Oxbridge Entry 2015

[Roisin]

Do we have a thread already?
ds1 has decided to definitely apply to Oxford to do Biochemistry. He will probably apply to St John's.

DS has got the MAT on weds. Has done about 6 past papers and feels reasonably ready.

Good news here. Dd has decided against an extra application for Material Sciences. She said had she wanted to do it, she would have applied for it. So straight physics it is for her. I'm pleased because it feels more straightforward I suppose. Anyhoo. She's currently working through more past questions.

Feels like a big week. She's in the early ID with GB junior rowing, stuff going on there, and don't know if anyone else's DC are doing some Maths Challenge on Thurs? Then we have a big weekend looming. All good just all very busy.

But I have gin. :)

She's a rower? That'll get her an Oxford place, surely

And yeah, dd1 is doing the SMC on Thursday. She has a thing out of school all day - stuff about interviews, organised by the local people who sort out work experience - and then has to dash back to school for the maths. Dd2 is doing it too :)

Sounds like a frenetic week! Good luck to your dc's.

What happens after the tests? Do the offers for interview / rejection, come via e mail. Is it usually around the end of November? Does track get updated with a 'sorry you have been unsuccessful' straight away or are they left waiting until January? Do they get any feedback on what went wrong?

After the tests they shortlist in late November or early December. You then get an email, but that can be close to the actual interview dates which are the week beginning Monday 15th December.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/interviews
says an email or a letter up to a week before interviews might happen.

And
www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford
says everyone hears on 7th January!

Interview dates vary - classics is the week before. There's a page with all the times and dates on it, but I don't have time to find it again atm!

Oxford interview timetable here

Ds got exactly 1 wk notice for his classics interview at Ox last year - some friends applying for other subjects heard a few days earlier, leading to a bit of panic but all was well and ds now started his course. Good luck to all with the tests.
And next dc has applied to Cambridge - I see the interviews are first 3 wks in Dec. does anyone know how much notice applicants get? And is there any order to the subjects? (has applied for Eng Lit).

We found out about DS1 Cambridge interview on 20th November. His interview was on 9th December. They offered him a room in halls the night before although he opted to stay in a premier inn.

We are having a frantic week here as well, no tests for DDs subject but busy gathering and finishing pieces of "teacher-marked" written work to send off on Monday.

Which pieces, which subjects? She doesn't have a long piece in her main subject so is writing something as an extra homework assignment, and scrambling around to locate the teacher-marked print-out.

Grace you're a year ahead of me - have dd1 applying for Classics at Oxford, and dd2 is (therefore) planning to apply to Cambridge - modern languages probably. Hope it's not been too stressful for you!

Was the Oxford interview communication from the college or a central thing?

It's always college generated Atia. I seem to remember DS2 got less than a week's notice last year - 4 days maybe? - anyhow it was getting tense as everyone else in other colleges for his subject had heard, as well as a school friend at the same college but different subject. The e-mail (as well as the 30 page long tract he had to read) also went into Junk for a day, when he'd decided he obviously wasn't going to get an invite, which didn't help.

No essays submitted here either. All rather last minute. As per :)

Thanks Molio

Dd hasn't submitted her work yet either. She came home at lunchtime, under the weather. Just a cold (and perhaps a bit of worry) I think - she's been asleep since. Hopefully she'll be fine in the morning!

(Talking of the senior maths challenge earlier - ds has just come home and said he's doing it too. I'm all for a bit of healthy competition (dd1 and dd2 both did Edexcel maths C1 and S1 this summer and it wasn't as awful as I'd feared), but all 3 might be a bit much!)

Yes Atia, just to confirm, interview details came from the college.

Must admit it's a tad stressful but must stay calm!!

Grace DS1 received his invite to interview for Cambridge 12th Nov last year, so five weeks notice.

Blimey Atia, your three are polymaths - or perhaps polymathematical! Impressive.

DD just got an offer! I am She is thrilled!

Now to get to grips with which written work to send to Oxford.

You can't actually always rely on the interview dates being set in stone. Not only did DS2 get very short notice last year but they asked him up a day earlier than the scheduled interview date due (not great this) to the 'unprecedentedly large numbers' of people who happened to have chosen his college for his subject that year. It hasn't happened to any of the older DC but in the end he was there for four complete days.

Where from RF? Well done her!

Congratulations to your dd, RandomFriend.

Good luck to everyone doing admission tests and sending in written work. Fingers crossed!

Ds has been told the college to which his open application has been allocated and he has had a lot of negativity from others about the college. Lots of comments about how it is one of the toughest to get into and has the highest number of private school pupils etc - lucky he is so chilled about the whole thing!!!

What college Raidne?

Which subject Raidne? Sorry if I've missed it. If he's doing a 'private school subject' at a college with a rep for private schoolers but he's not one himself, I'd have thought that will only go in his favour :)

DD3 was at a college with that sort of rep and her best friend got in for History from an Open App.

Well done to your dd RandomFriend. Is there that much difference between colleges for taking in students from private or state schools? Didn't really realise that was the case.

I don't know anything about the process of allocating open applications to colleges, but one would have thought they wouldn't allocate an open application to a college that is already overwhelmed with applications for that course?