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.

@ofteninaspin - same! DS1 had Durham as insurance and it felt like a trek. But these are decisions for the DC to make on not the parents 😊

DC1 is a very long drive away in Cambridge, which means she has to store her stuff there and get the train. And visiting is very difficult.

Absolutely @SandyBayley re the decisions being theirs and the trek!
I didn't actually visit Durham until DS was looking. We drove to Cambridge for an open day and then on up to Durham for theirs, staying overnight at St Chad's. It was a long drive home!

I agree that Covid changes the sense of distance. I was so relived that DS1 didn't end up at Aberystwyth when Covid struck. It made me reflect on how isolated he would be if he got really ill, or anything went wrong. Instead he is a 75 minute train journey away which is useful.

Unless he gets into Cambridge or choose Birmingham, DS1 will be further away but we have ruled out Edinburgh and Glasgow as just that bit too far and too big for him as well

Yes, the total time from door to door from London to Edinburgh will be more than 4 hours! That may well be too long for some. My dd absolutely loves Edinburgh so for her it's worth it. Thankfully she's sharing a very well furnished flat so could take the train up with a couple of suitcases (I.e. we didn't have to drive up!)

[quote kitnkaboodle]@CurlyhairedAssassin for what it's worth, DS2 did the Imperial engineering test last Friday and found it pretty much a doddle compared to the ENGAA. He thought it was strangely easy ('kind of AS level') given that most kids applying to Imperial will be A/A star students. Let us know how your DS gets on.[/quote]
Ah I didn't realise it was a separate test altogether for Aeronautical Engineering which is what DS has applied for. I had heard the engineering test isn't so bad. Which is why DS and I are both a bit shell-shocked by the AMAT today. From what I've seen online, DS isn't alone..."waaay harder than the ENGAA", "pretty much impossible", "nearly all further maths only" and "did anyone think there seemed to be errors in some of the questions?" are some of the comments I've seen.

DS's low score was a shock to me but he doesn't seem to think that it rules him out. I don't know anything about it so don't know if he's right but I'm not paying it any more attention. What will be will be....

Yay, finally first offer for DD; standard offer from Bristol. Such a relief and now obsessed with pics of the beautiful Bristol Suspension Bridge! 🤣🤣

Fantastic news heinz!

@heinztomatosoup

Yay, finally first offer for DD; standard offer from Bristol. Such a relief and now obsessed with pics of the beautiful Bristol Suspension Bridge! 🤣🤣

Great news!

If you fly to Edinburgh you need to get a tram from the airport to Edinburgh Parkway then a train to Leuchars - then a bus the last 10 mins to St Andrews as it doesn’t have a train station. It sounds a long journey but we worked out if he was dropped at the airport he could be back in St Andrews in 4hrs. I’d rather he went closer to home but he’s not phased with travelling, and we have travelled a lot since he was born as my family are a 4/5hr drive away so he’s used to long journeys. I would prefer he gets Oxford or Warwick as that’s 2hrs max - but if he goes to Scotland we will make it work.

There is a train from London Kings Cross to Leuchars - (maybe 1 change). But it’s 5hrs

Nice one Heinz!

Exciting times @heinztomatosoup

That's great @heinztomatosoup - DD has Bristol on her list but an interview is what she needs now. Have you watched Showtrial? Bristol looks very glam in parts, less so in others!

Have been following this thread with much interest - may I join? DS applying for HSPS at Cambridge. Am getting slightly anxious as not a whiff of an offer from his other choices, all of which are massively oversubscribed and offer late. He seems stoic enough and I was fully aware that with his choices we would have a long wait but I find myself getting edgy. Ridiculous and I am cross with myself as it is only early November and I know he will be absolutely fine. C is such a long shot that neither I nor DS are overly-invested in it, but I seem to have managed to seamlessly replace Cambridge with Durham and St A's as the object of my over-investment. Venting here so I can be the calm and serene parent he needs and deserves!

Welcome fishingeagle

Welcome @fishingeagle another HSPS applicant mum here! We can compare notes 😄

Thank you @ealingwestmum! Never mind Cambridge, if he gets one offer I'll be doing cartwheels in the yard. He was chuffed with his predicted grades and decided to back himself, which is admirable but obviously not without risk. Still, they were his choices to make and he knew the stats when he made them.

Can I come out from lurking too? My DD is another long-shot HSPS applicant to Cambridge.

@fishingeagle welcome. My DS is in the same boat with lack of offers and has similarly applied to Cambridge, St A. and Durham for a different course to your DS. Although he wants Cambridge I think he would be fairly happy with St. A or Durham but I think less so with his 4th and 5th choices.

Hello Startoftheyear2021, a great time to de-lurk and join the growing HSPS contingent!

It does sound like an incredible course!

@ProggyMat DS submitted his coursework last night (I thought he had done it on Friday but the files for some reason needed to be compressed as there was a problem with the college server - a lesson for DS in why not to leave things to last minute). Anyway, just letting you know that he did get confirmation of receipt of the work in case you want to look out for similar for DD.

@Horrace Thanks!
DD sent her’s on Friday night but no receipt as yet- hmm
She forwarded it to me yesterday- and the email came through okay- as I hadn’t seen her chosen pieces
I think it might be best she drops the college an email to ask if they have received it!

Thank you @Gizmo98765 and hi @Startoftheyear2021 - really glad to have some fellow HSPS'ers for company!

@ProggyMat I’ll speak to DS later (I’m still away) - maybe they acknowledged receipt because he had been in touch because he was having trouble with submitting it (as opposed to it being a standard acknowledgement if you know what I mean). I reckon if you got it ok then it’s probably fine. As you can tell I am a bit paranoid about these things! Made DS bcc email to himself, me and DH. And print it out. I’ll let you know what he says.