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

ClarasZoo I can't find subject and college breakdown. Would you mind linking please?

@Unformidable

ClarasZoo I can't find subject and college breakdown. Would you mind linking please?

Here is the link....

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics

Then scroll down to the bottom of that page....

The thing is when ds started, nearly four years ago, there were 8 on his course (two didn’t make it and then no near misses were accepted). By year three there were 16, and I suppose proportional increases in other subjects.

Ds said that the library was overcrowded and booking for dinner involved having your finger on the button the second the slots were released (like Disney Dining advance reservations if anyone is familiar!). If this year is worse then I can imagine it will be a bit of a crush. What about the pandemic?!

@IrmaFayLear

The thing is when ds started, nearly four years ago, there were 8 on his course (two didn’t make it and then no near misses were accepted). By year three there were 16, and I suppose proportional increases in other subjects.

Ds said that the library was overcrowded and booking for dinner involved having your finger on the button the second the slots were released (like Disney Dining advance reservations if anyone is familiar!). If this year is worse then I can imagine it will be a bit of a crush. What about the pandemic?!

Im confused; if there were 8 in y1 , the 16 by year 3 were transfers from other subjects? If so no overall increase in student numbers, and the subject they transferred from will be less busy, swings and roundabouts. Am I being thick?

I meant starters, so 8 in 2017, I don’t know 2018, and 16 starting in 2019. So presumably in 2020 it will be at least 16 + those over offers who have now made the grade. So numbers for the subject have gone from 8 to potentially over 20 in four years.

[smile]@IrmaFayLear, I read your message same as hobbema

That’s interesting, it’s a case of whether there was going to be an increase again this year or not. Also I imagine that would’ve been factored into offers.

Do Cambridge students tend to stay in halls of residence throughout or do they get private accommodation after the first year, for example?

Ds had university accommodation all the way through, each year getting better! I don’t know about the other colleges. I think most of the “external” accommodation is college-owned (and I think this may be true of Oxford, too) as private rents are astronomical and there isn’t the quantity of student-type housing there is in other towns.

Ah, I see what you meant now Irma. When you look at the student body as a whole for those three years ; 3497, 3465, 3528 , 63 more students max, you couldnt really call that a hike in student body by any stretch though could you? At DD’s college to be there are years where they make no offers for some subjects, nor do they take from the pool . Maybe the 16 were just irresistible candidates! Those graphs are horribly addictive...

@ClarasZoo Thank you!

@WarmAndco3y, Cambridge colleges needed the Tuition Fee income and the Accommodation-Catering spend in colleges, as did the academic faculties. So they would not have planned to have fewer starting in October 2020 than in 2019.

As for rooms, pretty much all Undergrads at Cambridge are promised a room in college-owned accommodation - halls or houses - for 3 years.

Until now...

Anyway, Chaps, I think I have found a potential supporter with connections. Toby Young, writing in the Spectator this week, has a dd going into yr 13 and he seems pretty mad about the situation. Perhaps we can form an action group?!

@ClarasZoo, IrmaFayLear, We need to be careful about total numbers and numbers per subject at any particular college in Cambridge.

The total numbers tend to be in a range, for example 101-108 per year. The variation arises because they cannot predict how many will make the offer conditions. If, for example, they cannot pick up a good enough candidate for Archaeology or for Chemical Engineering, they they will go without, sometimes for more than one year at a time. They will try to recruit extra for, say, History and Politics or for Biological Natural Sciences, but it may not work out. ... There is also the constraint of the total number of rooms available over a period of time. A few more Masters entrants can mean fewer undergrads in those years, perhaps.

Sometimes they do not receive strong enough direct applicants, they do not receive any strong enough applicants allocated via Open Application formula. And then they come up empty handed in both the Summer Pool and the Winter Pool.

For 2019 entry, the total intake was 22 for Archaeology and 41 for Chemical Engineering, that is fewer than 1 and 2, respectively, per college overall.

In an effort to try to help the short-list for UCAS, I am currently in Cambridge with DD. I know many of you may have visited and have had experience of one or both unis, but this is just my opinion as first-time visitor to both.

