Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-3

[Baaaahhhhh]

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

New Thread !

So if your D C is another without an acknowledgment of the application, I think it is worth prodding just in case

Thank you to everyone for your reassurance. We'll just be patient and wait!

DeRigueurMortis - DS hasn't received a response from Durham (except acknowledgement of application) and is not expecting one anytime soon.

Revengeofthepangolins - DS has only had one offer (his insurance) which is from Nottingham. For info, and to put it into context (re your comments, ) it's neither contextual, post qualification or international.

Ops - I think I meant to reply to @whiteroseredrose re Durham

whiteroseredrose another one here whose DS hasn't heard from Durham yet, but TBH the one he really wants to hear from (apart from Oxford obviously) is UCL.

Congratulations all those with offers! DD just got an offer from Bath (at 21:01!) for ABB! She's ecstatic because she feels like chemistry and maths aren't going very well at the moment- typical catastrophiser- and to have such a lovely insurance offer has really put her mind at ease

My comments were just about Durham offers.

@321zyx

DeRigueurMortis - DS hasn't received a response from Durham (except acknowledgement of application) and is not expecting one anytime soon.

Revengeofthepangolins - DS has only had one offer (his insurance) which is from Nottingham. For info, and to put it into context (re your comments, ) it's neither contextual, post qualification or international.

Sorry - was in response to @DeRigueurMortis to be a bit clearer - My comments only pertained to Durham offers.

DS has had an offer from Exeter for Geography, which is great news as I think his chances for Cambridge are slim. Plus I think Exeter looks like a great course for him and he has applied for the 4yr course with work placement, which Cambridge don’t offer. So that’s 3 offers, he’s very happy.

Congratulations to all with offers and interviews!

Revenge of the pangolins it's been correct for years with Durham that international, post qualification received offers from November, and now contextual offers have been added to that mix. But it's also true that plenty of offers came out in late November/ early December across the board. At our school we've had many, many science offers coming through ahead of Christmas as well as (admittedly not as many) humanities and social sciences including Law.

But with Durham it is fair to say that History, English and MFL seem to be at the back of the queue with offers for UK Y13 applicants.

@goodbyestranger. I am sure that is right about things starting for Durham offers before Christmas, especially for sciences. I guess what I was trying to get at was that with so many of the offers generally coming in New Year, one shouldn’t be on the edge of one’s seat early on as one might be for some other institutions, as that way madness lies

Absolutely right Revengeofthepangolins. I was simply trying to correct the idea - often repeated here on MN - that Durham offers are always after Christmas. Fair to say that there seem to be a lot of posters with DC applying for History, and for History it's almost certainly a good idea to relax :)

That said, things change from year to year, and universities tend not to give warning, but to explain different approaches after the event.

I think it's too tempting to fixate on the examples we read here and wonder why our own DC haven't been picked this time. I know I felt the same way when Bristol offers were rolling in, and DD had specifically been told by them that they wouldn't get to her until 15th January. We need to remember there are thousands of great candidates with long strings of impressive GCSE grades who don't give Oxbridge a second thought. If admissions departments want to weigh up everyone before making offers, we shouldn't see it as a rejection or a slight. It's just the way things are.

Well done to your ds @Vargas My dd also has an offer from Exeter. She has a few concerns about the uni though as I posted above. She has heard that it's very white/elitist and has a somewhat toxic atmosphere. I don't know if there is any truth in this....

Congrats @summerlovinn on the Bath offer and to you @Vargas for Exeter. I’m afraid I know nothing about either of these Unis as DS discounted them both. No idea on what grounds, possibly course related. That’s possibly a question to investigate on TSR though?

@bendmeoverbackwards - I have always heard that Exeter have a large proportion of indy school students and looking in my Times Uni guide I see that the percentage is 34%, the same as Bristol and slightly lower than Durham 38%.

I have friends with children there who are very happy, but tbf they are both white and from independent schools! I certainly haven't heard about a toxic atmosphere, but obviously 2 is a very small sample size...

I have heard terrible things about Warwick too, I guess any Uni can have some bad press? Who has your dd had the information about Exeter from?

Our comp sends loads to Exeter every year. They all seem to love it. Except the hills. Bristol and Durham the same. I think all Unis can have reputations that don't fit everyone's experiences.

I have heard terrible things about Warwick too, I guess any Uni can have some bad press? Who has your dd had the information about Exeter from?

I'm not sure really. She's very good at doing research though and I've just been leaving her to it.

My DS is at Exeter and has been very happy there. His course is great with excellent pastoral cere. He preferred a small city and liked the fact the beaches are nearby and the surrounding countryside.

@mumsneedwine

Our comp sends loads to Exeter every year. They all seem to love it. Except the hills. Bristol and Durham the same. I think all Unis can have reputations that don't fit everyone's experiences.

I always enjoy the hills comments on Exeter. I picture panting teens slumped on benches all over town.

Says she who hasn't ever been there, of course.

Has anyone any experience of alternative offers? Not contextual?

Ds's Durham offer has 3 sets of grades.
So standard entry is A* AA

he has "conditions of offer" AAA including maths OR
"alternative conditions" A* A including maths and B.

And "alternative conditions, you are eligible for a contextual offer" if you make Durham your first choice. Your reduced offer will be AAB.

I have never come across the 2 non-contextual offers before. Is this something new for this year or it is usual to have AAA or A* AB?

I hadn't heard of it before, but that's what DD was offered by Durham too.

Interesting re: Durham. What subjects are those for @onthebenchofdoom and @dahliamacnamara?

@Vargas Computer Science for Ds, @DahliaMacNamara interesting that your DD has one too.