Oxbridge applicants 2018 part 3

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Looks like we need a new thread.

Kitten - you've been so incredibly supportive and positive to everyone posting on here - you're allowed a mini panic now & again!

Glad it's not as daunting as originally thought & reassuring words above from user 150463.

xx

Slipping a few marks and hence a grade doesn't automatically mean losing the place anyway. DD has a pal (engineering not maths, but similarly high offer) who didn't quite make their grades but was still accepted, and a school friend who didn't make the specified STEP grade for her maths offer was put in the summer pool and is now happily at Newnham.

awww thank you :)
Yes, they were reassuring words. Instantly calming! It's felt like a long half term for one that is actually quite short. One more week, then a chance for dd to catch up on a bit of rest as well as a whole lot of step practise.

That's really good to hear Errol. I think a few people have told me not to worry during the course of the threads, I just need to keep trusting that it will all be ok. It's good to have a reminder.

Kitten of course it's natural to have the odd mini panic! And this is the place to share them (have I mentioned my DD got an E in one of her maths mocks?! )
I'm glad to hear it's not quite as scary as you first thought.
Especially if your DD already has high ums from the AS exams (which I have no doubt she does!)

I do think we will all have several mini panic moments over the next 5 months, and I am very grateful for having all of you on this thread to share them with - hopefully it means we can keep our own worries away from all of our DC, and continue to present a calm and stable front!

Lobster, that must have given a brief fright!
I had to remind myself that the UMS from last year does give a decent wriggle room. Phew!

That's the good thing about this thread isn't it, if we can get our worries out with people in a similar position it means we aren't sharing them with our dc. My friends are lovely, but none of them are in such a high pressure situation.

Poor dh had to do a lot of there there with me about life in general last night, maybe I need to do a bit of meditation or something! Is it too early for ?

Never too early for
It is Friday after all!

Well we had a small bet on the boat race and since we're dark blue we lost completely!. DS says he is going on UCAS to change his options!! :)

Kitten I completely sympathise with panicky moments! Have suffered hugely with anxiety in the past and have found fresh air and exercise help. Sometimes even a good cry! The wine is good too. ;)

I'm glad you've found coping techniques :)
We were quite pleased with the boat race today

I bet you were! :)

Does anyone know if Oxford still takes students who miss their offer? Mildly panicking here after my DD’s poor mock results. I really think she is not going to make her grades.

Dancing we all feel a bit that way - I think most people are naturally insecure. My own DS did not achieve the grades he needs in his mocks but am hoping more revision will help. Which subject is she most worried about? There are some good online revision sessions for some subjects. Rather than worry about whether Oxford will accept her if she misses a grade, just encourage your DD to work as hard as she can to succeed. She needs to believe she can achieve the grades rather than hope she will be accepted if she doesn't -(nobody can second guess that). I really understand your concern but keep the faith.

That's really good advice :)

Yes but sometimes it helps reduce stress to know that there's not necessarily complete inflexibility. The answer is that applicants do sometimes get in with missed grades and they often don't. It depends on a host of factors including not just the individual's profile but a whole host of things which are outside the applicant's control.

Dancing, sorry the nerves have started to pile up. I shan’t repeat my comments from the previous thread about exam technique, but I will offer you some crumbs of possible comfort - I mock horribly. Not sure what it is, but when it’s not the real thing, I struggle to perform. Not sure if it’s an inability to take the process seriously, or that I need the kick of adrenaline the exams proper deliver, but it’s usually an hilariously undercooked shitshow. Does that sound like your DD at all? So long as I keep my head down and put in the work, I come good on exam day. Maybe the same is true for your daughter?

For those worrying, you might like to do a bit of contingency research, perhaps without telling DC, into accomodation options at an insurance University. To a large extent flexibility will depend on how other applicants perform. If Oxford have over-offered in a subject, or a college has everyone meet their grades, I assume there will be less scope for flexibility.

We have known a few who missed their offers. Problems for one were compounded by the fact that by the time her remark came through (only a couple of UMS off, and got an A* in the study subject) all the accomodation at her insurance University had gone, and she ended up in private halls with students from another University altogether. Decisions needed to be made quickly. In retrospect she might have been better off taking a gap year, and going to the insurance properly. Another University seemed to keep some accomodation back for insurance offers, and so a friend of DDs ended up in some of their more popular accomodation which helped ease the disappointment.

Whilst I appreciate the pragmatism, there is still everything to play for. If you have doubts then probably best kept to yourself. As far as DC are concerned self-belief is everything!! This is not the time to be thinking out loud about Plan B.

We all have doubts though and this is a wonderful place to share them!!

Happy Easter! Chocolate eggs, champagne and a fair amount of revision. We can do this!

We can! One more day for us before we don't have the alarm going off for a couple of weeks. Bliss!

DS just had big argument with girlfriend. No revision for a while now then!! Timing could not be better. :(

Dumped and broken-hearted!! :)

Wrong emoji. :(

Sorry to hear that champagne. Could you suggest, there will be no distractions now for studying, nothing to nudge him away from the books. Always trying to find the silver lining.