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.

I so agree .skip open days , go for offer holder days instead .

4 nights to go ;-)

Peaseblossom - I agree with the last poster - just resist the pressure to race around open days - you'll probably end up picking the 'best' places for your course anyway as for most subjects, the reputation of your uni is one of the most important decision-makers. After that, check out curriculum details and timetables so you can see past the marketing blurb and choose the teaching style snd content that appeal the most. Contact hours are revealing too - unifrog is helpful here. It also depends if your child wants to study or just have a 'uni expérience' and party! At Manchester they seem to be home every few weeks for 'study leave' so you have to see if that appeals. Don't worry about cramming 2 open days into one weekend - they are quite dull really and their main advantage is that they can help you draft your personal statement to meet their criteria.

It really is each to their own with open days - DD found them useful and interesting. One or two places didn't live up to their reputation. Others did... it was going to the Cambridge open day which persuaded her that she should have a shot at applying.

She and DH planned quite carefully to spread them out and not need many school days off (I think only for Cambridge).

Certainly if it feels too much and/or your DC can make a reasonable selection of 5 they're entirely optional.

Okay - nobody is going to want to read this post now but keep it in the back pocket for later if you need it. Reapplication to Oxbridge is a real and often successful route. There are numerous advantages to taking a gap year too - including increased maturity and a bit of a mental break. A rejection is not the end of the Oxbridge road if DC do not want it to be!!
On the other hand it is not the be all and end all either. An intelligent and motivated student at another good university will come out with a fantastic degree and may possibly have had a bit more fun along the way. There may be disappointment this week but there should be no despair. The future is bright.

I agree hubblesback - whilst mine currently has offers from other places if she doesn’t get an offer from Cambs I will suggest the option of a gap year and reapplication to Oxbridge next year with her grades on the basis the worst scenario is she’s in the same position only a year later and as you say the benefit of maturity / work experience . I just feel the value of an Oxbridge degree trumps all .

I agree completely Hubbleisback. Whilst DD was heartbroken not to get in to Cambridge last year (the initial sick is hard to avoid) , she doubled down, rejected her remaining offers and put together a plan of action, working and studying this year.
I've said it before but the change in DD since leaving school in June has been astonishing.

For the last few years she has been under CAMHS and receiving counselling for anxiety and this year she is an active member of staff in an office and is enjoying an English Literature course with post graduates making many friends.
Wherever she goes to university this year, she goes as a stronger person and that's all I could ever wish for.

We are of course hoping for LOTS of good news next week!

For full disclosure my DS was not a reapplicant but he knows many who were. He also knows many who were rejected first time and have thoroughly enjoyed their first term at other universities.

Bengalcat although your DC might want to reapply it must be said there remains no guarantee of success. An Oxbridge degree is desirable of course but not exclusively. You have to know that you can withstand a second rejection to reapply. Fingers crossed for this time around!

Holly Good luck to your daughter. So good to hear that the gap year has helped with her anxiety. She has done so well already!

Yes Holly good luck to your DD,

Thank you , we're all a lot calmer this year!
Also, sorry for the typo please read shock not sick.

Hubble is back reapplying is my idea - we’ve not discussed that route yet as not all offers are in and I see no value of discussing future ‘ what ifs ‘ that may not apply And you’re right if she reapplied then there’s always a possibility of no place again - possibly a greater chance of rejection .

I just feel the value of an Oxbridge degree trumps all .

TBH, I think that may be a feeling which (a) isn't entirely valid, given the many other excellent universities we have (and which I'm sure the DCs of people on this thread will have offers for) and (b) is probably one best aired here but not to your DCs.

If they don't get an offer, floating the idea of reapplication could be helpful but not if Oxbridge is more your dream than theirs iykwim.

Too late for anyone here, but I have just found this document that answers many questions we may have. You can also search for other subjects by changing the subject name in the text line.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/2019%20entryLAWW_Subject%20Manual.pdf

what about Imperial, LSE, and all the other unis who are simply the best at more niche (and desirable-to-employers-degrees)?
For example - if you want to do environmental science your best bet might be UEA. Something with a business bent along with your economics? Then Bath or Durham night serve you better.. I speak as the mother of a Cambridge grad, and a DD who is at another place but gradeswise outperformed her brother by some stretch. It isn't helpful to elevate Oxbridge above all
Others in all things. DS was particularly scathing about the quality of many HSPS students at Cambridge for example. Now that might be just the handful he came into contact with. But goodness there are bright sparks in all
Kinds of places!
I'm sure others can come up with multiple other valid examples!
All will be well. And good luck to your DCs.

Off topic a bit but:
I like your point saffy but there is snobbery everywhere. DD tells me at Cambridge, many consider HSPS as lightweight. Anecdotally, the brightest girl (from DD's school)regarding results did HSPS at Cambridge and there are I think huge numbers of students who apply for this so it is competitive. I suspect the social science aspect is seen as a soft subject by some- almost certainly not true. Maybe as you say, your DS just came across a few students who were not working etc. My DD has been surprised by a number of students who seemingly don't study much at all year 1. Presume that will change.

Yes I agree - perhaps a clumsily made point!
There are super bright sparks in many places, and not such bright sparks too!

It’s that my son is genuinely attracted to the teaching style ( tutorials). He’s planning a career in Academics. There’s certainly many more roads to Rome, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for him. Is it two more nights ?😀

There are indeed. I love listening to the Life Scientific with Prof Jim Al Kalili, and hearing from world leaders in their fields, who began their educations in a wide variety of places.
I once thought my DS might end up in academia but the cloistered, almost monastic atmosphere in Cambridge put him off!

Rather than wait around for another year, surely better to go off and get a first class degree somewhere else, and then if they are still keen for a career in academia, go to Oxbridge for postgrad study? Plenty of Oxbridge dons have arrived there by another route. Oxbridge degrees do open doors in some circles, but are they doors that your DS/DD necessarily wants to go through? There are so many different routes to success. Oxbridge is only one of them, and even so, it's no guarantee. The degree might get you an interview, but you still need the 'soft skills' to get on in life.

the cloistered, almost monastic atmosphere in Cambridge

The what? Allegedly a fire alarm in the middle of the night will prove otherwise (possibly I'm interpreting that comment too literally).

I do sympathise Coleoptera - that is a hard one. Perhaps one good thing is that they do not hear on same day. Gives you time to catch your breath. If DT2 does get an offer it must be celebrated. If he does not then you have some time for commiseration before next result. If DT1 is successful then this must be celebrated too . An unhappy DS2 will cope with this even though it will undoubtedly be hard. There will be times in the future when he will be celebrating and his brother will not. If they both don't get an offer then DS2 will be able to support DS1 and life will go on.

if they both get an offer then

Just checking in now that it's two days to D-Day.

Time for me to have the "I'm very proud of you whatever the decision" discussion again I think, to try and bolster his self-belief before the email arrives.

Having been to Oxbridge myself, I agree that it's a very useful thing to have on your CV. However, if DS ends up with a rejection I won't be encouraging him to re-apply: certainly for his subject there are other universities with similarly high reputations.