Oxbridge applications 2019 (part two).

[Justanothermile]

New thread, I hope it's okay to start one.

Good luck today for those still waiting for interview news, which includes us.

Congratulations to those already with dates.

Well DD has had a horrendous and bizarre morning... but she’s maintaining her usual level of buoyancy and has decided to just not take the rest of the process seriously as it’s meant she’s realised it’s definitely not for her.

First she had breakfast with a selection of incredibly nervous people (she thought one of them was going to collapse she was so pale), then a boy who on discovering they were half applying for the same subject decided to quiz her on what she had and hadn’t read (“you HAVEN’T read _? No way!”) and try to compare grades (she told him she was applying with straight Ds at GCSE and refused to discuss actual grades)

Then she’s had two interviews - first one was quite fun and focused a lot on PS, and she said the guy it was with was funny. They had quite a lot of banter apparently because she’s very sarcastic... (at the end he said “thank you, I really enjoyed that” and she responded “at least one of us did”, which luckily he seemed to find funny). Second one was absolutely horrendous - ran way over which she’s really cross about because it was horrible. The allocated time slot was 20-30 minutes and the person before her came out on time. Hers went on for 50 minutes and she thinks they were able to do that because she was last before lunch, which isn’t really fair. She described it as 50 minutes of feeling totally stupid... not fun.

She’s also had a lot of other students surprised she’s applying deferred entry - she thought it was quite common? Quite a few of her friends from school are.

One enjoyable and one awful isn't unusual, and it sounds as though she dealt with the arrogant arsehole boy very well!

pandasandpeas - babies and bathwater applies here. If she doesn't like the tutorial process, that's fair enough, it's good for her to realise that. But having an interview be a bit of a grim experience doesn't have to be a reason not to accept an offer should it be forthcoming. With the usual caveat that 'you never know what any of it means' etc etc, 50 minutes to me sounds really positive - clearly they covered a lot of ground. I'd be worried if you were turfed out after 15 minutes, not 50. 50 sounds like there was lots of engagement. Again 'you can never tell blah blah.'

For areshole boy, (pace ErrolTheDragon) there are dickheads in all walks of life. Clearly he has really poor chat, and was probably very nervous also.

Do not let it put you off would be my advice.

My DD said that all people in the college are far too nervous, so she decided to go for coffee and a walk between checking the board for updates. She said all of them were making her too stressed so she decided to ignore them and do her own thing.

pandasandpeas,

she told him she was applying with straight Ds at GCSE

What a fantastic, calm reply!

puzzled - it rather sounds like your Dd has made up her mind, possibly even before she arrived, but at least the experience has confirmed this. I'd say also there are dick-brains everywhere, unless the guy had nerves or even difficulty with social skills. My nephew has Aspergers, he comes across as a know all quite frankly - in reality he just doesn't have the ability to understand how off putting this behaviour can be. I think Dd is expecting to get a grilling, or at least a rigorous interview.

twizzler that sounds entirely sensible and exactly what Dd would do. She likes socialising, but equally quite likes her own space, so she'd take herself off too. She's quite keen to see the Christmas market anyway.

A couple of generic questions if I may? Oxbridge obviously don't go into the clearing process, so offers that are not met on results day in terms of grade - are they just not filled? Also, offers made that are turned down - I assume Oxbridge don't make more offers that they expect to have places, as most of the other universities will do?

God - I've got my names all mixed up (multi tasking 'ain't going well today clearly).

My Dd would do the same are yours puzzled

Other comment was meant for pandas - I'll stick to one job at a time in future...

My questions were for anyone that might know the answer!

I think DD would have been fine with (and was prepared for) a 20-30 minute grilling - she’s just very indignant that she was forced to go through 50 minutes of it when everyone else only had to do 20-30 minutes, just because she was last before lunch. She thinks it doesn’t really seem fair - after all it’s not her fault she was given the pre lunch spot! She’s glad she’s doing it though because she didn’t do the open day so it means if she does rule it out she’ll be at least informed in her decision. She definitely went with an open mind - just with the knowledge that the course doesn’t have the same level of flexibility as the others, so on paper it was her 3rd choice.

