Oxbridge Aspirants 2021 - New Thread (2)

[Baaaahhhhh]

Sorry posted last message on the last thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3757768-Oxbridge-Aspirants-Sep-2021

Here is the new one......

@goodbyestranger

Ironically, Teddy Hall's intake exactly a decade ago was to an extent (aurally at any rate) dominated by a group of uber posh sounding boarding school girls! I was even at a dinner where their voices reverberated over everyone else's!

How funny. These things must go in waves! It was going through a very rugby period then

@Revengeofthepangolins sadly those kind of army scholarships are not not available anymore due to changes in funding.

It means there's much less chance military children will get any kind of stability in schooling 😔

Due to work we have moved so much and have financially ruined ourselves in the process of trying to create that kind of stable schooling.

After a lot of 'will I or won't I's' DD got her application in on Friday for medicine at Oxford. It was the thought of having to do the BMAT that was putting her off, but at the last minute, did a couple of past papers and decided they were more manageable than she imagined.
She is from a school with very low Oxbridge applicants, I can think of 2 in the past 7 years, so not much of a school prep team, but a very encouraging principal.
So, here we go....

Can I join

Dd got her application in last week - she's applying for Oxford joint MFL and English lit which I think may only have 2 places if I've read correctly, so it really is a long shot.
She's another one with a Bristol offer of ABB and is delighted.

Revenge my neighbour went to Teddy Hall in the sixties and a friend in the seventies. The rugby is a constant through the decades, and ongoing!

Yes military DC get a hard time. Our army moves certainly didn't coincide with school years. I'd have hoped things would have improved in the past twenty years, but it doesn't sound that way.

Dd also got her UCAS form in last week, with a bit of last-minute stress over school references. She’s applying for MFL at Ocfird too, @fabtasticmrpox, and it’s definitely a long shot, but a chance she wants to take. She’s also applied for Bristol, but no offers yet. Looking ahead to the admissions tests in the first week of November which seem scarily close.

@ChimneyPot, good luck to your dad with her multiple applications. In another life, TCD would have been dd’s preferred choice, but being a U.K. resident puts it wildly out of reach sadly.

Welcome all newcomers. It all starts to get exciting now. Hopefully offers will start coming in, Exeter seem speedy, and I think Bristol and Bath.

So, I think next step (for Oxford) is we get contacted by colleges to provide written work? I think they acknowledge your application and ask for the written work at the same time? Then the various papers.... then we wait....

Does anyone have any experience of being placed 'on hold' by Bristol? My DD has received notification this week that she has been assessed as passing the requirements for an offer, and has been put on hold. She has well over the required predicted grades, and if as someone else has said earlier, they don't even read the PS at this stage, I'm wondering whether any evaluation has gone into the decision yet?

@Baaaahhhhh Dd has had an acknowledgement from the university for her application but not from the college. I’m assuming that the college request the written work and specify how many pieces and the format, but can’t find any other information than that. Website says deadline for written work to be submitted is 10 November, week after the admissions tests.

@Summer15coming

Does anyone have any experience of being placed 'on hold' by Bristol? My DD has received notification this week that she has been assessed as passing the requirements for an offer, and has been put on hold. She has well over the required predicted grades, and if as someone else has said earlier, they don't even read the PS at this stage, I'm wondering whether any evaluation has gone into the decision yet?

It differs by subject so the not reading the personal statement relates to certain subjects. Which subject is it? Although she has achieved the standard offer there may be limited places and the number of early offers already made at her grade level already made. If you look at the subject and then admissions criteria by subject you may get more of an idea.

[quote NiamCinnOir]@Baaaahhhhh Dd has had an acknowledgement from the university for her application but not from the college. I’m assuming that the college request the written work and specify how many pieces and the format, but can’t find any other information than that. Website says deadline for written work to be submitted is 10 November, week after the admissions tests.[/quote]
They may potentially wait until after 15 October until all applications are in before asking for this.

@NiamCinnOir

Dd also got her UCAS form in last week, with a bit of last-minute stress over school references. She’s applying for MFL at Ocfird too, *@fabtasticmrpox*, and it’s definitely a long shot, but a chance she wants to take. She’s also applied for Bristol, but no offers yet. Looking ahead to the admissions tests in the first week of November which seem scarily close.

@ChimneyPot, good luck to your dad with her multiple applications. In another life, TCD would have been dd’s preferred choice, but being a U.K. resident puts it wildly out of reach sadly.

@NiamCinnOir I figured you had an irish connection. In what way is TCD out of reach? U.K. resident students are still treated as home students in Ireland for college applications and fee purposes even after Brexit.

Really, @ChimneyPot? I was born and brought up in Ireland and my extended family still live there. Dd has dual Irish/British citizenship but has never lived in Ireland, so I thought would be subject to international student fees, post Brexit. I’d also heard that it was very hard for someone with 3 A levels to meet the admissions criteria, but maybe I’m wrong about that too. Off to do some more research ...

Definitely certain about the fees thing. It was one of the first things agreed between Ireland and UK, no international student fees in either direction. Very relevant for us with DD looking at U.K.

I don’t know about the 3 A levels though.

I thought they wanted 4 A levels...

Interesting about UK/Ireland academic fees. I've clearly been looking in the wrong place! It looks as though an EPQ will also be considered (treated as an AS level) if you only have 3 A levels.

I think it depends on the course in Trinity. The most highly sought ones 4A* s might be needed but lots of others only seem to need 3 A levels. Depending on the subject it could be as low as BCC.
But it is a different system in Ireland. Offers are not made until after the results come out in August and whether you get an offer depends on the grades of the other people who applied for the course. There is no subjective element such as personal statement or references. You just list your top 10 preferred courses in order of your choice.

Delinking - FD’s application went in last night, wants to study Biology and has put down Oxford, York, Lancaster, Bath and Warwick.
It’s like some kind of medieval takeover plan!!!! She’ll be first generation if she gets in and has predicted AAA and already has an A* for her sociology AS conversion (not that it will count much I presume for that subject)

FD? Dd!

@Seeitsortit. Love the thematic university choosing system

Found this whilst googling away. It's a good summary of courses at Oxford, based on 2019 and how decisions on applicants were made and test marks etc www.charterhouse.org.uk/uploaded/MainFolder/News/HE_and_Careers_News/Oxbridge_Admission_statistics_updated_April_2020.pdf

Thanks, calculatorqueen. But... eeeeek!!! The odds are not good for DD’s subject

@IrmaFayLear I hadn't realised that different courses had different score cut offs for the TSA and the decision to interview. DS is doing PPE and he needs to score highly

PPE is always a competitive one, so I suppose the test cut-off is set high accordingly.

Dd was told today to book a mock interview. Seems to be jumping the gun somewhat, but I suppose by the time they find out if they have an interview, there’s not much time to practise. I had to tread the treacherous line with dd of sounding encouraging whilst murmuring about there being thousands of applicants and the test will be tough etc etc.