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......

@quest1on He did submit one but it was t madly different from his other one so am not madly anxious if he did t do it right. He’s applying for history so not a different Durham course

Interested that your child has heard from UCL - he didn’t hear from them initially. Must ask him

Dc had an acknowledgement from Durham (saying thanks for applying) the day after putting in ucas form. Nothing since .

Great news gindinner

DS received an acknowledgement from his college yesterday. With the TSA coming up in a couple of weeks, it's starting to feel very real. We need to have a real focus on the TSA this week with it being half term. He's had so much college work and draft history coursework deadline, he's not really done as much prep as he would have liked.

Oooh! DD has had a request for her portfolio from one of her non-Oxbridge choices, so maybe that will move a little faster than expected.

That's exciting, Calculatorqueen - DS is still waiting to hear from his college.

It is a lot for them to handle at the moment isn't it? I have the feeling half term is going to fly by with all of the course work, mocks revision and HAT prep to do.

We had a chocolate cake treat last night to celebrate having made it to half-term with no more 14 day self-isolations. There's always some excuse for chocolate cake isn't there ?

DD however said "It's not really a half-term holiday though mum, for me it's a 9 day long study period". She's desperate to follow up her UCAT results with a good BMAT score. I'm to get her up before I go to work each day apparently and make sure she's breakfasted and at her desk too. Seems very little to ask in return for her studying and getting in plenty of BMAT practice. I myself sort of drifted through O Levels and A Levels, eventually getting my just deserts for not taking the A's seriously enough, so to see her so self-motivated is comforting as I recall all the Oxbridge types from my cohort were like that and just had a maturity about them that not all 17/18 year olds do.

We will be pumpkin carving next week if just for a bit of light relief (if we can get some cheap pumpkins locally). I might do one with "BMAT" carved out of it to make her laugh as it seems a scary prospect right now.

H (we are separated) was a casualty of Covid in that he was made redundant so money is tighter than it was. In a way it's helped financially not having Uni open days to fund travel & expenses for since March and presumably all interviews will be held online too.

Some pupils in DD's circle are getting offers which is a relief for them and spurring them on to study apparently. As she's applied for medicine she has to hope for an interview in the first instance so the light at the end of the tunnel seems further away but they have a little ritual for celebrating each offer received by anyone in the group.

Offers here from Manchester and York (English). AAB for York as she's already got her EPQ, she's very pleased about that as it might be her preferred alternative.

I think DD's also had the Durham acknowledgement followed by advertising material. Also irritated by UCAS messages about things that are no longer relevant (eg a personal statement writing workshop or somesuch).

DD was another English/History waverer, was seriously considering joint honours for a while but when she started looking at course content in detail she realised there were so many things appealing to her in English that she'd regret the choices she couldn't do if she did joint. Her personal statement was woven around literature in its context IIRC.

Durham just confirmed Ds's application, then a separate email say join our Instagram community. Nothing that says see you soon.

I always thought that Durham were one of the absolute last to even make a decision if I remember from last year.

Still waiting for just an acknowledgement from Manchester. They are the last as Ds has had confirmation from everywhere else.

Has anyone tried to access the TSA demo test? When DS has tried to register, it's saying that his e mail address isn't authorised. He's using the same e mail that the link for the test was sent to from Mettl, who are running the test. I'm losing the will to live!

Has anyone got a CCC offer for Birmingham and is if so what subject please? We are mulling Birm but I think the CCC offer would actually be a bit off putting, as it’s not very motivating is it?!

@calculatorqueen

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.

@ClarasZoo above

@ClarasZoo I don't think they dish them out like some other unis have done in the past. From playing around on the calculator on the website you needed pretty much As at GCSE and at least one A prediction at A level. There is always the danger of talking a more relaxed approach to the exams but I think DS might do better because he can get a bit stressed. Of course every child is different. Also I'd only pick an unconditional / attainment uni if it was where you would choose irrespective of the offer.

Also I'd only pick an unconditional / attainment uni if it was where you would choose irrespective of the offer.

Absolutely.

Although a bit of a problem if you would have wanted to go there, save solely for the fact that the university is saying, we would love to have you, to the extent that if you commit to us, we are willing to take the pressure off you a bit.

In that instance, probably best regarded as a potential insurance choice, rather than firm?

