Oxbridge applicants 2018 part 3

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Looks like we need a new thread.

Yay it's all done! DS seemed proud and happy about all the Math (5 papers on top of the 8 he'd taken last year). Chem and Phy papers! He had WestWorld season 2 for celebration yesterday right after the exam! And flew off to Venice with his housemates very early this morning! Then leavers' ball and a 10-day vacation in London before heading back to HK!

Yeah finger-crossed and our DCs all deserve a relaxed summer holiday and rewarding results on Aug 17! Let's keep in touch !

Gosh, it's gone very quiet here. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

Now that the exams are over I've been casting about for other things to be anxious about and my latest thing is accommodation. If DS is lucky enough to make his offer (Clare College, Cambridge), what happens next? The website gives details of recycling bins and kitchen facilities, but says very little about the allocation process, except that rooms will be allocated. Are different options offered? Do we have any say when it comes to cost?

I don't know specifically about Clare but at dd's college you could indicate which grade of room you wanted and they tried to allocate the rooms accordingly.

The first year rooms are all essentially the same at DDs college; thereafter they can give a preference but its luck of the draw whether they get their choice (they have a ballot system; other colleges have different allocation methods).

Hope all your kids - and you! - have a well earned break and relaxing summer.

I'm trying not to think about it too much else I'll combust with anxiety before the 6 weeks are up.
At dds college they get to specify a broad price band and then get allocated to that.

DD has had to complete a form ranking five price bands in order of preference and send that back for the deadline of end of next week (Cambridge).

We're back from a lovely holiday and the only time any thought was given to exam results was when we visited Harvard. We decided we couldn't be in Cambridge, Massachusetts and not visit the uni. Other than that, we've all been very relaxed and STEP seems like another world away. Do the colleges do things differently as regards accommodation? I don't think DS has had to fill in his choice (even though we don't think he'll be going now anyway I don't want to miss out any forms just in case....)

As others have said, I think DD was able to state a preference for a price tier, but all the rooms were pretty similar. The only thing I know that is different is that music students get a piano in their room and tend to be on the ground or first floor only. Lots of the colleges have specific blocks for their 1st years where the rooms lie within only a couple of price tiers. In later years, there is more scope to get a cheaper room.

As far as I can remember, DD was able to log onto UCAS around 7.45am on results day and knew she had made her offer. I think she received emails or letters about accommodation soon after that. Her college also sent a list of equipment that she would need. They also had a Facebook group set up called something like "offer holders at X college 2017" and they had been posting online for a while. DD was also invited to someone's house in the nearest city where the couple were both graduates of the college and hosted an afternoon tea for new recruits.

Finally, we had to commit to arriving on a particular day within a certain time-frame although there was a decent choice of dates.

Only one of my DC has ever had the chance to select from a range of prices at Oxford (Oriel); the overwhelming majority have just been allocated randomly in their first year and by ballot thereafter.

For the most recent three DC, UCAS was accessible at 7.30am, I know this for sure since they were down south collecting results in person and I was in Scotland having been given login details for UCAS and refreshing furiously from around 7am.

DDs college of choice (Oxford) has identical prices for all rooms - complete equality so if you can afford more you don't get to choose more. Great policy.

DD (Oxford) had to choose a preferred price band, but has been warned that room allocation is done by ballot so 1st years basically get whatever is left!
She's fine with that - she was in the worst quality rooms when she went for interview and loved it, even sharing a bathroom didn't bother her (although she'd be thrilled if she did get an en suite!)

That's good to know about UCAS, thankyou Goodbye. DD has heard it could update from 6am, knowing that it's likely to be 7:30 will save us at least an extra hour of refresh angst!

It could change this year of course Lobster, but it's certainly been remarkably consistent for three years and I've been up at 7am, made a pot of tea and then literally stabbed my computer until Track sprang to life.... dead on 7.30am each time.

I'll just slip in a quiet but pleased boast here that DS3 got a History first on Monday - to match DS2's the year before. Now it's two graduations in a hot Sheldonian over the next week (one for DS1 who's finished his sixth year as a medic and one for DS3) :)

Good on your boys for graduating straightaway - I ended up keeping my Mum waiting for the ceremony for about 5 years: she was not very happy with me! Also well done to them for the first/surviving a medical degree!

Thank you Hingle :) It's all change on the graduation front now - quasi compulsory dates. And they're trying to clear a backlog of 120,000 who never graduated but now want to is what one of the DC was told.

Although 120,000 seems vastly excessive....

Wow congratulations goodbye, they are some impressive results!

How is everyone hanging in there?

All good here. The weeks seem to be zooming by - results day will be on is in no time. DS is very chilled and doesn't mention Cambridge any more. If anyone asks where he's hoping to go he says Durham.😁

Chilled is good :)

DS always said the only sure way not to get into X university ( let's call it Oxford) is not to apply to Oxford. Not getting in doesn't mean you would not have thrived there but as with so many universities - very competitive. DH did read out to me the numbers of people who apply to Love Island and how much more money they stand to earn on average over the next 5 years than an Oxbridge graduate - ha ha. Ds just said it was his idea of hell and he'll be Ok with earning less than they

DD's friend is planning to stay in college (St Catz) during the holidays. How easy is it to do so? And do many students do this? Is there an extra cost?

LJ - DS could not as they used the rooms for conferences etc. Also as he was Uk he has to take everything home and back again each term ( overseas students had a bit of storage they could use over holidays. ) As per - the only way to know is if Ds's friend rings the accommodation people at the college and ask. Most ( I think all ) of DS's friends went home ( or somewhere ) as u/gs during the holidays - but if said friend phones they will get the proper answer. Hope it works out well for them.

DDs college kick the first years out (they have nice ensuite rooms so used for conferences etc) - the shelved half of the wardrobe locked so they could leave some of their stuff but wouldn't have been able to come home by train with the amount she couldn't leave. Thereafter, some of the rooms and the houses are 39 week contracts I think so they can stay/leave stuff in the Xmas and Easter vacs

Lonicera he won't be able to stay through the holidays. And yes for each extra day there's a quite significant cost. About £20 just for the room. But the fact remains that it isn't open to the student as a free option.

Basilisk that's interesting because I've been strongly encouraging one of my DS's to apply for Love Island on precisely the basis that he may stand to earn a good living - and I think this DS would do well on Love Island, to which he's been glued for the past couple of months - if his intended career path goes tits up.