Parent of oxbridge candidate-peersupportneeded

[funnyperson]

OK so my DD is applying to Oxford for entry in 2011 and has a 75% chance of getting rejected so I am told by the Oxford website so I reckon a new thread would be helpful for us parents who may end up with joy or grief but in any event need to keep sane enough to support our loved ones. Any tips on maximising chances of success at this stage?

feeling cheered up. thanks.

Mind you, I stick to it - his book was banal, boring and rubbish.

Hi, my daughter is in her first year at Cambridge. She went to a comprehensive school with relatively few Oxbridge applicants.

A year on, the interview seems the least of the stressful experiences she and we have endured since she applied! She had 2 interviews on the same day, and a brief test. In the end I took her, she was stressed enough without a night away before hand in strange surroundings. Outfit - smart trousers, top and cardigan.

I think the interview was the really important bit, and they seemed most interested in the ability to argue a case, yet be open to someone else's view.

Anyway, she was pooled, then accepted by another college. The worst bit was waiting to see if she would be fished out of the pool. I had been quite laid back till then! Do not underestimate how horrible the waiting is.

Then, she had to get at least AAA. We had no idea whether it would be really difficult to get an A (first year they were used). She worked very hard (with a few rebellions - 'it's too hard, I don't want to go anyway')and had some extra coaching from a teacher at school, but declined all offers of revision cramming courses etc.

The day before results day was pretty awful too! Very nerve wracking! But in the end she exceeded the offer by a long way, and finally admitted she would have been devastated not to get in.

I think she would now say it was worth it- she is happy and thriving. But it was not an easy year at all, and the pressure didn't really let up till results day.

So, I really hope it works out for your DD - it is achievable for an 'ordinary' girl, but you need to be a calming influence for a LOOOONG time!

Clothing for interview - the only thing that really matters is that your teachable bright can-do personality shines through. So no uncomfortable shoes that distract you with their pain, no fringe hanging down over your face so people can't see your expression, no short skirt so tight you can't breathe & feel anxious about your pants showing. Nerves make me feel a bit hot, so I always try to wear something that I'll stay cool in. Other than that, just be simple & neat & comfy, in clothes you can forget you're wearing.

Manner - be responsive! Preparation should be your own personal interest in your subject (area of it you find especially interesting, summer job you've done which related to it, ideas for what you think you might do with it after university) and the college you're applying to - research the specialisms of the tutors, that sort of thing: websites/Amazon make this super-easy. Answer questions brightly: make it sound as if you think the question is an interesting one and deserves a good answer. If you get into a good dialogue, you can engage the questioner back by asking what their take is.

My Oxford interviews were decades ago, but I've been recently doing job interviews and exactly the same principles apply. You want to come out of the room feeling like you've brightened up the interviewers' day (and as if you've got a whole lot of new ideas for you yourself to think about).

Libra- I think we did the same A level. Tudor history? We also had that book. and it was dull!

Oh yes, tudor history.
But it didn't put me off history - as the degrees and PhD testify.
None of them relating to the tudors though. Still can't stand them.

Out of curiosity I am trying to get my head around the Oxford decision making structure and process. As far as I can gather applications are sifted initially by the subject faculty on the basis of admission test results/gcse/predictions and then the college actually decides which of the candidates to interview or pool. Then at interview there is the faculty interviewer and the college interviewer. The faculty interviewer may or may not be the subject tutor at that college. Again the faculty decides whether the candidate is Oxford material or not. If not a rejection follows. If yes then the final decision whether to give an offer is down to the college. If the college doesn't give an offer to a student who has been 'passed' by the faculty there is a pooling process. This may still result in rejection, but some faculties will hold candidate details and if A level results are amazing, an offer may yet ensue. Have I got this whole process correct can anyone knowledegable confirm?

sorry-knowlegable

-knowledgeable....someone who knows......{blush]

Oh Libra -- The Great ELTON!!!

