Oxbridge Applicants 2019

[evenstrangerthings]

The 2018 Oxbridge Applicants Thread was started at the end of August last year, but with many students now sitting internal school exams rather than public AS exams, many will have Year 12 results in hand and some will be starting to prepare for applications to Oxford or Cambridge University.

Let's support each other in supporting our kids through this process, which may involve extra exams, multi-day interviews and extra application statements.

Do feel free to join the thread, even if your DC is on the fence about making an Oxbridge application. It would also be great to hear from those who have been through the Oxbridge process before!

My DD’s school is submitting the applications, but I do not think they have done it yet, as she has not received any confirmations from the universities. Do all of them confirm once they have received the applications?

You receive a confirmation email from UCAS saying your application is being processed and then another one shortly after saying your application has been sent to your chosen universities. I believe many of the universities will then confirm receipt with you.

Someone pointed out on another thread that your dc can log onto their UCAS account and see the current status.

Thank you very much! I’ll ask DD to check tomorrow.

Pleased to confirm that DD has another offer, from Sheffield. Grades extremely attainable (hopefully). She's at least got a firm and an insurance now.

Woot!

Ds should have his form submitted tomorrow. He is completely unsympathetic to my impatience

DD has another offer, from Cardiff, and it’s very low so she’s happy she has a great insurance now. Justanothermile what is your daughter applying for?

Application submitted on this side by DD.

Reference still needs chasing at her sixth form college and her tutor wasn't in today. Hope they pull their finger out tomorrow! She's been waiting on her Welsh Bacc grades too. No idea why.

It’s nerve wracking isn’t it?! Already.

Lililili, well done on the offer for your DD. Good to have attainable grades for one at least. DD is hoping to study Archeology and Anthropology, or various forms of the subject, dependent on university. Your DD?

Justanothermile DD is applying for variations on Politics, so HSPS at Cambridge, Politics at Cardiff and Politics with Economics at Bath, Politics at the other two - Warwick and Bristol. She has now been asked to submit her 2 essays ....

@Lililili and @OlliePolly I'd love to know anything at all about applying to Cambridge to do HSPS. It's DS2s goal for 2020 - he's in L6th now.

He didn't get straight As at GCSE - far from it - 4As, 4As and 2 Bs, but came top of his year in History and RS both of which feed into Politics. He has his heart set now. Studying Politics, Philosophy, History and English to A level. Will probably drop English if he drops anything.

Any advice? Any news? What's the exam like? Do ILPs help? I know nothing about this subject and very little about Cambridge. DH is taking him there at half term to look around.

Coleo you definitely can't read anything into timings of when they might hear about interviews. I know it's a nerve wracking time. Some colleges are slower than others.

The interview dates are set by the colleges. You may find the info on the college website and be able to narrow it down to a 2 or three day period.

The SAQ mini personal statement is entirely optional. She should only write something in there if there is something that's really specific to Cambridge or her college that she wants to put on there. She won't get marked down for not writing anything in that bit.

There was definitely a table of dates on the Oxford site that was easily Googled. As I recall, it has subjects in alphabetical order, with the interview dates on. It seems to have been replaced by a flow chart, unless I’m not now looking in the right place....

I’d also check the college site, they keep the admissions page pretty up to date I think.

You do have to be slightly cautious of the dates Justanothermile - three of my DC were asked up a day prior to the published one (a whole day, not just the evening before).

Minapaws happy to share info but at the moment it is as if we are just navigating in the dark ourselves.
Would recommend going to an open day DD was taken by my husband ( summer of year 12 )
We know that some colleges ask for essays but a couple ask for unseen piece of work to be completed prior interview ,on the same day as interview,Emmanuel is an example of this. Information is available from the individual college websites.
Hspaa test practice papers/past papers are available on Cambridge university web site.
My DD is doing History, Geography and Biology A levels , I’m a bit concerned that politics may well be a weak spot for her.
DD school not very helpful or experienced with Cambridge entry.
Anyone know whether it really is worth adding more “personal statement “ on the SAQ ( an additional questionnaire you have about 10 days to fill in after application submitted )

However, I'd read on MN that the SAQ could be perceived like another mini personal statement, tailored for the Cambridge degree course. Has anyone had experience of this?

Yes - DD made use of this because whereas Cambridge was general engineering, her other 4 choices were all EEE. So her PS was very electronics/robotics focussed, but the SAQ allowed her to explain that while this was what she wanted to specialise in, she was really interested in the other engineering disciplines too but only the Cambridge course seemed to enable a broad start but then specialise sufficiently.... something like that anyway.

Thank you @oliiepolly. I didn't know any of what you've just told me.

@olliepolly - Good luck to your DD. I hope it all goes well for her.

Coleoptera 2 years ago Cambridge interviewed in early December. DD1 found out she had an interview around 3 weeks before the actual date of it (I think but I'm knackered and have been on the gin/wine after a very hard week in school!)

She knew the date in January that they would let you know, which was the day after Oxford let people know. 2 years ago, it was done by letter. It was my day off and I was at home with strict instructions to phone her when/if a letter came to put her out of her misery. A letter duly arrived (from a different college to the one she applied for/was interviewed at). She had told me to open it and call her, so I did. Her teacher was not too chuffed but he is a friend and was a colleague so he rolled his eyes and she answered the call. It was an offer, albeit from a different college but she was pretty chuffed. She is now in her 2nd year there and loving it.

DD was required only for one morning in Cambridge, so the logistics worked out quite well for us. Oxford is different as you can be pooled and different colleges want to see you in those few days.

In other news, DD2 has received her first offer today from Warwick. It's AAB and one of those needs to be Chemistry plus another science. She has been predicted A* in Chemistry & Biology so it looks ok. She is immensely relieved and was a very smiley girl over dinner tonight (makes a pleasant change!)

You don't have to fill in an SAQ.
DS didn't, and got a place. I think a lot of candidates write quite a wordy, wafflySAQwhen they'dbe better off just leaving things as they are. Don't panic!

Coleoptera don't overthink the ELAT or HAT, it could be counter productive. If your DTs look at the website guidance and do the available ones that should be fine. Although I think I recall you saying they were at a high achieving indie and high achieving indies always seem to give loads of advice, way, way in excess of anything done at most state schools.