Oxbridge applicants 2018 part 2

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Hopefully this is in time!

OYBBK while I think there's a lot of truth in what you say about most getting to love their pooled college it's also true that ME and Girton at Cambridge and the PPHs at Oxford do offer a different experience from the mainstream, city centre colleges and not everyone is inclined to accept them over other unis.

Thank you both upstairs. I agree with you both. Another factor is the difference of cost of living and safety (nowadays in London :( ) between Cambridge and LSE. Sorry that I seem slow to reply. I have to log in Mumsnet each time and find this thread. Any tips there?

When you are logged in if you go to 'my mumsnet' hopefully you can persuade it to keep you logged in. Once you are logged in then you should be able to use 'threads I'm on'.

If it keeps logging you out I'm not quite sure why, I darent play with my log in settings as I can't remember my password

Thanks , OYBBK. This time after I log in, at least I am here straight away. Hope it likes me better in future. May I say thanks to all of you for your former posts, it’s great to know that I wasn’t alone in the process...

Goodbye, as an ex girtonion can honestly say I never felt my experience was any different to those in town colleges. You spend every day in town for lectures and socialising, in and out of other colleges like everyone else. Just have a cycle ride home. Would def not let that influence a decision.

I know it’s prosaic and parenty but think those considering London uni instead should look closely at accommodation etc for chosen college. Dd had firmed imperial after a cambridge rejection last year and the cost, quality and location of the student halls was a big factor in her decision to reapply. There’s a lot to be said for three years accommodation in college ( even if it’s a 15 min cycle ride, nothing compared to an hours commute on public transport ).

On another note, any dc very disappointed and happy to take a gap year should have reapplying in mind as an option if they get good grades. Seven applicants reapplied in dds year and all were successful. I don’t know whether this will become more of a “ thing” as AS results have disappeared and colleges have to rely on school predictions ?

Nearlyoldenoughtowearpurple, it’s far more expensive to study in London. When I visited UCL, its chart shows £386 a week for accommodation and living cost while Cambridge is about £9k a year. As I have 2 younger DC in mind, could I ask when your DD reapplied for Oxbridge 2018, at the mean time was she keeping Imperial’s offer from 2017 Or put it down as one of her choices again? Thanks.

My daughter ended up firming Cambridge with Kings College London as an insurance offer.

Obvously London itself has many attractions and for some subjects it's very very highly rated.

However, for parents, Cambridge is really quite a cheap place for their children to study. The conference trade plus collegiate wealth means that the rents are relatively affordable and most colleges will provide accommodation for all three years.

The other issue is that in London after the first year student accommodation is scattered over a wide region. The London colleges are a lot busier.

Some of my daughter's old school friends who are studying in London are enjoying themselves a great deal. However, the continue to socialise with each other. The size of the city and the commuting times means it can be harder to make new friends.

Of course London is brilliant if It’s the top offer, the consideration of cost would be secondary. I did suggest my DD to put LSE as an Insurance, which seems mad to her as the only difference between Cambridge and LSE is Cambridge specifies History as A*, LSE and other 2 Universities didn’t specify but asking for same range of grades. So it has to be Nottingham (AAA).

I am not entirely sure the question of cost is secondary. Yes obviously children's happiness and the course being the right one is hugely important.

But young people do worry about the amount of debt that they're racking up. Sometimes people are happier in an adequately sized room in a convenient location near friends than in a shoebox a long distance from where their lectures are. Some parents will be able to provide generous financial help to their children at university others will not.

Sometimes rich universities are able to offer bursaries to children whose parents are on a low income which makes them an attractive proposition even if - from the outside - they can feel like places for a wealthy elite.

Hi, HarrietSmith. You are right, it sounds I made financial considerations unimportant- only hope the cost won’t deter anyone from making their choices. Nowadays young people are under lots of pressure and have to grow up much faster.

Agreed!

Redpeony, dd had imperial as firmed offer, after results day she withdrew from ucas and informed imperial, then just reapplied again. She was a bit worried imperial might then not give her another offer but her school said they would as she had way exceeded her imperial offer. In fact they have given her an unconditional offer this time so would have been fine had Cambridge turned her down.

