Oxbridge 2021: another 6 months of fretting

[DahliaMacNamara]

Will they make the grades? How will grades be awarded anyway? What the hell are Cambridge up to with that nasty little clause?

@Loonvanboon I think she got an email about it.

Thanks, whiteroseredrose. DT2 hasn't had any kind of communication from Oxford since he got his offer in January. I think it might be because he got an open offer, so he doesn't have a place at a particular college as yet.

I can see how he might slip through the net in these circumstances, but it's not making Oxford seem very welcoming to him.

Have other offer holders been invited to virtual offer holders open days and stuff like that? I don't really know what, if anything, he should expect at this stage. He hasn't firmed: still has a few doubts, especially about the open offer aspect.

My DD had an open offer, @LoonvanBoon. It does add a little more uncertainty to the offer, particularly if your DC is very keen on a particular college. Open offers are common for DD's subject. One in four offer holders typically miss the required A* in A Level Biology so open offer holders fill the gaps across the colleges. DD recommends keeping a list of college codes handy on results day so that you don't end up up scrabbling about trying to decipher an unfamiliar college code. I should add that DD is in her third year and is very happy at the college that she ended up at.

I'm fairly sure that neither DC had offer holder days at their colleges, although this might also be different this year with everything being online.

DD applied for student finance using the name of the college underwriting her offer (ie the college that sent the offer letter) and updated it after results day. All University correspondence up until results day was either generic or came from the underwriting college. Once her place was confirmed at her admitting college, she received the same information pack etc as any other fresher at that college.

DD had nothing formal last year. She found a WhatsApp group for her college and another for her subject. He college one was most useful, as the subject one was very earnest & the active participants wanted to discuss essays they had written and critique each other's work. Most people joined the college group & about 20 Zoomed on a regular basis, played games, drank, did quizzes etc, then more got involved after results day.

Thanks, ofteninaspin, that's very helpful. I had no idea open offers were used so frequently. It's not so much that DT2 is hugely attached to a particular college, but as a humanities student there's a chance he could end up at one of the very small ones, the permanent private halls, like Regent's Park. He's really, really not keen on that idea.

Ah yes, @LoonvanBoon, I understand the issue for your DS. I do wonder though, with the way in which A Levels are being awarded this year, if there is a greater probability of open offer holders ending up at the underwriting college? The risk of being allocated to a PPH must be very small but I do understand the uncertainty if he doesn't like the idea of a very small community.

I've been wondering that too. As you say, it's the lack of certainty that makes decision making harder.

@DeRigueurMortis yes, it's usual for Durham to use a range of offers (they usually use TMUA as part of the alternative offer scheme, but if you didn't take TMUA - or didn't declare your result) then they will take into account STEP.

Quite a few unis do this - it's partially to encourage use of STEP as this is good prep for maths at uni!

@LoonvanBoon like Hog says, DS1 found his college freshers via Facebook and TSR. They then formed WhatsApp and Discord groups and 'socialised' online.

He was reticent to engage too much until he met his offer but once he did there was a lot of activity.

Thanks sandy and hog - it's reassuring to know that DT2 probably hasn't missed anything significant as a result of having an open offer. He did join a WhatsApp group for his subject and that's apparently very active, though it's mainly a handful of people who post a lot!

Hi. Does anyone know else have a child applying/eligible for the Oxford DSA? I have some questions about the email sent out yesterday and because everyone is working from home I can't speak to a human. Just wondering about the steps, and feeling particularly stupid that I can't work it out. Thank you. X

Loon DD's best friend held an open offer last year. She missed the required grades during the results fiasco. Her underwriting college confirmed her place. If anything, I think there is more chance of them ending up at their underwriting college, because each college has taken great care not to over offer & is likely to be full with their own confirmed & open offer holders. There will be far less students missing their offers and creating gaps to fill from a pool.

The friend also joined her college group chat as well. She was the one who told DD about them & convinced her that she would have fun meeting new people for a few months even if it all went wrong at the end.

Has anyone heard anything about offer holders' days at colleges in person?
I've heard other people saying that other universities are running them in May and June.
DD has never been inside any C college I don't think and certainly not the one she has an offer from (that she was pooled to) - it would be nice to see it before October even though I know it doesn't really matter.
Just wondered if that was a pipe dream it might actually happen?

Or not it 🙄

Nothing here about offer holder day and DS would really appreciate a look around too (also never been in a college).

Nothing here either. Right now DD would settle for a visit to Oxford, never mind inside a college. But she feels she might as well wait until more things are actually open now. It's close enough to be a day trip.

Nothing here either about an offer holder day (Oxford). I'm not sure she's had any communication from them.
We are also close enough for a day trip and plan to do so either at half term in June or late May when assessments are done and dusted. I'm not holding my breath for a formal offer holder day. However, I might call her college and politely ask if we can have a peek in the grounds nearer the time. Restrictions will have lifted slightly then and as she is an actual offer holder rather than an applicant they hopefully may be slightly more amenable 🤞. Don't imagine we could look inside any building but a nosy round the grounds would at least be helpful. If not, a walk around the city and possibly a visit to anything that is open (Botanical gardens or even a museum if we are lucky) will make a nice day out and get back some of the excitement.
DD has joined the history WhatsApp group (and one for her joint honours which is much quieter) but she's not seen a college specific one. I'm pretty certain she will be the only AMH student in her year at her college as it's such a small course.

Thanks everyone. Good to know we've not missed anything though sad no one has heard anything. We are close enough for C to be a day trip so might plan that for July and call in advance to see if there's any chance of popping into the college grounds at least...

Lurker here.
DS has an offer from Cambridge. When he went to have a look (lurk?) there was a sign outside inviting offer holders to ask to look around.
So i think it is definitely worth a call to see whether that is a possibility.

It certainly made DS feel better to actually set eyes on where he may spend three years.

Hiya totally new to this thread 😃! Can someone please link me to the opening post at the start ?

Dd got a message saying her college was open for a look round for offer holders. We went last summer and tried peering through a crack in the big wooden doors, but could see nothing? We leaned over the wall to look into Merton, and over the bridge to see Magdalen, but everywhere else was a sealed fortress!

None of my Oxford DC have ever been offered an offer holders day. Durham does them, and lots of other places, and I think Exeter College Oxford does them and a few of the Cambridge colleges - Murray Edwards and a few others. It's not universal by any means in normal years. On the one hand there's more reason for an offer holders gig in the absence of in person interviews, but on the other the colleges have been cautious enough about letting current students back without actively encouraging a whole cohort of offer holders from around the country. I would think that once the term is over and the current students have cleared out and restrictions are fully lifted then colleges will be relaxed about letting offer holders in to mooch around.

In quantity I mean.