Oxbridge 2020 (8th thread)

[DadDadDad]

A thread to continue discussing entry to Oxbridge in October 2020 (less than nine months away ). All welcome, although this obviously will be of most interest to those with DS or DD holding an offer, and wanting to find a bit of support.

All too soon, 13 August will come over the horizon. Until then, ask questions... share experiences... discuss news and stats... write a poem... (we did briefly have some poetry on a previous thread).

With huge thanks to @HugoSpritz and predecessors for previous threads.

hobbema well obviously DS would never dream of answering a call of nature at school — this was in the context of me asking him to wash his hands to avoid winter bugs etc.

@HugoSpritz It doesn't sound like sour grapes to me. It’s reasonable to want to understand the basis of the decisions made.

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjm5Lzu5qrnAhU9RRUIHaPbA-wQqQIILigAMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Feducation%2F2020%2Fjan%2F19%2Fhow-oxford-university-made-admissions-fairer&usg=AOvVaw0_2IOXUkV99eMhSa37tncM.
@HugoSpritz, doesnt read like sore grapes at all.
The messy link above is about how one Oxford college approached the interviews and tried to make them fairer for disadvantaged applicants. Its an interesting read.
I’ve seen the 30/30/30/10 thing on here before for Oxford. I’ve not seen similar for Cambridge.
I get the sense that some transparency about giving say xpoints or % uplift for contextual flags would help ?
Do the other elite universities ( with worse disadvantaged access figures and opaque admission processes , yes Durham!!) face a fraction of the scrutiny... they dont appear to

You absolutely don't seem a sour grapes type of person Hugo. But a couple of us did mention a sea change in Oxford admissions for this year in a much earlier thread and no-one really noticed. I linked to the Guardian article in the last thread but when I read it I have to say it didn't go into a huge amount of detail, was my take from it. But genuinely, I can't see that independents have any particular right to know about the exact details, and I can't see that if they did, that they'd change very much in their approach. That is all said with a second very big caveat about lack of sour grapes on your part.

I find those HAT scores interesting though - and that's after contextualisation? (presumably it is. 34 is excellent but then the applicant clearly fell short at interview so on balance....).

I would guess that the worst affected will be the less good independents because my understanding is that all independents regardless of results are in a particular category for contextualisation. I may possibly have got that wrong, but I don't think so.

It was no co-incidence that the Guardian article appeared after decisions were out. I assume no-one wanted fur flying or indeed independent school applicants to be unfairly wobbled ahead of interviews.

I think the idea of potential in the context of privilege is a very good phrase.
There was a follow up article in the guardian about indie sector heads moaning about ‘discrimination’.
That made me v cross. Interesting that they are beginning to realise that one enormous marketing tool and justification is being stripped away from them ie offering a pathway towards Oxbridge. I wonder as the contextual understanding beds in whether it will be Oxbridge that finally sounds the death knell for private education?

There is a free STEP course being run in SE London - for more details see www.cityacademy.co.uk/step-maths-course-at-cola/227.html

(I know nothing about it, so cannot comment on quality etc!)

@littleslummygirl - I don't think so. Our decision to educate 3DC privately wasn't based on any notions of Oxbridge access.

I think it will mean more kids from top indies applying to the US. If HAT tests etc are being contextualised by a metric that lumps all private schools and the kids that go there together and treats them as being equally privileged then why would anyone at a private school even waste their time in applying to Oxford? If the bar these pupils now have to get over at HAT and interview is now so stratospherically high that the chance of success is practically zero then who would want to put their DC through that. There are however other forms of privilege that an approach as un-nuanced as just banding schools will never pick up on. Be interesting to see what next year’s applications look like.

I've just been looking at the booklet for this course, and I have found some issues with the advice on page 3 (which is as far as I have got...)! I am going to proved feedback...

Anecdotally I genuinely dont think the primary motive for most parents choosing private education is to achieve an Oxbridge place ! It wasnt for us or any parents I know.

I agree, I believe there are a small number of parents who choose to go private, and indeed choose which private school, on that basis and my guess is any decent Head wouldn’t be sad to see them go 😂

I just think you have to go into it absolutely knowing your child and how they would react. A rejection comes 5 months before A levels and can really knock the confidence of a lot of kids, especially if the parents are over-invested and don’t really know what their kids are up against so an application is not without a cost. DS2 doing gcse’s this time but even if he meets his predicted grades he says will be giving Oxford a miss. Might apply post A level but that’s up to him and at the moment he says he just doesn’t want the grief when the chances are so slim. Also has had brother at Oxford for 5 years and seem the reality so not in love with it thank God!

My younger DC weren't in the least put off by the experience of their elder siblings (now a combined total of twenty two Oxford years) so I guess the latter had a different reality to your DS Pyjamawriter!

It's very hard though. My ds started off very relaxed about it, but the further on in the process he went the more he wanted a place. I distinctly remember him saying he would be OK if he didn't get an offer as long as he had the chance to interview. He came back after the interview saying he would be gutted if he didn't get an offer. These kids really put themselves out there and that's very brave of them.

Definitely agree that my advice, if ever asked, would be that the mental fortitude to face being knocked back is as important as having intellectuall abilities. DD got her detailed post-interview back. She is now in the process of having a huge rethink re course in general - she went for joint honours course everywhere but is thinking whether to go for single. Meanwhile, the one person she does know who has got an offer is now really, really working and panicing re meeting the grades.

www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2020/01/30/private-school-sacrificed-pay-may-reason-son-rejected-oxford/

Does anyone know whether it's possible to accept a deferred offer, but then apply to Oxbridge in the gap year?

You have to withdraw from UCAS Torchlightt - the deferred place would block out a subsequent application.