Oxbridge aspirants part 4......Hold onto your nerves interviews ahead....!

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

Part 4 - A friendly supportive thread for those with DC applying to Oxbridge, its an arduous process to say the least. I suspect we will need some handholding and alcohol for the couple of weeks ahead as our dc have their interviews. For those still waiting to hear I hope news comes soon

Good luck @SandyBayley and hurrah for PCR!
After 18 months in a Covid untouched bubble one of my students tested positive yesterday so I've got an unexpected day off to pop my Covid Test cherry.
DD keeps remembering things- I did say to her (I'm an oral examiner for language exams) that afterwards you rarely remember how many questions you're asked and it's often more than you think!

@Geamhradh

Good luck *@SandyBayley* and hurrah for PCR! After 18 months in a Covid untouched bubble one of my students tested positive yesterday so I've got an unexpected day off to pop my Covid Test cherry. DD keeps remembering things- I did say to her (I'm an oral examiner for language exams) that afterwards you rarely remember how many questions you're asked and it's often more than you think!

Enjoy your unexpected day off I am a nurse and somehow have escaped it so far (bound to catch it now I have tempted fate!).

Speaking with DD again last night about her second interview and it sounds as though she did better than she said. Did anybody else dc have an interviewer that was grumpy? This was the DOS though for Clare so not looking good for DD.

I don’t think the grumpiness of the interviews correlated with the DC’s performance. It probably has more to do with the interviewer than the interviewer, iyswim.

I can see how it would be off putting though.

There are probably interviewers who are kind and well meaning who smile away and then soundly reject candidates.

@Stockpot Thats very true and I realise I am overthinking it. DD feels it will be a rejection as she just did not give enough and of course in hindsight she has gone over all the things she should've said.

I am sure they had a long day and DD was probably one of the last but still you would hope they could recognise these are 17/18 year olds putting a lot into this.

@Genegenieee

DD's Cambridge maths interviews are done, she's pleased with how they went (enjoyed them even) and I'm exhausted. She's been wide eyed with nerves this week until today, when my nerves took over (while trying to appear super zen to DD).

She didn't have any PS questions - all maths questions, they went straight into them (2 interviews each 25 mins with two interviewers - no tablets or smart boards etc allowed for workings)

I'm very proud of her and think she's given it her best shot. As they don't do the exam beforehand, if she gets an offer then there is still the massive hurdle of STEP to get past - it seems so unfair to do the exams at the same time as A levels! Perhaps that is part of the test?

So good luck to those with interviews to come and thanks to all who have shared anecdotes and tips so far. You've been quoted many times "the mumsnet says"...

I'm with you on this, DD also applied for maths at C. Her interview was Monday. It just feels such a long hard slog and such a stressful summer ahead.

@Eightytwenty DS is interviewing next Monday and Tuesday (Oxford, Maths and Computer Science)

[quote Eightytwenty]@VikingNorthUtsire a long wait for you![/quote]
It really feel like it! Although it's only a few days later than the majority. We knew that O Maths were late last year (from looking at the TSR spreadsheet thanks to this thread) so it was expected. Be such a relief to have them all done!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango I'm with you I'm afraid. I know academics can be a funny lot, but I would have expected some degree of warmth/empathy for nervous 17 year olds who may never have had an interview before! I know it's a cut throat world, etc, but it doesn't sound as if DS2's interviewers matched the smiley relaxed profs in the youtube/sample videos!! As my old mum used to say - politeness costs nothing!

And #1 interview is done. She's really pleased with how it went. And now I'm wondering if that's a bad sign 😂

@SandyBayley

And #1 interview is done. She's really pleased with how it went. And now I'm wondering if that's a bad sign 😂

No not at all! DD had a really good first interview and was so positive after which was lovely. Good luck for her second I was more stressed than her yesterday!

@kitnkaboodle Thank you, your son had similar then? It's a shame they have to be like that as it only adds to what is a very stressful situation anyway.

Not grumpy, I don't think, but cold/formal/a bit brusque. Hard to gauge from a teenager's perspective. I don't think that a minute of 'setting the candidate at ease' would have gone amiss. I've heard that the interviews are meant to mirror a tutorial in many ways. Yesterday sounds more like a grilling/job interview.

@kitnkaboodle sorry to hear that your ds found the C interview tough. My ds also found his two Engineering interviews this week very difficult! But at least our dc have tried their best and will never regret not having given it a go! And as others have pointed out, there's little correlation between getting an offer and how 'well' the interview went. Fingers crossed for everyone 🤞

@sandybailey not a bad sign at all.

My DD enjoyed her Oxford interviews. She was talking to an expert about a subject she loved.

DD said one of hers was more grumpy than the other, in that when the other one asked a question he pulled faces and rolled his eyes. (I am taking that with a pinch of salt tbh )

In other news, I don't have Covid.

@Geamhradh

DD said one of hers was more grumpy than the other, in that when the other one asked a question he pulled faces and rolled his eyes. (I am taking that with a pinch of salt tbh )

In other news, I don't have Covid.

I think it was when she held her head in her hands that DD decided she was bored!

WOOHOOO no Covid!

I had to really control facial expressions a virtual parents' evening and shut my camera off in staff meetings as I am a proper eye roller. You'd think they would have trained themselves to control their body language. It's magnified on a screen...

DS didn't mention this but he possibly just didn't notice.

@Geamhradh good news it’s not covid. @SandyBayley so pleased it went well - definitely a good sign she enjoyed it.

DS has been invited to interview with 2 other colleges next week. The one college has 2 interviews and the other has 1 interview. They are all on the same day 😱.

I am really trying not to over analyse this but I still don’t understand the process. Would the original interviewers have suggested to others that they interview him? Or do all colleges keep an eye on all candidates and pick ones whose interest gel with the tutors in their college? If you get subsequent interviews can you still get an offer from original college?

Horace I would say that two interviews at another college (as opposed to single interviews at two other colleges) probably suggests the interviews are pooling ones rather than standardization. It certainly means that he's passed the threshold for an offer (but doesn't mean that he'll get one).

That said, there are so many possibilities it's really impossible to tell.

goodbyestranger. Thanks. I assume pooling means your original one doesn’t want you? Sorry. Feel like I’m going to drive everyone on this thread mad but the family have banned me from speculating.

@Horace123 - as goodbye said there are just too many possibilities to know and you have no way of knowing what's going on. More interviews are definitely not a bad sign and are an opportunity for a student to impress someone. I feel most sorry for people who get a single interview tbh.