Oxbridge 2020 (6)

[Justneedatemporaryname]

New thread ready for when the old one gets filled up!

Those starred GCSEs prove that a pupil has the capacity to retain and organise a vast amount of knowledge. That they have the self discipline to work hard and cope with stress. But they don't prove that they have the intellectual reach, originality of thought and analytical ability that Oxbrudge seek, because those aren't really requyired at GCSE or even A level. Nor should they be. Mainstream exams are for the mainstream. But asmaller percentage of bright people have an independent, searching quality of mind that it's almost impossible to teach. It's there or not. I think that's what they are after.

Well for my part I'm wondering not just how many 'A level equivalents' a student can actually take in Y12 or earlier, but why they take them.

DD (I read Kingscote's post about the supposedly death knell question immediately after DD had mentioned this Tuesday interview question!) was asked by a tutor what she did to relax/ mix things up a bit, but that was very much in the context of the course she's applied for being a bit of a bruiser. She said lots of sport which they seemed to think was good. In fact if asked to put money on it I'd say some tutors might prefer a balanced approach to life from a reasonably high achiever to very high numbers of 'A level equivalents' and national awards. They really don't want students to burn and crash.

In the interview no-one can hear you scream!! No parental polishing of essays, competitions, Ps, no optimistic school predictions. Just you. Surely that explains some of the “dead-certs” not getting places as millie has very eloquently put it just above.DD said it was the most interesting 2 days of her life seeing how supervisions would be .Aghhh.. we are distracting ourselves with tree decorating and mince pie making

Can anyone advise how busy Oxford traffic and parking is on Sunday afternoon? Taking ds up this afternoon and planning to stay on for an hour or two and debating wether to drive right in or use Park and Ride.

HuaShan - we drove right into the centre last Sunday and, despite the crowds, found a space on the road on St Giles - maybe not that surprising when you realise it was £4 for one hour. My backup plan was Gloucester Green car park. www.oxford.gov.uk/directory_record/339/gloucester_green_car_park

I think P&R is a good idea, it's just we were heading on to friends on the outskirts of Oxford and it would have made the whole journey take longer for us.

The traffic, by the way, was very light around 4pm when we were there, so that's not an issue.

HuaShan parking is free in lots of areas near the centre on Sunday and traffic is fine.

See you there @HuaShan ! Going to take the Ddog and guest dog out for a relaxing walk before taking DS1.

www.parkopedia.com/
Fab for finding private parking spaces.

Thanks all. Best of luck to all interviewees this coming week.

Hope the interview this week go well.

Interviews.

Best of luck to everyone with interviews/ parents of those with interviews this week...you've had a long wait ! as desired..

We are about to leave for Oxford for maths too. I'm actually loitering in a nearby hotel for the 3 days as DS has some additional needs which I'm 99% sure won't be a problem, but I want to be on hand just in case! Looking forward to a rest and a mooch around the city. Good luck everyone!

He's there for a week, Peppermint?!

No! He's there until Wednesday! I don't know why I wrote Saturday

Excellent post Milliefiori. I think you are totally right. I think they are looking for something indefinable that isn't measured in A*s. They are looking for the thing that is sometimes missing from our very data-focussed education system. And each interviewer may be looking for a slightly different thing, because at this stage it comes down to "who do I want to teach for the next three years?".

DD seemed absolutely in her element in Cambridge and I'm really, really hoping that she has whatever indefinable "thing" her particular interviewers were looking for. She certainly seemed fired up by her interviews, which was the opposite of what I thought might happen. But I'm aware that they may be looking for something different. It feels very out of our control now ... because it is!

'The what are they looking for' question is something I have been thinking about this week too.

Something goodbyestranger said a long time ago keeps popping into my head.....fleet of foot.

The discussion was one of the frequent MN debates on all A stars. Goodbye said that the candidates with all A stars tend to be fleet of foot...and I think that's the 'thing' they are looking for that you can't see from grades alone.

How quickly can you process information? Can you form logical arguments on the hoof? Can you spar in a non emotional way? Can you draw conclusions from general and subject knowledge? Basically how good are you at thinking for yourself.

This explains why so many struggle and we see 'unexpected' results.

Delurking...

What you say bpisok really concerns me if it is true, because my D.C. has a processing disorder (documented on the UCAS form and corroborated in the school reference) which means they really struggle with things like this
Oh well, just have to wait and see in mid January

Julebock these threads can freak us all out unnecessarily. Hope you won't let yourself or your DC get too freaked.

Our children have different personalities and different educational experiences and backgrounds and advantages and etc etc etc. There's definitely no fair playing field in all ways and from all sides.

Some things are for sure, I think. Our children are intelligent, talented and working hard. They, and we, and the 'selectors' want the best for them. Whether they end up at Oxbridge or elsewhere, they'll be great.

So many reasons to smile

Julebock- I have absolutely no idea if it's true it's only a theory so please don't worry. I just keep thinking back to goodbyestrangers 'fleet of foot' comment (she has had 6 go through the process so probably has a better idea than most)

I think in STEM subjects they test by doing actual problems which is different again.

Is your DC STEM or humanity?

If it's any consolation my DD fluffed her interview so it's all a bit academic now hahaha

@Julebock - so does DT2. He's not 'fleet of foot' in the sense @goodbyestranger means - and I know what she means because DT1 is. That rapid fire 'cut straight to the nub of the matter in an interesting way' quality. But what DT2 has, in a more considered, slower way, is incredible clarity of thought and precision analysis. I think they look for those people too.

Took DT1 into Oxford today and dropped him off. He's texted to say he has interviews at a second college which happened to be his second choice and he was dithering between the two, so he's happy with that.

Can I just say that I can't actually remember saying fleet of foot but I expect I did :) Can I also say I would have just chucked that out there with no proof either way, probably just a suggestion as to why applicants with all top grades might be of interest to Oxford (ie not the grades per se, but the ability which led to those across the board grades).

One of my DC also has marked processing issues, so I get your concerns.