Her online research has been useful, invaluable even, but getting the feel for each town has been worth every penny (from NI, so quite a lot of pennies!)

She has always had a leaning towards Cambridge, partly because it is closer in terms of airport access. So we were unfairly influenced by thinking that would be her choice. Also, her school sends so few students to Oxbridge, and of the 4 who have been accepted over the past 6 years, all but one have gone to Cambridge.

Anyway, the towns are both beautiful but very different. Oxford, whilst having a larger population, seems to have a very compact city centre. The colleges are mostly situated in the centre, and are very easily reached, even the ones that are further out.

Unfortunately, the big entrance doors were all firmly shut, but even walking around gives a very good impression of each college. We did the open-too bus trip and it was great - and as well as giving interesting information, it allowed you to peek over the walls of some of the colleges, so definitely a help.

Cambridge is very grand, and the colleges seem to have much more spacious and impressive campuses. We accidentally walked into Jesus college by a back gate, and had a lovely wander around before before gently reminded that it was closed to visitors. We took a punt ride on the river - again, a good way to get a wonderful view of the sweeping grounds of some of the colleges.

So now, she is no further forward with her choice, and maybe has gone back or step or two with the extra information. But, I've done my bit and will leave it up to her now! In fact, after the recent exam chaos, it may be the worst year to apply anyway... but that's a whole other thread and I'm just so angry on behalf of all our 2021 entrants.

That sounds like a lovely trip, and so much nicer without all the tour parties clogging up the place.

Ds reports that - apart from his college! - Jesus was the best. Nicest bar and ball which of course are the most important considerations!

@IrmaFayLear Michael Gove also has a DD going into Yr 13 FWIW

I’m sure Gove’s daughter will find her way into Oxbridge next year

The Give DD may well be very clever. If she gets a place it almost certainly won't be because she has a well known dad.

That just autocorrected to Give.

I agree with@goodbyestranger - it wouldn't be surprising if Beatrice Gove could string two sentences together given who her parents are. Let's remember she's a child who deserves her chance like any other. The days of shoe-ins for Oxbridge are long gone.

Goodbyestranger, lots of supremely bright children don’t get into Oxbridge. I’m pretty sure sure supremely bright children with ministerial connections might have a much better chance

portico lots of children of serving and ex ministers also go to non Oxbridge universities, so clearly they either didn't attempt Oxford or Cambridge or tried and got turned down.

There will still be 80% or so of the usual places left up for grabs at Oxford for 2021, on the worst case scenario, so it's not going to be an issue for any supremely bright DC, with or without 'ministerial connections'. It's down at the borderline that a number of applicants may be squeezed. I can't see that any 'supremely bright' DC has a lot to worry about.

If that were the case, then Oxbridge would be stuffed with famous names. I really don’t think it is. And, of course, if your father is, say, Stephen Hawking then it follows that you might have a smidgeon of aptitude for science. Less brainy poshos prefer I think to head for more party universities (Newcastle I believe is favoured) as Oxbridge these days is too much like darned hard work.

At the BBC, however.... I once got through to the final round for a job (the time, effort and expense all round of Human Resources, let alone my own) and was unsuccessful. The triumphant candidate had a very unusual name, quite coincidentally the same as a very senior person there. Hmmmph.

I may be late to the game with this, but have stumbled across this website and found some interesting statistics on PPE applicants in 2020, including TSA scores. www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/university_of_oxford

Hi everyone!

If thinking about maths at uni - Oxford university are running a livestream MAT prep course (see www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate-study/maths-admissions-test/mat-livestream - it started in June, but past worksheets and videos are available).

There are also lots of resources on the STEP support programme website (maths.org/step/welcome).

Both of these are excellent preparation whether you/DC are considering taking MAT or STEP, and are also good preparation for Maths interviews at university.

Hi all! DD going for Law at Oxford this year. LNAT all booked - she’s sitting it a month today Has been hard at work on her personal statement draft this week but is feeling a little bit anxious about her other UCAS choices as we haven’t been able to visit any (not in UK and couldn’t go back this summer). There’s only so much info you can glean from open days :/