Oxford Cambridge 2021 Thread 6

[Chocomel]

Hopefully this is in the right place?

@TheStenchofTruth is Durham a party uni? My dd is def not a party animal, don't think she has looked properly as was set on cambridge so sort of rushed her other choices but was happy to have had offer from Durham.

Durham can be a party uni but only if that's the choice you make. what college and what subject?

Like others don't know what DS's offer is.

They said they'd follow up with that so we easily see higher than "standard" come through.

what is standard for natsci?

Just popped on to offer congratulations and commiserations on todays offers.

DD is currently filling in an application for a gap year programme at an Australian school - she emailed them last night to catch the beginning of their new year to be told, applications closed a while ago but some are having to rearrange so we may be able to consider you, please apply asap ... And they've one lad from the UK who's just made it over there and through quarantine so it could be possible that she could get there (has Australian citizenship or we wouldn't be letting her contemplate it at all).

Pre-covid she'd always been keen on a gap year. Her father's worried ... Decisions about reapplying to Oxford next year are still awaiting more information. I'm not at all sure how it would work if she does make it overseas.

@RunnersTipple DD had a NatSci offer but without grades included (for now). Ever since her 3 A* offer from Imperial last week nothing would surprise me!

@ImsorryWilson she hadn't really looked at the college so had applied for open college which in hindsight not the best idea but I think we didn't look much past cambridge . She is doing English literature. So are a bit up in the air now, it's also 6hrs away from where we live and haven't been there for her to see yet. Not quite sure if we need to contact them now to see if she can be assigned a certain college?

@ImsorryWilson

what is standard for natsci?

From the Natural Science pages on C website: The standard offer for entry for natural Sciences is AAA at A Level or equivalent.

Grades seem all over the place at the moment.
DS has A A A from Manchester and B B B from Exeter! - Others are within this range....

I’m glad the wait is over for everyone today whatever the outcome.

DD has found out she has an offer after being pooled by her original college. Don’t know much about the college so need to have a read up.
She thought one of her two interviews went badly so she is feeling a bit shocked at the moment!

Excellent, Fruitcake- what subject?

@TheStenchofTruth

She thinks its a "pity offer". She too hard on herself. She shoots for the moon and anything less is failure. Of course its not. But that's what she is thinking today. I think a woman's college will be a nice sanctuary for her in a very competitive male dominated course. And I think Murray will be comprised of some really interesting people from all walks of life and she will make some amazing life-long friendships there. I guess I'll see how she feels next week.

My daughter too has a offer from Murray after applying to Queens (for Maths). She is not sure, but she has to still sit the STEP exams for Maths entry so we will see how they go. The idea of an all female college is growing on her, she thinks it will be easier to speak up and exchange ideas in an all female tutorial session. And she has been reading pretty positive reviews about the college online. She is thankful she has an offer as many of her friends who had interviews, and in her opinion are equal or more able, have been redirected. She is still waiting to here from Imperial and Bath.

FlyingSquid It’s for English.

An all- female college can be a very good idea for the heavily male-dominated subjects.

(According to their own description, Murray Edwards isn’t quite all-female as they do take transwomen (and transmen/non-binary students), but it’ll at least avoid the ‘one girl to ten boys’ sort of ratio that you get in some subjects.)

@WarmAndco3y so sorry for your ds, it's really hard for them. And being unwell just makes it even harder to deal with. I agree with you, he has done his best and that's all you can do. I think all our wonderful dc will learn from the experience even if they didn't get an offer.

It's so hard for them in many ways now - not being at school, seeing their friends, worries about exams or whatever the alternatives are, university disappointments. I can only hope (and I tell dd this) that in years to come, when covid is long behind us, and they have happy successful lives, they will tell THEIR children about this awful period. That generation will have so many stories to tell.

But in the meantime, it's ok to feel sad, disappointed and have a cry. I hope the down period passes quickly.

Congratulations to all with offers and hope all those redirected come to terms with it and are happy with their other offers. There seem to be a lot of redirections.

@ImsorryWilson the thought of all those thin envelopes on Ivy Day is terrible. DD, who got rejected by Oxford, has applied to a few Ivy Leagues. I believe applications are up by about 25% this year because they are all “test optional” so I imagine she will be having a day of rejections. They have had to push the decision day out because of the huge numbers applying.
DD already got the college she wants to go to on Early Decision but it will still be a tough day.

Hard to know which is better. Having to chose between Oxford and Cambridge but only having one shot. Or getting to apply to multiple Ivies but getting multiple rejections.

Murray Edwards? When my DD was in the process of applying, she was adamant that she wouldn't want to go to a women's college. So, sure enough she was pooled to ME and you've never seen such a quick 180° pivot. she started to find lots of advantages - the positives of not being gawked at on the tourist trail, nice gardens which they're encouraged to use rather than the grass being sacrosanct etc.
They did an offer holders event - sleeping bag on the floor of a first year doing her subject - which confirmed her revised opinion.
She made some very good friends there, plus male friends on her course, clubs etc. Churchill (which usually has an excess of males) and Fitz are nearby (the other 'hill colleges') and in normal times there are shared events.
Although the undergrads are all female, that doesn't apply to the research and teaching staff, and there's definitely no bar on male visitors.

par do you mind if i ask you when your dd heard from D/got an English offer? dd is under the impression that D hadn't sent English offers out yet. If this is not the case then I need to make her aware so she can adjust her expectations. thanks

Just wanted to update that my DC was rejected . Best wishes to everyone that got offers and commisseratiins to those that didn't

It is a tough time. Two years ago DS did not get an offer for maths after interview at Pembroke. He is at Bristol and very happy with that outcome. Bristol seems very relaxed - compared to how intense I imagine maths would be at Cambridge.

This time around, DD has an offer for English. She is very pleased, especially as she had convinced herself she was not going to get an offer.

I think the offer is A* A A.

And it's a no from us too. Slightly relieved as I think he'll do much better in a less pressured environment.

Sorry to hear that @derekthe1adyhamster and @chopc.

Hope your children are holding up ok

So sorry to hear for those whose dc have been redirected.

DS had a call with one of his mates earlier (also redirected but already has an Imperial offer) - Imperial is DS's strong preference now so I really really hope he gets an offer soon-ish, I guess they are waiting for the UCAS deadline.

DS now saying if he gets an offer from there he'll be ok he thinks. Now having a bit of online gaming with his mates to cheer himself up.

@bendmeoverbackwards thank you for your kind words.