Another path to greatnesses

[chopc]

I woke up around 4:30 this morning and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. Couldn't get back to sleep so thought I will have a go and starting the new thread. Hope the title is not too cheesy

My DC felt his Cambridge interview went well - they were very interested in his written work and he was able to talk about it and in fact he was even asked if he has any questions for them - could have just ended the interview if they didn't think he stood a chance of an offer.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they made their decision

He only started at his current school in sixth form and was made a Prae last Oct - so I don't think I am wrong to think he is likeable as he obviously made a good impression on his peers and teachers and everyone he had mock interviews with. I know it's not his stats so must have been the at interview assessment or the interview itself - hope they mention both in the feedback

Will you ask for feedback @quest1on ?

choc - yes I think he already asked for feedback. To be honest, he felt his interviews went really well and he was buzzing afterwards. He did some mock interviews and the feedback from them all was “very strong.” I hope this doesn’t come across as arrogant, but think his written work was great - one piece was a section of his EPQ that he got full marks for and he also submitted another independent piece that was published in a geographical journal. He had also had a commendation in another national essay competition and had entered the Young Geographer of the Year. All this was in his OS. He does 5-8 hours voluntary remote mapping for a charity every week. He has done several stints of voluntary work in Calais with refugees. He has spoken at a youth conference on climate change. He won the Geography prize in his school and was the Geog prefect. So no point reapplying because I don’t know what else he could have done, really. He had all 9s and A* predictions. D of E Gold. Grade 8 piano and the same for singing. The thing is, there were only 3 places max for this subject at the college he applied to, so in retrospect, pooling was always very likely! But he applied there as it was one of the few colleges that wanted 2 essays, so he thought he might as well use the extra work he had, seeing as he’d done it

Maybe they thought he was too much of a human geographer and not enough emphasis on the physical? Which may well be fair enough. While he was writing his EPQ and other essays, his entire bibliographies consisted of contemporary research being undertaken right now at UCL, KCL and LSE. Maybe that should have told him something..,,

I've been watching this thread with interest and sympathy as my DD was redirected from C 2 years ago. It was horrendous at the time esp when on the last day of March she was also turned down by Durham for History - she took this even harder as with a full complement of A*s and what we all thought an excellent PS it really made no sense. It really was a double whammy.
I wanted to say that these things happen for a reason - DD pulled herself together, exceeded the grades required for C (a matter of pride) and went to Exeter where she is very happy and is doing well. Today she'd been offered a place at ANU Canberra for a year abroad (Covid permitting) which she wouldn't have been able to do at either Durham or C. So it's all worked out very well for her in the long run though I sympathise with you and your DC at the moment. It's a very stressful time.

He couldn't possibly have done anything more @quest1on. Except maybe apply to a different college. However although it doesn't make us feel any better, it really is Cambridge'a loss!

My DS said straight away he won't reapply. I also don't see the point as he had a very strong application this year.

If you imagine the History student who was commended in the Trinity History essay competition was rejected from Trinity. It was also interesting you said that people who got in from your school were for Maths and MML? Our school also has a good record for the sciences and MML but not so much for other subjects ..........

By the time the stats come out, I hopefully won't care enough to look

@CBear99 thank you for your post. Do you mind if I ask you - did your daughter get redirected after interview or before? - is your daughter doing a year abroad for the experience of studying abroad or will it add anything to her history degree? Did she consider doing a placement year instead?

Sorry for the trillion questions

One of my friends were saying they just don't understand why my DS didn't get in. I said "he didn't have the X factory". She asked me what that was. I said "no one knows - but the interviewers will know when they see it"

She was redirected after interview and is keen to have experience studying abroad at a highly regarded uni for her subject plus the opportunity to travel - especially after all the disruption from the pandemic. The last year at uni has been pretty restricted and tough.
She didn't consider a placement year that I'm aware of though she has got a place on a KPMG holiday internship - she is quite driven in that regard partly due to the knocks she had 2 years ago.
Looking back she had a rotten few months but it made her even more determined in the end.

