Oxbridge Applications 2019 (Part Three)

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

Hang on a mo.
What percentage of people don't make their offer (separate question to what percentage of people with an offer are given a place)

It's probably fairly close at a third (80 out of 150 not getting 1,1 suggests it would be around a third) - I know Murray Edwards gives out some 1, 2 offers but I don't think many other colleges do, and some colleges give out S offers - I taught someone once who was given an S, S offer - got 1, 1, and was picked up by another college, so he would have been someone who didn't make his offer but did get 1, 1 :-)

I am guessing that it fluctuates a bit year on year, and also probably varies massively by college.

Should clarify Jesus' comment - they are saying that out of the 250 students at Cambridge (so who have places after results day and have taken them up), 170 of these have 1, 1 or better.

What percentage of people don't make their offer
Would they publish that data - both re STEP and precise A level grades? Sometimes 'not making the offer' can be getting 2A* and 2As but with one of the stars not on the subjects specified for the star.

Thanks Pallando.

DD is going through a very low period and I am worried about her. She does have ups and downs, finds the winter months particularly difficult and suffers from anxiety. She is just about keeping up with her work at the moment but is forgetting things and has missed quite a few lessons. I am torn between encouraging her to keep on top of things and simply helping her to just be calm, eat properly etc and not worry about work for a bit. She says she is not feeling under pressure, but I feel she must be. Anyone else’s DC finding it hard at the moment?

Best to keep her calm and upbeat. There is plenty of time to catch up on work and it could be that she just needs mental health time at the moment. Any other things going on?? We had to contend with dumping by a girlfriend and that took its toll. Does she still talk excitedly about going to university? We bought a college scarf for DS which seemed to focus him a bit. Does she feel confident about achieving her offer grades? There are lots of things going on in their private lives/relationships/friendship groups that we are unaware of. Sit back and be a good listener for now.

Sorry to hear about your dd Lillilli. I would get her to prioritise her health and well being.

One of my dd's was a bit of a stress ball so I sympathise.

ds is my most laid back child. He is working hard but finds it enjoyable so it won't be the end of the world if it doesn't work out. He seems quite chilled at the moment. He has an invitation to a STEP day which should help.

He has seen the college now & I tagged along to be nosy, as parents were invited too. Sorry to those who disapprove of parents going but I really couldn't resist going down the rabbit hole! Just as well I went as everyone had a parent in tow. I had to take a vow of silence first & managed to keep it. :)

The people running it were great. It was a different world but watching ds on the day I think he would cope as he is sociable. One student's father specialised in interrogation techniques so he asked every possible question & some more anyway!

DS is coping okay but feeling the pressure of the higher than average offer (A stat, A star. A).

We have an offers day on the 22nd Feb which he's reluctantly allowed me to join him on. LittleSpace - thanks for reassuring me I won't be the only parent there. I've had to promise DS to be quiet and not embarrass him.

Thanks all.
Yes Hubble there have been boyfriend issues and she takes it very hard. I think she does feel the pressure of achieving the grades too although she is predicted 3 A stars. It is stressful now that it all rests on the final exams. At least with the AS levels you had something achieved already. She is also obsessed with food at the moment and about not putting on weight (she is at the bottom of the healthy weight range) so this is a worry too. Still, she seemed good this morning and went to all her lessons yesterday which was good. I’m off work at the moment so am able to just be there for her. The days are getting longer and lighter so that will help too.
Wish I could go to an offer holder event, but hers is overnight!

A question, if I may for all Cambridge DCs who have taken /will take STEP as part as their application for maths and /or science courses at Cambridge:-

In my view, (from a cursory glance), it is much harder to achieve the entrance requirements at Cambridge, than Oxford. My 13 year old DS who is mathematically very able (junior Olympiad standard) wishes to study computer science. The grade requirements at Oxford and the MAT sat at an earlier date seem much less stressful than the A level grades required with STEP at Cambridge. So why did your DCs choose Cambridge over Oxford.

Thanks!

Aurea it's because dd liked the course at Cambridge better and it seemed very sad to limit what she wanted to do because of a fear about STEP.

STEP is stressful, but it's also excellent preparation for university maths The few months of stress was very much worth it.

Aurea

DS chose Oxford because he said that the process was "fairer" .
Given that DS's GCSEs were not that good (only 9, not all A-stars), he felt that he might not get even an interview for Cambridge, yet could end up with better A level grades than the ones who got in, and probably being able to get a good result on the STEP.

