Oxbridge Aspirants 2022...Part 2...applications submitted now the tense wait!

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

Thought I would start a new thread as part one is nearly full and found thread one to be of great support.

So its deadline week this week for our applicants then the nervous wait begins to find out of they have made it to interview. DD applying for HSPS at Cambridge. We know it is a long shot but got to be in it to win it and she is very keen to try. Looking at the admissions info it does not look as though she will need to sit a test prior but all the best to those who will have to.

@KaptainKaveman he's chosen German as his second.

@Gizmo98765

DS was grumpy so I bowed out. I don’t even know whether he chose an old passport photo from a year ago or an unflattering photo taken after school tonight by DH.

Dd insisted on taking her own photo with fresh hair, she seems to think if she did get in that photo would be used on a lanyard forever....so it had to be right! 😂

Yes, the threat from Cambridge is that it goes on lanyard!

Yes it says on the SAQ guide that it is for the lanyard but DS left it so late in the day he had to make do. The shirt he suddenly announced he wanted to wear last night was in the wash, he wanted his needed cut and his skin wasn’t looking the best hence his grumpiness about the photo.

DDs photo also went on the CamCard which is what they use all the time to open doors in the college and lots of other things. She was mortified having used an old school one in which she looked about 12.

DD had two more offers today for Politics and IR from Nottingham Uni and Cardiff bloody typical that she really wants Bath and so sods law it will be the one that takes the longest to come through. ABB from Nottingham (same with Cardiff but thats their standard offer) so another contextual offer. It seems that out of 1650 pupils that go to her sixth form college less than half go to Uni as there are a lot of vocational courses there.

College are being supportive though and their Oxbridge group are practicing interviews next week so all she needs now is an interview to practice for .

That’s super news! Newcastle offered my DD a place at AAB (their standard offer is ABB for Geography). It’s made me wonder if we should expect tougher offers this year.

Good news !

Fab news for all the students with offers. Are all the students with offers Scottish, older (having deferred a year and A level grades known), getting contextual offers or doing a particular course please?

DS aiming high with his choice of unis (and so he should with his predicted grades). He doesn’t meet any of the criteria for a contextual offer. He has one interview lined up so far but no other offers as yet. He submitted his UCAS form within days of the UCAS deadline.

No, mine is just a standard child!

Gizmo my DD only has the one conditional offer. She is English and not entitled to any contextualisation. She is predicted AAA, she has not done an EPQ, she does not play a musical instrument, etc. I think she will have a long wait to hear about the other choices. I assume schools doing these very quick offers aren’t reading personal statements, etc., but are accepting all applicants automatically who reach a certain number of UCAS points.

@Gizmo98765

Fab news for all the students with offers. Are all the students with offers Scottish, older (having deferred a year and A level grades known), getting contextual offers or doing a particular course please?

DS aiming high with his choice of unis (and so he should with his predicted grades). He doesn’t meet any of the criteria for a contextual offer. He has one interview lined up so far but no other offers as yet. He submitted his UCAS form within days of the UCAS deadline.

It's quite a different system here in Scotland. DC do Highers in S5 (5th year). We do 5 Highers as opposed to 3 A levels. They're between AS and A level standard (one of the reasons why in the Scottish system the honours degree is 4 years). You can apply to university after S5 (I went straight from S5- I was still 16) and you would get a conditional offer like English students.

However, many students stay on for S6 to do extra Highers, upgrade, resit etc or do Advanced Highers (3 maximum and they're A level/ a bit above standard). This also means they're 17 almost 18, or already 18 by the time..Therefore, DC who did well in S5 will get unconditional offers based on S5 results.

Oxbridge will offer to S5 pupils but also to S6 - but they'll probably offer conditionally based on Advanced Higher results.

So, DC from S5 will be 16/17 from S6 17/18 but they'll also be others who took a year out or who went via a college route after S5 who will be older.

I hope that makes it clearer.

@Gizmo98765

Fab news for all the students with offers. Are all the students with offers Scottish, older (having deferred a year and A level grades known), getting contextual offers or doing a particular course please?

DS aiming high with his choice of unis (and so he should with his predicted grades). He doesn’t meet any of the criteria for a contextual offer. He has one interview lined up so far but no other offers as yet. He submitted his UCAS form within days of the UCAS deadline.

We are in England (Shropshire) and a bog standard sixth form college. I think some Unis are just faster to send out their offers than others and DD is bloody lucky to be getting any contextual offers as I do not feel it is a fair system tbh as she is receiving, from what I can see, a really good level of education from them. We didnt know she would get any contextual offers until they came in lower than expected.

Congratulations to all those with offers! Very exciting of nerve wracking times.
@Gizmo98765 DD has had standard offers from two of her backups, she is at a north east state sixth form college, we had no expectation of contextual offers.

Thanks all thats helped to clarify DS predicted AAAA and A in EPQ. He goes to a state GS but it has a good reputation.

My DD is getting contextual offers because she already has an A* in her EPQ (her school do it in Year 12.) I do think that might also be a large part of the reason that she's already had three offers.

DD has had no offers either, she isn't expecting any til jan for courses / unis she's chosen but as others at her school are receiving offers she's a bit 😐 I think she'd like to have one at least

DS has had no offers yet, but some of his classmates from his old school in India have got conditional offers from Warwick and King's for the same course. I do know international students get offers quicker because they pay double.

Just submitted the written work. Annoyingly, I scanned the wrong history draft so scanned the one where he wrote 'feeded' and the teacher has put FED next to it... whoops...

Was supposed to be at Sheffield today but M1 closed until Northampton so that scuppered plans.

@Piggywaspushed why are you scanning and submitting for him? Not meant as a criticism just curious.

We don't have a scanner at home so I did it at work. He did the submitting bit.

Makes sense (I worry I’m not as hands on as I’d like to be, given DD’s general scattiness!)

I'm enjoying being involved. DS1 was a nightmare...

I’m English (a Brummie!) with two kids born in Scotland. My DS decided not to change his 2 subject choices at St Andrew’s - we’ll see what happens. He’s focussing on his TSA Now. He’s watching videos, reading ‘So you Think you can Think’ book (thanks Hoghyni!) and counting off the days till Nov 4th. In the lap of the Gods now.

Sorry piggy that you didn’t get to Sheffield. I’m rather relieved we don’t have to visit anywhere. Even getting to school and back will be a nightmare these next few weeks because of Cop 26. The schools should have just decided to do ‘blended learning’ because it’s going to be a nightmare up here especially with the rail strike too!