I think in the unlikely event she does get an offer (in her second interview she said she’d totally had enough by the end and could feel herself slipping into being borderline rude to them) she would weigh it up as a potential insurance if she firmed Durham (her offer from there is A*AA). However it’s a lot more risky - Edinburgh and SOAS have offered her the much safer ABB. If she gets an offer from St Andrew’s (who say they don’t consider deferred entry so she probably won’t, but if she decides she wants to go there she can always apply next year) it’ll be AAA and firms that or Oxford then Edinburgh or SOAS are the obvious insurance.
I assume she’d be allowed to put it as insurance?

@pandasandpeas what’s your DD applied for? ...noticed SOAS, Durham and Edinburgh are on her list...My DD has offers from Durham, Edinburgh & KCL For Theology & is waiting on SOAS for World Religions. If it makes your DD feel better my DD had quite a long interview yesterday as she was last on the list...fortunately she enjoyed it...her main stumbling block though is living away!

Pandas I think 50 mins is positive. You can bet they wouldn't waste their precious time on a long interview with a no hoper. Usually means the interviewer feels the candidate has an interesting brain and they are enjoying the chat. She may think she felt stupid when actually she was just having to think a bit harder than normal.
I don't think the attitude of people you meet at interview is indicative of normal life in college. Everybody is nervous and under stress. Sounds like your DD has a very healthy attitude to the process. I bet she does well.

Oxbridge obviously don't go into the clearing process, so offers that are not met on results day in terms of grade - are they just not filled? Also, offers made that are turned down - I assume Oxbridge don't make more offers that they expect to have places, as most of the other universities will do?

For Cambridge (not sure about Oxford) there's the 'summer pool' which is, as far as I can tell, a sort of internal clearing system. Some of those who don't achieve their offer may still get a place, though it may be a different college.

Lumpy she’s applied for 3 slight variants of the same joint honours course at Oxford, Edinburgh, and St Andrew’s, for the more niche subject’s very flexible single honours course at SOAS and liberal arts at Durham (which allows her to build her own degree essentially). Very similar choices to your DD - has she got a favourite? In terms of course content DD would rank them Durham, St Andrew’s, Edinburgh, Oxford, SOAS. In terms of course content combined with other factors St Andrew’s gets shuffled down to 4th because she thinks it might be just too small for her, and she wouldn’t be able to properly continue with her sport. However I have pointed out she’d also struggle with that at Durham (it would require a 70 minute journey - but would be her first choice training centre) and especially Oxford (a 90 minute journey but would probably be too consumed by work to maintain it at all to a high standard). So really if she wants to keep up the sport it’s Edinburgh, SOAS, or Durham.

Seems the interviews are all progressing nicely.

My DS came out all fired up from his interview for law at Oxford. Hopefully he didn't go overboard with his passion but he really enjoyed the experience and is actually looking forward to his next one tomorrow!!

@pandasandpeas DD clearly likes Oxford - tutors and the students she met BUT she found being away from home very difficult and I think now feels very conflicted. SOAS offers a very different experience with the emphasis on the World religions not just Christianity; Durham is essentially Oxford course but is VERY far away from home (Essex) and Edinburgh even further!! KCL is nearest home BUT she’s least interested in their course....

DD2'S Cambridge interview isn't until next week. DH is taking her down on Wednesday, dropping her at her college and meeting her once it's all over on Thursday. He's booked a hotel somewhere.

When I took DD1 2 years ago, I dropped her at the college the evening before it, then went & stayed in a B&B which was very nice (off-road parking for free). I had a lazy breakfast then drove into the centre and parked for 2 hours, which cost a small fortune. I did a bit of shopping - there is a Bravissimo there - none anywhere near here - so that whiled away a bit of time. DD texted to say she had finished so I met her at the college. I wanted a coffee and the porters suggested the college bar which was quite nice. We left about 11.45 and hit the road. She didn't want me around and I was quite happy to do my own thing.

Parking is awful. If your youngster is going to one of the central colleges, I think I'd use the park & ride. DD2's chosen college (just down the road from where DD1 ended up) does have some street parking but DH is prepared to use the bus if it's full.

