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?

ah, I see what you meant now, betelguese! Yes - just the 1 rejection, but received 3 times (so good job he doesn't care, or he would have been devastated 3 times over!)

No idea about his awareness of Deductive Logic but he's not building up his hopes about LSE either; atm he sounds quite keen on York, which is nice .

I have a book of symbolic logic written by Lewis Carroll

I bought it when an undergraduate but I never understood it- I didnt realise logic is still taught

There is a 'Logic Lane' in Oxford perhaps it is an Oxford thing. Useful though.

Can I ask how students find little houses in places like Ship street in their second year?

LSE send out rejections quickly and then the offers come later. So no news is good news. The main thing with all the London colleges is that if accepted, it is best to put them first choice on UCAS, because then the student gets to choose accommodation and the university accommodation is allocated in the spring, regardless of where you live. If the student puts LSE/UCL/Imperial or whatever as the insurance then accommodation isn't allocated till August after the place has been confirmed and students can be left without anywhere to live till the very last minute. Where the student lives in London has a major impact on the quality of life as a student so this is an important consideration.

The quality of life as an Oxford student and whether this is college dependent is a bit of a mystery. The formal hall dinners in colleges such as Christchurch and St Johns sound good- but must depend on the quality of the cooking. A rather mediocre three course meal lasting a long time might be avoidable. But perhaps the cooking is superb and actually the food is excellent?

My dad and mum ate in Lincoln's Inn formal dining hall - sounds a bit like the Oxford system - and it was a courting opportunity as LSE is round the corner.
It also sounds as though the different colleges have different living arrangements for the second year. The staircase where DD stayed for her interview was in a modern part of Wadham overlooking a back quad with lovely old trees and very nice as well as being very well soundproofed for musical instrument playing.

Can I ask about anyone's experience of law and postgraduate law pathways? Is there an Oxford pathway?

Thanks for that LSE offer information, funnyp I have been checking out the LSE thread on TSR lately - I am a glutton for punishment - & there was a sudden flurry of offers yesterday but none were for Politics. (The thread had been very quiet offers-wise since before Christmas.)

Anyway today is UCAS D-Day so presumably there will be more action in the next few weeks.

DS2 passed his driving test this week so is still glowing happily from that!

Does your son know many people from LSE, funnyp? There are quite a few posts on the TSR thread saying it's not very good for undergrads, much better for postgrads, full of very hard-working head-down types & not much social life.

Knows lots, Ponders. The social life is mega as with all the central london colleges. They are hard working but also very very bright so plenty of socialising goes on- also lots of inspiring international celebrity public speakers so a really really buzzing place. Very organised. Very forward looking. There is a good description of a first week at LSE by a fresher this year on TSR. -Swayum I think the name was.

But- and I wonder if I can be frank here- my best friend from university has a son who goes to Durham. One of the reasons he goes to Durham is that he didn't want to be in London with all the 'chinks' and 'brownies' who, according to him, do not know how to banter and are not very sociable. Very nice friendly boy he is, one might think. I do not know how common this attitude is. I suspect it is common though possibly not everyone is as frank about it.

So there you have it - and racial segregation is said by some to be a problem at LSE. Different racial groups may or may not socialise with each other. Personally I think the attitude of friends' son as mentioned above is pants. Also, there will be the chance to socialise with different groups of people- people from college, people from hall, and people from the societies one joins. Hope that helps.

oh dear (sad that he thinks like that & even sadder that he thinks it's ok to say so - does his mother know???).

I heard something on the radio recently - can't remember if it was R4 or world service - featuring overseas students here (specifically Indian & Chinese I think) expressing their dismay at the way so many UK students think the only way to have a good time is to get roaring drunk; which is the other (nicer...) side of the "not knowing how to banter & not being very sociable" coin.

Thank you for the information - I know DS2 would love to be in London & it sounds as if he would have a great time there.

It is his mum who told me, Ponders. I agree it is a bit sad- there must be a third way.

Bankside is supposed to be the hall of residence for LSE people to go for - on the very trendy South Bank. If he gets an offer he can look it up and see if he likes the look of it.

I dont think London is for everyone. There is so much going on it can be daunting and because the city itself is so much intertwined in everything there is no safe and secure and sheltered student community as there is in a campus university. However I do think the London university halls of residence have a lot going for them as they are reasonably priced and usually with excellent security and porterage giving a fantastic opportunity to live within walking distance of all the sights and attractions and, of course, university of London. Betelguese is an alumnus of LSE I think.

Good luck.

One of the bright girls at DD school has a Cambridge offer from the pool. Its a good thing as she very much deserved it. Her offer is three A star her predictions were four A star. She is very very bright and very self motivated and without a doubt would have got 4 A star. However getting something because of self motivation and getting something because you have to are very different things. However I am really glad she has the offer. Justice is being done.

Hello Beteguese- I agree with you. I do not think there are any concerns at LSE at all about socialisation and it is an amazing place with people from all over the world. It is my mother's alma mater.
It is a remark made by my friend's son I referred to. -A remark and attitude I totally disagree with.

Sorry - Betelguese

Is this friend racist? Her son is but is she? Well she was the most moderate of all the people I knew at medical school so perhaps you can get a feel of the sort of attitudes there were. In fact she is such a good friend that she felt able to tell me what her son thought. Did she tell him how wrong he was? I suspect not.

I told him how wrong he was actually- but even so I don't think it altered his opinion.

Is he politically apathetic? He would probably not think so. He went to a well known boarding school in one of the more 'liberal' houses. He wants to be in the Royal Marines (has an officers offer) and is studying classics. He is not interested in multiculturism and mostly drinks and rows (boats).

What you said about Durham cancelling the BNP at police request is interesting. However I am not sure I would judge all Durham students by that episode.

Am I being too tolerant? Maybe- but then this young man would not have anyone of his aquaintance who disagreed with him.
My son can't stand him of course.

We have a friend who was at the LSE 30 years ago and he said he never really understood what student life was until he went to Leeds for his post grad masters at Leeds.
This was possibly one of the reasons that DS2 decided not to choose LSE as one of his UCAS choices for undergrad, although it could possibly become a postgrad option.