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Higher education

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

Original poster

Is it too late for Oxbridge?

47 replies

RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 08:31

And on the opposite side of the coin from the "I don't want to go...":

Ds had a rough year 12 - he missed quite a lot of college due to illness, plus was diagnosed with something else. He thought he had messed up his AS Levels and was looking into trying to repeat the year etc.

AS results were 4 As, two 100%, one 97% and one 89%. Given these results (and his GCSEs) he might have a punt at Oxbridge, but he has made absolutely no preparation. His friend, aiming for Cambridge, has done Duke of Edinburgh, masterclasses, written personal statement, attended Oxbridge classes etc etc etc. Ds has a)done none of these and probably more relevant b) has done absolutely no extra reading round the subject of interest.

He could of course apply after A Levels but he might not get A*s and at the moment he looks quite good on paper.

Any advice?

OP posts:
senua · 24/08/2015 08:53

I know nothing but here's my two penn'orth:
It seems to me that one of the reasons why Oxbridge graduates are so recruitable is because you can throw a shedload of information at them and they will be able to absorb and analyse it in double-quick time. They get used to working intensively in restrictive timeslots (terms are only eight weeks).
Your DS has eight weeks to the deadline (coincidence, huh?). If he is the right sort then he can pull it off. If not, then not.

Who dares wins. Carpe diem. And sundry other such maxims.
He has nothing to lose (as long as you don't think that it will make him ill again): he still has four other choices this year and can always reapply.

Original poster
RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 09:00

I agree that nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm thinking that never again in his life will he look this good!

OP posts:
SheGotAllDaMoves · 24/08/2015 09:02

OP go for it!

Don't worry about the stuff others have done. Half of it will be irrelevant.

What subject? I'm sure if we know that, posters can start giving good advice on things which might help Smile.

MaddyinaPaddy · 24/08/2015 09:04

as long as he isn't applying for medicine it doesn't matter. he will almost certainly be invited for interview and can show his enthusiasm then

Original poster
RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 09:07

He was thinking History or maybe PPE. Given that these are two of the most competitive subjects he understands it's a chance in a million.

OP posts:
NeedSpeed · 24/08/2015 09:08

Go for it! He should be fine.

SheGotAllDaMoves · 24/08/2015 09:08

First things first, Oxford or Cambridge?

SpaggyBollocks · 24/08/2015 09:10

they don't give a tiny rat's arse about DofE and that sort of thing so don't worry about that.

your ds is obviously intelligent and driven to have done so well in the face of those circumstances. if he can put that across in a personal statement then he has a shot at an interview, and if he gets that he's gotta blind 'em.

StarTrekking1010 · 24/08/2015 09:15

Go for it too I say!!! Smile
Well done on his grades they are amazing!! He had extenuating circumstances too, which he can mention. He will have to do TSA for Oxford score in the 70's for a realistic chance of ppe I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, buy I think there is oxford stats to say what their average oxford student has who get into PPE course I'm pretty sure the average is above 70 though, it's high but I say give it a shot. Good luck

senua · 24/08/2015 09:27

Hmm, History is a tricky one. It means different things to different people. Isn't there a joke that Oxbridge think that Modern History = the Anglo Saxons?
Read prospectuses carefully.

BertrandRussell · 24/08/2015 09:34

What do his GCSEs look like? This is important when deciding Oxford or Cambridge.

But if your ds's health problems are stress related in any way I would be cautious- the 8 week terms are incredibly intense!

Musidora · 24/08/2015 09:36

senua is right that an awful lot can be achieved in 8 weeks. He definitely needs to choose between History and PPE asap (by reading the course prospectus for both subjects at both Oxford and Cambridge and seeing which is most exciting to him). Then he needs to focus on reading around the subject and developing some particular areas of interest that he can put on his personal statement and talk about in interview. This extra reading is infinitely more important than DofE/anything else. Good luck to him and well done after a tough year!

StarTrekking1010 · 24/08/2015 09:39

If he goes to state comp or general, doesn't have much knowledge about getting in to oxbridge I recommend a book "How to get into Oxbridge" by Christopher See. It was invaluable for my dd who went to state school, who couldn't advise much on oxbridge application as they didn't have a good history of sending any. It helped dd revise for TSA Oxford test as it has sample test papers at the back as I recall, and general help on personal statements.

