Oxford Cambridge 2021 Thread 6

[Chocomel]

Hopefully this is in the right place?

They were sent out yesterday (or at least you could log in and get them).

All great universities @dontdointernetbut I'm sure the offers will start to come in soon which will give her a bit of a boost if anything. Do you think she might reconsider them post Oxford results?

I would agree with @DeRigueurMortis and not recommend applying for a third time. Not worth the potential emotional trauma.

@mikeandike so sorry for your dd. Was she sick from anxiety/nerves or was she ill? So disappointing if she feels she didn't perform well, hugs to you both.

Thankyou @Tenpastseven @NiamCinnOir @ClarasZoo @FlyingSquid @DeRigueurMortis

She is still very quiet, asked how she was at dinner & got a rather weak ‘fine’ so I tried to gently mention the subject but it was met with eyes down and silence. I feel so bad for her and we can’t even talk about it right now.

I’m really sorry to hear your story too @mikeandike it sounds very similar but I’m starting to think, like a few of you have mentioned, that the pressure got to her on the day (obviously) so she is probably not an ideal student for the pressured environment there. That still hurts when they want it so much and think they would be ok once there (we did have that conversation after the interviews, i mentioned that it may not be the place she thought it was if it affected her that much and she was adamant that if she got in it would be fine, it was the nerves & the unknown )
I’m still none the wiser tbh! I think she feels angry with herself for messing up what she saw to be an otherwise strong application & I don’t blame her as it seems unfair to me too but I can’t change anything for her this time. I will ask for feedback, last year the feedback was mainly about not having a strong enough PS, hence this year she worked extra hard on condensing it down to 2 eras and less books rather than a list of books from all over.. that obviously got her an interview this year so I would be interested to hear some feedback.
Thankyou for your advice @derigeuermortis I doubt she would put herself through all of it again even if she wanted too, I’m not sure she could take a 3rd rejection and like you say, it could disadvantage her anyway being 2 yrs out of education and would be behind all of her friends, some who defered for this year but most in uni already.
I guess we will need time to process the whole thing and try to move on.

To whoever asked about the ELAT results, they were released yesterday so students could log in and see what they got.

@dontdointernetbut I am unsure what I can add to the previous posters but wanted to send you a message as your post resonated with me. I also feel that perhaps it was felt the high pressure environment and perhaps the tutorial system at Oxford wasn't suitable for her although I can totally see how an " anxious academic" may totally thrive in that environment.

Perhaps ask for feedback and make a decision once you know all your options?

That chap dobbo from TSR who got in on his fourth attempt - what was he doing until now?

@bendmeoverbackwards I agree with not applying again- although it’s tempting it could be terrible in the long run if rejected again and then where do you stop? Best if she tries to move forward with her life and hoping she may get excited for other unis at some point. A visit would certainly help to start with but honestly atm she isn’t interested in any of them. I hope that changes. I’m trying to be upbeat for her but I am also feeling sad right now. I didn’t realise how invested in the process I was until this mornings result. It’s a strange process for sure but I’m guessing all of us parents will feel their pain and/or joy as you can’t help but get involved in it. Where will you dd go now? Is she positive about her other choices?

Thankyou @chopc I think that the pressure was too much in the end unfortunately & oxford must look past nerves and know what they want & I guess she wasn’t it this time, despite us thinking differently!
Did somebody apply 4 times...? I’m not sure how I feel about that tbh.. that’s 4yrs! While my heart says try again my head really says don’t bother but if my dd decides that she will then I’ll support it. I’d rather she was happy & would get on with her life but she’s defo not happy atm & that hurts, so will wait until it passes & heals a little and then try to chat more with her. The wounds are very raw right now and can’t chat at all

You’ve got a good memory @NiamCinnOir!!

I’ve received an offer so I’m absolutely ecstatic!

I’ve not been on the thread since this morning so congratulations to all the offer holders and commiserations to those who have been redirected, particularly those who have found today very distressing. Everybody who got this far is an excellent candidate and will truly succeed wherever they study, although I appreciate at the moment it may be too difficult for DC to see that

Congratulations to those with offers and commiserations to those who have been redirected.
As someone who was redirected myself when applying to unis (as was my other half and then we met at our very-much-not-first-choice university) I am so glad for my own redirection but it obviously takes time to get to that point.
DD is waiting for C and is not expecting an offer based on her interviews. I'm assuming there will be many fewer offers this year, given that there are no A levels.
It's hard for them.

So sorry for those dc facing disappointment today.
Hopefully they will feel a little better in a few days and can begin to look forward.

Does anyone have any experience of UCAS extra? Apparently you can reject all your offers and start again.

@MatureStudent21 well done, so pleased for you. Remind me which subject?

Congratulations, @MatureStudent21! Brilliant news

@FlyingSquid, so pleased to hear that your dd has an offer too - is it for MFL as well?

