Oxbridge 2020 (6)

[Justneedatemporaryname]

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

Sorry should have said that was for Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion as identified by Ironoaks

Lots of Cambridge colleges have post offer visits or get togethers so she could go back for another look if that were to be the case. Might get a different vibe in a different day

Agree that judging a college vibe at interview is about the worst time to do it accurately. I think Newnham is a beautiful looking place Hugo and doesn't have the disadvantage of being miles outside Cambridge but I guess women's only is a no no for some these days even if others positively welcome it. The same strong views on either side seems to happen in Oxford with the tiny PPHs.

goodbye I've read over and over again that whatever Oxbridge college a student goes to (even if it was not their first choice) they end up loving it and thinking that it is the 'best' one. No idea how true it is but might be worth your friend's DD bearing in mind?

My DS has got his heart set on a particular Cambridge college (I also think it would suit him down to the ground for a variety of reasons) but will take any college if he is lucky enough to get an offer from Cambridge University. He would even dress up as a woman and take Newnham if he had to

I can’t imagine having children docile enough to be told what university to accept.

Agreed that people end up loving their college. DD was interviewed by a tiny PPH and would have had a wobble if offered a place, but was accepted by another non-choice and now loves it.

Not everyone loves their college. That's a myth / generalisation.

The person who helped DD prepare for the interview is encouraging her to try again if she doesn't get an offer. There's nothing she wants to do with a year off. So I'm not v happy about that.

I guess women's only is a no no for some these days

That's what DD said ... before she got her pool offer and rapidly did a 180 turn to enumerate all the positives. (although her college isn't strictly women only, just the undergrad entry, it has male fellows). They're not nunneries, for sure!

Just to say, MY DD was pooled to Newnham and she absolutely loved it. She is a very outgoing girl and loves men so had many doubts but once she settled down things were fine. It is a beautiful college and centrally situated. Many strong, independent women went there including Emma Thompson. Her boyfriend more or less moved in for her third year. She used to say during fire drills, many sheepish looking males wrapped in towels would appear.

Can anyone point me towards the spreadsheet which gives data on Oxford applications and offers from named schools in the UK? I thought I saw it on this thread some weeks ago, but try as I might, cannot locate it. Thanks.

Was it one of these dashboards?

public.tableau.com/profile/sdma.oxford.university#!/

public.tableau.com/profile/sdma.oxford.university#!/vizhome/UniversityofOxford-UCASApplyCentreApplications2018/UCASApplyCentre

That's the one! Thank you very much.

Is there a similar spreadsheet for cambridge?

My DD was pooled to Fitzwilliam last year and is loving it. She decided to be pleased Fitz had decided they wanted her rather than the other way round and hadn't even seen it until we arrived there in October.

Yes, the Cambridge data is all available from the same page as the interactive graph generator https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics

The latest data is the 2018 cycle

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/undergraduateadmissionssbyapplyycentre20188_cycle.pdf

@RosamundGarth that's really encouraging. We didn't get around to even half the colleges in our one visit. Partly because part of the day was at the subject lectures. I feel we should have done more research. It's good to know that students are likely to be happy at any of the colleges, though DD may need to practice her city cycling skills if she gets pooled to a college very far from Sidgwick site. getting pooled to Selwyn would be handy!

Anyone else burning with nerves, imagining all the possibilities? And checking this thread all the time for sharing the anxiety/hope?

@FingernailNibbler I think the hill colleges get overlooked on open days because it's more of a trek. DD hadn't cycled much at all (we're rural and it's lethal) but they had a cycling safety and instruction talk in the first week and the route from Fitz to Sidgwick site is straightforward, with cycle paths, and avoids the centre of town and running over tourists.

DD didn't want to tempt fate by visiting after she got her offer - and it is a 5 to 6-hour drive for us - but you can find out a lot online and you're not really going to know what it's like until you're there.

She went to a local comprehensive and state sixth form and has made plenty of friends and is in quiz teams and doing low-key mixed inter-college netball, if that reassures anyone!

Good luck

Thank you so so much. That is ALL very encouraging. Love the cycling safety and safe routes. Does sound like could be safer than cycling from, say, Jesus, through town with selfie-taking numpties stepping into the road.
Unfort on the open day, we only saw 8 colleges in total, some on speed-dial, so not really a comprehensive overview. All the ones we saw seemed wonderful, though DD wasn't keen on Trinity (intimidated by maths reputation?), though I thought it was stunning. Everyone seemed very nice and caring.
Thanks. I love everything I hear about Cambridge. Glad your DD is loving it. The balance of other activities sounds good too.

DD's is a hill college (they're Churchill, fitz and Murray Edwards); the cycle route to her department is fine - and they're also good if your subject has facilities on the West Cambridge site. Also for shopping in Aldi, and it's possible for parents to find street parking within reasonable distance.

@HugoSpritz - I'd not heard the expression "hill college" before, but I wonder as well as Errol's list if it includes Girton, as that certainly requires an encounter with Castle Hill.

DD is also at one of the 'hill colleges' - in Fen terms it may well be classed as a hill, but seriously...

Topography aside, she applied there as it's renowned for her subject, loved the conference day and has never looked back. Cycling is a must for her (sport as well as access to faculty) - but frankly nothing a post-offer/ summer holiday crash course (pardon the pun) couldn't fix, for any non or non-confident cyclists.

Good luck everyone!