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

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I wish I were one of the parents who had to hold their child back from working - DS has done nothing as far as I can see. Would be ironic if he got into Cambridge and then failed to get the grades.

Anyway we had a boost because three days before Christmas he got an offer from St Andrews, his realistic top choice. And a pretty low one too which means it'll definitely be his insurance but might also be both insurance and firm. It's totally taken the pressure off Cambridge and I think in his head it's where he's going and he's excited. I too can see the many ways in which it's a better choice for him than Cambridge.

Hope the UCAS Santa brought good news for others. Sorry @Thisisconfusing that you had not great news recently - your DS's qualifications blow those of my son out of the water but I think anything STEM is so much more competitive.

Hi @Valleyofthedollymix, my DD sounds like she could be your DS’s female equivalent. No work done so far this holiday, offer from St Andrew’s (Not sure if AAA is low or not, seems fair though), thinks Cambridge is a long shot and is tickled with St Andrew’s.

I just wonder about the accommodation at St Andrew’s. The course is 4 years, and I get the impression that renting town is pricy, and they only have accommodation guaranteed the first year.

@Stockpot I have absolutely no idea re. accommodation! I've never been there. Mind you, neither has DS. They must manage somehow or other and I'm guessing it's no worse than many other university towns.

Re St As, private accommodation can be a problem and many students end up living in Dundee after their first year and commuting.

Evening all! Congrats on the St Andrews offer, @Valleyofthedollymix.

DS is holding out hoping desperately to get a Cambridge offer for engineering. He heard from Imperial a few days before Christmas for aeronautical engineering and they said they are keeping his application on hold until March. Others who have applied to that course have already started to get offers so I’m not sure it’s a good sign that he now has to be considered alongside everyone else who didn’t do early entry. Probably means that his wasn’t one of the stronger applications and they’re waiting to see what the later entries are like to compare?

To be fair he did find the imperial AMAT really hard. It was the timing, he said, I think it was only half an hour or something. So his score on that wasn’t great. He feels he did much better in the ENGAA and I’m keeping everything crossed for him because I do feel that Cambridge is the best fit for him and vice versa. Oh well, only a few weeks to go.

We have an offer holder’s day to go to in Southampton in February Half term so also got that to look forward to.

I always think it’s a weird feeling approaching the end of a year and not knowing what the new one will bring. For all these years they’ve known exactly where they’ll be “this time next year”. Suddenly “this time next year” is a total unknown for them. I remember it being a scary realisation for me at that age but I think DS just finds it all exciting.

Great news about the StAs offer. Accommodation is a thought. Ds has pretty much written Birmingham off now but I feel as if he should still do his Accommodation choices 'just in case'. A bit bonkers to think like that, perhaps I'm just trying to manage my own uncertainty as you describe Curly.

[quote Valleyofthedollymix]@Stockpot I have absolutely no idea re. accommodation! I've never been there. Mind you, neither has DS. They must manage somehow or other and I'm guessing it's no worse than many other university towns.[/quote]
Maybe of use:
From www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/accommodation/apply/

‘Apply for undergraduate accommodation
Applications for entrant undergraduate students will open on 15 March. You can apply for accommodation 48 hours after you receive and accept an offer of a place to study at the University. You should apply as soon as possible, regardless of whether your offer is conditional, unconditional, or an insurance place.

You must apply for accommodation by 30 June in your year of entry to meet the accommodation guarantee. The online application form will be available from 15 March.’
accommodation.st-andrews.ac.uk/apply/

Thank you @BobbyGentry
I didn’t know this and DD seems a little fist!

DS is geography. I was very surprised that he was offered so close to Christmas and was assuming it was going to be a very meanly timed rejection.

Gosh those are unfair odds for Scottish students. How infuriating.

@BobbyGentry thank you so much for this info - it is all news to me as different to when I was young and DS is our first. I will note this in my diary and make him being super swotty first application type. Unless he loathes it on his visit, it will definitely be one (or his only) choice as his offer is lower than Bristol and Manchester.

Don't like the idea of commuting from Dundee but I guess this is all hypothetical at the moment.

@Stockpot

Thank you *@BobbyGentry* I didn’t know this and DD seems a little fist!

Things to think about:

Macaroni sandwiches at The Cheesy Toast Shack
Caladonian slepper train lauchars www.sleeper.scot/
Undergraduate scholarships m.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKlAJC0GEI

www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/undergraduate/scholarships/
So if on the 11th, daughter is unsuccessful, then onto UCAS, set St. Andrews as first choice then apply for scholarship by beginning of February (check portal for exact dates.) Needs 2 x 200 word academic or professional references & 200 word request & reasons for the benefit of funding (something suchlike - nothing lost in applying for scholarships but a lot gained if granted.)

@Valleyofthedollymix

DS is geography. I was very surprised that he was offered so close to Christmas and was assuming it was going to be a very meanly timed rejection.

Gosh those are unfair odds for Scottish students. How infuriating.

