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,

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

Maybe they're a really good rower?

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.

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?

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

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

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

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.

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).