Oxbridge Interviewees for 2021 Entry - The Journey Continues - Thread 5

[Baaaahhhhh]

New Thread from old one:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4088426-Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-4

Also, it seemed to work back in the day when they offered EE, is there any reason to suppose that might not work this year?

@bendmeoverbackwards my DS wants them to be cancelled too, but only because he hopes to get predicted grades in that case! Unconditional offers would be excellent though. Not sure there is much likelihood of that happening.

I’m not sure unconditional offers are the answer either. Think some students may get complacent and not put much work in between now and the summer just before embarking on a tough university course.

I very much doubt they’ll do unconditional offers. It wouldn’t surprise me though if they add an extra A* to any offers made to those who are in high-achieving schools or schools that have experienced minimal disruption.

I won't be surprised if unconditional offers are awarded..... in this very unpredictable year, anything could happen. I think it is perfectly feasible for candidates to be judged on their achieved grades and interview performance.

In the days of EE offers, there were separate Oxbridge entrance exams (one paper in each subject, IIRC, 3 hours each), as well as interviews.

If you didn't do the entrance papers, then offers were conditional (and high - including S levels).

By comparison, the colleges just don't have the same level of information about this year's candidates.

Boris is now acknowledging that there are doubts over the reopening of schools in January. This feels like March all over again!

Yup @Jano69. That's what the Imperial peeps were saying this morning. It seems this strain spreads 'well' amongst children and that this could explain the recent surge in numbers. They seemed pessimistic about a return to school in January.

I hadn't remembered that @cantkeepawayforever. Yes, unconditional or EE offers seem highly unlikely/impossible then. Sigh.

Tenpastseven I was a member of the cohort that had to do 4th term exams rather than 7th term, which was taken for the final time when I was in what is now Y12.

I thought I had forgotten all the details, but they have come sharply back into focus now DD is applying!

I dodged the 4th and 7th term exams but had to get a 3A offer, I seem to remember (back in the days well before A* grades when it were all fields round ‘ere).

DS really doesn’t want exams cancelled. It seems like we are headed for another ‘proper’ lockdown so it may be inevitable. I really don’t envy the government now, it is a very challenging task, making all these decisions. With the vaccine, one would hope there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the question is how long is the tunnel?
What a year it has been!

I wouldn't worry too much about the "government". Covid is primarily a money-making opportunity to them.

DD is the same, @WarmAndco3y. It brings the pressure forward, really, trying to stay at the top of the pile all the time in case of ranking and rationed A* grades. She'd rather just sit the exams and feel she actually earns the ones she gets.

@cantkeepawayforever

In the days of EE offers, there were separate Oxbridge entrance exams (one paper in each subject, IIRC, 3 hours each), as well as interviews.

If you didn't do the entrance papers, then offers were conditional (and high - including S levels).

By comparison, the colleges just don't have the same level of information about this year's candidates.

I think the point is though that the A Level grades will also not give very much information, or at least, not much RELIABLE information; they may only reflect how much each student has been able to be in school.

Dd would rather do the exams too, but in any sort of race or ranking, it is so important to ensure that everyone has a fair shot - and that is just not the case. There are schools I know where in some subjects Y13s are not in more than 50% and even then aren't in subject specific rooms - subjects like art/science/music are bound to suffer - and you have to remember that the way grade boundaries work is that proportions, however they are drawn, are fixed, and will benefit most the students who have had least disruption.

To put it simply - if you were offering places based on how fast each student could run 100m, and you discovered the stopwatches were all faulty, you wouldn't continue to offer places based on those unreliable times...

Looking at how the cases are surging at the moment, I can see schools being closed again for all year groups.

Just popping in to say "Happy Christmas Eve" everyone, and have a very "Happy Christmas Day" tomorrow. Hope you are all snug in your Xmas bubbles, and your turkeys have arrived. We went for a lovely long walk across very muddy fields this morning, but it is cold and crips and sunny here, so feel so much better for that...... sad we couldn't pop into the pub half way round though :-(

Anyway, best wishes to all, and hoping for a slightly better 2021.

DD was asked to interview by a US college in December 26th.
She asked could they reschedule.

Happy Christmas Eve! In the list of things to be grateful for in the midst of a very difficult year, our amazing DC must surely be near the top. So a to us and all our DC tomorrow! Hope you have a lovely Christmas.

I know it's Christmas Eve and everything (Happy Christmas!!) but I have a bit of a 'what would you do?' situation!

My daughter began an EPQ on a subject that really interested her, but she has found that it has really taken up time that she didn't have. She could work flat out over the holiday to get it finished, but I'm really quite concerned about her health as she's exhausted (she has a serious medical condition). She has all her other 4 offers in, and none of them are dependent on the EPQ, so there's no worry there, but could there be any negative consequences of her dropping it, especially in relation to Oxford, since they know she's started it? I know they don't base offers on it, but is the fact that it was on her application a problem?

@Summer15coming I’m a fan of the EPQ, but in the circumstances you describe, I would advise your dd to drop it and concentrate on rest and revising for her A levels instead. Oxford base offers on A levels or equivalent, not on EPQs and they won’t be interested in the outcome.

Happy Christmas everyone! I am raising a glass to you all and to your amazing dc this evening

25th January feels like a loooong time away!

Feeling kind of flat about it all now. The optimism of feeling DD had done well at both the exam and the interviews has been replaced by the reality that if she didn't find the process excessively challenging, it'll be the same for many more applicants than there are places. And anecdotally, it seems to be quite random anyway.
Too soon to be letting ourselves down gently?

Someone gets the places Dahlia. Last year I had a detailed report which explained the scoring systems & what.they were looking for. I've attached a couple of screenshots. Don't give up hope yet.

www.charterhouse.org.uk/news/news-detail/~board/he-careers-news/post/oxbridge-admissions-stats-revised

Found it.

The acceptance rate at Oxford and Cambridge is really good, compared with other top universities.
Getting into one of the French Grandes Ecoles is massively tougher. And the acceptance rate at Stanford is around 4%. The acceptance rate at China's top scientific university (Tsinghua) is under 2% for Chinese students.