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!

Submitted work has finally gone! Literally ran to the post office to make sure it went this evening. Dd will be checking po tracker all day tomorrow to ensure it gets there. Don't think this was intended to be so stressful.

Almost all Oxford colleges communicate interview offers by e-mail (Keble was a rare exception - may have changed this year). And almost all decline/ invite almost simultaneously (as in, you'd have to be sitting in a room of applicants for the same college and subject to detect any difference in timing). Some colleges are now really very good at putting up notifications on their web page of which invites have gone out - but not all. That's Oxford, don't know about Cambridge.

Keep a keen eye on Junk too - DD2 had an invite sitting in hers for over 24 hours.

Keble was different stranger? DD has applied there and so far, all communication has been electronic via the college website. Obviously, your post piqued my interest, if we should look out for something different.

It was, at least a couple of years ago, but it sounds as though it's now moved into the 21st century :)

DS applied to Keble a couple of years ago and all communication was through the post. We put it down to an odd Oxford quirk but there were a variety of communications methods used across the colleges. Good to hear they are starting (?) to use electronic mail more.

That said, every single offer of a place (as opposed to interview invite) has been through the post. Not a single e-mail offer. Not sure if that's across every college though.

Last year my dc (Cambridge) got offer via post. All the other Oxbridge candidates had heard via email so it was a very tense and miserable morning for her. Presuming DC already knew, School teacher inadvertently mentioned to the other Cambridge applicant how nice it was that they both had a place. Teacher absolutely delighted in being able to share the good news but I get sense that emails are the way forward though it remains college specific.

This is from the Oxford website, at least for offers.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/decisions

Track update is definitely brand new for this year, but very sensible (unless it all goes poof! Wouldn't surprise me if it all went poof!).

Track update in the morning (this year) letter when she got home from college.

Well track sounds good but DS ( 4 or was it 5 years ago ) definitely letter though the post. - this was for for offer - ( which mother held up to the light to see if she could see anything ( couldn't)

Best wishes to all for interviews.

Did Oxford make the fact of Track as explicit on its website though riverbank? I don't think it did, so Track isn't where most DC would go to look, they'd have been waiting for an e-mail or letter. Perhaps that was in case it went pouf - a trial to see if it did and since it seems not to have done, they've got more confident! Anyhow, it reduces stress considerably so a very good thing.

Everything by email for New College last year. Odd bit of post-offer paperwork came by post, but that was all.

Interesting re track - would be great if all candidates heard first thing in morning (and in privacy of own home). No reason why it can't work, big improvement !

Can someone please explain the interview selection process?

Who whittles down the candidates for interview, the colleges or central admissions?

Thanks

It's very subject dependent Aurea. For law, it's the college tutors who select initially. The LNAT score is critical, even with good achieved grades.

@jaguar67 DD has already said that if she gets an interview she doesn’t think she can go to school on the day of the e mail in jan. She’s the only oxbridge applicant in her school and it’s the very first set of A level students to go through (sch set up in 2012) so she’s feeling the pressure quite a bit! I’ve said that’s fine - can’t think of anything worse than getting disappointing news like that in the middle of the day at school!

I think your daughter should be proud to even have gotten an interview. 

I'm interested in the selection process for Archeology and Anthropology, but realise that's rather niche!

@Lumpy76 - everything crossed for your DD!!

Biochemistry (Oxford) process is v much department led throughout, with a plenary session at end of interview days to determine candidates pooled to other colleges. No pretesting (at least last year!) and each interviewee had 2 interviews - one at host college and other at another college, purely for standardisation. In addition, some were sent off to other colleges during the interview period, for further consideration.

Good luck to all DC!

Work has arrived, we can breathe again for now!

@justanothermile - yes I totally agree! DD also doing a somewhat niche subject Theology & Religion.

Thank you Goodbyestranger