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

Ha ha ha, it was this thread. Ignore. It's late......night night.

I have given up discussing with dd. All seems a bit pointless until Oxbridge come clean with how many places are available (or unavailable ) for next year. I just don't know what to advise, unless to ask for deferred entry, which is usually not a terrific idea (unless you are 12 or Einstein, or 12 and Einstein!).

How can applicants jump through all the hoops whilst knowing that the year 13s have bagged half the places for 2021 entry and another load are applying with inflated grades in hand?

Yes, yes, I know the year 13s have had a lot of stress, but let's face it, it appears that several thousand of them (the over-offer number) , are winners.

Hi! Can I join? My DD is applying for Oxford 2021. It's all very unsettling, the current situation. I'm wondering whether she should apply for 2021, knowing that if she doesn't get an offer, she can always take a year out and reapply with grades in hand.

Does anyone know how Oxford feels about post-results applications?

Post results are fine. Ds is proof!

I guess our offspring can make no firm plans until the dust has settled on the current debacle. All I want is honesty: if they have far fewer - or even no! - places on certain courses then fess up and let the new applicants have deferred places or tell them they should reapply. Of course this is going to go on ad infinitum.

They also need to scratch their heads and work out what to do about current yr 13s applying with inflated grades. Hopefully GCSE grades and entrance exams should leave those looking more, er, realistic compared with first-time applicants.

Thanks. Irma. You're right - I really hope that they are transparent about the situation.

Yes I hope that they have the same number of places to offer to the next cohort, even if some offers are for 2022 entry. Maybe this is more kicking the can, but perhaps it needs to be done until the numbers/places are 'right' again? So worried for my DD who has done everything she can so far ie great GCSEs, worked hard on her PS, slogged away during lockdown. The new year 13s need the focus on them as soon as the dust settles.

Has anyone been to visit Oxford over the summer? Just wondered how much of the colleges we could get to see if we went to visit and wander around for the day. I know they are closed but would be good (at least) to have a look around the grounds if possible. My DD has drawn up a shortlist but no way of getting a feel for which one she should select without visiting.

jalfrezi DD is an alumnus and she couldn't visit a couple of weeks ago. So I think the answer is no. Try following some of the colleges on Instagram, the gardeners are all posting lovely pictures of their grounds in complete quiet.

DD and I are visiting both this weekend - this involves flights, car hire and 3 nights in a hotels. So, not a cheap trip! I know there won’t be the usual buzz, but hopefully it will be a helpful fact-finding mission.

In many ways, I am totally against her applying, especially after the recent exams fiasco and the implications for 2021 entry.

But on the other hand, I hope it will let her see what the hype is about and give her an insight into the feel for each town and their colleges.

We decided to go a few weeks ago, but after this past week, I can’t help but feel a weekend in a spa might have been a better option!

Not sure about Cambridge but Oxford Oxford don't over offer wildly. I have seem some stats that say they had something like 3,600 offers and they have honoured 3,200 or thereabouts so it may be they only have 10% excess to honour next year. I'll try and find this figures and post

Cambridge say they made “approximately 4500 offers for 3450” places. Obviously some will still miss the offer through lower CAGs or STEP results, but it does seem a very big gap. They have already said that they couldn’t take that many extra this year and this is exacerbated by Covid plans. The additional problem is that it’s not just a one year bulge as it goes through the whole 3/4 years meaning pressure on labs and accommodation continues. They say they are seeking further government clarification. It really is a horrible mess and not of their making.

Here you go:
Oxford - expected intake 3267 from 3600 offers, now admitting 3400 this year. Others may get deferred offers for 2021 but of course there may be a proportion whose CAG don't meet their offer.

Sorry. Didn’t introduce myself. DD is Going into (unplanned) 4th year at Cambridge. Wishing you all the best of luck with decisions and applications later in the year.

@Jalfrezi

We went to Oxford on Saturday. We knew everywhere would be closed, but I wanted her to get a little bit of the flavour of the city. We did go to the college she's applying to, and the lovely porter allowed her to poke her nose in. We also walked to the two departments so we could at least see them from the outside. On that note, are lectures held within the department buildings? Both departments are based in what look like generous sized houses which I cannot imagine have lecture halls, but then she is applying to a very small course (average 22 per year).

We went to Cambridge last week. We couldn't go inside any colleges, but it was definitely a worthwhile visit. Even if the town was deserted! Definitely inspired DD and I think she will need to hold onto that motivation in the coming months.

That's a huge problem for Cambridge. I think it was on another thread that I posted that ds who has just graduated reported that already it was too crowded and the library was bedlam and getting a place in formal hall was crazy as you had to have your finger on the button the second you could book.

Does anyone know when Cambridge publish their yearly statistics (in particular, when will they update the interactive graphs which show how many places are accepted this year)? I hope it’s before the UCAS deadline. It should be possible to get an idea of how many have deferred, per subject and per college, from this.

I would think this situation is going to affect lab-based courses more than others tbh, simply due to space constraints?

Have the govt confirmed that the cap on home students admissions can be lifted for this cycle?

Just looked found the Cambridge offers / admissions stats for 2019. I guess some might still not get the grades through CAGs; some may have decided to go to their insurance, etc? Not sure what to think really.

A small number might not go, but it's practically unheard of to turn down a chance at Oxbridge so the reality is that there will be 1,000 extra people to accommodate. I expect they will be encouraging people to defer, which of course impacts on yr 12s. They can't take such a large number again next year, so I suppose there is a lot of head scratching going on.

Yes, for say, HSPS, they could potentially have an extra 52 students this year if they all met the offer through CAGs (and I assume most would). Normally they take 185, so this is a very significant “extra” proportion. Surely they can’t just let them all defer?! That would have a massive impact for 2021 applicants.

I guess what they could do is still offer the same 185 places to the 2021 cohort, but ask at the point of application who might be willing to defer? I think often, people who would potentially like to defer might be put off asking because it’s seen as reducing chances of an offer. But Cambridge might have to do this for a few application rounds as it would take a few years for this impact of this year to filter through?

@quest1on
Agreed.
They may also need to add in a few extra places per year, to clear the ‘backlog’. Otherwise the problem just keeps getting moved on to the following years.
It is frustrating, and the year 12s are beginning to catch on what this potentially means for them.

I must admit I was a bit when I read that some of the successful CAGS applicants (so now in when a few days ago they weren’t) were complaining that they weren’t getting their original college. The cheek!

As I've said elsewhere, one solution is to make first year students do exams at the end of the first term and cull the under performers.

That gives them the chance to reapply to a different university for entry in Sept 2021 and frees up spaces for 2021 Oxbridge applicants.

A bulge year that reduces spaces for 2021 and 2022 applicants is desperately unfair.

MidLifeCrisis007 are you suggesting that students who are state educated and whose moderated grades were at or exceeded the offer grades should also take these exams and therefore the risk of a 'cull'? (Obviously independents sustained less downward moderation, so there's an argument for examining all indie kids too :))
Or are you going to examine only those whose moderated grades fell short of the offer grades?
Can I just say, this sounds like a terrible idea :)

Just read on the 2020 University thread. Per Ofqual report 38% of CAGS were A or A (25% in 2019). 65% of CAGS were A-B (51% in 2019). Presumably the end result will be even higher because there will be those that were uplifted from CAGS on the moderation.

Not checked the figures because it was a huge report but this is the link assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/909368/6656-1_Awarding_GCSE__AS__A_level__advanced_extension_awards_and_extended_project_qualifications_in_summer_2020_-_interim_report.pdf