What does it mean to have an unconditional offer from Oxbridge?

[Fiona2011231]

May I ask this question?

When I read an annual report by a wealthy independent school, I noticed the part about their Oxbridge result. There is one student who got an Unconditional offer there.

What does it mean? Does it mean this candidate is so excellent that he will be accepted in any case?

And how do the universities know he/she is excellent before the exams?

My sincere thanks,

[skylark2]

Oxford used to offer EE to everyone who passed the entrance exam (in the late 80s about half of applicants did the entrance exam, the other half didn't). I didn't know anyone who was offered EE without having taken the entrance exam - my college colleagues in my subject had been offered AAA.

Friends at school used to grumble about how deeply unfair it was, conveniently forgetting that the entrance papers were a darn sight harder than A levels and that I'd been working my socks off leading up to October of the L6th while they were relaxing (no AS exams in those days).

[MrsPnut]

The training for the international maths Olympiad was done at Cambridge and I think the final selection was too. She attended two years running so spent some time with the department.

[sablepoot]

Fiona, the international maths Olympiad training camps take place at cambridge

[SugarMiceInTheRain]

Also, many colleges in Oxford and Cambridge need organists so will give unconditional offers to candidates who are accomplished organists. I chatted to one, when I went to Oxford for a choral scholarship audition. I was offered the choral scholarship but didn't do well enough on the academic interview. They didn't need singers as badly as they needed people who could play the organ

[antimatter]

My nephew got unconditional offer of EE for a science subject 6 years ago in Cambridge.

[Fiona2011231]

To MrsPnut: May I ask how your friend can spend time at Cambridge before she was accepted? Did she do some kind of short course there?

[MrsPnut]

My friend got an unconditional offer from Cambridge to read maths. She had already done maths and further maths A levels and sat them again to sit the special papers as well as attending the international maths Olympiad twice. She had spent some considerable time at Cambridge in their maths department so they knew her well before offering.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Maybe they're a really good rower?

[Lambstales]

I know a 23 year old that was offered EE from Cambridge. So it was still happening 5 years ago!

[unclerory]

I would think they already have their A level results and are taking a gap year. I'm Scottish, I received 5 unconditional offers because I had the Higher results required after 5th year but stayed at school for a 6th year to piss about gain in maturity and do extracurricular activities.

[PiratePanda]

FYI this was in the mid 2000s so it still happens. Not back in the dark ages

[PiratePanda]

When I did admissions at Cambridge I only once made an unconditional (two E) offer to an extraordinarily outstanding candidate for a rather obscure subject. He still got 4 A's (this was pre-A*).

[Bartlebee]

I had an unconditional (EE) offer from Exeter.

[TheWordFactory]

Yes, I remember my EE offer. Me and my Mum didn't know what it meant. We thought it was some special academic abbreviation .

In the end we called the university ( from the phone box at the rec ).

[RabbitOfNegativeEuphoria]

In the old days cambridge gave EE offers to people who had passed the entrance exam. I had an EE offer in 1985. I never met anyone there who didn't have 3 As minimum. You had to have EE at A level to matriculate, which was the basic entrance requirement for the university - 3 O levels at C or above and 2 A levels at E or above. It was also the requirement for state funding. EE offers were also the norm for conservatoires, art college and possibly drama school (if state funded). These days I don't think you even have to have 2Es, because no state funding, so unconditional offers are truly unconditional. Conservatoires still offer EE, I know. I don't think many other places offer that because they can offer true unconditional places now (some do, but not many).

[TheWordFactory]

Sometimes Oxbridge just really really want them!

Great GCSEs, AS, aptitude tests and impressive interview. Perhaps there is also the suspicion that the particular candidate might go elsewhere (Ivy).

More common at other universities these days.

[PeaStalks]

I think Cambridge sometimes do this for candidates who come in the top few in the Maths Olympiad.

[HocusUcas]

But I think I have simply said less concisely what Oyster2 said (with which I agree )

[HocusUcas]

As pps (e.g. Twee) have said , today , this probably means the candidate applied post A level with their results already recorded. So they have left school and are going though UCAS or whatever with A Level / IB / Pre U grades already given . Some people apply the year directly after their A level year having their results "in the bag" . In this case the University would see their results and if they accepted them , they would give them an unconditional offer because the candidate has already achieved those grades. Not sure if I have helped here.

[ilovevenice]

When I left school (1989) Oxford made unconditional offers (EE which was the minimum needed for any university at that time) to pretty much all successful candidates. I'm not sure about Cambridge. A girl from my school actually failed to make the EE offer, getting an A in English and two Ns in Physics and Chemistry. They wanted her so much that she did History and Law in a year and they kept her place open... It's completely different now though.

[catkind]

It would be very cheeky for a school to boast of an "unconditional" offer made post A-level results. I'd assume it's the real thing, it's not that uncommon.

[catkind]

I think some colleges and some subjects do it more than others. My college used to regularly offer them for maths. And yes, based on your application and interview.

[titchy]

Fiona- of course you don't have to apply before A levels - there'd be no mature students if that were the case, and if you missed your slot you missed it forever! You apply whenever you want. In the example of the OP this will be an offer made to a candidate who already had A levels (or IB or whatever). Neither Oxford not cambridge make unconditional offer before results, though a few do occasionally at the moment.

[TweeAintMee]

Fiona - there is no requirement to apply before A levels. If a candidate does then their offers will usually be conditional on the outcome. If they apply post A level with known results then their offers do not need to be conditional.

[SingingBear]

I had two friends from school who had unconditional offers - pre-, not post- A level results. Well, "unconditional" was that they must get 2 Es at A level. In both cases they were both so musical and gifted in their particular instruments that Oxbridge wanted them regardless of what A level grades they got, because they wanted the musical talent. I would imagine this happens for sport as well as music. (And both friends did happen to get top grades too)