If anyone would like any info on Bristol (including year abroad) or Bath (with placement) do message me. It's so difficult to know what to do when you can't visit anywhere. There are some wonderful courses and opportunities out there! 🤗

@calculatorqueen thanks for the heads up regarding York accommodation - York has always been DD's next choice (English). That may indeed be extra pressure as we're in the throes of gap year consideration. She's just applied for a gap year job at a school in Australia; she'd missed their deadlines when she enquired at the beginning of this week, but they invited her to submit an application as others are having to change their plans. As she's got an Australian passport there is a chance she could make it out there. Pre-covid she'd always wanted to do an Australian gap year ...

We'll have to see. And if she does a gap year overseas I'm not entirely convinced how she'd manage a reapplication if she decides on one ...

I am so in awe of these amazing DC and am sure they will have brilliant careers wherever they go! It's really hard to understand why they have been redirected, but it's surely O/C's loss. I hope my DD knows (I've told her quite a few times ) that she is still as brilliant as she always has been

@Jan069 - it doesn't sound to me like you're living vicariously through your DC - just wanting them to have the oppportunities you didn't.

Thank you @CBear99 . Are holiday internships difficult to get into?

If you're not doing a directly related degree like Law or Business/Economics yes I think they are extremely competitive - but others on here may have more information about that than me.
DD was certainly the only History student at her initial internship last summer - the others were all doing a business related degree of some sort. Luckily she had the foresight to do Economics A level!

Look, if it makes anyone feel any better, my ds has a first from Cambridge and can’t find a job He is madly applying for a million things and only has had unpaid work experience. All his pals (apart from those doing water-treading MAs) are in the same boat.

First of all congratulations on the 1st @IrmaFayLear ! A fabulous achievement! What did he study and what field is he looking for?

I have a DS at Exeter and a DD at Cambridge and I have been equally impressed with both. If anyone wants to send me a PM regarding any Exeter questions I will be happy to answer!

Sorry, didn’t mean to moan, just to show that there are many paths to greatness! Ds’s friend who went to Bristol is very gainfully employed with a company that has done very well recently

Most of ds’s friends are kicking around doing temporary stuff - no matter where they went or what subject they did.

This really comes down to planning your career all the way through university. I know this sounds awful and uni should be about academics and fun but it pays to understand the pathways into a job. What do you have to do and when?

Internships and vac schemes are difficult to get on to but not impossible. They are not just taking law grads for law places though. They do look for a variety of talent. Its not just a case of going to a top class uni and then thinking you’ll walk into one. Get a good and varied cv. Do a lot more than study. Familiarise yourself with what they are looking for. Go to all the careers fairs. Talk to people.

Oxbridge is still somewhat obscure in how it selects. Most of us can think of nailed on candidates who didn’t get in and others who winged it!

MidLifeCrisis Tuxedo Junction please!

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/tuxedo-junction-snow-newcastles-hottest-19511579

@goodbyestranger Hi! You’ve got a DC at Durham right? What’s his experience of the university been like, what does he study again?

mikeandike that's tricky, with the bf getting Cambridge, and not a reflection on friendship for it to hurt I'm sure.

I read Law at Durham a very long time ago. The tutors were fantastic (one was a ridiculously young fellow from All Souls, although he was almost certainly the least engaging), as is the City. It really is supremely beautiful, especially in autumn and late spring. My DC7 graduated from Durham last summer (now at Oxford doing a DPhil) and going back to Durham to drop off etc has been magical. I'm very, very biased in favour of Durham despite having had a number of DC at Oxford and one currently there as a fresher. I myself had no issues being picked up for merchant banking/ magic circle law with a Durham degree and I know that my own Oxford law graduate DCs have plenty of Durham peers both in the City firms and at the Bar, if either of those are the way your DD might want to go. Durham is a fabulous place to spend three years: the Law course is almost indistinguishable from the Oxford course (give or take Roman Law), the pressure is less, the place is more beautiful and the prospects appear to be pretty much equal. Good luck to your DD anyhow.

That was a crossed post mikeandike, believe it or not!

DC7 is a scientist.

@goodbyestranger - I have no recollection of Tuxedo Junction being a pull to Durham students during my time (85-88), but the floating Tuxedo Princess certainly was! There is an interesting history of the Tuxedo venues here - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuxedo_floating_nightclubs

Ok MidLifeCrisis having read the article (but what a car!) I obviously have a few years on you :)

I remember cocktails costing the absolute earth..... £3?

Another crossed post! Tuxedo Princess looks good too, I'll give you that.