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.

@SayYouDontMind

My DS applied to Oxford, St A, Edinburgh and Glasgow and hasn't heard anything yet and wasn't really expecting to. He's already got his Highers (5 x As) and is predicted 3 As at Advanced Highers. Is it only certain subjects that are making these earlier offers? He's choosing a mix of PPE, Economics & IR, Philosophy/Politics. I know we'll hear in a couple of weeks whether he's got an interview or not at Oxford but wasn't expecting to get any offers on the others until after January.

I think it must be certain subjects. DS is Maths and had Edinburgh a few weeks ago, which others have not but no Glasgow, which others have had already. Think it's pot luck.

We're in same boat as you with Highers already and sitting AH. Looks like it's just sitting tight for now. Fingers crossed for all.

Hi @mich101! Nice to see some engineering applicants on here. Must be a boom year! My DS2 thought ENGAA was v hard - he came out rather shell-shocked. I think that a low score is kind of normal!!

Another with a DS applying to Cambridge Engineering. He too found the Engaa very difficult! Good luck to everyone regarding interviews.

@SayYouDontMind

My DS applied to Oxford, St A, Edinburgh and Glasgow and hasn't heard anything yet and wasn't really expecting to. He's already got his Highers (5 x As) and is predicted 3 As at Advanced Highers. Is it only certain subjects that are making these earlier offers? He's choosing a mix of PPE, Economics & IR, Philosophy/Politics. I know we'll hear in a couple of weeks whether he's got an interview or not at Oxford but wasn't expecting to get any offers on the others until after January.

DD has applied for a mixture of Politics and IR and has 3 offers now (Liverpool, Cardiff and Nottingham, still waiting on Bath) so I think its Uni specific not subject. Obviously still nervously waiting for the Cambridge email. Will she get an interview or won't she?!

So envious of all your offers, not a single bite for DD yet 😢

Nor here, @heinztomatosoup. I hoped they would be beating down the door.

🤣🤣@TerrifiedandWorried
I know I need to be patient. To be fair, two of the unis have written to say they won't be making any offers at all until all applications received, so could be a long wait. Really thrilled for all those with offers 😄

I know that everyone thinks their own child is special but DD really is . I think in the back of my mind I genuinely thought she would just walk into Oxford with no problems and thought that was a fair swap for the huge amount of work she has put in for the last 7 years or so. She got 12 9s for GCSE ffs. Her extra curriculars are off the chart and most of all, she genuinely wants to learn. It's not just because it's Oxford it's because she looked really hard at the courses available and this was the best one. I promise I'm not a pushy parent!

I think it's really tough that some uni departments go so early with offers and others don't. I can imagine it must be really dispiriting to see your friends getting offers and not have any, even if you know that it's almost certainly just because you've applied to specific departments who don't offer quickly.

Add to that a mother that has no clue about these things and it's no wonder DD is stressed.
It's the systems within systems that annoy me. There should be one way to do everything.

@TerrifiedandWorried

I know that everyone thinks their own child is special but DD really is . I think in the back of my mind I genuinely thought she would just walk into Oxford with no problems and thought that was a fair swap for the huge amount of work she has put in for the last 7 years or so. She got 12 9s for GCSE ffs. Her extra curriculars are off the chart and most of all, she genuinely wants to learn. It's not just because it's Oxford it's because she looked really hard at the courses available and this was the best one. I promise I'm not a pushy parent!

I think the problem is there are loads of kids just like your dd, most of us think our dc are special I know my dd is 😂😂😂

I suspect part of the problem is I haven't met any 🤣

Ha, my DS really isn't that special and certainly doesn't have those GSCEs or extra curricular! I mean he's special to me obviously and exceptionally compassionate but I'm not sure either is a qualification for university admission.

However, I'd caution against making any assumptions about Oxbridge entry being an exact science. It's so dependent on subject and college - loads of properly exceptional kids don't get in and loads of mediocre ones do.

I think it's important to emphasise how it's a bit of a lottery in order to manage expectations. She shouldn't be stressed about it, she will be offered places at the majority of universities she's applied for, possibly all of them.

*loads of properly exceptional kids don't get in and loads of mediocre ones do.

I think it's important to emphasise how it's a bit of a lottery in order to manage expectations*

This is brilliant advice. Absolutely right.

Luckily DS is not stressed at all: he's Mr Laidback, which I'm very thankful for. It was quite late in the day he thought of trying for Oxford so he's very philosophical. It's very hard when your DC are stressed, they have some much on their young shoulders. Hold steady parents of MN!

Bold fail!

My DS is a world champion in leaving coffee cups under his bed to collect mould and exceptionally gifted at finding ways to avoid doing his washing. If only that were considered a qualification:)

Mare

Well said @Valleyofthedollymix to be honest DS is similar doesn’t have unblemished GCSE’s or astounding extra curricular’s and really only started working hard just before lockdown in year 11 but he has cranked things up a lot since year 12 and has really came into his own.
He has the ability to get into Oxbridge but is well rounded and would be happy wherever he goes.

DD applied to four very difficult schools and one still good but more likely school. As expected, she has one offer and will have to wait quite a while to hear from the others. She might not get into any of the others.

With the one offer in hand, she is happy with her strategy. Now it’s all upside.

@TerrifiedandWorried Your DD sounds lovely and I'm sure will do fantastically well wherever she goes. We experienced much of what you describe with our DD's application to Oxford and although she was ultimately offered a place, the height of the bar she had to jump came as bit of a shock to us too. We didn't realise quite how much now
depends on the context of the application. Your DD's achievements are hugely impressive and doubtless only came like our DD's after many years of hard work. However if she's applying from a top independent school, Oxford will expect those kind of flawless GCSE results along with a high score in any admissions test and a shining performance at interview. If she's an outlier at her school academically and massively outperforming most of her peers then that's an altogether different matter. I fear no-one's walking into Oxford, but context is everything. The better performing the school, the more will be expected by Oxford from every aspect of a candidate's application.

My DS is from a high performing school so not holding out much hope. To be honest if he gets into the LSE, which is his second choice, I will be over the moon!

Likewise. DD has 'perfect' stats for GCSEs and predicted IB results. But she attends a very high performing school where that's not particularly unusual so the odds are not great for her. Add to that the fact she's applying for medicine and it gets a bit gloomy tbh.

When DS1 got into Oxford he was a strong candidate but probably not the strongest from his school. Others who might have been. Expected to get in didn't so I'm acutely aware if the 'lottery'.

She went to the local state secondary (none of the gcses were done early, all year 11 plus an A for further maths), We are very low earning etc. I don't know what else she could have done. I think nothing. She worked so hard to get herself into the best position she could. She got an academic scholarship to a private school for 6th form and I hope that hasn't ultimately disadvantaged her.

She is also excellent at flouncing and leaving dirty rugby kit all over the house...