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!

Coleoptera - my DD went to a grammar school - a 'normal' one, not super selective, her GCSEs were a bit above the average but not much (6A*, 3A, 3B). On this basis she really wasn't thinking she'd be applying to Oxbridge. In the event she was one of six (fewer than usual) who got offers. What she does have though, is a genuine 'passion' (to use the one word the school banned from personal statements) for her subject, and could demonstrate her engagement with it over several years (in her case for engineering, having attended Smallpeice and headstart courses, gaining an Arkwright scholarship, helping run the robotics club ...) - the 'supracurriculars'.

Coleoptera would you dc consider Cambridge? I am sure on their website they specifically mentioned trajectory. So if a student didn't do so well at GCSEs, they would consider them if they had improved massively at A levels. They also interview a much higher proportion of candidates which gives another opportunity to shine.

I now feel I've let down my DTs by sacrificing everything for them to go to and stay at the school they've loved, only for them now to be perceived as such low performers within their peer cohort
Coleoptera there is a lot of good advice upthread about pretests, written work and interview scoring more than GCSEs for admissions.
This may sound harsh but your DTs are not victims of your / their school choice for their GCSE results and how these are regarded in context for Oxbridge. Rather, their GCSE results show that they were relatively lazy compared to their peers at that stage. They may not be all rounders but if they are high achieving at humanity A levels, hard work could have achieved at least As in the GCSE subjects they were weaker at and disliked. However as said above, if they are now really engaged and good enough at their subject (essays, pretests) they will get Oxbridge interviews and potentially offers. If they don't but end up with very good A level or preU grades then they can always decide to try again. I would advise them to continue to focus on their subjects including producing essays next term to show their potential for the Oxbridge tutorial essay workload.
Sadly there are not enough places for all bright candidates who think they would enjoy a tutorial system. Decisions can be very marginal. If the stimulus of frequent essays is one of their criteria then it is wise to compare that and the type of feedback at other universities on their list during the offer days.

My son's state school in Scotland is lucky to have one Oxbridge offer a year. They have very little experience of helping students to apply successfully. I guess this makes the school Target 1 (for school's under represented) but I don't know how the figures are worked out for this. Can anyone help?

Thanks

I think I've got a pretty relaxed attitude to DD's application, as has she, in that we are realistic about her chances. She sees the application process as valuable experience in of itself and that she will at least have her university application in early, so she can concentrate on Y13. Having DS just finish Y13, I'm aware it's a tough year for the students.

And there's really nothing to lose by having a go to our minds. We have similar issues to some on this thread in that our school get few successful applications to Oxbridge. Dd sent her PS to her tutor, who gave her advice and feedback about the content that was contrary to that which she had been given on the UNIQ course, so I'm even more pleased that she had this experience.

We've already covered her other university choices apart from one via the open days and dd can see merit in all of them and would be happy to study at any, which I think is sensible. I have covered the country recently via open days, having 2 DC so close together.

I had a look at the admissions data on the Oxford website. Yes, the percentage of state school applications being successful is rising, but it's still (broadly) 50/50. Broadly. Half our pupils in any given national cohort do not attend private schools. So I can't see contextual offers disadvantaging pupils from a privately educated background, rather trying to even the playing field somewhat.

In any event, if Oxford consider her to be someone that would benefit from their teaching and that they would benefit from having as a student, they will offer her a place. If they don't then they won't. And she won't know how much weight was placed on her contextual data ever I guess.

I'd like to see some of the other 'top' universities have a similar spotlight shone on their admissions stats.

DD's personal statement is done. She has an essay to write, in addition to the two essays that need to be submitted. But at the minute she's working through the mountain of History work that she was given to complete during the summer.

It's a new world on the Cambridge front with GCSEs Coleoptera, since the effective demise of ASs. Cambridge was strongly against that happening, writing letters to selected HTs asking for their support in stopping the proposed reforms, lobbying etc etc. Since the reforms went ahead, Cambridge has had to adopt an Oxford approach to assessment and the plain fact is that GCSEs are important. So too are the new aptitude tests of course but it's no longer the case that Cambridge looks at ASs rather than GCSEs, since it can't. So beware of advice based on historic application rounds.

There's a sense in your posts that things in your house are a bit intense on the Oxbridge front. DC absolutely do not need an 'obsessive commitment' to their subject and I'm not at all sure that it would endear them massively to tutors. It might do, depending on the tutor at interview (which is a complete lottery), but it equally might be excessively irritating.

Goodbyestranger is right for advice about Cambridge.
Coleoptera my statement of relative laziness at GCSE stage may well be unfair for your DTs but generally it would be considered that for a potentially successful Oxbridge humanity candidate without significant learning difficulties and who could achieve A /A* in GCSE chemistry and maths meant that they were capable of at least an A at biology and MFL.
Anyway that is in the past and they should give Oxbridgr a shot . There is a bit of hysteria in some selective schools about Oxbridge and it is easy for DCs to fall in the trap of judging their worth by this. Sounds as though you are doing your best to counteract this.

@bevelino

Oxbridge aptitude tests can be sat almost anywhere. You just have to register on time and pay the fee.

www.admissionstesting.org/find-a-centre/

@wurzelburga thank you so much. Dd has been in touch with her form tutor and she has let her know that dd can take the MLAT test at school.

Do you mind me asking about your DCs standard / singing background Couchpotato3? A choral scholarship would very much appeal to DS and he has been in some great choirs over the years, shown commitment and all that, but stopped individual singing lessons a couple of years ago and didn't go beyond grade 5 (partly down to my finances).

