Oxbridge Aspirants 2022

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

Hi not too sure if there is another thread started as could not see one. May be waaaaaay too early but wondered if any other parents out there who have a child applying for next year?

Dd would like to apply to Cambridge to study History and Politics in 2022. She is at a state A-level college doing History, Politics and English Literature. I have never had to push her towards studying she is a very motivated child and wants to give Cambridge a shot (a very long shot as we know!). Her GCSE results were good but not top notch (9s in History, English Language and literature and the rest 7s and 6s) so not sure how much this will affect her. So far her A-level essays are coming out at As and A* and those are her predicted grades so if she continues on track that should meet the criteria.

She reads a lot of extra curricular stuff and has a genuine passion for politics, has joined the local Labour party youth group. She has applied for the summer programme at Cambridge & is part of an Oxbridge group that the college puts together.

It feels like a such a long shot and the stats of actually getting in are very low only 18% of applicants successful in 2019 so I am trying to tell her not to get her hopes up whilst actually supporting her!

She is my first born so I have never been through this before. Anybody else out there? Would be lovely to hear from you.

[Gizmo98765]

I wish they could apply to both.

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

Not joined this thread before but DS2 has today received his offer to do music at Oxford with an organ scholarship starting next September. Very pleased (and a bit relieved).

[CowCat]

That's great news @Grumpyoldpersonwithcats

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

@CowCat
Thank you. He was in a slightly odd position because he's in his gap year but didn't do music A level (he's doing that independently this year). So we really didn't know if he was in with a shout or not.

[ealingwestmum]

Congratulations to your DS Grumpy!

[Genegenieee]

@Gizmo98765 has he looked at the Maths course as an alternative to Nat Sci? DD loves maths and physics, is applying for the maths tripos but (if gets in) will elect for the maths with physics (in first year) and then can choose to either stick with maths or move to Nat Sci

This booklet explains it well. https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/files/mathswithh_physics.pdf

I thought I'd mention as you mentioned physics and FM were his favourite A levels

[Gizmo98765]

Thank you @Genegenieee - i have mentioned that course to him but he thinks it will be even tougher to get on that course than Nat Sci. I don’t know whether or not that is true.

I thought if they liked him they might encourage him to go for that course rather than Nat Sci at interview (as options are quite limited without chemistry & biology A levels).

Thank you.

[Rollergirl11]

Hi all, I have been reading this thread with interest. It is a fair way off for DD just yet as she is in Year 11. She is predicted all 9’s in her GCSE’s. She has a passion for English lit and will definitely be taking for a-levels. Her English teachers have already told her that they think she is Oxbridge material for English and they are have an Oxbridge program at their sixth form. They are also in the process of getting her in contact with a past student who is currently doing English lit at Cambridge for her to mentor DD.

My question is about her other A-level subject choices. At her sixth form they take 4 and drop one in the first term of Year 12. Also everyone is expected to do their EPQ. DD will be taking English Lit, History and then she is interested in Psychology and Philosophy & Ethics as third and fourth with one of them being dropped. DD has a genuine curiosity for Psychology and really liked the sound of the content at the taster day. She asked her English teacher what he thought of her other choices and if they complimented each other or if they are all too content heavy. He said that DD would be fine in that respect but his only comment was that if she wanted to bear Oxbridge in mind, they may well value Philosophy as an A-level over Psychology. What do any of you lovely people think about that? Is Psychology a-level a less respected subject? Could it impede her? The thing is I don’t want DD to focus solely on Oxbridge (certainly not at this stage) and I do think that ultimately she needs to take the subjects she thinks she will enjoy. It is lovely that her teachers are pushing her and motivating her but I do feel a little bit like theyare fixated on this route for DD on her behalf.

[goodbyestranger]

It's utterly marginal, the difference between Psychology or Philosophy & Ethics as the third subject. Philosophy & Ethics is no more highly regarded these days, so it's absolutely even.

Is this a state school?

[goodbyestranger]

Just read back :utterly marginal/ absolutely even. Basically, doesn't matter at all :)

[Gizmo98765]

I would always encourage your DC to choose the subjects they most enjoy and are most interested in at A level.

That way they will be more motivated to study and more likely to enjoy the course rather than purely fixating on the high stakes of Oxbridge. My DS’s school are supportive of his Oxbridge application but are much more hands off way and this is only since he mentioned about maybe applying and did the school think he would be good enough to apply towards the end of year 12. Your DD sounds like she is receiving plenty of support from her school almost too much for a long period which will be a lot of pressure for her.

[goodbyestranger]

Agree Gizmo, that's why I was curious about state/ indie. It sounds a bit full on for the start of Y11.

