Oxbridge 2015 #2

[Molio]

Continuing Roisin's thread.

I've even succumbed to TSR, having sworn I wouldn't. Still no news here and haven't heard of news from any other source in the same subject at the same college but being very uncool tbh as the reality is that rejection after an interview would be much kinder for DS than a no ab initio. Massively cheered by a late afternoon offer from Bristol though. I thought I was chilled, I'm clearly not .

Fingers crossed for everyone still waiting and hoping. It's very hard to see them disappointed, is the problem :(

Just 29 interviewed out of 500 people that applied? Well done, Littleham's DD. And really lovely of the other prospective students to wait for her outside the interview. Definitely all are winners!

Well, no second interview for dd (along with about half the candidates) - so, could be good, could be bad, could convince ourselves either way lol, so probably best not to think about it ... We were just talking to her about whether she's coming home now or taking advantage of having another night in college booked, and she said, "oh, my friends are pestering me to stay for quiz night" so I think she's making the most of the experience!

(Just read this again - no second college interview anyway, she's actually had three already!)

DS all done now at his college and just waiting to see if he is asked to go somewhere else. Pleased to have finished these two , only having to say "Sorry , I don't understand the question " once

Better than dd2. Upset with 2nd interview.

Hope it works out for your son Ucas.

Sorry to hear that, Littleham - poor thing.

Oh poor little Littleham. In all seriousness , though , as I think I've posted before, at the Cambridge Open Day one of the tutors say they regularly see candidates leaving clearly dejected thinking they've done badly and they want to say to them "that was really good" but they can't.
DS says he can't tell how his went at all. I think now he is just keen to avoid any post mortems as his view is he's done what he's done and can't change it and talking about it just makes it worse. He also said the interviewers and everyone have been very nice , I don't think he's overly hopeful for January.

Best wishes to dd.

Thanks Hocus and Raidne. She is convinced she said some really stupid things & panicked. I think she did so well, especially given that she did most of it on her own and got a lot further than we anticipated.

She said everyone was lovely, from the interviewers to the other students. Shame as she started a couple of nice friendships. Such is life.... I'm talking up her other four offers now this is nearly over.

They have to leave their rooms, but stay until the end of Friday in case of other college interviews. Any ideas about what she can do? (has to be very close to the centre so she can nip back and forth)

The Ashmolean? Some Christmas shopping. There are other museums. Walk by the river, despite it being chilly....?

I am a great believer in Plan B often being superior to/better than Plan A.

Lots of lovely bookshops in Oxford; fabulous ice-cream parlour on Little Clarendon Street - G&D's; look round some more colleges; go to the cinema; do some revision...

Littleham , (and if she is upset , this may not help now ) she
is very lucky to have her York offer in the bag. I think DS would be much happier if he had an offer from his 2nd place (still waiting to hear)
as he said today he doesn't think he will be made an offer from Oxford.

Why doesn't she go out and explore a bit, as Marianne said , with her new friends and have a coffee with them? Even if they all end up in different universities there is no reason why they can't all stay in touch. I'm with you , I think our DCs have done really well to get this far and they should be proud. I do understand the disappointment they risk but as DH says , if you never do anything in life for fear of risking disappointment you probably won't get do do some good things.

Ds had a kip this afternoon (probably the stress ) and plans a quiet evening . I think he's suddenly shattered.

Just to say I have lurked on this thread, but not as a parent but as someone who went the process in 1997.

I did get into Oxford but this was the most stressful experience of my life so you should all be really proud of your DC which I know you are.

Cannot say which subjects as will totally out myself be but they had never taken more than 2 students for the joint honours course across all Colleges. In my year they took 7 3 of us at one college. And for one of my subjects they took 6 of us at one college which had never taken more than 2 before.

I interviewed at 3 Colleges - was the only one from my first choice to interview at another College and still got my first choice. They definitely do not want to miss out on top talent.

I thought my interviews were awful and everyone was far brighter than me but I got in and got a 2.1.

Good luck to you all. In my day we heard back before Christmas. Not sure how I would have coped with early January.

Yep she is lucky to have York. She just got a tad side tracked (understandably)!