I have had fun playing with the calculator- thank you! Clearly not all courses do it though. I don’t think you can bank the CCC for insurance can you, as effectively it is conditional on firming (I think).,,

I don’t think you can bank the CCC for insurance can you, as effectively it is conditional on firming (I think).,,

No, the attainment offer can't be used as an insurance. I meant, if it's putting one's DC off, even if only the one thing which is, then having the university as insurance takes away the disincentive of knowing that they have the temptation to get sub-optimal A levels, but still offers the opportunity to go to a university that they liked otherwise, iyswim. But that's not a lot of help, either, if the normal offer is higher than one's other options, of course...

Seriously, if I would like to firm Birmingham, for the university, location and course, I would go ahead and do it, try to put the safety net out of my mind and if necessary, put sticky notes everywhere with, Remember you need AAA for Birmingham or whatever on them and carry on working.

DS has now submitted his 2 essays for Cambridge application. Oh it feels pretty damn real now and I'm feeling a bit nervous. Mainly if I'm honest because I helped him with the scanning and uploading on my phone which is much better than his, and now I'm petrified I did something wrong and it'll be my fault . A calming cup of tea is in order me thinks.

I have asked on the MML/MFL thread too, but has anyone got any idea how Cambridge are going to approach the usual at - interview assessments? I can't imagine how they are going to sort that logistically. (I fully realise he may not get an interview but can't help imagining the next stage regardless!)

Tenpastseven this will apply to Oxford too but the universities are used to releasing texts etc to students a set time before the interview anyway, so I would assume that they'll be doing this on an industrial scale this year (thus out of three of my DC who applied for Oxford History, two were sent a very long source to read twenty four hours ahead of arrival. If the college in question wants to send something shorter and sharper they could arrange to do it say 30 mins ahead of the relevant interview).

That’s interesting @goodbyestranger. For DS’s subject (MML) it’s usually a written test though (1 hour long). It’s that aspect that for me throws up logistical questions for me too. How will they invigilate to prevent cheating for starters...

I don't really think that there's a material difference between written and oral tests Tenpastseven. All I would say is that anyone who resorts to cheating is almost bound to be caught out by one or other of the various modes of assessment. Also time constraints will make cheating of incredibly little value, even if there wasn't the strong probability of being caught out elsewhere in the process. Essentially I think Cambridge won't be too bothered by cheats, firstly on the basis that cheats are very unlikely to end up being selected and second, on the basis that there probably aren't too many of them about.

That’s reassuring to read @goodbyestranger and makes a lot of sense.

Hello, Just wanted to say 'hi'. My DS is applying to Cambridge to do Computer Science too.
I actually can't remember which college he applied for - except the reason he chose it was because it had a swimming pool
He currently has an A* maths under his belt as at his state school, they do Maths A level in the first year and FM in the second, and is part of the widening participation scheme due to the area we live in.

He has done no revision for the test in November yet (says he'll look at the past papers during half term ) and I have to say the application is a bit of a punt for us, He really wants to go to Birmingham if he doesn't get Cambridge and, after reading all of the posts, I feel a little bit overwhelmed at the amount of information you all have about the process. I know only what my DS tells me, and that isn't much

Hey @derekthe1adyhamster. Oh don’t be overwhelmed. I think I might just be a bit further down the path than you. I too felt hugely overwhelmed just a very short while ago. But I must confess to rather a lot of looking at the relevant web pages on the Cambridge website for both DS’s college and course.

We don’t know anyone who is applying or has been to Cambridge so are just feeling our way round in the dark too. If your DS has been on a widening participation scheme he’ll be totally in the know and you can chose to sit back I’d say. My DS also had some support as part of a scheme and is totally on it with what he needs to do. I’m just nosy (and a bit neurotic) hence my being on this thread. DS doesn’t know I speak about it with others at all and would probably be horrified. It’s my way of feeling a bit involved (and dare I say pretending something degree of control which of course I do not have).

There are others on this thread who are VERY knowledgable and have had multiple kids go through Oxbridge applications and admissions. It’s great!

Tenpast - well come to your DS for getting the essays in ahead of the deadline. Must be a relief. Can I ask, did they both have to be “teacher marked” ones. DS needs to wait until school opens to get the teacher to write something on a section of his EPQ, so can’t send them off yet. The deadline is the Wednesday of that week, I think.

We also don’t know anyone who has gone thorough this process or what would happen with the interview if he gets one - ie will there be one or two interviews and will they talk about the essays he’s sent at some point? There’s no “at interview” test at his college, but they might well send through some material beforehand. Some colleges do, some don’t. It varies a lot.

I wonder if you do an open application, but get allocated to one of the colleges that require essays (which I think is about seven of them), how they assess your application fairly without the work they request?

Surely the allocation comes in time to send whatever written work is required?