Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-3

[Baaaahhhhh]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4016760-Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-2

New Thread !

Interestingly MN has been really supportive on this. I had a couple of messages from mums of current students, male and female, who reassured of the current status, and the general feeling was that they had really improved, and neither had experienced or heard of, any bullying of any kind.

@Tenpastseven I don't want to post them all for reasons I privacy I cba to explain but am happy to say his favourite choice after Cambridge is now Lancaster (for Maths)
and the others are RG but he rates the course at Lancaster better.

Personally I think it would really suit him and I'd be thrilled if that's where he went and I think he'd be really happy there.

Tbh I'm really grateful in so far that he feels he's in a good place with a second choice he'd be very happy to go to that's given him a realistic offer (ABB - he's predicted AAAA and catastrophe aside ABB should be well within his grasp).

Cambridge is still first choice but I'm pretty sure he won't feel terrible if it doesn't happen - rather it's a bonus if it does.

The only downside is that accommodation is only guaranteed at Lancaster if it's your first choice (understandably) so on the bright side if he doesn't get an offer from Cambridge that resolves that potential issue.

Thanks so much for those links to articles, they are really reassuring.
Dc did gcses in a very poor performing state school..(for context, the school embarrassingly made it into the 2019 list in the media of “ England’s worst 200 schools” ) Dc got good grades but not all 9s. It’s reassuring to see just how their route to applying is taken into account. Dc remains pragmatic about Cambridge. I think it feels
Dc has been very lucky to receive 2 offers so far from 3rd and 5th choices and is very happy about the 3rd choice offer

Posted too soon! Was going to add that I think dc feels like Cambridge is a bit of a shot in the dark

@DeRigueurMortis Of course, sorry I didn't mean to press for more information that you wanted to give. Apologies.

It's such a pain about the accommodation thing isn't it. I agree that it's a silver lining to a Cambridge rejection after interview.

[quote Tenpastseven]@DeRigueurMortis Of course, sorry I didn't mean to press for more information that you wanted to give. Apologies.

It's such a pain about the accommodation thing isn't it. I agree that it's a silver lining to a Cambridge rejection after interview.[/quote]

It's quite alright .

It's a reasonable question to ask in the context of the thread.

@newgirl Lots of very talented performers and composers at Oxbridge. Often the pattern with very skilled performers seems to be undergrad at Oxbridge and post grad at a conservatoire. For composers it's more mixed some going freelance some going onto further study. Lots of talented people at other Unis too....

Thanks jelly good to hear x

I wonder when Cambridge will tell them when they have an interview? Do you think that there will be fewer offers this year as Cambridge will not want to be caught out on CAGs possibly next year as well? They can't perhaps do their usual over -offer?
Does anyone have a view on deferring? DS college say not to as you have to prove you are good enough this year and also be extra good as you might not beat next year's cohort. Thus they think it means less chance of an offer...

Reportedly the Oxford pre-tests were a bit tougher this year, maybe with a view to giving them more weight?

I can’t imagine Cambridge will over offer ever again! If the same thing happens this year then they simply won’t be able to accommodate the numbers.

The traditional wisdom is that to get a deferred offer you do indeed have to “beat” the cohort. Although colleges state they accept deferrals (apart from Maths and maybe a few other subjects) who they actually agree to let defer is another matter. Unless you are uber confident that you are cohort-beating, I wouldn’t chance it.

@ClarasZoo

I wonder when Cambridge will tell them when they have an interview? Do you think that there will be fewer offers this year as Cambridge will not want to be caught out on CAGs possibly next year as well? They can't perhaps do their usual over -offer? Does anyone have a view on deferring? DS college say not to as you have to prove you are good enough this year and also be extra good as you might not beat next year's cohort. Thus they think it means less chance of an offer...

I've only a personal view on deferring.

I can't really see the point. If we have a vaccine then hopefully things will get back to normal so issues around online learning and the overall Uni experience should resolve.

If we don't what is a student going to do in the COVID economy for their gap year? They can't travel and work experience will be hard to find.

You're then competing against others who've deferred and next year's candidates and arguably next year's candidates may have been less impacted and as a cohort and thus likely to gain better results without having a "wasted" year on their CV.

