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

On a side note I do get a certain song in my head when I read your username grin is it Barry and Freda related?

Yes, well spotted! I was a huge Victoria Wood fan and mourn her loss every day

My mum got Woman’s Weekly. Makes me wonder now

I've done my annual name change.... but I think you can guess who I am .

DD just rang after her interview this morning. She seemed pretty upbeat, which I was really happy about. She had a terrible night with IBS and lack of sleep, which was entirely down to anxiety I am sure, as after her interview she feels so much better, of course.

I won't go into too much detail as we have other history candidates on here, but the tutors were really nice, the interview rigorous but fair, and DD felt she did her best and was able to hold her own. Can't ask for more than that. We now wait to see if she gets another interview next week or whether that's it for now.

Good luck to all others today.

LaundryFairy. A particular good luck to your DS this afternoon.

I am on tenterhooks to see if dd gets a further interview. When ds applied he was actually on the spot so I had no idea about his trauma of examining noticeboards and trailing off to other colleges. Well, perhaps he might have texted - I can’t remember - but I didn’t understand the process back then and didn’t realise that they kept on throwing him a lifeline (and he kept throwing it back!).

Yes, I keep luxuriating in feeling that that is everything done for universities now for DS and all he can do is think about others things while waiting to see how his last three Ucas slots play out, and then I remember that one can’t think that until after 11am on Monday (for history) (or possibly tues/weds if called up)

Thanks very much for that, BigWooly - glad it went well for your DD. 'Nice, rigorous and fair' is about as good as anyone can hope for.

DS and I went out for a long walk this morning to calm his nerves. I'll be glad once this phase is done and we can just enjoy Christmas.

Yes, BigWoolly, praying for "nice, rigorous and fair" here too.

Hope it went well for her @bendmeoverbackwards. What a toxic situation to have to deal with. I’d put my money on jealousy too.

I had different worries last night after a tense and grumpy DS behaved outrageously at dinner and a row ensued. I felt we should go easy on him because he’ll be stressed of course, but also couldn’t ignore it completely as his younger brother was also there. He’s very stubborn and is still feeling indignant and cross 🙄. I really hope it doesn’t impact his interview this afternoon. Grrrrr and eeek.

@bendmeoverbackwards what nasty behaviour by her so called friends. FWIW, I would be inclined to have a quiet word with her school.
Absolutely nothing wrong with being a strong character.. Dd is the same.

Oh dear - what a lot of stress.

Dd not very happy - she has been pooled. She says she can’t psyche herself up for another two interviews next week.

Eeek @IrmaFayLear! I can see how she feels like that and I bet *you do too!

Irma she's got a foot firmly through the door then. Is the college she's been pooled to ok as far as she's concerned?

I realize that there's a small risk of a PPH with her subject.

Agree with goodbyestranger.

She has a strong indication that they think she is more likely to be Oxford material than not, unlike many other interviewees who just have to wait until Jan to see if they're going to get an offer.

How badly does she want to get an offer there ?

She’s been pooled to somewhere nice. But she’s very deflated and focusing on everything she did wrong in the two interviews she had and says they are bound to ask questions again on something she hasn’t read. I hope they do that with everyone. It seems a bit off to keep asking about eg the Wasteland when the candidate has not read it nor mentioned it at all.

If any of your or your kids haven't had a look at the you tube video on Oxbridge interviews - mock interviews, reflections on rejections, tips from admission tutors - they are not necessarily testing your knowledge in the interview. How do you react to the unknown? Can you think on your feet? Can you articulate an argument?

Irma I agree it's a positive that she's been deemed worthy to share!

DS has just finished his interview in 2nd college - we're looking at it as a bonus interview (thanks Goodbye for the optimistic perspective) and think you should do the same.

DS's interviews across 2 colleges were not at all similar. She'll never have the same interview twice, so best to treat the next one as if it were her first.

Thanks ! Onwards and .... onwards.

DS has just finished and is convinced he didn't do as well as he'd hoped, although he said that the tutors were nice and encouraging. He felt like he didn't have answers they were looking for sometimes... now we wait to see if there are any more to come.

@IrmaFayLear it probably is the shock of it and some degree of anti-climax. I think once she has had the weekend to get used to the idea, she may feel differently. It’s tough isn’t it? You want to be there for them and encourage them, but you don’t want to be pushy either.
I say give her a bit of time. If she wasn’t good enough, she wouldn’t have been pulled. It would’ve been an outright rejection in January.
So I say, she is still in with a good chance

@Tenpastseven, big hugs to you. Yes I find boys especially ( sorry to generalise), quite often find it difficult to channel their energies in stressful situations. You are right, you have to set a good example and precedence for DS2. Hope he has calmed down. Wishing him the best at his interview. He would probably feel different afterwards.

@LaundryFairy, all the best to your DS

Thanks @WarmAndco3y . This really is quite a hard process for them to go through and not for the faint-hearted!

pooled
It seems my predictive text doesn’t like this word

Thanks @WarmAndco3y. He's thawing a little now with 20 minutes to go. I thought I'd be less nervous this time round. What a fool was I!

@IrmaFayLear sorry to hear she's feeling so despondent about it. I can imagine it's hard to gear herself up to go again. As warm has suggested, she maybe needs the weekend to regroup. Is there someone suitable to give her a pep talk?

Can someone (possibly not Irma who will have bigger fish to fry) explain to me how @FrauFreud and Irma's situation differs? Both have been given extra interviews at different colleges. How do they know if it's pooling or standardisation? Are they told directly? And presumably they don't do another round of pooling in January then? That is why they are sending out offers before Cambridge this year?