Oxford Cambridge 2021 Thread 6

[Chocomel]

Hopefully this is in the right place?

And on....

So, she is trying to focus on her next interview and not let yesterday's upset affect her too much.

I really feel for all those who didn't get good news. It's hard because when they are used to excelling, the knock to their confidence is sad to see from a parent's view. I know dd couldn't have done any more and I am so proud of her achievement in getting so far.

@Millylovespuddles when the dust settles and she ends up in another fantastic medical school, she will maybe enjoy that course a lot more and realise that medicine is one profession where it doesn't really matter if you are an Oxbridge graduate.

I think the Oxbridge course is very scientific in the first two years and perhaps not to every aspiring medic's case

It is a disappointment no doubt so 💐

@Jano69 hope your father is ok @BigWoollyJumpers hope your parents are ok. It's such a surreal time as you can't be with your loved ones

@Tenpastseven my heart sank when I read your post even though I knew this to be the case from the admissions tutor in the student room 😔

I think, with this being MN and with dc trying for Oxford/Cambridge we'd probably collectively reached the conclusion for ourselves that Cambridge in particular would be making less offers this year as they apparently usually have a higher offer to place ratio than Oxford.

If DD wants to try again next year, I would support her decision as although she declared it "game over" after her interview, and going by her description of it I would have to agree, a year later she might be better prepared. Hopefully by interview time in December 2021, mass vaccination will have occurred and things will be different, she'd probably have a chance to gain work experience this summer to really beef up that part of her personal statement too. Overall however, as Cambridge are restricting offer numbers this year, it seems so unfair to her cohort that one more crack at it when the offer numbers are hopefully back to normal wouldn't seem such a bad idea. She does have plenty of time to decide if she wanted to try again.

Would my nerves stand it though, that is the real question....

Do people honestly think Cambridge assess holistically? As in decision is based on all of personal statement, predictions, where they sat GCSE's, reference, any pre interview assessments as well as interview?

I personally think as with everything else - they like you or not and when asked for feedback will try and come up with a reason which doesn't usually make sense

Good wishes to all those who had a bad day yesterday - for all sorts of reasons . What a January...

@dontdointernetbut - I can tell this is the bitterest of blows for you and your dd. My ds had a second go, but vowed that he would not try for a third, and was quite excited by the thought of St Andrews. I think that applying for a second time allows you to throw everything at it, but a third... there’s nothing else to pull out of the bag, really.

It is a gruelling process and no wonder so many young people are mentally battered by the whole thing.

Couldn't agree with you more @chopc

Feedback will always be packaged as objectively as possible but at the end of the day, it's whether they like you and want to teach you, along with other factors such as male to female ratios etc

Congratulations to all recipients of offers. My heart goes out to all those who are not.

We went through this four years ago with Cambridge. My partner is invariably cool and calm but they had to rush to the bathroom twice on offer morning!

Regarding Open Offers: these are extra offers which allow colleges flexibility to manage Course numbers and Total numbers on results day in August. If, say, no one needs one more History entrant in August, then the (unnamed) 'sponsoring' college is obliged to take them. This is my understanding of the Cambridge approach. They also use Open Offers to prioritise strong applicants from 'non-traditional' backgrounds who would otherwise miss out very narrowly whilst places remained vacant.

It's worth remembering that the Application File remains open until the certificated results are in and any other legal bits and pieces are completed (e.g. confirmation of ID, ability to pay fees). Some files are looked at again and compared with others in deciding finally who to admit (from 'narrow misses' on offer grades) and which colleges take up individual Open Offer holders.

Open offers mean some 'normal' offer holders are expected to miss their offers and, sadly, be rejected in August.

Hi everyone. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad Jan0 and also your parents testing positive BigWooly. What a time this is.

I did want to wish a huge congratulations to you MatureStudent! I’m so happy for you. As well as Irma’s DD and all the others (sorry not to name) who have got good news. They must have done exceptionally well.

Clearly this year is tougher than ever. I haven’t listened to the Cambridge VC interview, but I think we could have all seen that coming. I wasn’t feeling massively confident about DS’ chances to begin with tbh, but now I just feel depressed about the whole thing. On his course, there are only about 90 places. Looking at the stats from the last 6 years or so, they usually offer about 120 places to fill 90. This year they will probably only offer 90.

The other thing is, LSE normally make a first wave offers in December, but haven’t this year. Nobody has heard anything.,I wonder if they were holding out to hear what was happening with exams and then adjusting offers accordingly.

Then there’s Durham who no doubt have loads of deferred from last year anyway (as they offered financial incentives to defer). For DS’ course they have only made contextual and international offers so far. These were made last term before it was announced exams were cancelled, so they might have applied the usual algorithm for over-offers for contextual and international students. The questions is, are there any places left now for the non-contextual offers?

For those who have not got in, my 5 children never tried (the last 2 graduated from Bristol last summer) and nor did I (although my siblings went to Oxbridge). It has not impeded careers. My daughters (Bristol and Nottingham) and I are London lawyers and the twins (Bristol) on the way to being so.

It will be absolutely fine for those who did not get in. It might seem disappointing at the time but it will pass. I probably said the same last year but I think it is worth saying.

