (now that was mostly full of rejects as it was female only at the time and no one admitted applying there as first choice! )

But yeah, ignore the Oxbridge issue it didn't really come up while I was there. My fellow students were on the whole very bright and committed and there was plenty of competition and stretching of the intellect but plenty of enjoyable times as well and, I imagine, less pressure/hot housing than Oxbridge.

CherryPavlova · 31/08/2018 09:59

My daughter chose not to apply for Oxbridge as the course didn’t match what she wanted. She had an offer from Durham but declined as she’d settled on Exeter as her first choice on same IB score.
Several I know chose Durham over Oxbridge but most were Oxbridge rejects, in fairness. I suspect there may also be a north/south divide at play. Durham is a very, very long way from home for us.

CherryMaraschino · 31/08/2018 10:12

I turned up at Durham having had a wobble about Oxford, thinking I wasn't good enough to go.

I thought everyone would be the same, but in my year there was a good split of 'oxbridge rejects' and people who'd put Durham first. We'd forgotten about it all halfway through Fresher's week.

Like a pp, my department was actually the top rated. It was a great choice for me, in the end.

Witchend · 01/09/2018 00:20

Dd1 loved Durham when she looked round it. I think if she got an offer from them and Oxford then the only thing that would decide it is Oxford being hugely closer.

But:
Some very bright students only applied to Durham and other northern universities because living costs are far lower than those in the south She tells me that Durham is one of the most expensive unis outside London for accommodation etc. Certainly more than Oxford typically is.

Thesearepearls · 01/09/2018 00:29

I don't think it is reasonable to characterise a university as a place for "Oxbridge rejects"

There are a whole heap of bright kids out there. Oxbridge can only take so many. There are really good universities which also are homes to really bright kids. You will find some really bright kids at most universities.

Most of those really bright kids will have got the grades they need for oxbridge but either didn't get an offer or didn't apply. Some of them will have got a conditional offer for Oxbridge but slipped a grade and therefore went to their insurance offer.

LoniceraJaponica · 01/09/2018 13:09

“A number of DS’s friends put Oxbridge, Durham, UCL, Imperial, St Andrew’s etc on their UCAS forms. Where they got an Oxbridge offer, they received identical offers from the other choices. So they ended up without an insurance choice.”

This is what happened to DD’s boyfriend. He had an offer for Oxford, and put Edinburgh as his second choice. Both universities wanted AAA. He got ABB and got immediate rejections on UCAS track from both of them. He ended up going through clearing (to a very good RG university).

Given that UCAS applications have to be in by mid October the other universities will know that the applicant had applied to Oxbridge and will make offers accordingly.

BertrandRussell · 01/09/2018 13:11

Yes of course, OP. Loads of them?

ShangriLaLaLa · 01/09/2018 15:24

In my experience, the vast majority of students go to Durham purely because it’s a great fit for them.

DD is gutted that she can’t apply as she wants to study medicine. It would be her first choice, no hesitation.

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