Oxbridge Aspirants 2022 part 3....Will they or won't they make it to interview? Our Mum nerves are in tatters!

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

New thread for us, lots of lovely support whilst we wait. Some of our lovely DC now have interview dates whilst the rest of us hold our breath and try not to hassle our teens into checking their SPAM folders at least several times per day .

@SandyBayley Thank you! Keeping everything crossed for your DD!
@goodbyestranger Thanks! I think DD would say after the CAT - which really rocked her- non Classics stuff would be a blessing!

Well done to your DD Fly

Yay, congrats to Proggy and Fly's DCs (and anyone else I have missed). Great news.

DS's friend got rejected for engineering at C today. He thought he'd done OK on the ENGAA and he had "the best PS out of all of us"...but I guess he maybe didn't do as well on the test as he thought. So tough for them all, isn't it.

Super news proggy and fly! Congrats to your DC. Still no news here ….

Pleased to be able to add to the list of those with interviews - DS got offered an interview for MEng at Churchill today! He had felt fairly confident that he would as he thought the ENGAA went really well. Also had his Imperial interview today which he thinks went ok, but so hard to tell, isn't it!?

I do think that they seem to be putting a lot of emphasis on the entrance tests this year when it comes to offering interviews to people.

Congrats to all the others who have heard today, and sorry for those who didn't get the news they wanted.

Ha ha well it obviously threw her less than she thought Proggy. In fact I suppose they often do it across a number of subjects but it was just more striking with Classics. To throw really quite obscure things at interviewees to level the field and see how they cope with new ideas. The source papers my sons were given for History were nothing like anything they'd come across (Mediaeval fishing rights in darkest Newfoundland or something like that for one and the other was even weirder but I can't think what it was. Anyhow it helps with prep knowing that it won't help to prep very much.

Hang in there Horace

Brilliant @CurlyhairedAssassin - well done to your DS. My son really enjoyed his Imperial interview too - but as he said afterwards, I've never done an interview before, and never one that has mattered as much so I have no idea how it really went!

It's been bad enough waiting to hear about interviews - the wait between interview and offer/rejection is going to be SOOOO long.....

@Horace123 lots of DDs friends are yet to hear - it’s early days, so keep the faith!
I thought today would be the earliest they’d hear but most likely it will be Monday as interviews don’t start until 6th December.

Ooh great news @CurlyhairedAssassin! Your DS must be a very strong applicant, with interviews at both Cambridge and Imperial. No Imperial interview on the horizon for my DS. I think, tbh, that for Maths/Physics/Engineering the entrance tests have, possibly, always carried a great deal of weight - it isn't just a Thing this year.

Ds has been rejected. He is fine about not going to Oxford but suddenly very anxious about his other choices, has decided he doesn’t like 3 of them and wondering wtf he is going to do if the only acceptable remaining choice rejects him. Although it was a very long shot for him and I wasn’t hopeful of an actual place, I was hopeful he would get an interview. They say that applicants who meet the admissions criteria (which he more than does in terms of A-level predictions) and come from our postcode/background will be strongly recommended for shortlisting. Definitely possible he’s ballsed up his admission test, but more worryingly his personal statement and reference may be awful too.

Oh Shadedog, I’m sorry to hear. But, don’t let him spiral in the wake of bad news, the next few days I hope he feels more positive about his other choices. And that the last one comes in positively.

I missed your good news CurlyhairedAssassin!

@Shadedog I’m sorry to hear that. I know it’s difficult but in time you’ll think of it that DS wasn’t rejected, Oxford missed an opportunity to have him as a student. It’s easy to say that (and I’m going to have a massive sulk if DS doesn’t get an interview - I’m definitely not going to be as mature as the people on here) but it’s true.

@ProggyMat @Eightytwenty @ealingwestmum thanks for the reassurances and thoughts. DS’s friend who applied for a different Oxford classics course got an interview so we are celebrating that.

We’ve had a really awful day - I nipped back to a former red list country earlier this month to see DF who I hadn’t seen for over 2 years. DH was supposed to fly out tonight to see his folks and grandmother who is in her 90s. He hadn’t seen them since Dec 2019. When we told them this morning the flight was cancelled his dad actually cried and his grandmother just went very quiet. We were so looking forward to Xmas as both sets of family were due to come but that’s obviously not going to happen. Kids very upset.

Congratulations @CurlyhairedAssassin. Nice news to have going with into the weekend 😀

Commiserations @Shadedog - I would assume it's the admissions test. I really don't think the PS will be the thing which swung it. I do think they spend an inordinate amount of time on the PS and not much weight (for most places) is placed on it.

@Shadedog

Ds has been rejected. He is fine about not going to Oxford but suddenly very anxious about his other choices, has decided he doesn’t like 3 of them and wondering wtf he is going to do if the only acceptable remaining choice rejects him. Although it was a very long shot for him and I wasn’t hopeful of an actual place, I was hopeful he would get an interview. They say that applicants who meet the admissions criteria (which he more than does in terms of A-level predictions) and come from our postcode/background will be strongly recommended for shortlisting. Definitely possible he’s ballsed up his admission test, but more worryingly his personal statement and reference may be awful too.

Sorry to hear that, @shades. I can understand anxiety about the other choices as you know then it WILL be one of those. This is why I think that early entrants to Oxbridge should be able to swap one of their uni choices if they fall at the first hurdle. Everyone knows how hard it is to get an interview, it could put people off even trying for Oxbridge as they might see it as a potentially wasted choice.

It's really hard to know how much of a chance your son or daughter has if it's a subject that is WAYYY past what you're capable of understanding. I mean, you are guided by the school but ultimately you have no idea really.

Sorry to hear that @Horace123 - covid is the gift which keeps on giving isn't it ☹️

And if you feel like a teenage like outburst about the unfairness of life this thread is the place to share it 😉

Oh shade, sorry 😞

Horace, how awfully disappointing for everyone. Feel sad for them all.

I'm so sorry to hear that Shadedog how disappointing for you and DS. But as PP have said Oxbridge have missed an opportunity and it definitely wasn't for him: he'll find his place and his tribe.

Still waiting over here!

What are the other unis shade?

That's DS just come downstairs after a sleep to say he didn't get an interview for PPE. That's the end of a very long process - he says he feels nothing. I think he just feels flat. Disappointed - no one in our families would have ever dreamt of going there - at least he tried. I hope he gets an offer from St Andrews - fingers crossed. Well done to all those who are celebrating and thanks to everyone on here who helped and sent personal messages with great advice. Onwards and upwards!