Maybe this has been asked before but does the number of interviews offered at different Oxford colleges indicate the likelihood of an offer?

Am I correct in thinking that two interviews at the one college could either mean a very positive or negative outcome, whereas interviews at more than one college is less clearcut?

Ds had a pretty good day in Cambridge yesterday - two interviews which were maths and logic puzzle questions, nothing too tricky. Then the CSAT - previous papers have been a mix of trivial and really difficult questions, but yesterday's was mostly difficult ones!

His college letter hadn't warned him that the CSAT might not start on time, so he had already booked a taxi as he wanted to get a specific train, so left about 10 minutes early after a bit of negotiation

He's still pretty sure he prefers Manchester though, so has been very laidback through the whole thing.

Atia your DS and my DD sound like they have a similar outlook.

DD has paid for a week’s membership at a leisure centre just outside Oxford and has been getting the bus there and back. She just got so lost walking back from the bus stop (only a five minute walk) that she had to call me to look on google maps for her because she’s run out of 4G... she has no sense of direction at all.

One of her two interviews tomorrow is at another college but she doesn’t think it’s a pooling one so is a bit confused (the pool day seems to be down as Friday). She’s not met anyone else at the college applying for her subject so she can’t compare...

How long do interviews go on for? Is last week the last week or will they run into the week after as well for some subjects?

Hi Aurea - no, the number of interviews does not indicate the likelihood of an offer. Going to another college for interview is a neutral thing, and should be used as a fantastic opportunity to dazzle and delight more tutors.

I’m pleased that most people seem to be having a fairly positive experience so far, and aren’t being too fazed by things. As others have commented, it’s brilliant to have got this far, whatever the eventual outcome.

Aurea for Law, if you're sent home after your chosen/ allocated college interviews then you've either made the top of the cut of the bottom of the cut at that college. If you go onto have another interview then it might be for standardization but it's numerically more likely to be because you've been pooled.

Interview outfit chosen and shown off to us. DD looked very smart, and had chosen something I'd never have imagined she would choose - a skirt! Very nice she looked.

She's really not keen on staying in their accommodation. She has, in the past stayed for two nights on her own in their accommodation and was fine, but she's worried that she's going to stew in her own nerves, so she may yet choose to stay with me in the hotel instead for company to keep her mind off things a bit. I've told her wait and see what the 25 min walk feels like in the cold tomorrow and to decide whether she wants to do that first thing Friday morning in her interview togs before making her mind up! She is not a very social person at all, never has been and I want her to go into her interview as settled as she can be. I know a lot of posters on this thread would feel I should let her get on with it, but I'm going with what she feels best doing.

Just have to get through the 4 hour drive tomorrow afternoon and see if we can park anywhere near the hotel! I believe you can park in the nearby Tesco car park if the hotel car park is full.

• I'm going with what she feels best doing.

You know your DD best - good luck!

Have finally spoken to DD after radio silence all day. She had 2nd college interview today and it appears to have gone ok. Who knows. She’s in love with the college and Oxford in general; but it took all my self control not to say “I tried to warn you” when she revealed that there are four times the number of applicants to places in her subject at her chosen college and only twice at another (very nice) college.
Re clothes, I’m not sure if she even wore her (fairly casual) interview togs in the end. Apparently everyone else was in jeans.

I believe DD went to her interview yesterday morning wearing one of her teammates’ massive really old hoodies (it had his name on and someone queried it because he’s somewhat recognisable) and leggings, and with wet hair bunged into a scrunchie. She said she’d seen a few people in school uniform/blazer type outfits on the first day but most people are just casual. It’s probably best to be comfortable.

DrMadeline it sounds like you’re doing the right thing by giving her control. Good luck!

And good luck to everyone else’s DC for today.

I was wondering if anyone knows - DD has been given an interview today in her college and one in another. She’s applied for a weird joint honours so was told she’d probably have at least 3-4 interviews. Does the one in a different college mean she’s performing for that college and both colleges then decide if they want her or not? Is that pooling at this stage? I know the Cambridge system better so I’m a bit confused.