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 .

Thanks for the commiserations. Nobody likes rejection but I’m not convinced it was a good fit. It’s always nice to have the choice though.

@SandyBayley I think you are right and the admissions test has been the problem. I hope so anyway! I’ve been thinking about his PS (I actually re-read it) and it’s much more geared towards his “do or die” choice rather than the Oxford course but not really so much so to hold it against him.

@Piggywaspushed he wants UCL. It sounds like a brilliant course with more flexibility than Oxford. He can do 30 credits a year from a different discipline (he’s applied for history but wants to study some anthropology) and it has fewer compulsory modules so more opportunity to develop wider interest outside of British history and it spans 5000 years which is much broader than some. He likes middle and Far East, and really early stuff (first cities etc) as well as more modern. I really hope he gets in. His other choices are LSE (not as keen, picked basically because it’s in London) and Edinburgh, which is also a big city and a flexible course but the 4 years thing is off putting. There is no skipping into 2nd year for English students on that course so he’d be even deeper in debt at the end of it all. He already has a Newcastle offer but feels a bit meh about it. It’s a really low offer and I think that has put him off a bit. I think he should have applied to KCL which gives far more offers than UCL but he hasn’t so that’s that.

Sorry about your ds @SayYouDontMind I think ds is “flat” too. Not devastated, not even particularly upset, but….flat. I’m proud of my boy for trying too. I hope your ds gets the offer he wants. I think for both ds and I there was a lot focus on this particular application and now it’s just vanished so the angst about the other applications has filled the void. It will settle in a few days I’m sure.

@SayYouDontMind - I'm sorry to hear it was a 'no'. St Andrews sounds like it would be great so fingers crossed for him.

There are such a lot of disappointments in this process. Really sorry to hear about these ones. Hoping for new alternatives to offer and perk everyone up.

Ds's best friend has an interview but their sibling and another very close friend of them both almost certainly haven't. It will all even out in time, but all these hurdles feel really hard. Especially as the ones I would say are the most expansively dedicated to their subjects will be elsewhere. Cambridge's loss tbh.

sandybayley eightytwenty shadedog thanks for the good wishes. We've had discussions tonight about the difference between 'failing' and 'not succeeding' and ended up laughing. I said he's got so many different paths ahead of him - and the stress of swotting for an online interview is off his shoulders and he can concentrate on learning his subjects - that chapter is over and hopefully there are even more exciting ones to come. But big congrats to all of you who are through to the next stage and the very best of luck. I'll be here following your progress and cheering you all on.

@Shadedog @SayYouDontMind

Very sorry to hear your dc did not get interviews...its a super tough process for them and I hope they are both ok. I know many of us will be here in January with the same feelings too.

On a side note bloody hell its blowing a storm here in Shropshire! I am off to work for the weekend with a horrible motorway journey hopefully will make it there intact! Hope you all have a lovely weekend all

To those still waiting lots of

shade, UCL sounds brilliant. Hope it works out.

Wishing your DS all the best SayYouDontMind, UCL course sounds amazing

Just sending commiserations and congratulations. It’s a tough road and our kids will find their path. Oxbridge isn’t the be all and end all. We are still waiting to hear but I don’t think Oxford is the best fit for my son anyway, and if it’s a no he will find the path that’s for him

So sorry for your DCs @Shadedog and @SayYouDontMind. All of those not getting interviews will flourish wherever they go, and they should all be proud for even having a go - it's such a tough process.

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango hope you have a safe journey - sounds a bit scary!

Sending lots of patience vibes to those still waiting - and yes, lots of !

My DD still waiting to hear about Modern Languages at Oxford - has anyone else already hear about an interview for ML? There are one or two on TSR spreadsheet but not many so it just seems they are late sending them out.

The interviews are due to start on 6th December and she's being great about preparing despite not knowing if she has an interview but it is increasingly nerve wracking. The good news is usually about 90% of applicants for ML are interviewed. The challenge is as she's applying for deferred entry the bar is somewhat higher.

@juja My dd had an interview offer for MFL at Oxford on 30 November last year, so your dd may well hear early next week. Her first interview was a week later. Not a problem as no travel involved.

[quote NiamCinnOir]@juja My dd had an interview offer for MFL at Oxford on 30 November last year, so your dd may well hear early next week. Her first interview was a week later. Not a problem as no travel involved.[/quote]
That's reassuring @NiamCinnOir - we will just sit tight for another few days! As you say no travel.

Good luck to everyone! Hoping this thread may be useful for us in the future (fingers crossed).
Can I ask - are all the interviews online now? How do the kids feel about it? Seems like a step forward logistically (I always thought the last minute travel was difficult, especially in winter), but it seems a shame to miss out on a taste of the college experience in person.

@Juja, finally delurking to say my DD got an interview email for MFL late yesterday. Looking at the spreadsheet, her college has generally been one of the first to notify about interviews though.

As you say, it’s highly likely your DD will get an interview. The published criteria say one of GCSEs, predicted A grades or MLAT has to be really low (bottom quintile for MLAT) to not get offered an interview.

I have posted this before but hope it may provide some solace. My DD went through this process in 2019 and had an interview but wasn’t given an offer. The Head of her Sixth Form wrote her a letter which we found really helpful. He quoted a Cambridge admissions tutor who said,” We do our best to select fairly but we know that, despite our best efforts, the selection process is fallible. We turn down candidates whose subsequent performances at other universities and career achievements demonstrate that they are more talented and interesting people than a good few of the candidates we accept. Hence we hope you will not view the outcome as your failure; it may well be ours.”
I wish all of your brilliant children wonderful futures wherever they study.

@MFLMum2021 thank you for the reassurance. DD has 10 Grade 9s and is predicted 2xA and 1xD2 (A equivalent).

She found the MLAT harder than the most recent MLATs, more like the 2015/16/17 papers, but finished both sections so we remain hopeful.

PS @MFLMum2021 - many congratulations to your daughter on having an interview and best of luck to her.

Thanks @juja, your DD sounds very similar to mine. She may not be doing the same subject, but DD thought on her paper the grammar in particular was harder than previous years.

I did ML at Oxford and was asking my tutor at a recent reunion what they look for in a candidate. She said, “Do they read?” Apparently that’s the key thing for her. Lots of candidates nowadays don’t, apparently.

@Juja

My DD still waiting to hear about Modern Languages at Oxford - has anyone else already hear about an interview for ML? There are one or two on TSR spreadsheet but not many so it just seems they are late sending them out.

The interviews are due to start on 6th December and she's being great about preparing despite not knowing if she has an interview but it is increasingly nerve wracking. The good news is usually about 90% of applicants for ML are interviewed. The challenge is as she's applying for deferred entry the bar is somewhat higher.

DC is applying for modern languages at Cambridge, and is taking a gap year. The college website says that to get an offer for deferred entry the college needs to think that you are better than any of next year's candidates are likely to be!!! So we're not holding our breath. DC really wants a gap year, but the recent news on the South African variant is worrying... It would be awful to be stuck at home for the duration, instead of having an adventure with your languages abroad.

Hoping all the language students hear this coming week if not invited already. DD has a same predicted profile to previous posters.

Was at a function this week where a parent alluded to how much easier it was for MML students, given that non Oxbridge requirements were ‘only’ ABB. said more, but I’m sure we’ve all heard it before. Smile, nod and repeat.

I hope, covid aside, your DD aces her interviews to secure a deferred offer Storminamu

Apart from Durham…