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......

Congratulations to everyone whose child got offered a place. It does feel comforting but it is complete madness that it is only October and lots of unis won't even be offering until end of January or later. So it will be a wait for the rest.

Ds just preparing for the next hurdle which is the 5th November test. He keeps saying one step at a time. Meanwhile I am most impatient.

I/my daughter didn't know anything at all about which unis offer early or late, @Revengeofthepangolins, but you're right, it's a good thing to keep in mind if you're deliberating.

@Summer15coming. And no use as a tip at all if one doesn’t happen to fancy Bristol or Exeter. But I will try to remember this and any other lessons for next time

@Baaaahhhhh - noticed from up in the thread that your DD is applying to Worcester - same here for DS and for similar reasons - outside space (he likes to run) and kitchen facilities (loves cooking). Obviously knows he may get pooled, but would be happy to get an offer from any college TBH.
Has your DD decided on the written work to submit? DS has been going over this too and has opted for something recent in case he has to discusss it at an interview later.

LaundryFairy Not yet. She doesn't have much written/marked work tbh. It's proving quite difficult. They did work over the summer term, but it was all on-line, so marked there, rather than on paper. So those are not available. Also one of her teachers left, and therefore their files have been wiped, which pissed me off actually...... She does have some marked essays on Tudor topic but not her favourite. I think she is going to go for an essay written just before lockdown, on Russia, which is a particularly interesting topic for her. Not a top mark, but still good, and something she can talk about in depth.

She was going to sort it out before half term, but last week was a bit crazy, so now we are in half term. I think she has now emailed it to one of her teachers, to help decide if it is good enough. If not, I think she will have to submit a Tudor one, and just live with it.

@Baaaahhhhh sounds like the Russian essay is a good choice if she enjoys the topic.

Another one delurking to join the thread. DD has had an offer in from Leeds for History and has also applied to Oxford, Bristol, and UCL. Congrats to those who have had offers already, it was a relief to have an early one! Big wave to all the aspiring History applicants :)

Hi Eastisup! Congrats on your DD's offer from Leeds!

Some Oxford colleges barely discuss the written work for History - the format of the interviews is very college dependent. If the college applied to barely uses the essay at interview then a 'better' essay has more value, whereas if it's a college where one of two interviews are devoted to the subject of the essay then a less good essay on a subject you're more enthusiastic about would be the way to go.

Another late joiner to the thread. DD also applying for History at Oxford and with an offer from Exeter too.
Baaa - DD too is struggling with written work to submit. They just don't have anything really that was marked since lockdown and she thinks her early work is not good enough - she's improved so much since first term of L6th. They are now doing coursework so nothing from this term to submit. Only option at the moment is her deferred Summer exam (actually taken in Sept when they went back). Think she would have preferred to send in a piece that wasn't written under tight timed conditions. Just trying to decide which essay from the exam she would prefer to talk about should she get an interview.

Hi. Can I join you? DD has applied to Oxford for Earth Science.

Thank you for the timetable @summerlovinn. Its suddenly nearly upon us. Very scary!

Have just read through the thread and am a little worried about DS's college choice. She was lucky to have been to the Oxford open day and really liked Teddy Hall. She's definitely not posh though and is worried about that aspect. Hope she hasn't made the wrong choice. Too late now though.

@whiteroseredrose I went to Teddy Hall and still have vague contact with it (constant fund raising attempts and a couple of alumni dinners). It really really isn’t a posh college. A highly impecunious college, yes, and quite a hearty one, but really not posh. Don’t worry.

Goodness me, it’s history central here! Nice to see an earth scientist to spice things up bit .

I am so impressed that candidates find their way to these other, less obvious subjects. Would love to know how that came about @whiteroseredrose

@revengeofthepangolins (love your name). DD watched a series of documentaries about volcanoes and tsunamis when she was about 7 and has been fascinated ever since.

Earth Sciences is only less obvious if you're more History inclined!

