Oxford and Cambridge current students discussion thread

[sandybayley]

Starting a new one as we filled it up!

Can't believe DS1 will be home in 2 weeks. Must remember to adjust the Ocado shop for when he's back. I suspect we may end up with a few days of his favourite meals 😊

Sorry to hear that @OhYouBadBadKitten - the colleges are so frustratingly inconsistent. With DS1 it's a university decision to allow all first year chemists back. If it was left to his college he'd be back next September...

Hi I have just jumped over from year 12 thread. I just need some insight into maths degrees at Oxbridge. My DS is in year 12 doing a levels in maths, further maths, physics and computer science. He is thinking of dropping CS at end of year 12. Would the 3 other a levels be enough for a maths degree at Oxbridge?

Nard yes thats absolutely fine. They are only interested in how they will do in their maths exams, their interviews and the entrance exams.

Some computing experience is helpful for Cambridge when they are there as they have a sort of optional ongoing computing project that counts towards their years marks. But AS computing is more than adequate to cope with that.

Thanks for the replies I don’t think DS school does AS Level so it would mean just dropping the subject . Will speak to the school about this but it is good to know that the other 3 a levels would be fine for the maths degree if at high grades.

The as exam itself isn't needed - just the knowledge is helpful during the actual course if he chooses cambridge.

I'll pm you.

Hi Nard, DS is doing maths at Oxford and in his first year. He didn't do computer science A level and this hasn't been a problem. As Kitten says doing well in the entrance tests is key, plus maths and FM A levels.

My DS is an first year Oxford Maths student - he did no computing at all (though did teach himself some coding during the Spring lockdown).
Oxford Maths offers are standard and based on 3 A levels 2x A* Maths and FM plus A in something else.
DS is doing a Maths for computing project this term but his lack of CS has not hindered him!

Hi Nard75! My colleagues and I normally have a couple of pupils who join Cambridge Maths each year. As @OhYouBadBadKitten says, it's only the Maths which matters. (Some Colleges require a Science, but Physics is fine.)

The 'STEP' papers are used to identify the best of the best. They separate offer holders from those actually accepted. For 2019 entry, only 253 were accepted in August from 541 offers made in January. So the sooner he and his teacher start, perhaps with Cambridge's help, on STEP preparation, the better. This will also help with the problem solving in Interviews.

Thanks to everyone for all their useful advice it has been a big help.

Hi all, delurking (been lurking for the last 18 months - the wise words have been invaluable) to ask about workload and what's 'normal for Oxbridge'. Specifically, NatSci first year.

Bit worried my DS (who is v thorough, but not the speediest of workers) is heading for burnout. He seems slightly overwhelmed rather than majorly stressed. But he also doesn't see any way of cutting back on the very long hours he's doing.

I was wondering how typical this experience is for first years??

Any thoughts?

@GeorgeMichaelsEspadrille - DS1 is a chemist so I can't comment, there are others who will come along to help.

Do you think it is too much work or is he trying for perfection? DS1 is working hard but not all the time. He's always been quite good at judging how much is 'enough' and not doing too much. Unlike DD who has a habit of doing way too much...

DD is working at warp speed and she is doing an "easy" subject. Her Boyf Doing PPE is working seriously long hours. He seems to have at least 4 essays on the go at any one time.

@GeorgeMichaelsEspadrille
DS is first year NatSci, currently studying from home. There is no way of getting around the fact that there is a lot of content. I would estimate that he is doing about 45-50 hours a week at this point in the term.

Half way through last term, he briefly became overwhelmed by the workload. He dealt with it by making compromises until things calmed down. For example he realised that it isn't vital to work through every physics example from each lecture in addition to completing the problem sheets for the supervisions.

He has heard from second years that the content becomes more difficult in quality but less broad in quantity, as the second year has three courses rather than four.

DD realised in her first year there was no room for perfectionism in her Oxford biosciences course. She is involved in university level competitive sport and that helps her to prioritise her time.

GeorgeMichaelsEspadrille, I think NatSci is notoriously known to have a huge workload compared to some subjects and your DS needs to remember how amazingly well he's done to get a place on the course and that they wouldn't have offered this to him if they didn't think he was a good fit - and to try to stop worrying about perfectly keeping on top of things.

Can your DS talk to his supervisors/tutors and flag up that he's overwhelmed? There may be certain aspects of the course where he can be less perfectionistic whilst focusing on other parts of the course? Maybe one of his mentors can say - don't worry too much this year/term about x/y/z and just keep your focus on a/b/c.

It won't help that he's probably not in touch with many students in the second year who might allay his fears and tell him that everyone feels the same at this point with NatSci - but not to worry and he'll be fine and not to overdo things. The lack of possibilities to socialise (and if he's at home like most of our student DCs - then no socialising at all) makes it harder to 'normalise' feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I think there's a huge difference between subjects and sometimes also between colleges about the amount of work expected. DS2 (History, Oxford) has about twice as much work as DS1 (English, Cambridge) but neither seems to need to work anything like 45+ hours a week and DS2 probably works more than twice as quickly as DS1 anyway.

Not the same but might be helpful. DD is doing vet med and they were told they should approach studying like a job. Do 35-40 hours a week. But take time out too - hard this year.

Agree with the comment above - treating academic work as a job. DS (Oxford, physics, studying from home this term) basically does a 9-5. Sometimes he takes the afternoon off to be with friends (which is allowed where we live) in which case he works during the evening. This seems to be working well for him.

dd was a perfectionist in her first year. Making sure she did every question on every example sheet as perfectly as possible. She worked very long hours each day without a break. She couldn't work out how others who put less time in appeared to be doing so well.

In her second year, she realised that it wasn't working for her and she prioritised mental health. She scheduled in more fun and down time. Her results didn't suffer at all and she was much happier.

It's very hard to do that letting go and I think even harder at the moment as Mutterphore says.

DD (History C), doing 45-48 hrs a week( excluding lectures). Too much imo and more than I ever did as a med student. Too little distraction as WfH. Its not healthy, but at least she has something to do.

Thanks all. Certainly sounds like the work/life/health balance is a struggle for many of them. And def not helped by lockdown.

I'll have a chat with him and see if he can identify some areas where he can be a bit less thorough.

He is going out for a few walks/runs and occasional zoom with friends. Just wish he'd spend more time on the xbox .

I think @mutterphore makes a very good point: in normal times there would be second years around who would be able to give tips or allay fears. Or classmates who could help or simply have a moan together. It sounds like it's all work and no play for those stuck at home. If it's any consolation it's not much better in college at the moment. DS is in a sociable bubble so there are having some fun but of course there is no sport or other distractions and he says it's mostly work, work, work.

Yes, my DS (Maths) is working v hard, averages 8-9 hrs daily with Sat off. He is very diligent though, does all the examples and has been working hard on a project. This week he was surprised to finish the weeks work by Friday lunchtime so he has had a bit of a break but is now getting on with next weeks work a day early . I can't ever remember being that diligent. But he seems ok and is banking on having worked hard for 2 terms he'll be back in Oxford being able to take it a bit easier next term.

Yep. Overwhelmed here too (C fresher). Has handed in a lot of essays late, which means they don't always get marked, which is fair enough. Pulled a couple of all-nighters in the first term. Does papers across different depts, so the workload is very erratic. Three essays were due in this week. All you can do is support and encourage them to eat well, exercise and try to get enough sleep.