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.

[Sunndowne]

Re: parents accompanying.
DD was slightly tearful after 1st interview, it was so challenging. Having DH with her in a cafe for a spot of lunch really helped. They also stayed in hotel night before as an early start and as it happened traffic turned out to be murder so was a good call. We only live 1hr 30 mins away.
BF did it all by herself and preferred that. I suppose do what DC feel best with.
Lots to do in both towns so can keep low profile with DC if needs be.

[LittleSpace]

80% of maths applicants get an interview at Cambridge, then about half of them get an offer and half of them pass STEP and take up a place.

Oh joy. Soooooooo glad ds has four other offers.

[Biscuitburglar]

Like Sunndown and OYBBK, last year for DDs Cambridge interview I drove her there the afternoon before and we stayed over so that we were in position and ready without having to worry about traffic. There can be quite a lot of congestion on the way in from the motorway at peak times.

I think it was helpful to go for a walk round town the night before and make sure she knew where she was going and had seen the college entrance.

I left her to it while she was interviewing and went Christmas shopping (too nervous to accomplish anything though). She was ravenous when she re-emerged and then slept all the way home!

She would have been very capable of getting the train there and back but she really didn’t need the additional stress.

[AtiaoftheJulii]

Ds is going on the train to Cambridge. The journey is via London and he's taking advantage of having a paid-for train ticket by going to a gig in London on the way home At least he doesn't have an early start at college the next day!

[Rianna]

Does anyone know the statistics for Oxford ? I thought it would be roughly 1 third accepted after interview ?

[Rianna]

Btw as I have a fever at the moment : what happens when the children fall ill on those days ?

[goodbyestranger]

I posted a link to the 2018 Admissions Statistical Report at the top of the thread.

For Maths the numbers are 879 applications: 136 offers: 126 successful ie 14.3%.

People tend to say that three applicants are interviewed for every place but I'm not at all convinced that that's the case in all colleges in Oxford for all subjects.

[goodbyestranger]

If you're too ill to go you don't go and you don't get a place. If you do go and you're ill you can tell them once you arrive

[Aurea]

@goodbyestranger

Do you think it may be more or less than 1 in 3 for law at Oxford that are interviewed in your experience?

Where my son has applied
(Trinity, Oxford) I can find no other applicants on student room bar one who was rejected prior to interview. Does this bode well?

Thanks!

[Lumpy76]

Been shopping this afternoon for extra clothes. An oxford grad we know said go smarter rather than casual so that’s what we’ve done but with options to further smarten or go more casual depending on what DD finds once she’s there. We’re going to take her and she’s going to come home by train (we are Essex based). Anyone got a ds/dd interviewing for St. John’s?

[ErrolTheDragon]

If you're too ill to go you don't go and you don't get a place. If you do go and you're ill you can tell them once you arrive

Not necessarily! a quick google finds this on the Oxford website:

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/interviews/guidance-candidates-who-are-taken-ill

But I can't find anything similar for Cambridge ... I would guess it would be best to follow the advice to contact the college admissions tutor ASAP and see if they can come up with an alternative. It may be that each college has its own policy,

[Wiifitmama]

The Cambridge collegemyds is interviewing at specifically says there is no dress code and to come in anything they find comfortable. He lives in jeans and hoodies. I might just be able to convince him to not wear a hoodie and go for a long sleeved top instead but that’s about it!

[goodbyestranger]

I think it will be more than one in three Aurea. It certainly was for both DD1 and DD3 (Wadham and Magdalen). More like five to six applicants for every place available but then some were pooled to colleges where the numbers may have been different. Medicine was more restricted in terms of numbers but that's done in a very disciplined manner and controlled centrally. For the last two to interview for History there were around eight applicants at the college for every place.

I honestly wouldn't try to divine anything from numbers declaring their hand on TSR. Not a single DC of mine ever contributed to TSR so all were undeclared interviewees and Oxford interviews thousands and thousands more applicants than post on TSR.

[goodbyestranger]

Errol the reality is that you're very very very unlikely to get an offer if you don't turn up for the interview, unless it's a major accident or sudden serious illness. Emphasis on serious. A high temperature won't cut it.

[goodbyestranger]

'If you feel that an illness may affect your interview performance, please let the Tutor for Admissions at the college know, while you are still at the college'.

That's the important bit for more routine sickness etc. and what I meant about turning up and letting them know.

[ErrolTheDragon]

You may well be right, goodbye - but it somehow seems unlikely that e.g a college which usually takes from the pool for a subject wouldn't try to find a workaround for a candidate who looked strong. And at all events, making sure the college knows the reasons for a no-show is presumably vital if the candidate may want to reapply the following year.

However, if DH or I had been ill just ahead of DDs interview, I think we'd have quarantined ourselves.

Re interview clothing - DD stuck to her normal black skinnies, with a shirt and jumper, somewhat better shoes than usual (not canvas) and a decent coat. Maybe for some subjects (law?) a slightly more 'professional' look would be good but certainly for engineering there was no need to dress up.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Casual seems to be fine for Cambridge - it's what dd wore anyway. I can't remember whether she wore a jumper or a hoodie. She would have worn her converse. The most important thing is layers - if they are cold, then nerves feel worse because being cold tenses your muscles.

Re illness - just pray! And if they get ill and definitely definitely can't make it then they need to get in touch absolutely asap. It's amazing what adrenaline will see you though though.

[goodbyestranger]

No special rules for Law actually. It's important to remember that they're looking for people who want to study Law as an academic subject so arriving looking like a solicitor or barrister in black and white is beside the point. Just whatever feels comfortable will be fine.

Medicine seems to be the only exception. I didn't buy this at first but DS - who would have much rather not gone smart - insisted it was so (and was right).

OYBBK I agree about adrenaline. It's a bad time of year generally for colds, coughs and fevers. Especially at the end of a long term. DD1 threw up everywhere all night long before her first interview, from about 10pm and was still being sick at 9am as I walked with her to just short of the entrance to college. She looked like a goth (she's very dark with dark brown eyes but was as white as a sheet). She didn't tell anyone in case they thought she was trying to get extra points - the whole 'doing it on merit' thing. But she just barrelled through - although emerged limp as a rag at the end of three days.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Your poor dd, that would have been awful!

[goodbyestranger]

It wasn't good OYBBK but she did say that she forgot the nausea during the interviews, just felt super grim in between - pure adrenaline as you say.

[Biscuitburglar]

DD went casual for Cambridge interviews last year, jeans and a jumper. She said she needed to be comfortable and relaxed so couldn’t wear the more formal outfit we’d packed as her brain wouldn’t work. There was a real mix from smart tailored suits to very scruffy, so jeans and jumpers was about the mid-point and very acceptable.

[Sunndowne]

DD wore skinny trousers, shirt, jersey comfy jacket and boots - smart casual. Worked for her.

[choccyp1g]

I heard from someone last night who had seen DS and his friend's name on a LIST of interviewees for Oxford.
Does anyone know how to see that?

[Puzzledmum]

choccyp1g - is this a list from his school? If so, my DD has a list like this also, I think the school makes this available to the students just to put the pressure up.

[choccyp1g]

Puzzledmum, I don't think it was from his school the other mum is a parent of someone who is not at the same school now. I asked her where she'd seen it, but don't want to pester her, in case her boy isn't on it too!
I just want to nose the old friends who have gone off to different 6th forms!