Leaving aside posh - and posh is taking a bit of a hit generally in Oxford atm - Teddy Hall is a really good college to be in. Lots of students on a small footprint = very sociable. It's one notable issue these days is its completely crappy accommodation, especially for third years (second years live out, so not relevant, and first years live in blocks which are no worse than Magdalen's Wayneflete and markedly better than Queen's Florey (now abandoned, just - too mouldy even for students!)).

Another one who's been lurking - DS is a History applicant (Oxford).

@Revengeofthepangolins

My DD was almost another History applicant until she decided mid-year last year to veer off into the related field of Archaeology and Anthropology. I would guess it's a less obvious choice for some, but maybe as a History mum you wouldn't agree?

The way it happened for my daughter was that she had gone back and forth between two of her A level subjects, History and English Lit, before landing on History. But I could tell that her heart wasn't singing about it - there was just a lack of spark there. So that's when I started to encourage her to think off-piste. A&A immediately just made sense for her, and the spark is back!

Exciting to hear all these offers. Congratulations.

DS has just received an attainment offer from Birmingham CCC for economics. He really liked it when we visited and I think it could be his firm choice if he doesn't get in at Oxford. As a failed Oxford PPE applicant (post results) from 30 years ago he could end up following in my footsteps, both DH and I went to Birmingham.

“ Earth Sciences is only less obvious if you're more History inclined!”

I guess by less obvious I mean subjects which don’t exactly track to A levels, so Earth sciences, metallurgy, anth and arch, norse, human sciences etc And am loving the “how they got there” glimpses.

I can totally relate to that history vs english / where’s the spark story - it is easy to drift into assuming one will study something at university because of it being the strongest subject for years at school, but sometimes that isn’t enough, or can just sweep a student along, feeling inevitable. (I have a year 10, so trying to be aware of this for him).

Although presumably some of these course choices present issues for other selections on the Ucas form , PS drafting etc?

"Although presumably some of these course choices present issues for other selections on the Ucas form , PS drafting etc?"

It certainly reduced the number of potential universities that she could apply to - even making it clear cut that it had to be Oxford rather than Cambridge. Which was a shame, as she was more familiar with Cambridge through HE+, summer school etc. Other than the 5 she has applied to, all with very similar expected grades, there were only a few more that she could have considered.

Hi and can I say congratulations on all these offers going on in the last few days. Still nothing here.

On that note, has anyone had an acknowledgement from Durham. DS says he’s had 4 emails from them today , but all promotional stuff - like “See you soon..,

He’s starting to wonder if there’s been an admin problem or something because was there not something about Durham giving the option of an alternative PS? Might there be a deadline for this from receiving your PS? He might need to do that as he put no sports /music etc on his PS. But also, I think someone might have said on here that Durham don’t do this anymore?

He had to do an new/ adapted PS for Bath as well as it’s he’s applied different course title there, but that was fine and dusted over a week ago.

Apart from that, he has one essay ready to go and he’s also submitting a section of his EPQ which he will send to the teacher to put some comments on as one essay needs to be “marked” apparently. Cambridge have changed the cover sheet so that students can fill it in and sign it themselves, not the teachers - probably because of school closures!

@quest1on. Durham substitute PS is all a bit of mystery, as I know some people said they don’t do it any more or at least not for all courses. I told my son to have a dig around and he found this webpage
www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/ucas/personalstatement/substitute which purported to allow one to upload a substitute and said that it had to be done within 3 day’s of getting an acknowledgment of the application. He did get such an acknowledgement within a week of when we think his form went in. Whether this is the right place and whether it worked, I don’t know.

I don’t know what else he has had from them , in fact I probably ought to kick him to go and check if anything else university has come in as he seems to read his school email weirdly rarely , and inattentively.

Thanks pangolin. DS’ form went in late September. He heard back from Cambridge and LSE on the day and Bath was quick too. UCL was last week, I think. Did your DS bother doing a substitute PS?

I’m sure Durham are just slow, but wouldn’t you think they would just have an automatic system for acknowledgements.

Delurking here. Ds has applied to do maths, got a conditional offer for Queen Mary AAA to do an Msci, he's very keen and very happy. It's all rather real, and I'm starting to accept he really is almost an adult. Not heard from any of his other choices.