While the lower number of offers inevitably means more disappointment now, on the other hand there won't be the usual numbers of probably even more disappointed and discombobulated kids in the summer.

That’s a good point, Errol.

I know someone who had a Cambridge offer but missed it by one grade in the summer. She is still shaking her fist about it.... forty years later...

@quest1on

Hi everyone. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad Jan0 and also your parents testing positive BigWooly. What a time this is.

I did want to wish a huge congratulations to you MatureStudent! I’m so happy for you. As well as Irma’s DD and all the others (sorry not to name) who have got good news. They must have done exceptionally well.

Clearly this year is tougher than ever. I haven’t listened to the Cambridge VC interview, but I think we could have all seen that coming. I wasn’t feeling massively confident about DS’ chances to begin with tbh, but now I just feel depressed about the whole thing. On his course, there are only about 90 places. Looking at the stats from the last 6 years or so, they usually offer about 120 places to fill 90. This year they will probably only offer 90.

The other thing is, LSE normally make a first wave offers in December, but haven’t this year. Nobody has heard anything.,I wonder if they were holding out to hear what was happening with exams and then adjusting offers accordingly.

Then there’s Durham who no doubt have loads of deferred from last year anyway (as they offered financial incentives to defer). For DS’ course they have only made contextual and international offers so far. These were made last term before it was announced exams were cancelled, so they might have applied the usual algorithm for over-offers for contextual and international students. The questions is, are there any places left now for the non-contextual offers?

Durham confuses me There are 3 people who have applied from dd's school for the same course as her (there might be others we don't know) who also applied to Cambridge. None of them would meet any contextual criteria. It's a state school but none of these people live in a postcode for contextualisation and all of them have at least one parent who attended university. They all have good applications but dd's GCSE grades are higher than the other two and her predictions are slightly higher too. One of the others got an offer within 2 weeks. The other got an offer just after Christmas. DD hasn't heard yet. I have absolutely no problems with her not getting an offer (she had actually decided not to go even if she gets one, for various but valid reasons) but I can't understand their mechanisms for decision making at all.

Durham confuses me ... I can't understand their mechanisms for decision making at all.

Afaik no one ever has been able to figure it out - among all the unis they seem to be the most random re when and if offers appear.

@ErrolTheDragon

Durham confuses me ... I can't understand their mechanisms for decision making at all.

Afaik no one ever has been able to figure it out - among all the unis they seem to be the most random re when and if offers appear.

Wouldn't it be great to have an admissions persons from Durham on AMA? Come on MNHQ, can we sway someone to answer our burning questions?

So sorry to hear that lots of people have family who are poorly. I hope they recovery quickly

Has any of the hurt lessened today for those redirected? (Preparing myself for the 25th)

How are the ones with offers feeling?

Just to add more uncertainty to the lives of young people, Gavin Williamson has just said that students may have to sit "external set papers" whatever the hell that means.

www.standard.co.uk/news/education/students-exams-teacherdetermined-grades-gavin-williamson-b871301.html

What I don’t understand with this GW, is that they must have foreseen a scenario where exams would not be taking place in 2021. Wakes had cancelled exams and su has Scotland. Why was the planning for a contingency process not completed last summer, or even early last Autumn? Why are they going into a two-week consultation now, bang in the midst of the school year? It’s like the muppet show.

Couldn't agree more @quest1on ! I really feel for all of the teachers trying to work in the continually shifting sands of the government's student assessment 'plans'. Must be a bloody nightmare for them.

Good point @ErrolTheDragon . I think we had the DC of one of the posters on this forum in a similar situation and I think she said it was awful

@ErrolTheDragon

Durham confuses me ... I can't understand their mechanisms for decision making at all.

Afaik no one ever has been able to figure it out - among all the unis they seem to be the most random re when and if offers appear.

Ah. I hadn't realised it was a mystery to everyone! One of my friends is convinced that Durham has a secret knowledge of who is getting O/C offers but I keep telling her that's impossible.

@Jano69 hope your dad is ok, wishing him well. How stressful for you on top of everything else.

How is everyone doing this morning? I hope the successful offer holders had a good evening celebrating and those who have been redirected are feeling a little better today.

@dontdointernetbut I have been thinking about you, how is your dd today?

My dd is feeling a little better today. I've told her not to rush into any decisions just yet but dd being dd is already doing further research and looking into her options. She's now kicking herself for not looking more closely at the straight History degree modules (she had applied for Ancient and Modern History). She's now realised that some History courses offer modules in Ancient which would have suited her. She's very down on herself for not looking at this sooner but was so focussed on Oxford, other options fell by the wayside.

I wish Durham would make her an offer so she has all her cards on the table. Does anyone know when they have to decide by?

But on the plus side, dd can also see advantages of other unis - studying for a year or term abroad which Oxford don't offer.

How are the ones with offers feeling?

Jittery, in DD’s case, after yesterday’s excitement. She was so sure it would be a No that she doesn’t quite know what to make of a Yes and is still saying she might decide to go elsewhere.

I’m leaving her to it, other than assuring her we won’t cut her off without a penny either way.

If they’re making fewer offers this year, what happens if a number of students turn their offers down and they are left with spaces to fill?