@BobbyGentry thank you so much for this info - it is all news to me as different to when I was young and DS is our first. I will note this in my diary and make him being super swotty first application type. Unless he loathes it on his visit, it will definitely be one (or his only) choice as his offer is lower than Bristol and Manchester.

Don't like the idea of commuting from Dundee but I guess this is all hypothetical at the moment.

Gannochy House looks good (like brutalist modernist) and central but understand if folks want St. Sally’s Halls (Harry Potter) - loads of VLogs by current students with walk-throughs

Fist??????
Dorsey!!!!!!

Thank you for all the tips @BobbyGentry

@Eightytwenty the entry requirements difference seems terribly frustrating. I suppose it all comes back to the funding.

@Valleyofthedollymix, DD is also Geography. Her offer is AAA, so not low, but standard I would think. Her offer from New Castle is AAB which is higher than their standard offer. So no slip ups allowed for her. I assume her overall application must be a little weak.

Dorsey?
D-o-s-y!

Stupid autocorrect

@Stockpot is your DD doing the MA or the BSc - from what I gather BScs seem to ask for lower grades. I didn't even know there were these two options for geography. I can't think of any other reason why he should have been offered the lowest advertised grades, unless their widening participation programme is reaching out to affluent private school London white boys.

Ah, yes @Valleyofthedollymix. She is applying for the MA, not the BSc. She is keen on human geography. I think geography tilts quite heavily towards girls these days, so you never know!

@Valleyofthedollymix I can absolutely second the necessity to visit the Cheese Toasty Shack.

I'd also say though to be very, very sure about the town (as opposed to the uni). I'm an ex local, and it is a very, very marmite place to live.

@ACloseMatch definitely. St Andrews has a unique vibe and quite an odd geography. It is easy to look at its beautiful old buildings and seaside location and get a little carried away. Definitely visit (preferably in winter) before making a decision. Decent accommodation in the town can also be a challenge. Marmite is perfectly put.

Congratulations to those with St Andrews offers.

Hope everyone else is bearing up. DS still really, really wants Oxford but he seems to be thinking about his options in a fairly mature way (unlike me, I am a mess!)

Yes I agree re. St Andrews - he's adamant that it will suit him but he really needs to visit to be sure. We live in a very busy buzzy bit of London and he could walk to literally hundreds of bars, cafes and clubs from our house. His argument is that there's no other city as city-ish as here so he wants something different, plus he can get his city fix when he comes home.

I was the reverse, brought up in the middle of nowhere and was thrilled to be able to walk places and bump into people when I got to university. Being able to buy a pint of milk without getting in a car felt like downtown Manhattan to me.

Things gleaned from t’internet:

Saint Andrews starts a month earlier, September.

StAndrews - two semesters each year: Martinmas semester from September to December (Monday 13 September to Monday 20 December 2021) and Candlemas semester fromJanuary to May (Monday 17 January to Friday 27 May 2022.)

Oxford - three terms and three holidays. Within each term, a Michaelmas (starts October) "Full Term" of eight weeks, 5 weeks holiday, a Hilary (starts January) "Full Term" of eight weeks, 5 weeks holiday, then final Trinity (starts April) "Full Term" of eight weeks with a stonking summer holiday.

Students vacate their Halls outside of term time and seemingly bggr *ff whilst simultaneously studying - is this right? There are loads of storage facilities for this purpose.

‘Freshers’ week, essays are assigned and students are expected to independently ‘float’ as well as joining societies; so hit the ground running.

Sub-Fusc Suit needed for the first time from the last week of the Michaelmas term (matriculation.)

Expectations, around two essays a week¿ 40 hours study.

Oxwash
www.oxwash.com/oxford
Wash & Fold service
for 6 kg (13 lb) of laundry. The load is the equivalent of cabin luggage or a 50-litre laundry bag (if cannot figure out washing card in first few weeks.)

… just unpicking the practicalities

Final thoughts…

Mesopotamia is an ait (small island) in Oxford.

Macaroni cheeses sandwiches 🥪 from The Cheesy Toast Shack are recommended.

Uni Kit Out - order electric blanket, shower shoes (shared bathroom,) toiletries cadet, duvet, bedding etc. Will be placed on bed in Halls (hopefully) upon arrival.
www.unikitout.com

Waterproof bag needed (as well as waterproof shoes) to protect technology as rain comes in horizontally in St. Andrews.

@BobbyGentry - DS1 at Oxford has had to partially vacate his rooms in vacs but it depends on a number of things. If they have a room 'in' college it's quite likely the room (in normal times) will be let out for conferences etc. If they're 'out' (college owned accommodation but not on site) it's less likely they need to clear the room.

DS1 has always left some stuff in locked storage in his rooms. For anyone travelling from afar the college will typically offer more storage. Of course if they're in privately rented accommodation none of this applies. DS1 is fortunate in that his college offers accommodation for all years, as does the one DD has applied to.

@SandyBayley - thanks for the explanation, much appreciated