Oxbridge Aspirants: Sep 2021

[funkysatsuma]

Not sure if it's too early to start this thread in Nov 2019 :)

DS would like Cambridge Economics as the first choice. Would like to know where can we get some help to prepare for the ECAA test - appreciate any pointers/links. Thanks in advance

@IrmaFayLear I totally agree with you, especially if that’s compounded by teens who don’t want to discuss options with their parents. Going through this with Dd at a highly regarded school the lack of guidance is no different from when I was at a state school eons ago. I’m surprised schools still don’t employ a full time careers advisor.

Does your school use UniFrog for university and careers choices? That's an amazing resource, and not very expensive at all for schools.

All my children want vocational careers (medicine for this teen) and have known what they wanted to do as a job since they were very small.

For those that don't know, I think unifrog is excellent.

@Knottylox - DS1's school organised a handful of pre-school TSA sessions. But they weren't practice, just sitting in a room and doing a timed paper. You could achieve the same at home using the book I recommended down thread.

ElephantAndButterfly DD dislikes UniFrog hugely. She concedes it's good if you start with no absolutely idea of what you want to do, but has found it very rigid if you already have done your own independent research. The UCAS tool is a nightmare as it forces you into a "cookie cutter" style, which DD says is restrictive and boring. She is now doing her UCAS outside of the system, and just cutting and pasting in, as the school insists they use it (I presume as they have paid for it!).

@Baaaahhhhh ah, shame! Even though she has known what she's wanted to do, DD still has liked unifrog for narrowing things down.

We have been recommended unifrog too, Dd doesn’t feel strongly about it. Has spent today doing her PS. Her HE advisor has said “ it doesn’t matter if it’s rubbish just get something down for tomorrow “🥴
So I’m throwing it out there.... are there any parents of E&M students in their first/2nd year that my Dd could talk to?
Please, please PM as Dd needing to talk to someone familiar with the course to help.

@Knottylox does school have any recent alumni that could help? Who else might they know that could help?
Personally, I'd be deflecting back tomorrow and asking them.
But obviously, I hope you can track down some first or second years apart from that!

@Knottylox - your school is your best bet. DS1's school put him in touch with an alumni doing the same course.

No, sadly no-one on the course from school currently. My neighbour has a child that graduated 2 years ago so am trying to arrange that!
I wish schools kept tabs on alumni to aid career/ Uni choices.

I've PMed you Knotty.

Hi Knotty! ... The PS matters a bit, but not hugely, for Oxbridge because they have Entrance Exams and also an Interview. The PS actually matters more for other Universities as these have neither.

I am sending you a Private Message with someone's contact details.

My DD wants to apply to Oxford for PPE.

Reading here we are completely behind the curve and quite clueless. We don’t know anyone who ever went to Oxford.

We live in Ireland and she attends a state school with no tradition of sending students to Oxbridge or anywhere in the U.K.

I didn’t realise until I read here that people would have their PS done. DDs careers guidance counsellor in school will not even discuss it until September. Quite frankly he is unlikely to be of any help and would probably tell her to write about girl guide badges and French debating.

I have bought the TSA book recommended here and she has to register at the one public centre that do it in Dublin.

She did go to an Oxford open day last year and loved it. She went to open days in St Andrews and Durham and like those too.

She is so motivated I would love her to have a chance.

Don’t worry, ChimneyPot, ds has just graduated from Oxbridge. He went to a bog-standard comprehensive school and had zero help. He wrote his PS the weekend before the deadline as his was a last-minute decision to give it a whirl. He had a mock interview at school which was all wrong in that it was unacademic in focus.

I would attribute ds’s success to Mumsnet - trawl through all the past years’ threads for tips and words to the wise - and TheStudent Room which was a marvellous resource. Oh, and ds made a bit of effort himself - you know, doing the work and exams and trivial stuff like that

Ds got his PS in last week as it was suddenly sprung on them that they needed one in! Luckily he had already complied a list of super-curriculars and he was meant to be on a Headstart Summer School but this is now an online course so in his PS it says I'll fill this bit in later when I have completed the course

His thoughts are if he and only a few others get their personal statements in now then there are staff who can look at it, whereas in September a lot more students will have theirs in and so it may take longer for feedback.

Have to say that I find the idea of online Oxford interviews, rather than experience of staying in college for a few days a rather flat prospect.

Plus, having seen him a virtual school , I simply cannot imagine my DS succeeding in projecting his personality on a zoom call.

@Michaelahpurple me neither Apparently the news that the interviews are solely remote is embargoed and will be published tomorrow? Or has it been already? The admissions tutors were apparently briefed today.

I am very sad. This new normal crap is pants.

So Oxford have confirmed 2021 admissions interviews will be held remotely using video conferencing. No surprise at all but good to have it confirmed. There's a chance interviews will be pushed back to a month to Jan 2021. DD is indifferent. I'm guessing remote interviews will help prevent our DC from getting too heavily invested in the process and rejections will feel less intense.

Cross posts

I didn't realise that it was hot off the press - just came across it when browsing here www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews

That is a good point about the over investment issue. But I am seriously wondering about whether to encourage my rather stretch c Adidas's not to waste a slot on UCAS as I think he would be a shocking virtual candidate.

Inevitable but boring.

Apologies for shocking typos - fading eye sight meets iPhone keyboard.

I just read it in The Times. DD will go through the process but isn't hopeful for a positive outcome. I'm not sure she sees herself as the Oxford type.

Oxford online open day 1-2 July - anyone? Slightly confused, anyone else applied? Website says 'please register' but that you 'don't need to'. DS has registered but hasn't received an email.......anyone in same boat?

Surely this means Cambridge are likely to do the same?

This is all such a miserable heap of crap. Can you defer till 3021 ?!

Apparently there are all sorts of discussions going on about how to prevent students from recording their interviews... mooting using local test centres where students are invigilated while being interviewed via video 🙄

It sounds an utter minefield to be honest, and probably won't be able to be completed within the normal two week window.

Will they interview fewer?

My DD was in tears last night about applications in general. Like many more on here, she doesn't feel "academic enough" or the "Oxbridge type" and doesn't understand that there are only a few people who do think like that. Apparently a few of the male students who did videos for the Cambridge open days this week came across as complete arrogant wankers (to her!) and it just reinforced the stereotypes of over confident bombastic students who get in.