Original poster
RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 09:53

Thanks for that. Ds goes to a sixth form college and although dh and I went to university, it was (ahem) 30 years ago and not Oxbridge so we are out-of-date clueless people. Dh was until yesterday labouring under the misapprehension that you got a 2EE offer if you got a place. Ds has 7A*s, 5As at GCSE so not brilliant, but above the cut-off, I believe.

OP posts:
DeputyPecksBentBeak · 24/08/2015 09:58

I was very ill during my second year of A-levels and had to drop out and retake the year. I used that as a demonstration of my commitment to the subject/my education/ the career I wanted when I wrote my personal statement (definitely not for Oxbridge type universities Grin) and it seemed to go down very well.

Musidora · 24/08/2015 10:13

If he went to a state school those GCSEs are excellent and more than acceptable for Oxbridge.

BertrandRussell · 24/08/2015 10:14

They are excellent whatever school he went to.

halvedfees · 24/08/2015 10:28

May I suggest from personal experience of my DS applying for PPE with 12 A*s with a 69 at TSA, and in the interviews at Oxford a first and and 2 high 2.1s getting rejected, that you strongly consider History. As I have said on other threads, my school considers PPE entry a "complete lottery" and "a graveyard for many an outstanding candidate". By contrast History is much more "you're good so you're in".

Get him to try a TSA test for PPE or the HAT for History - available online

Dietcokemonster · 24/08/2015 10:35

Am a head of sixth form in London and would strongly encourage him to apply if he were my student. These grades are strong without the extenuating circumstances and things like preparation for the hat test can easily start in September. The key thing Oxbridge history tutors want to see (agree Ppe a lottery so less confident advising there) is real interest in the subject and evidence of wider reading so suggest he contacts history teachers for wider reading list around his subject - in fact v happy to recommend some things if you can tell me what he's been studying or likes as a, also history teacher.

summerends · 24/08/2015 10:37

His AS level results are outstanding particularly given his circumstances. However IMO if he is not completely well and his ill health could be made worse by stress then I would n't push him to do it at this stage but have faith in his abilities and if he wants it he could do it next year. If he is raring to go, completely better and looking forward to extra reading etc then of course he should try.

StarTrekking1010 · 24/08/2015 10:37

My dd didn't get as impressive ums scores at AS than your DS her average 3 was 90%. She (only) had 4A* 5A 1B pretty lowly compared to the average standard and she still got in but it wasn't for the competitve course your ds is thinking of applying she applied for EP. Think if he applied to Cambridge he will definatley get a interview as I believe they go on above 87%+ average of 3 for interviews. Normally a cambridge admission person will be on Student room doing Q&A around this time, is worth checking.

mummytime · 24/08/2015 10:41

Those are perfectly fine grades.

First he needs to know what he wants to study and why. Does he have real passion? What does he do with his spare time? What books does he read when waiting for doctors' appointments? What were his favourite holidays? Has he ever attended extra curricula lectures etc? What are his favourite TV shows?
Has he visited either Oxford or Cambridge? If possible he should, and look around a range of colleges (historic, modern, large small, posh, more left wing...). If thats not possible, then he should look online - there are lots of 3D tours etc.

If he wants to do History - has he done any family history research? Or visited your local History centre. Seeing original documents is a good place to start to get your enthusiasm going.

No its not too late. But if he doesn't know what his passion is, then he might do better finding it, and then applying during a gap year.

HocusUcas · 24/08/2015 11:38

Rhoda
Ds is going to Oxford for History in October. If you like I could PM you with what he did over the summer before he applied.

Original poster
RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 11:41

He is a bit passionless... or rather is very passionate about weird things. He has been to Oxford on a small look-see day and very much enjoyed the tutorial and (unlike other thread's poster's dd) loved the formal bits. Given that he prefers modern history would Cambridge be better? He is rather nerdy, neither posh nor unposh, and hates all sport.

Please, Dietcokemonster, a reading list would be fantastic. He has read a few (history) books but it's a bit scattergun and in the last couple of days has been reading about how to combine liberalism with survivalism (?????).

OP posts:
Original poster
RhodaBull · 24/08/2015 11:42

Yes, please, HocusUcas. That would be very kind.

OP posts:
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