Nearlyoldenoughtowearpurple, thank you for your information,I will bear that in mind for my younger DC. Congratulations on your DD’s unconditional offers: she is going to Cambridge! X

Hi there, I am a little late to the party I'm afraid. Congratulations to all those DC who have offers and chin up to those who don't. It is a brutal process for 17yo to put themselves through and they should be proud of themselves either way! My DS has received an offer from Cambridge at a pooled college. I just wondered if any of your DC had been actually invited to an offer holders day? DS hasn't but there are photo's on the website from an offer holder day last year. It would be nice to see the college as it was one we didn't look at on the open days. TIA.

Welcome to the thread Chooshoes :)
dd hasn't been invited for one. I believe that they can have a look round if they tell the porter they are an offer holder or go to an open day and tell them the same. It probably wouldn't feel quite the same though.

Thank you OYBBK, he is not on his own then! Good idea! We shall keep that in mind if he doesn't get an invitation, although you are right it wouldn't feel quite the same and there is absolutely no way he would go on his own!

I can imagine that would feel really weird

My DD has an offer from a different college to the one she applied to. She did interview there and really loved what she saw of it, but is keen to go back and have a proper look around.

She joined a group on Facebook for offer holders (Oxford, but I'm sure there must be a Cambridge equivalent) and through that page has a group chat going with other applicants for her college.

There are a few of them who were pooled from other colleges so they are planning to visit together for a day to look around.

For her it's a much better prospect than visiting alone (or with me!) and a good way to meet some potential friends and start getting to know people.

My DD has got an invitation for offer holders overnight -stay at her College (Cambridge) in the middle of March. It’s a good 2-day event as DD hasn’t been to her College before, but not every College does it. She also joined Cambridge, her college and her subjects offer-holders respective Group chats so it feels all is happening.

My DD was also pooled to her Oxford college. Luckily we had worked out in advance which colleges usually took a high number of pooled applicants for her subject so had visited all of them on the September Open Day. She ended up pooled at one of those we expected and had visited. She was lucky as it was on her shortlist of favourite colleges after her first choice college which she fell in love in love with on a previous open day.

Hopefully now she makes the grades to go. She is refusing to join any FB groups until she knows she has made her offer.

Dancingdreamer, you have been resourceful. I knew nothing about Oxbridge applications (had my educations abroad) and my DD likes to make up her mind all along. Your DD is wise not to join any groups so far, therefore nothing to distract her from her study.

My DD will be applying to Cambridge for 2019 entry and has dispatched me to Mumsnet for research purposes.
I have to confess I have very definitely not had time to read all of your 800 posts but DD showed me this and I thought some of you might enjoy it (with apologies if it is already embedded in this thread somewhere)- especially anyone thrilled to have received an offer from the pool, as my DD would be.

Well DD finally accepted her offer on Saturday. A friend from school is at the same college as she went last year so dd will be able to visit easily.

She's now busily applying for Camp America type schemes. It has been much easier doing this after A'Levels. Although she did of course suffer the indignity of being rejected by Oxford last year. Funny how things have a habit of turning out well.

The house is now an uneven mix of dark and light blues. I went elsewhere but dropped out after a term. Hated the uni, hated the halls, hated the course. It did me no harm at all.

There are a few of them who were pooled from other colleges

That's really interesting, and shows that there's really no point in trying to game the system. Or actually, perhaps it shows the consequence of people trying to game the system! Her now-allocated college is one that a few years ago was very over-averagely subscribed and took very very few pooled candidates - so maybe publishing the stats made their application numbers drop a bit? Will have to try to remember to look when this year's come out!

(I'm not a stalker, just went to that college so have looked in the past out of interest, and noticed your post!)

That is interesting Attia, I had read the same so was surprised.
When DD was sent for an interview there and fell in love with it I felt I had to point out that it was very unlikely that she'd be pooled there as it's such a popular college, and it was probably just a convenient place for the interview or something.
Shows how much I know!