Lol at admissions tutors stalking mumsnet:) trust me you can chat in peace. In my former life was such a beast, albeit a relatively junior one, and at this point in term was working 18 hour days to prepare for the imminent arrival of your dear little ones! There'll be a raft of paperwork about each of them already and the idea of looking for more would be just insane. Think 60 candidates, say - 60 ucas frms, 60 aptitude tests, 60 sample essays, 60 references, targeted questions to prepare for each interview
good luck to all of your dcs. It all gets taken VERY seriously and they will all get the best possible chance to shine- no one will be looking to trip them up!

LOL at Libra

apparently today is the day for interview invites

I'm with libelulle. However I will confess that my DH is an admissions tutor. He has no time at all to look at sites like this and thinks I waste my time when I do. He never asks what I am doing though.

I will also say that on the mornings of the interviews he is stressing about what he wears (not too smart, not intimidating, no marks, trying to say approachable) but would have no clue what those who he interviews actually wear.

He's not an ogre, he takes interviewing very seriously (I get NO support at home with DS and for the duration turn into a 50s housewife doing everything for him) and puts a lot of time into it, more than his research at this timeof year.

Good luck

Nothing in our inbox from Oriel yet today..... biting fingernails here.

Fififi - you'd think by now you were getting used to it!!! Either that or you need to sit down in a darkened room! Its only our 2nd time around and its doing my head in!

My DS1 applied to do English at Brasenose. Has just had mail that he has been pooled by Brasenose and has been offered interview at St Annes. I don't really know what that means. He has two offers and waiting to hear from Exeter and Warwick but aimed for Brasenose and is feeling fantastic at being offered interview but a bit gutted that his dreams of Brasenose are trashed. So confused

pagwatch I have taught and studied at Ox and Cam. Pooling is totally normal - it just means he's getting another chance at Oxford. Obviously St Anne's is a more modern college but his degree will be the same degree and this is very good news for him! He's got a decent chance in the pool.

Exeter and Warwick are both great options if it doesn't work out, but honestly, being at a different college at Oxford than the one he originally wanted really won't matter much at all.

Good advice libulelle. I did interviews at St Hugh's, Ox a few years ago and have a friend doing them at Exeter, Ox this year.

Despite media myths it is very very unlikely (I don't say 100% impossible, but 99%) that your son/daughter will get someone asking unfair or bonkers questions. In my experience the interviewers really want to give the students the best chance possible of showing themselves off to their best advantage - otherwise it would be a waste of time for all concerned. They will be sympathetic to nerves and so on.

Really the test (at least in my discipline, English) is to see whether you can actually teach this student in a tutorial setting (i.e., they listen, take new ideas on board, and try to do something with them - no matter if what they do with them isn't spellbindingly brilliant at this stage!). You want to see whether you can strike up a conversation with them and get them talking about something out of their comfort zone. That doesn't mean tripping them up at all - it's just because you're going to be teaching these students in a one-on-one situation for three years, and you want to see that that system is the right one for them. And they don't have to come up with anything amazing - they just have to show willing and give it a go.

And if they don't get in, it's no reflection on them really - there are just so many applications. They might be better off in another university anyway, and we're blessed in this country (for the time being at least) with a wealth of excellent choices and world-class universities.

Good luck to everyone!

any news mos?

Thanks take that.

He is fine. He said it is like being given a Ferrari and pondering that it would have been nicer in the other colour

pagwatch congratulations to your DS. From what I've read by reading/stalking TSR there is lots of pooling going on. Oxford is Oxford. Very

MABS not heard anything yet. DS promises me I will be the first to know but I'm dreading it if its a rejection as I'm so far away. Am trying to resist the urge to book a flight back to the UK. He wants this soooooo badly I will be gutted for him if he doesn't get even a chance at interview.

I think he is getting very stressed and just want to go and give him a hug

That's fab, Paggy!

pagwatch. That's why he's got an interview at Oxford

Pagwatch - English at St Anne's always used to be excellent and it is a really down to earth college. It's not pretty but everyone can live in for their whole time there which has to be a bonus.

DS2 HAS AN INTERVIEW!!!!!

Hurray!