It’s been hard to catch up with all the activity on this thread today, but welcome to all the delurkers. @sadpapercourtesan - your ds sounds incredibly resourceful and resilient and I’m sure he will thrive.

For all those who have been redirected, it must feel like a punch in the stomach for some of your dc. Oxford (and probably Cambridge as well) do appear to work in a very mysterious way, and I’m almost certain that the difference between being offered a place or not is tissue paper thin in many, many cases. My dd knows that she was ‘lucky’ to apply for a course which is much more under-subscribed than something like history, PPE or law and the reality is that there are far, far more able, intelligent and promising applicants than there are places on most courses. None of that is any comfort at all, of course. As parents, all we can do is give our dc time to think about their options, time to ‘grieve’ and plenty of

@bendmeoverbackwards it’s for law - or ‘Jurisprudence’ as Oxford likes to call it

Where do I start?

Yesterday was tough - DD got redirected and elderly father rushed into hospital by ambulance.

I've been catching up on this thread and congratulate all those with offers @LaundryFairy @FlyingSquid @DahliaMacNamara @Jalfrezi @user1464114113 @MatureStudent21. Virtual hugs to those redirected @fabtasticmrpox @Pythonesque @Revengeofthepangolins @MidLifeCrisis007 @ChimneyPot @mikeandike

With far fewer offers than previous years, it's obvious some excellent candidates have missed out. But congratulations to those who have received offers as they've clearly excelled themselves.

@LoonvanBoon my heart goes out to you - we do hope you stay and keep us updated on your unusual predicament.

@dontdointernetbut - I feel your pain. Not to receive an offer with 59/60 in ELAT and all the other things you've described does seem harsh.

I completely understand how upset some parents and dc must feel. I confess that when DS was rejected from C two days after A Level results day in 2019, I was pretty down for a good 6-12 months as it felt so grossly unfair - he too had that "something" which teachers consistently commented on from nursery through to sixth form. It's somewhat reassuring to hear other parents describe their dc in similar terms.

Time does eventually heal....

No experience of a DC using UCAS Extra so far (and DS2 has an offer from his no.1 university, so I doubt that he will, either), but the details are all on the website.
www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/types-offer/extra-choices
You can only apply for one new course at a time, though (so it's not an opportunity for a complete 'starting over') - and it does depend on the course(s) you want being available to apply for by the time the process goes live.

dontdointernetbut I can completely understand how devastating it must be for both of you. Truly awful when your child wants something so badly and is redirected.

I would wait for the dust to settle and then look at the other unis in detail and talk about how you will visit them or at least the town/city. She must have had a reason for picking them so she needs reminding of what that was, why that course? That uni? Was there a reason she picked unis so far from where you are now? Realistically how long would it take you to travel up from where you are? You could do a whistle stop tour of Leeds up to Durham then Scotland!

Gosh.. that was a tough day for you all @Jano69. I hope your dad is ok and responding to treatment.
You are so right -time does heal.
I guess that your Dd has been able to see that it wasn’t the end of the world when her sibling was redirected despite what it felt like at the time.
I hope today is a better day for all those who were disappointed yesterday

VC of Cambridge was just on Radio 4 acknowledging they will make less offers this year as they expect offer holders to meet their conditional offers from TAGs.

Oh @Jano69. My heart sank when I read your post. Hope your Dad, your DD and you, are OK.

Thank you @Beetlesand and @Tenpastseven - it does seem inevitable that Cambridge will make far less offers this year.

All these redirected super smart kids will find each other in other universities.

jano69 Sorry to hear about you dad. It's a year, and a month, and a day for it...... We received a call from DM's care home last night to visit Mum. Both she and my Step Father are there, and recently diagnosed with Covid. It doesn't sound great tbh.

To all those re- directed. Your DC's will all be exceptional. They had to be to get to interview. Sadly there will never be enough places though. I have known so, so, many talented, gifted, lovely, DC's who haven't made the cut. They are all still those lovely young people, and all have gone on to have happy and successful university and life experiences.

I'll admit to feeling down today, for all kinds of reasons, but DD is not, and I am so proud of her.

I'm going to listen to Radio 4 live on my iPhone now and rewind to the VC Cambridge interview, thanks for the share @Tenpastseven

@BigWoollyJumpers So sorry to hear your DM and step father have recently tested positive. What an awful day, month, year as you say....

I'm another who'll admit to feeling a bit sad today.

DD was also redirected yesterday. As a medical applicant, she won't hear back from her other choices till March/April, so the agony of waiting will go on for some time.

DD is a perfect candidate on paper, so I'm guessing the interviews must have been her weakest link. She was a bit rattled before the first one with the world-wide Google fail, but quickly settled and felt composed arespond with well tho out answers,