Life after oxbridge

[littleslummygirl]

As the dust settles after a No this week.
Am thinking I was rather more invested in Cambridge than I admitted. Equally, feeling relieved that DD doesn’t have to aim for an A+ In any subject so a little bit of pressure off.
Question now is whether DD asks for feedback.
And what advice for those who are looking ahead for next year.
My thoughts at the moment are that she would have regretted not trying. It was important for her to try as she was definitely a bit left field as a candidate and working for it made her hugely up her game academically But wow, the highs and lows are a real rollercoaster.

[littleslummygirl]

Yes, agree with that sentiment. What is good now from 30 odd years ago is that the admissions idea of who to accept is not based on school tie or parental background.
Only thing that bothers dd is post uni.
She’s been to two or her three offer holder days. First was a clear no. Back from insurance, which she really loves and thought the dept were fabulous. They all had individual chats with a tutor and a seminar.
But is wondering whether less prestigious uni means a huge amount later? She really likes idea of civil service fast stream so I guess it’s the sort of area where such things matter to recruiters? Or has that all gone?

[aibutohavethisusername]

How is everyone’s DC now after some time to reflect? DD seems to be happy now and is trying to decide on her form and insurance.

[aibutohavethisusername]

Firm

[Tilly66]

Delurking here as my ds was turned down by Cambridge for a humanities subject. He seems fairly OK about it now though he said he naturally was disappointed having gone through the whole process. The one thing I have been mulling over is this... Did any of your schools suggest suitable Colleges to apply to. Is that something which many schools do? When I look at the stats I realised that he probably wasn't applying to the best College for his profile. I realise of course that theoretically they scoop up capable applicants from the pool etc etc but does anybody feel that choice of College can improve or worsen chances? Or that some Colleges tend to choose certain schools. Would be interested to hear anybody's thoughts on this...

[Tilly66]

One more question... have any of your schools given their students statistics on their school offers at Colleges for different subjects. For example, our son applied to Classics but his school don't give out details of how many offers they have had for Classics from different colleges at Oxford/Cambridge over the past years. Should schools give out this information so that their pupils can make informed choices?

[sandybayley]

@Tilly66 - Sorry it's been a disappointment for your DS. DS1's school didn't guide him to any particular college but they did say they would dissuade pupils from applying to the same college for the same course (school had about 90 applying for Oxbridge).

As it turns out DS1 was reallocated from one Oxford college to another and also had an interview at a third. He got an offer from the one he was reallocated to.

I don't think you can lose out by applying to the 'wrong' college as both Oxford and Cambridge have processes to share candidates around. In DS1's case I think he applied to a very popular college and got moved elsewhere (randomly selected) to ensure candidates were evenly split between colleges. In his subject (Chemistry) the faculty plays a big part in selection).

[sandybayley]

Oh and I've never seen a list of which colleges DS1's school has previously sent pupils to. I've seen the subjects but not the colleges. I don't think the school publishes such a list.

[Dearover]

Dd's school has a list of colleges & subjects to try to minimise the risk of clashes. They try to avoid having a direct comparison between pupils from the same school & subject if they get as far as an interview. I think they may have intervened if they thought she was applying to a College where there was little hope of a place, but they realise that it's ultimately the student's decision where they would like to spend 3 or 4 years.

[oneteen]

Not sure whether you can read this but there was an article in the Telegraph very recently about schools and it showed which schools sent the most pupils to each college.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/12/revealed-schools-send-highest-number-pupils-every-oxbridge-college/

[Dearover]

There were some surprises in there and it goes to show that the outreach schemes some Colleges run in some areas & schools can reap rewards.

[ofteninaspin]

At DC's school, no advice is given with regards to which Oxbridge college to apply. My DC each chose a college from a shortlist of six on the back of open day visits.
In DD's case, she was interviewed at her choice of college and one other, and was offered at a third (now second year Oxford). DS had two interviews and an offer at his chosen college.
Their school is low key about Oxbridge applications and equally low key about offers. They recognise that their sixth form cohort (of about 200) goes onto many different universities and that Oxbridge isn't the best place for every subject. They also support an increasing number who decide to apply to universities post results.
DD is enjoying her (STEM) course, college and Oxford but readily admits that it would be less intense at one of her other uni choices .