Oxbridge 2020 (6)

[Justneedatemporaryname]

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

I don't know where all these comments about re-applying are coming from. Each to their own!

The truth is that there aren't enough places for able students and some of our wonderful DC are going to be disappointed. But it is not the be all and end all.

Well said.

So strange. I didn't even know it was a thing.

It has to be a thing for all those concerned about social mobility.

People on MN are obsessed with the state v private thing and I don't think it's coming from a place of being concerned about social mobility. Quite the opposite from where I'm standing.

Ok well I think you may possibly need to distinguish between those on MN who work towards that end and others in that case.

I've no idea what you mean about 'Quite the opposite from where I'm standing'? I can't see how anyone could argue that it was appropriate to ignore prior education when making university offers.

My DS hasn't noticed state vs private at his Oxford interviews but has been genuinely shocked at male vs female and overseas vs UK stats at the college he's applying to for maths. He reckons 15% girls, most of whom are from overseas.

I think @Justneedatemporaryname might be referring to threads about privately educated pupils 'losing out' to state educated pupils with lower grades as Oxbridge aims to become a more level playing field.

This board has opened my eyes. Some parents of state school educated pupils have had no prep from school, barely any interest from school. They go in not knowing what goes on in interviews (i.e. not expecting the unexpected). I thought there was more prep these days across the board but it seems private schools do still offer substantially more support and insight in many cases. It's grossly unfair and the playing field still isn't nearly even enough. I say this as a parent of privately educated DC.

@milliefiori - I think you can overstate the 'expect the unexpected'. From what DS1 has said his Chemistry interviews were about hard Chemistry. They asked about all aspects (organic, inorganic etc) and stuff in his PS - plus some maths.

He tried to explain the Chemistry questions to me but as I did A Level Chemistry nearly 30 years ago it was beyond me. But it wasn't beyond him because he's really good at it and loves his subject.

I could be wrong but although my Grandson probably had some weighting for school and deprivation stats he will be expected to achieve 3 grade As if he gets an offer. The HAT and his written work would have been looked at as well. It is a shame so few kids get a chance, but the ones who do really are worth considering. I don't think he's taking anything off any other applicant!

@sandybayley I disagree. I think it's really valuable to teach pupils to expect the unexpected in Oxbridge interviews. (Though maybe more so for Humanities than STEM) I remember when I was being interviewed a girl was absolutely distraught because she'd gone for medicine, all ready to talk about why she wanted to do it and was given instead a postcard reproduction of the Mona Lisa and asked about ten times what it was. She kept saying The Mona Lisa. eventually she said 'A postcard'. Then she was asked again. She didn;t get in. In retrospect I can see exactly why you might ask a med student that. (Can they see a symptom which appears to obviously be one thing bit is also possibly many other things etc) but she;d come from a state school and was prepped to answer conventional questions. At my first interview at Pembroke (I didn;t get in) I was called into an unlit room on a late December evening, and they were all sitting with their backs to me in high armchairs so I couldn;t see their faces. I was absolutely thrown by the experience. I think they don;t play such mean games now, but they do still test in unconventional ways. DC's school explain this and reassure them about it. Some state schools aren't even aware of it.

@milliefiori - I can only go on my own experience of Cambridge 30 years ago and DS1's today. I got asked about politics and history and DS1 got asked about Chemistry. Hard questions but not unexpected. Some a bit left field but fine if you know and love your subject. I got dragged down a rabbit hole with Stanley Baldwin which was not a direction I wanted to go in!

I worry that talking up the 'terrifying interviews' on these threads will worry would be applicants and put them off applying.

But I do agree that some schools could and should be doing more to prep and reassure applicants.

Yes, it would be silly to talk up terrifying interviews, but sensible to expain why they might be more left field than a pupil has faced before.

milliefiori what kind of weirdos would sit in an almost dark room with their faces pointing away from you, in unison? That's batshit stuff.

I think so too, @goodbyestranger. I applied the following year to a different college with delightful tutors and got in. It's funny how much it registers though. I remember one of the Pembroke tutors coming to see a Shakespeare garden production I was in and coming up to me afterwards to say he'd never seen the part so well performed and I thought, 'Your loss.' I was still bitter and chippy about it a year later.

My guess is they didn't want girls and they certainly didn't want Northern state school girls so they weren't trying very hard.

A lot of colleges had only just turned co ed and the misogyny was rife.

35 years ago I had an interview at Pembroke College Oxford with 2 interviewers. I was asked to go in & sit down but one interviewer took a phone call. I waited to see what would happen. The other person started to interview me - most peculiar! 2 people in armchairs opposite me, 1 on the phone throughout & the other talking across him to me!

So I definitely sympathise Millefiori!

My god, @Milliefiori
I thought your interview sounded horrific enough, but hadn't realised the context of their recently going co-ed. If that was why they did it (and didn't do similar to male applicants)...
Staggering.

And @Saffronesque, that is also disgraceful behaviour from your interviewers. Shocking.

@Saffronesque - sounds like Pembroke had a lot to learn in the art of interview technique.

It's funny how deeply it puts you off a place, though. DS wanted to look around it and I had to bite my tongue not to say, 'Not there!'. We did look around and it was lovely. The admissions staff were really helpful. But I was still a bit glad when it dropped off his shortlist.

Should I be concerned that DS1 appears to have not left his college since 16.02 on Sunday? They're obviously feeding him too well, I thought he might at least escape for provisions but the comfort food has bound him in.

There is the possibility of an interview elsewhere today but if not I suspect he will hunker down for the rest of the day with the various pop science journals and chocolates I packed in his bag.

Does Chemistry not do two colleges as standard sandy?