We went to an Maths open day at Oxford and quizzed one of the speakers, who said that if you do extremely well in the MAT, you are guaranteed an interview. Then there is a borderline range, where they look at the context and personal statement etc. Once you get to the interview, you have the chance to prove your actual Maths potential.

DS got an offer, but if he hadn't he might have sat the STEP this year and tried for Cambridge.

ds looked at Oxford and Cambridge. He just liked the Maths Department at Cambridge. He thought it might be harder to get into Cambridge but just thought 'what have I got to lose?'. He also liked the city better.

Finally his other favourite university requires STEP so if he doesn't get into Cambridge it won't be wasted.

Thanks all. I'll take a detailed look at the courses.

His school is flagged so he would be more likely to get an interview if he has the grades anyway (he is Scottish and will have taken his Highers)

Choccy which college is your DS studying at? I have another son who has a law offer for Trinity starting October.

Aurea I would suggest your DS looks at both the courses and also visits both places (I know it's a way!). Then choose the one he likes the best.

In a way both Cambridge and Oxford use a similar procedure to select their pupils, they just apply it the other way around! Oxford uses a test to select about 500 students (ish) to interview and then use the interview to pick the 250 ish students who will get offers (and essentially all of these will get in).

Cambridge interviews practically everyone, uses the interview to select about 500 students and then uses a test to allocate the final places.

STEP is quite a lot harder than MAT - one reason is that STEP can be based on the entire A levels in maths and further maths (STEP 3 anyway) whereas MAT can only really be based on AS- single maths (as some people will have done a full A-level in maths and others half of maths and half of further maths).

Assuming your DS is looking at entry for 2020 I would suggest he starts working through the foundation modules on www.maths.org/step. These should help him prepare for whichever he goes for (and he might want to start working through some MAT papers as well)

DS has an offer for Keble, which he is fairly confident of achieving.

He really enjoyed the Maths open day at Oxford, and enjoyed the interviews!

That does sound less stressful.

*Pallando
*
Thanks. That info is most helpful.

He's still got 4 years left of school so he's got some time yet. Maybe I sound like a pushy mum but he's working at least three years ahead of his peers and has already won an international coding competition (Coderdojo) as well as maths competitions. I just want to guide him in the right way especially as he wants to follow in his older brother's footsteps.

Maths/computing is an alien concept to me and his school does so little to encourage and nurture him. In fact, they refuse to give him more difficult work and his computer science teacher still insists he works on Scratch (primary school stuff) although he's quite proficient in Python which is all self taught. When he won the international coding competition, (out of clubs in 109 countries) his teacher didn't even ask him what his project was about although we mentioned it at parents evening. It leaves me fuming. Anyway, sorry about the rant and thanks for the advice.

Best wishes to you!

Don't worry about which university yet Aurea, just nurture that lads talent. He doesn't need to choose until Year 12/13.

That sort of thing sounds all too familiar Aurea!
My DD is brilliant at Maths and until about 18 months ago wanted to apply to study it at Trinity, Cambridge (the best place she thought). She got an A in GCSE Maths in year 7 and an A in A level in year 11 (later than she wanted!) She also taught herself coding, Basic and Python and wanted to work in AI. However, in the end, she was really put off by the lack of understanding and encouragement in school. She moved for sixth form and has been really inspired by her Politics teacher. We are very happy with her new found enthusiasm and she is so looking forward to starting HSPS at Cambridge in October (hopefully!!) She loves Statistics and is hoping to put this to good use during her course and discussed that at interview.
It sounds to me as if your son is very talented and although it’s frustrating his school haven’t picked up on his amazing coding success etc he is clearly clever enough and motivated enough to do it himself. And you never know, he’s only 13, he may too completely change direction!

Thanks lilli. It's good to hear of someone in the same boat who has succeeded despite receiving little support from the school.

I've had a look at the HSPS course and it sounds VERY interesting. It's early days yet for my son I know, as he could still change his mind. All the best to your daughter on the course.

Offer day/ night clashes with mocks. What should she do?

One question is, whether she has any doubts at all about taking up her offer. If she's not sure then my feeling is that the visit is more important in the scheme of things than mocks. My DD hadn't been sure, she hadn't ever visited the college she was pooled to, so it was helpful (and enjoyable) - at her college they take a sleeping bag and get a mattress on the floor of someone doing the same subject so they can get info straight from the horses mouth, and of course get to meet other (UK) offer holders.

I guess she should talk it over with the school - they may let her take the mock later (as mocks are purely for the benefit of the student, there's no possible reason to cheat which I'm sure she wouldn't want to do anyway!)