Just to give some context, I have a neighbour who is a shameless bragger about her child, for the past 5 years she has talked incessantly about what her kid is going to do with their life.
Never has actually said little Johnny has accomplished X Y or Z. Always, this is what he is going to do.
Since he has been 12 yrs old I have had to listen about his mothers his aspirations of becoming an
Officer at Sandhurst,
A Doctor
Head of John Lewis (after he got his first Saturday job)
A Vet
A Banker in the City
And a Partner at KPMG
She has told me today that little Johnny will be applying to Oxford to study a degree that has no relevance to the above list of careers - and that given their policy for positive discrimination, as little Johnny, in her words is a "bright young thing"??? and from a middle class family and goes to the local comprehensive then he has a better opportunity of securing a place than those attending the best fee paying schools in the country.
Note. This kid did not get straight A's or A* at GCSE for every subject.
I didn't go to Uni, but run my own successful business so not having a degree has not held me back in life, however I get the distinct impression my neighbour (who places such importance on matters relating to education and social climbing) thinks I'm a total fool to think that Oxford select students for their courses on this basis. She is deluded right?
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Higher education
Oxbridge - please can someone explain something to me
Onedayinthesun · 15/03/2016 17:46
Back in my day 2EE offers abounded. I had 2EE offers from a variety of (what would now be known as Russell Group) universities.
I think Oxbridge abandoned them because they played into the hands of the coached. Some years ago there were also closed scholarships, whereby certain public schools had a set number of allocated places at Oxbridge colleges. My cousins went to Cambridge on closed scholarships from X public school. My mother was 
about it till her dying day!
As others have said, anyone can have a go at Oxbridge - even someone with 3 GCSEs at grade C. The next hurdle (for Oxford at least and for most subjects) is an aptitude test which sorts the wheat from the chaff. I hear people saying, "I got rejected from Oxford." No, you didn't. You rejected yourself by doing badly in the test. The real test comes at interview, where you have a small window of opportunity to make an impression. There are thousands of hapless kids trying to show their knowledge. Three quarters will be rejected.
Para 3 of Rhoda's post is certainly true of Cambridge in my day (or at least the bit about interview stage) and not sure why it would change.
My DOS said to me after I matriculated that they get so many candidates through the door who simply know a lot. They've read all the set texts and know all the arguments (taking a social sciences example). What they look for is people not on that conveyor belt. Not schooled or coached but thinking a bit differently. They gave me a place because I compared Thatcher to Peel and he said no one else had that done that yet that day. He also said that I got in on this alone, as pretty much as the rest of what came out of my mouth was pretty standard and unimpressive
. It was enough to be remembered and to feel a bit different. These days I'm sure candidates need to be saying lots of original and impressively insightful things to get a place. That particular college was 70% state school, partly I guess because state school kids are less likely to be coached. They are there because they want to go and someone at their school believes in them and supported the application. Often what they think is actually what they think, not what they have been told to say to 'get in.' That's not to say that privately educated kids don't think for themselves, obviously, but the schooling and grooming that exists in some private schools doesn't exist in state schools. By and large.
Molio there is no cat fighting over the fence. Little Jonny has had a very unremarkable school career to date and no hobbies or achievements to note.
I have been listening to his Mother pluck high level careers out of air and tell me how Little Jonny is going to be soooo successful. How do you know what is really going to become of your child if you are deciding for him??
Where is Little Jonny whilst his Mother engineers his climb in social stature (because she can't be happy for him to attend any good uni or trust his judgement to pick the right career path).......lying on his bed playing X Box.
I'm not saying - he does not deserve to go to Oxford - if he is able and wants to apply, good, go for it. I'm intrigued why his Mother thinks he will get a place because of the barrier that is middle England and an outstanding Comp 
that Oxford would positively discriminate in favour of his social demographic??
To my original post wanted to know if she is deluded or not - which on reading the very helpful posts on the thread, she is as I suspected.
Quite right very bright children should be plucked from underperforming schools, low expectation demographic families, poverty and be given the education chances of those more fortunate. On this basis of selection Little Johnny is not a fit.
Hocus DD1's law tutor at a very progressive but academic Oxford college told her he didn't give a hoot what type of school an applicant attended, on the grounds that the applicant didn't choose it and shouldn't be penalized. Very wise. He'd been in post for decades (he happened to have been my law tutor's tutor - that old 
). He'd seen it all.
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