Another Path to Greatness - Part II

[BigWoollyJumpers]

Here we are.

Thanks for starting the new thread BWJ.

Thanks for new thread!

Any news from anyone re offers!?

I’m here. Thanks for new thread.

Sadly no offers, no, but we're kind of sheltering under the "no news is good news" umbrella at the moment.

Hello 👋

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Hello all.

Todays update, just looking forward to half term. DD has just asked if she can go in new boyfriends home. I had to say no, at the moment. Feel really mean. I would really love to have said yes, but if I say yes to her, I have to say yes to DD1, who also has a new boyfriend, who has invited her round to dinner. Oh, how I long for things to get back to some sort of normality, particularly for our young ones.

I should say they are regularly meeting the boys for long walks, but all very Jane Austen. Long socially distanced walks, and I have allowed tea and biscuits in the garden when they come back. Naughty I know.

I like your touching faith that the walks remain socially distanced once out of sight BWJ.

@goodbyestranger

I like your touching faith that the walks remain socially distanced once out of sight BWJ.

What the eye doesn't see !

Very much my philosophy BWJ.

DS has also announced he now has a new GF. I asked if they might be meeting up. He said, “no she’s in Afghanistan .” Apparently though, she is someone he’s known for a while from a local girls’ school, so god knows. And she’s also waiting for LSE

DD just received Oxford feedback. Apparently she ranked 8th out of all interviewees for her college but there were 7 spots (or something like that, I can’t remember exact numbers but she was just below the number of places they had available). Professor pushed for her to be considered for another college but there just wasn’t space I suppose . Admissions test score was also above the average for offer holders. Quite frustrating for her to be so close but I think it’s given her a confidence boost especially as she was convinced both interviews and admissions test had gone terribly due to being sick beforehand.

That sounds very positive and very individual feedback mikeandike. Good that some colleges go the extra mile.

Thanks for the new thread @BigWoollyJumpers I can't believe we filled up the old one so quickly!

@mikeandike that sound really good, well done to your dd. Nice to have such detailed feedback.

How is everyone doing? Dd still waiting for Durham, surely it must be soon? Other than that, just managing schoolwork the best she can. Apparently school will give 2 weeks notice if Mocks are going ahead (they were originally due to be sat the week after half term). Everything still so up in the air, I don't blame the school at all, poor teachers are really doing their best in a very stressful situation.

Thank you for the new thread- seems I have a lot to catch up in the old one!

No further offers (waiting for LSE) but DS working very hard at the mo (on what I don't know) and is coming down with tonsillitis!

@mikeandike that feedback is really positive. Even though it doesn't make your DD feel any better, it confirmed that she was a good candidate

Good to have you back with us @chopc

@mikeandike that feedback sounds really positive

I'm loving the romantic stories of your dc's outdoor liaisons, oh to be 18 again.

@bendmeoverbackwards I really hope your DD's still not waiting to hear from Durham this time next month. They have a terrible reputation for offering late I'm afraid.

@bendmeoverbackwards

What subject is she waiting for? My DS’s friends had some Durham offers/rejections today, they were all Economics, Politics & PPE.

@Applepieco Ancient and Modern History. Do they send out subject by subject? Do you know roughly the proportion of rejections?

Thank you @Jan069

Thank you also @quest1on and @Pumpkintopf for asking after me

Congratulations your DS @Pumpkintopf . I am as happy for you as I would have been for two friends' sons who are still waiting for Imperial news . Very well done!

I needed to take a few days away from this thread due to reasons already expressed by others in the previous thread.

It's a shame I missed out on all the chat about Durham colleges

I also enjoyed following Jack Edwards on YouTube ! I can't believe with his credentials he got rejected by Oxford twice! However the worst thing is he failed to secure a job in publishing ......... Obviously I don't know his CV but he has the academics and the personality - I would have thought he is highly employable!

I’m no expert, but from what I can tell, they deal with international/contextual/extenuating/exceptional applications first and then seem to do a big batch of each subject Jan/Feb/March - with no correlation to the quality of application regarding date of offer. My DS got a History offer quite early on, but he had quite extensive medical extenuating circumstances.

My DS told me today that each of the rejections had the same feedback - GCSE profile not as strong as other applicants, so I’m wondering if, knowing exams won’t be sat, Durham are using GCSE profile to see if they think the predicted grades would have been achieved?

It all such an unknown this year, but I really think at this stage no news is good news. There were some alternative Law (to criminology) and History (sociology/ anthropology) offers given out quite early on.

Lots of students in his year are waiting on lots of Uni’s though, LSE, UCL, Warwick, Edinburgh, St Andrews & Bath to name a few!

You can work out the offer rate here, a friend sent it to me back in October;
studyatdurham.microsoftcrmportals.com/en-US/knowledgebase/article/KA-02397

Sorry - that was to @bendmeoverbackwards

Thank you @Applepieco that’s very helpful. I’m worrying a bit about DD’s GCSE grades - 5 x 9s, 4 x 8s, one 7 and one 6. I imagine there will be many Durham applicants with a string of straight 9s.