Oxbridge Applications 2019 (Part Three)

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Today is a big day for many... time for a new thread too

LittleSpace it's about half of those with offers that don't make their STEP grade, but some do get accepted anyway or pooled via the summer pool.

OK thanks. What is the summer pool?

I'm guessing it is the near misses that get accepted anyway.

cinnamontoast, my choice to eat cornflakes or toast is not political, my decision to get up early and have a jog or lie in bed for a bit longer is not political, my decision to sing Justin Bieber or whistle while I work is not political. Now, you may come back and say ‘ah, but of course those are fundamentally political choices, your having a roof over your head in which to lie in bed or jump out of it has been shaped by politics, your ability to feed yourself with either a mass processed sugary cereal or some artisanal loaf is blatantly political, and your freedom to sing out of tune is governed by politics.’ Which, I concede, in the grand scheme of things, may be true, but, I will aver, is also semantic wank. No one lives their life thinking ‘my decision to not wait for the green man to come on before I cross the road has been granted me by the lack of jaywalking laws in this country’, they just risk it or wait patiently. (Or if they do live their life like that they have my overwhelming pity!)

I’m not pretending that Oxbridge entry is not political, I just don’t believe it’s a given that the thread would be consumed by it.

All the misses going into the pool and then colleges can take their pick of who they want, including the original college. It's a bit of a painful process because it can't start until the results are out and takes an extra day or two.

Will you be told that you are placed in summer pool or will you get a rejection anyway?

Don't worry. I just found this article explaining everything. Results day should be a barrel of laughs in this house.

www.varsity.co.uk/features/10571

Now off to scare myself with Brexit and meteor strikes.

Cross post. Thanks OhYOuBigBadKitten.

My inbox is always open if you want to chat LittleSpace, but if his alternative is Warwick, it's a really good option.

Yes. I'm telling him that too.

It has the added advantage that his sister is at Warwick (second year) and as they both pack light it would be one drop off instead of two.

That would be easier :) and I know they weren't totally strict with missed offers last year. I know someone who got an A in FM who got in.

For those whose DC took maths A level at the end of year 12 - do you think it was a good idea? Did it disadvantage them? Or was it helpful? DS can choose whether to take it at the end of year 12 or 13. He will have finished the course and is keen to take it at the end of year 12. He is also taking FM, physics and French. He will probably apply to Oxbridge (not sure which yet) Warwick and ??? to do a maths degree. Any thoughts on which is best?

Just on the topic of applicants and backgrounds this great article gives hope to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. I think the fact that this sixth form has 5 Oxford graduates dedicated you helping these students makes a massive difference to their chances.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46900154?ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook&ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social

powergower I am not on this thread anymore but please read the previous posts. It is not all it seems.

powergen
www.bramptonmanor.org/docs/Brampton_Manor_6th_Form_Admissions_Policy_2019.pdf

Blimey! Was not expecting the thread to go this way!

Lilacs....extenuating circumstances that you are not aware of? Certainly true of the dc of a friend of mine, who then went on to do very well.

a maths degree. Any thoughts on which is best?

The latest Times Higher World University Rankings show Oxford as #1. Just saying!

Lilacs, because others had met grades by the time conversations between school and college had happened, there were no places. Circumstances were absolutely genuine but schoolmates, especially as they had all left school by then, would probably not have known.

I honestly don’t think money talks, certainly not like it can do in the US.

I know pupils who have not met offer then taken a year out and taken an extra A level and reapplied and got in the second time.

Honestly Lilacs . of all the advantages one candidate may have over another I don't believe that Oxbridge or other excellent universities would take a cheque to admit a sub par student. Naive me . I seriously don't think so . I am with Needmore on this .

Also, how do you know the student's grades hadn't been re-marked up? If it was a whole school re-mark for coursework that can take way longer than Oxford can wait. We've had this at our school where students lost their place because of a problem with Biology coursework where the original moderation was restored weeks later but too late for the places to be saved. Very harsh. Other parents at school frequently don't know the full story about situations like this.

Very harsh but not Oxford's issue to sort out. Blame totally to be laid at the exam board's door.

Probably just retook the A level that they got the lower grade in (possibly got that measly terrible A up to an A*)