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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Oxbridge Entry 2015

999 replies

Roisin · 01/09/2014 17:45

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.

OP posts:
PD6966 · 14/11/2014 19:43

Lovely to hear the good news coming through about interviews...eases my own gnawing anxiety (a little!). Well done Smile

Littleham · 14/11/2014 20:24

Great news for your son MadameJosephine. Smile

AtiaoftheJulii · 14/11/2014 21:21

Definitely a big deal! Well done to him, it's exciting Grin

cathyandclaire · 14/11/2014 22:38

Not everyone, well done, fab news :)

welshpixie · 15/11/2014 07:24

MadameJosephine congratulations to your DS. This waiting is killing my dd, she just wants to know one way or another.

MadameJosephine · 15/11/2014 08:07

Thanks everybody Smile

welshpixie I know what you mean about the wait, it's horrible andnow we've got another horrible wait, the whole process is torture!

MarianneSolong · 15/11/2014 08:22

For me I think it helps that my daughter opted to try for one of the selective schools in our area. The process seems remarkable similar i.e. - Do we go in for this? How much preparation is it right/or wrong to do? Is the whole thing ridiculously overhyped? How to deal with the possibility of rejection? How to get on with our lives while an uncertain process unfolds.

For me I think the main point is to keep reminding myself that I have a bright capable daughter. It is absolutely impossible to have a crystal ball and know which out of five well-regarded universities would end up suiting her best, and be the place where she'll flourish and find happiness. In a sense it's very much up to her and what she makes of the opportunities that become available.

We're all blessed, already. (If that sounds a bit like Thought for the Day, I'm sorry!)

MrsBartlet · 15/11/2014 09:17

Marianne - I was just thinking this yesterday that it reminds me a lot of going through the whole 11+ process. I feel much less stressed about this as dd has chosen 5 good universities and I think she could do well and be happy at any one of them.

MrsBartlet · 15/11/2014 09:24

I was on holiday abroad with friends when my A Level results came out (I know - what was I thinking! What were my parents thinking for that matter!) One of my friends and I were fine as we got out first choice but the other friend I was with didn't and her parents had to go through clearing for her. This was pre-mobile phones, email etc so she kept having to go to a phonebox to sort things out but got a place at a good university in the end. Now, I can't remember where it was that she had wanted to go to in the first place and she did very well where she ended up. The point I am trying to make (in a very long winded sort of way) is what will be, will be and that will be all they know. Life has a funny way of working out.

Littleham · 15/11/2014 10:04

MarianneSoLong The truth is that your dd would have a great time at all five choices. My eldest daughter didn't get her first choice, but she loves her insurance choice. She wouldn't swap now even if given the opportunity.

Good luck everyone. My dd2 has three offers back, so not long to wait now for the uncertainty to be over.

GraceFox · 15/11/2014 10:05

MadameJosephine congrats indeed to your ds. A competitive course too.

Mine's still waiting to hear.

We must remember that to have got to the stage of thinking Oxbridge is a feasible option, our dcs are already in the privileged category of being well placed to get to a good university even if tgey don't get their first choice.

Let's all keep hoping our offspring get the news they want!

bobs123 · 15/11/2014 10:37

I think I am lucky in that DD does not seem to be as bothered as most if she were not to get into Cambridge. She has already had an offer from Sheffield and 2 from Southampton (one being for an MA) and would absolutely love to go to either.

4 out of the 11 pupils trying for Cambridge have got interviews. The rest should hear this weekend (inc DD)!

inmysecretlife · 15/11/2014 10:42

MarianneSoLong Another with a DS at his insurance who wouldn't swap it for anything. Love the name by the way Wink

Molio · 15/11/2014 10:54

Still only one offer here for DS which is rattling me a bit but I'm hanging onto the fact that his combination of choices and subject mean he's quite likely to be waiting a while. I'm also being totally irrational as he's in the position of applying to almost identical unis for the same subject as an older sister and brother, who also both only had a single offer at this stage. On the other hand his grades are a bit different. Not hugely so, but probably enough to make a difference. Even so, I'm not usually persuaded by rational argument in this context :) And so many other DC with multiple offers! (though congratulations of course!).

