Languages Applicants for 2021 (and 2022) entry

[Tenpastseven]

For those interested and moving over from the St Andrews thread (that became not about St Andrews)

"So yes it’s all totally unfair in terms of provision. I have 0% trust that Boris et al will do anything other than bungle it all at the last minute though, or that they will find any effective way of levelling the field. goes to lay down in darkened room "

Yy!

DS wants exams to go ahead but I really don’t know what’s best. There’s been such variance in teaching across the country, I don’t see how anything could be ‘fair’.

DS is at state sixth form college (after state secondary). He had all online lessons during lockdown#1 (not full timetable though). Then since September 2 x days a week in college and the rest online. He is fairly self motivated but everywhere seems to be so different, I can’t see how any fairness can be determined. He is a really hard worker but who knows.

So after a month of hearing nothing, a flurry of emails last week and DD has been called for 2 interviews - Oxford and Manchester.

Not for the Oxford college she applied for, but still. She's trying to get herself some help from school to prepare for the interviews, the Oxford one will be her very first 🤞

Anyone else have news too? How's it going for you and DCs?

Why does Manchester interview MFL applicants? Just to check your speaking skills?

@TottiePlantagenet

So after a month of hearing nothing, a flurry of emails last week and DD has been called for 2 interviews - Oxford and Manchester.

Not for the Oxford college she applied for, but still. She's trying to get herself some help from school to prepare for the interviews, the Oxford one will be her very first 🤞

Anyone else have news too? How's it going for you and DCs?

Dd had news of an Oxford interview yesterday, also offers from Warwick AAB, Bristol ABB and Cardiff ABB . She's just waiting on Edinburgh, which after Oxford she prefers.

Congratulations to your dd @TottiePlantagenet, great news. Dd has offers from Bristol and Leeds for ABB, and Exeter for AAB with one grade lower for A at EPQ. She also has an interview at Oxford.

Good luck to all the interviewees!

@Greektome No idea why Manchester interviews MFL applicants - I thought it was the norm that most universities interview for most courses? DD2 applying for a STEM course says she won't be interviewed at all, which I thought unusual.

No - interviews are very unusual outside of Oxbridge and medicine.

Congrats to all for the offers and the interviews.

It seems Manchester offer for lots of courses judging from the MN threads.

DS has his MML assessment for Cambridge tomorrow, then 2 interviews next week. Full on! It doesn't look like school has been able to arrange a mock interview for DS but he doesn't seem too concerned about that. There are lots of interviews to watch on youtube apparently.

@Tenpastseven - massive good luck for your ds for tomorrow.

Ds has his assessment tomorrow too, then interviews on the 8th.

Fingers crossed for both of them.

@tenpastseven and @crikeyblimey - my ds had the Cambridge assessment today too, he seems to think it went 'ok'. How did your dc's get on?

It did seem fairly open to cheating to me, as in you could quite easily have a fluent language speaker sitting beside you dictating what to write?? No such luck for ds who only had monolingual me in the house with him .

I really don't know what to think re: exams. My dc's have hardly been affected by Covid this term (touch wood) but a friend's daughter has had 4 weeks off school self-isolating this term already, but has kept up with work at home and the school have been very supportive.

Big congrats to those with Oxbridge interviews and offers from other Unis.

Hi @Vargas. Yes DS seemed to think it went OK too.

You’re right that anyone could have sat it on their behalf but I guess it would become obvious at interview? Alas no foreign language speakers in this house either, though I was called upstairs with a tone of panic to assist with the upload which wouldn’t recognise the file he’d created. Unfortunately I am not blessed in the technology department either so thankfully DS sorted it out himself. Was a rather tense moment though.

Yes @Tenpastseven re: technology, I am 'Head of Scanning' in our house, so I was called in to action at the end! At least I felt vaguely useful.

I don't envy whoever has to read ds's rather cramped handwriting....

Just a quick comment to say very best of luck to all of your DC over the coming months; and hope they get into their preferred places of study come summer.

And thank you for letting me lurk in preparation for the following year; it’s been really helpful.

Hi @Vargas. DS said it was ‘ok’ too so at least they all think it went the same 🤣

Thankfully no need for tech support at this house so that’s a relief.

Now for the next hoop.

Good luck to everyone.

DS was interviewed for ML at Manchester this year (January when he was in Y13). They don't seem to do offer holder days - you get all that info when you go for the interview (same for other courses too). DS's interview was a little unsatisfactory as his ab initio language was a no show for interview and he wasn't wild about the whole ML department. Didn't end up putting Manchester as either Firm or Insurance.

Manchester was on our list for a bit but then another parent told me that her older dc was there doing MFL, but there'd been some fairly substantial changes to the department due to budget cuts and she wouldn't recommend it. Obviously this is one opinion, I don't know if anyone else has heard similar. Anyway, we eventually left it off our list because ds wanted a campus university.

‘Head of scanning’ 😂

Manchester was never on DS’s list.

Well done to your dc @Tenpastseven, @Crikeyblimey and @Vargas for getting through the Cambridge assessments yesterday! Another hurdle cleared. Interesting how Cambridge are happy for assessments and interviews to take place at home, but Oxford have made it clear that they expect candidates to have interviews in school, unless they are applying independently or there is another good reason their school can't host them. Dd is reasonably happy with the school wi-fi but doesn't know her interview times yet and is worried there won't be enough quiet rooms in her sixth-form bubble for her and anyone else who has an interview on the same day.

Thanks @NiamCinnOir. Yeah it is interesting how they are approaching things differently. When is your DD's interview? Does she have 2?

@Tenpastseven It's quite interesting to see the different approaches O and C are taking - I guess they're trying to navigate their way around 'unprecedented times', just like everyone else in the country! DD has been told she will have two interviews next week, between Mon and Thurs, but hasn't been told exact times yet. If she's pooled to another college she'll have more interviews the following week, and they've said they'll let her know about additional interviews by 2 pm next Friday. At this point, she would just like to know definite dates and times. Does your ds have two interviews as well, and has he been sent confirmation of the times yet?

Oh that must be a bit unsettling for her. I hope she hears soon.

Yes DS has 2 interviews, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. He was given the times and zoom links when he was first invited to interview.

School have managed to organise a mock interview for him on Monday. Busy week!

Great, @Tenpastseven, having the two interviews with a day’s break in between sounds good. Dd was told today which rooms were available for her and the other interview candidates to use. There are only a small group of them but there also aren’t many private rooms at school and she had visions of having to do her interview in a broom cupboard

Yes you are right actually @NiamCinnOir. I had been seeing it as a bit of a extended ordeal but I like your angle on it better.

DS is happy to be doing the interviews at home and so of course I'm happy too but I do worry about the 'tech'. You'll let us know when her interview slots come through won't you? They'll have to let her know tomorrow surely if they are next week? Are they with the college she applied to? It seems a different system at Oxford where they get pooled/re-assigned pre-interview.

Really hoping for confirmation of interviews tomorrow, @Tenpastseven, as she could potentially have one on Monday . They are with the college she applied to, but she could also be pooled to another college after the first interviews ... or not. We’ll see!

Good luck to your ds for his mock interview too!