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 .

@beeswain

For those waiting for interviews, I feel for you! DS was interviewed for Maths in 2019 and the invitation did not come until 29th November. Several dc we knew were getting Maths interviews at other colleges so DS was quite downhearted. So hang in there and fingers firmly crossed for everyone.

That makes me feel better!

Amazing news Eightytwenty

@MillicentFaucet DS also applied to St Johns but a different course.

He seems fine and quite chilled or he appears that way. I just hate the waiting (and trying to hide it). But would be good to know whether he still has a shot or whether to move on. So far he has two offers (not contextual) for his 4th and 5th choice but thats it.

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango thanks for the new thread
I really enjoyed the interview link you posted for a HSPS interview that was predominately focussed on Anthropology as I read that for my degree

Well done on those offers, it's nice to know that they're wanted somewhere. DS has also applied to Bath, I'm sure his email from them said no offers until the January deadline has passed.
I wonder why Cardiff (ABB) & Newcastle (AAB) offers are lower than their usual AAA. It doesn't say anything about them being contextual but he does go to a comp so it might be that.
Gizmo have you visited John's? We had an unaccompanied wander around for an hour during a weekend visit this summer & DS changed his mind from making an open application to putting it on his UCAS because it has it's own architecture society.

Yes we too had an unaccompanied wander around the grounds at October half term after his application had gone in. So we saw the grounds and we saw it from the back of the river on a punt. To be fair all the colleges we saw looked lovely.

Looks can be deceptive. Apparently the only part of the gardens Trinity Students are allowed in is permanently covered in goose shit.

Just checked last year's messages....
DD heard on 27 or 30 November (we can't quite recall) about her interview on 10 December.
At Cambridge there doesn't seem to be much grouping of interview dates with subject - it's very college dependent as they don't get subsequent interviews for the pool etc.

@Chilldonaldchill

Just checked last year's messages.... DD heard on 27 or 30 November (we can't quite recall) about her interview on 10 December. At Cambridge there doesn't seem to be much grouping of interview dates with subject - it's very college dependent as they don't get subsequent interviews for the pool etc.

😟😫I don't know if I can stand it that long!

@Titoth

Looks can be deceptive. Apparently the only part of the gardens Trinity Students are allowed in is permanently covered in goose shit.

It doesn’t sound like it from the name, but aren’t Trinity students allowed in the enormous Fellows Garden, which is on the other side of Queens Road, the main road along the Backs? It says in the link that “It is often a quiet spot for students to relax or study” and there are student accommodation blocks in Burrell’s Field at the far edge of it.

That's good to hear. Is this basically a Cambridge only thread? Has there been an exodus from Ox to Cam this year?

No its both an Oxford and Cambridge thread @Titoth.

@Titoth - Oxford hasn't started offering interviews yet so the Oxford parents are quiet-ish for now.

Just marking my place so I can find the new thread. We are still on only one offer grrr....

Would love just one offer @MareofBeasttown ! An interview would be nice 😊 I think it will be at least another week before DD's medical schools start inviting to interview..

@MareofBeasttown We are only on one offer too - but one interview (Imperial) and impatiently waiting - though not with much hope after the exam - for Cambridge interview....I'm WAY more stressed about the wait than DS.

I don't know much about this whole process but I am going to assume @Sandybayley that medicine being so competitive, offers will take a while.
It definitely seems to be very dependent on the course and institution.

With medicine those who take the BMAT at least have a date to fixate on - 26 November. That's when the results come out. So at least then DD will know if she has a chance of an Oxford or Leeds interview.

Yes @MareofBeasttown - it's a long drawn out process. But the good thing is that if/when DD gets offers they won't be scary high or difficult to achieve. When DS1 got his offer he was happy for about 24 hours and then starting fretting about making it!

DD1 was invited to her Oxford interview on 22 November. That was in 2018 though, Before Coronavirus.

With DC1 I always thought there was a fair chance they'd get an offer, but that achieving the grades would be the worry. With DC2 it's more likely the oppposite.

DS1 got his Oxford invite on 29 November in 2019.

Congratulations to DC with offers and good luck to those waiting.

DD Oxford invite (2018) arrived on 29th Nov (her 18th birthday) and she had to be in Oxford for Weds/Thurs the following week.
I can't remember exact dates for DS's Cambridge invite (2020) but he had three weeks notice for interview slots (at 3pm and 5pm) in early December.

[quote Eightytwenty]@Chilldonaldchill how does Cambridge work with pooling then if they don’t re-interview?[/quote]
I'm no expert but this happened to DD last year and to several of her friends so I hope I'm not misleading....
Basically if the college you apply to doesn't want you but thinks someone else might they just "put you in the pool" and apparently there's a big meeting with all the DoSs from all the colleges for that subject and they just take it in turns to choose the students - I assume based on previous results, their performance at the test, any previous work and maybe some notes on their interview performance?
At dd's college for her subject 80% of them were taken from the pool this year and they only offered to 1 or 2 of their own applicants.
Hopefully if someone knows better than me they'll come on and advise!
(But from what I've read on here Oxford colleges tend to re-interview for places from the pool so all students applying for the same subject need to be around - in normal years when it's in person - on the same dates. But also Oxford interview fewer per place I think and Cambridge interview most people?)