She sounds a bit brighter now and has made plans to go out with the new friends tomorrow. Thanks for the ideas - have passed them on.

Another lurker here who feels she should join in properly. My daughter has recently had a Cambridge interview. She went in a confident up- beat girl and returned home very quiet and rather sad. I have not been able to glean any details, not even what she had for supper in College the night before. I am biding my time and hoping little bits of info will trickle out over the next few weeks. I am so proud she even tried but so hope she gets in as all her other choices are hundreds of miles away!

Oh Puffin Hope she gets back to her happy self soon.

It is such a massive learning experience for them. My dd said it felt surreal (in a nice way). Like nothing she has ever encountered. York is a mega drive for us too (4+ hours), but at least it comes out top on the tea shop list! Does your dd have another choice she really likes?

Thanks Sharpkat. Makes me feel better.

DS was finally released mid morning along with everyone else. He arrived on Sunday, had his two interviews on Tuesday and nothing else afterwards - a couple of others had an additional interview and one DC had about five altogether.
DS said he really enjoyed his Oxford experience this week: he preferred his warmer second interview more than the colder first, but neither were particularly horrendous; he loved the college, even though the magnificent Great Hall ceiling was covered in scaffolding (tinsel and baubles!); appreciated the food and having his room serviced each day; enjoyed the humour, camaraderie and games with the other interviewees and generally had a very positive experience.
I'm pleased to say that he genuinely has no expectations of being made an offer as he realises it's impossible to predict the outcome with such high calibre applicants - this makes me feel relatively calm too. He arrived home this afternoon to a well-timed UCL offer, so he's put his fantasy (no.1) choice to the back of his mind for now.
I would encourage anyone with the academic potential and a tenacious streak to have a go at applying if the course is right for them. It does seem like a huge, (potentially) stressful task at first, but you only need to jump through one hoop at a time and it can be a positive and rewarding experience just so long as expectations are kept under control. Best wishes for the next batch of DCs in the coming week - try and bounce back from a 'bad interview' as quite clearly, they can still equal potential offers.

Puffin and Littleham - it's all so consuming when you get the fantastic, barely-believable news that they've actually got an interview isn't it?Especially if you weren't even imagining it could even go that far.
All the focus goes into the day/s that they're supposed to perform at their very best and they're all amazing for putting themselves out there!
Encourage them to enjoy Christmas and focus on the others offers that they're happy with and who knows, there still may be the cherry on the cake

NCed for this

I need to get something off my chest - I'm in the middle of post-interviews decision-making, and it's absolutely awful. I wish I could go to some candidates and tell them, "we liked you, we really did - you did nothing wrong". But I can't - so please tell your DCs they should all be proud!

puffin andLittleham I really feel for you and your DC. My DS had his interview a week ago and he still hasnt really spoken about it and I dont ask in case I make it worse. He was very upset afterwards saying it was terrible and that he could barely speak but I don't know the details so can't judge whether it really did go terribly or if it was one if those where they push them really hard and actually it was good! He knows I'm here if he needs me but hes an adult now I guess (still my little boy though whether he likes it or not)
Fingers crossed for good news in january, best of luck everybody

Out tonight by someone else who claims DD has scu

Poor you Shattered. Must be a nightmare making those decisions. Soul destroying. Hope you get a break at the weekend!

My dd is very resilient and will bounce back. It is worse at the moment because she is away from home in quite a 'different' environment. Once she is home she will be able to put it in perspective. Will let you know if the outcome matches her prediction!

Thanks for sharing that Shattered.....my DD came home saying she doesn't think she'll get an offer but the who,e experience has really made her think that she just can't wait to start at uni, wherever that might be. She said she met some really great people and the whole experience was a positive one...despite her feeling that she won't get an offer (she felt the other candidates were stronger).

Thank you for everyone's kind words.She is back to normal now but still no details, perhaps I will have to ply her with booze at Xmas lunch! Younger one's GCSE mocks now taking centre stage, so looking forward to it all being over.

Ds back from Cambridge feeling very glum. One interview 'horrendous': he says they pushed him hard and he doesn't feel he did himself justice in his responses. Second one a bit better but he says 'I don't think I showed them what I'm capable of.'