MadameJosephine · 15/11/2014 11:58

DS is pretty relaxed about the whole thing which is amazing for him and I hope he can keep it up ( he has a panic/anxiety disorder). He doesn't have any offers at all yet but I'm hoping he'll get at least one before his Cambridge interview and then at least we know he's got a plan B. We both appreciate how lucky he is, he has the ability and the opportunity to study a subject he loves at a good university, whichever of his options he ends up at.

ScreamingSpires · 15/11/2014 12:28

What exciting times. DS's application year was such an intense rollercoaster, it really takes it out of them. He applied from a good but not stellar comp, he was the only one of the 2 or 3 Oxbridge applicants there to get an interview.

He felt his Oxford interview was an utter, utter disaster, and to be honest, by what he said about it, I agreed with him - it sounded like he'd come across as a complete stammering fool (I didn't tell him that of course, but tried to bolster him!) anyway after that we both assumed that was that and got excited about his other offers, then his first choice college came back with an offer in January, much to our surprise.

He was thrilled about his offer for about, ooh, ten minutes, then started to worry about getting his grades, a worry that lasted seven months.

In the end he considerably exceeded the required grades, and is having an absolute whale of a time. So it was worth it, but I think I have a few extra grey hairs in consequence. It's not that I ever thought Oxbridge was the be all and end all - but, when you know they want something so much, by gosh you want them to have it too.

Littleham · 16/11/2014 15:27

Well done to your son ScreamingSpires. You have the perfect name for this thread!

Figmentofmyimagination · 16/11/2014 21:58

My DD is convinced she has messed up her chances of getting into Durham by applying to oxford. She says durham won't make offers to oxford applicants because applicants who haven't applied to Oxbridge would definitely accept Durham if offered, and durham need to be as certain as poss about the likelihood of acceptance, as nearly everyone at Durham is guaranteed accommodation, so they won't waste an offer on someone who might reject them. She thinks her friends who applied to Durham but not oxford have a better chance. I pooh-poohed this but .... I wish now that she hadn't applied for all five universities at the same time, so that they couldn't tell. Too late now, so pointless even thinking about it ....

RabbitOfNegativeEuphoria · 16/11/2014 22:06

I know several people who ended up at Durham after applying to Oxford.

AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves · 16/11/2014 22:09

You and your daughter are over-thinking this, Figment! No university sees the other UCAS choices an applicant has made. I suppose it's possible that admissions tutors look at the date the application came in and if it was before 15th October they may surmise the applicant has also applied to Oxford or Cambridge. However, frankly they don't have that much time to spend on admissions work.

Molio · 16/11/2014 23:55

Figment that's rubbish on a number of levels. Durham's lifeblood is Oxbridge rejects and has been for decades. It's not going to change anytime soon.

My three eldest DC all held Durham as their insurance, with Oxford as their firm, in very recent cycles.

You do sound so anxious - it can't help your DD :( I'm assuming she's your eldest?

MarianneSolong · 17/11/2014 09:32

Have other people's children heard back- one way or the other - from Bristol yet?

secretsquirrels · 17/11/2014 09:51

Figment Completely untrue.
For what it's worth my DS had an offer from Durham as well as Oxbridge last year. He didn't actually choose Durham as his insurance in the end but many of the offer holders he met were Oxbridge applicants.

Littleham · 17/11/2014 09:55

My dd had a nice e mail from Bristol saying that they were still considering applications and will be in touch as soon as possible. They said that they have had a large number of high quality applications.

RandomFriend · 17/11/2014 10:16

DD has an offer from Bristol.

It came through about a week after adding Bristol as a choice. The offer is as stated on their website for her subject.