Are the scholarships only really an option for the grade 8 singers?

Oops, did I kill the thread... Looks like choral scholarship application date has passed now in any case. Would have been an extremely longshot for DS.

I am a stalker on this thread but dd2 visited Cambridge this week on. School summer camp thingy and now wants to do Natural Science there. I am secretly chuffed with her, because I think she has a good shot and should try aim for the top, but mustn’t show I even know (she only told dd1 who is off to (non Oxbridge, but vet med so still awesome Uni next week, so dd2 was not to be outdone, I imagine).

I’m a little dismayed at the prospect of 3 more years of Uber-stressing about exams and results though. Just starting Y11. Having dd1 trying to have a split mind all summer of expecting to fail to get in, but still hope, (she did make it, hurrah, but it has been such a drag!)

My perception from being on various uni support threads for a couple of previous years is that vet and med are a special case stress-wise, because there's such a limited number of places and there's much more to getting an offer than just exam grades. With NatSci and most other subjects, anyone who has a realistic chance of getting an Oxbridge offer will be able to get 4 other offers from very good unis. So, hopefully you can dial down the stress level a bit from 'Uber'.

I think and pray that you are right. It’s been a really weird experience. I do tend to try to just get on with things, however they turn out, but dd1 has been so flat, a huge anticlimax. I think we all went too far with the mental Plan B, to the point where Plan A happening instead has been kind of a shock- there is a lot to do and little time!

It’s great to have been through it now, at least, plus I feel much more confident as dd2 tends to get mock results that actually match her real ones and teachers “get” her unlike dd1, and good grades in most things. DH and I both did and enjoyed natural science at a good uni, got related jobs that have been fine, nothing stellar but puts food on table and keeps us busy, and it was not such a massive hassle to jump through hoops, yes it is a bit harder now but dd2 enjoys doing essays and a sport and other extracurricular so should be ok to tick the boxes, no need to beg multiple strangers for work experience for example.

DD has just finished first year Natsci at Cambridge. She is so relieved that she went for a subject that offers such breadth as she now wants to specialise in areas that she had never studied st school and would never have applied for as a single subject course. She is loving the whole Cambridge experience but says that Natsci is unbelievably hard work. Three students at her college had dropped out by Xmas. Definitely go for it but be prepared for very long days and Saturday lectures and supervisions. Good luck to your DD with her application.

AuntiePushpa - my DS is an ex cathedral chorister, so knows the choral repertoire pretty well, although only as a treble, so he will be relearning everything this year as a bass.
He's had lessons for 2 years and recently passed Grade 7 with distinction. I'm not sure that exam grades are really all that important. They are looking for potential as the choral scholars get singing lessons and their voices will continue to develop for years to come.
Not having been through the process before, it's all new to us. If your DS is really interested, it would probably be worth contacting the Directors of Music at the Colleges he is interested in - they might accept an application this week - if you don't ask, you won't know. He needs to provide a reference from school or a singing teacher.
I know there are other opportunities to join college choirs after going up to uni as well, so there will be more chances to get involved, and there is always the possibility of depping.
Good luck to your DS

"Also, are their any MNetters with DCs who've got a place at Oxbridge for this current year and who got fewer A*s at GCSE than their school peers yet were successful?"

Coleoptera DD's boyfriend achieved just one A* at GCSE. The rest were As and Bs. His passion is history and he aced the submitted written work, HAT test and interviews and got an offer. So I think it probably depends on the subject.

Sadly, he fluffed his A levels and ended up elsewhere, but the lack of A*/9 at GCSE should not put anyone off.

Out of interest Lonicera, how did he know that he 'aced' the written work?

Also, were his GCSEs below average or average for his school? That sort of level of GCSEs would actually be very respectable at our local comp, if there were more As than Bs. Worth a mention in the local paper on results day etc. Since GCSEs will be looked at very differently according to school performance and type and Coleoptera's DT are at a high achieving independent, their teachers are probably right to say that realistically, their applications may be a bit of a punt.

That said, I've yet to hear a teacher say an application is a slam dunk, even with 12 A*!

Dd ( just graduated from Cambridge) said that lots of people had less than stellar GCSEs but all had amazing AS/ a levels.
Without the benefit of AS now, is it worth taking a gap year and applying with A level results if GCSEs are not as good?

goodbuyestranger he felt that he had done well. According to the Oxford university website performance on the HAT is a particularly significant factor in deciding whether to summon a
candidate for interview. His passion for history shone through on his personal statement, plus he would have had a contextual offer based on his home postcode.

I have no idea whether his GCSEs were good or bad in relation to the school average though. He said that if he got through to the interview stage he knew he would nail it. I have never met anyone so passionate about history as he is.

But at the end of the day he didn't get the A level grades.

Oh, and the teacher said that the written work he submitted was excellent.

The only students who got a mention in the local paper were the ones who got all A/A* BTW.

Without the benefit of AS now, is it worth taking a gap year and applying with A level results if GCSEs are not as good?

It may be (and there's nothing to stop them doing a gap year and reapplying if they try this year but don't get an offer, is there?) but bear in mind that Cambridge is now doing aptitude tests which were only introduced 2 years ago in response of the removal of AS so your DDs cohort won't have done them. (Oxford similar?) I'm inclined to think that for some subjects - particularly those with a strong maths component - it may be better to do those tests while they're still actively studying.