[Rollergirl11]

Thanks for your replies.

It’s a state school. Husband and wife team who have both taught DD for English, one head of department and the other deputy of sixth form. They have been talking about her as some kind of child prodigy in English since Year 9. DD is incredibly flattered but I know she does feel there is a huge expectation of her and it does make her anxious.

[Rollergirl11]

Just out of interest what would you have guessed out of state/independent? 😂

[goodbyestranger]

I would have guessed state. It sounds too intense for indies. I would tread with caution and even tell the two teachers to calm it a bit. It doesn't sound particularly healthy.

[goodbyestranger]

Another tack might be to dial down just how huge the expectation is. Making Oxbridge out to be a massive golden prize isn't generally very helpful, in my view. Or perhaps the teachers' expectations are already leaping beyond that, to the Nobel Prize in Literature, in which case I'll concede that that is actually huge. It does like a massive dose of casual is needed!

[Rollergirl11]

Yes I absolutely agree. Thanks for this. So to confirm my initial question, choosing Psychology over Philosophy shouldn’t make a blind bit of difference to her applying to English at Oxbridge?

[goodbyestranger]

No it won't.

[Theendoftheworldisnigh]

That's a very early start for a mentoring relationship. My DC has had some advice from a current Oxbridge student, but this Autumn (is applying at the moment). It's been helpful to get their view on the course and on the personal statement.
Oxbridge is 1) not the be all and end all, 2) not THAT difficult to get into. If your DD really is some kind of prodigy, getting into Oxbridge shouldn't be too enormous a challenge.

[Theendoftheworldisnigh]

As a comforting comparison, of the Chinese students who apply to the top Chinese university in Beijing, only 2% get a place. Around 25% of applicants get a place at Cambridge (not just an offer).
Getting into the top American Ivy League universities and into the Grandes Ecoles in France is also FAR tougher than getting into Oxbridge. I met someone who was trying for one of the Grandes Ecoles, and you had to join a special class (hard to get into and expensive), in order to have loads of extra lessons towards taking the entrance exam.

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

@Rollergirl11

Hi all, I have been reading this thread with interest. It is a fair way off for DD just yet as she is in Year 11. She is predicted all 9’s in her GCSE’s. She has a passion for English lit and will definitely be taking for a-levels. Her English teachers have already told her that they think she is Oxbridge material for English and they are have an Oxbridge program at their sixth form. They are also in the process of getting her in contact with a past student who is currently doing English lit at Cambridge for her to mentor DD.

My question is about her other A-level subject choices. At her sixth form they take 4 and drop one in the first term of Year 12. Also everyone is expected to do their EPQ. DD will be taking English Lit, History and then she is interested in Psychology and Philosophy & Ethics as third and fourth with one of them being dropped. DD has a genuine curiosity for Psychology and really liked the sound of the content at the taster day. She asked her English teacher what he thought of her other choices and if they complimented each other or if they are all too content heavy. He said that DD would be fine in that respect but his only comment was that if she wanted to bear Oxbridge in mind, they may well value Philosophy as an A-level over Psychology. What do any of you lovely people think about that? Is Psychology a-level a less respected subject? Could it impede her? The thing is I don’t want DD to focus solely on Oxbridge (certainly not at this stage) and I do think that ultimately she needs to take the subjects she thinks she will enjoy. It is lovely that her teachers are pushing her and motivating her but I do feel a little bit like theyare fixated on this route for DD on her behalf.

My DD started her A-levels certain she was going to apply to do English Lit at Uni and took Politics, History and English Lit. She got 9,9 in her English lan / lit at GCSE and seems to have a real talent for writing and critical analysis. However she has absolutely loved Politics far more than English and is now applying to Uni for this instead. I think the courses are so intense that they have to do something they enjoy and you are absolutely right not just to focus on Oxbridge as its so difficult to get into plus there are so many other fab opportunities out there. Not sure whether it holds more weight but encourage her to go with what she enjoys.

[Piggywaspushed]

Quite large numbers of students doing psychology degrees have English A Level. Its a commonplace combination. I cannot for the life of me see why it would be any problem whatsoever. To do an English degree, you need English A Level. Everything else matters not one jot. Clearly , some support each other better than others (history being the obvious one; philosophy adds nothing new or extra there) .

A girl in my school who is amazing is applying to Oxford to do English with English, German and maths A level.

[Pearlypinknails]

I saw on WIWIKAU today the head of admissions for Cambridge shared a post and was answering questions. Might be helpful.

[cricketjoys85]

@Eightytwenty , it's a very popular Facebook page for parents of students and prospective students. It's also a website.