I really can't see any scenario where it would be a wise choice, unless you're lucky enough to have secured highly relevant work experience for the year which would be a major asset to your application.

@ClarasZoo
i too am a little concerned that, there may be fewer Cambridge offers this year as a precaution in case CAG s become a possibility again.

This coupled with the reported 21% increase in medicine applications (although that is across all Unis) makes me think that the odds against success are higher than usual for DD this year.

I do see online talk of pupils trying again for Oxbridge next year but I thought it as said that both Unis took a dim view of trying for 2 bites at the cherry.

@Ellmau

Reportedly the Oxford pre-tests were a bit tougher this year, maybe with a view to giving them more weight?

It's certainly one of the fairest way to assess students this year.

If I was in charge of admissions, I'd give the admissions test a much greater weighting this year and would give all successful students unconditional offers.

Please ignore post above. Trying to get it removed as it's obviously on completely the wrong thread.

Me too. Obviously if this were always the case then people might be “over prepared” , but as a one-off surprise I’d consider it fair. If dd were unsuccessful, then so be it. Contextualising entrance exams is the daftest thing I’ve ever heard. You might as well contextualise the Olympics and then I could beat Usain Bolt if he had his legs tied together and I was allowed to start on the finish line.

Neither Oxford nor Cambridge (well, Peterhouse as a proxy, couldn't see a 'university' statement, but it may be there somewhere) gives the impression that reapplicants are frowned upon.

uni-of-oxford.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/528/~/can-i-reapply-if-my-previous-application-was-unsuccessful%3F
You are welcome toreapply for entry in the following academic year. Your reapplication will be treated entirely on its own merits without consideration of your previous unsuccessful application.

www.pet.cam.ac.uk/faqs-1
What is your policy on reapplying?

If your application is unsuccessful, you may wish to consider reapplying. In accordance with the Data Protection Act, all information on unsuccesful candidates is destroyed at the end of each admissions round, so no written record of your previous applications is kept should you reapply. We are happy to provide feedback, on request, to unsuccessful candidates, and if you let us know that you are considering reapplication then we can give advice on this too.

A Freedom of Information request and response re Oxford reapplicants for History and its variants, plus PPE, over a recent 5 year period:
www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/statistics_for_re_applicants_for

If I was in charge of admissions, I'd give the admissions test a much greater weighting this year and would give all successful students unconditional offers.

They always used to do that, up to the late 80sish.

I believe that at Camb at least they would have no idea if you reapplied, unless you tried the same college of course and then they would recognise you! I believe Coleoptera twins were both successful reapplicsnts at both O and c....

Both universities say that applicants' details are not kept (they have no reason to keep identifiable data, once they have rejected you and fed back to you the reasons why), so you would start with a clean slate.

Regarding reapplying in the following year...it just goes to show how some schools are not best placed to offer Oxbridge application advice to their pupils.

Oh I do get a bit anxious when I consider that things might be different this year - that they might make less offers, or higher offers, or whatever it might need to be to even things up from the consequences of the 2020 A levels.

But, from overhearing a phone conversation with his Granny earlier today, I don't think DS would reapply if he didn't get an offer this year. He said to her that there would be some relief in not getting an offer as he wouldn't feel he had to work AS hard for his A levels. He said to her that the worst thing EVER would be to get an offer and then miss the grades. I think the fact that his 2nd choice also excites him is a GODSEND.

He said to her that the worst thing EVER would be to get an offer and then miss the grades.

That's interesting.

DS has said his worst case would be not getting an offer after he'd been interviewed.

If he wasn't offered an interview then his personal statement obviously didn't hit the spot with Cambridge but that's ok because it did with the other places he's got offers from (one of which he really likes) - so maybe he wouldn't have been a good fit there.

If he didn't get the grades after an offer (assuming exams happen as normal) then that's on him and he can live with that.

However getting rejected after interview he thinks feels "personal". They didn't like/rate him not just a piece of writing, his grades etc .

I think that my DS feels similar to yours DeRigueurMortis . He is trying not to become to over invested, but I know he would find it very hard being rejected post-interview.