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Higher education

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Original poster

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

940 replies

TangoWhiskyAlphaTango · 30/11/2021 12:17

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 Flowers

OP posts:
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5
Lovecatsanddogs · 02/12/2021 17:42

@Piggywaspushed
Cambridge do have pooling and very rarely you may be called for an interview with new college about a week before results day. More likely you get an offer from a new college instead of the chosen and interviewed at college.

Piggywaspushed · 02/12/2021 18:00

I was wondering whether, if not invited to interview you get to know if you are in the pool? That's what I can't ascertain....

Chilldonaldchill · 02/12/2021 18:06

@Piggywaspushed

I was wondering whether, if not invited to interview you get to know if you are in the pool? That's what I can't ascertain....
You find out the.results day whether you were pooled and picked out (you get an offer from another college) or pooled and not picked out (you get a "sorry we couldn't offer you a place. We put you in the pool but no one else could offer you a place either") or not pooled at all ("sorry we couldn't offer you a place"). At least that's what happened last year and I get the impression that's the way it's usually done.
Chilldonaldchill · 02/12/2021 18:10

@Piggywaspushed
And last year it apparently took place on a Friday in January - this was from TSR from the Peterhouse rep on there - but (except for the few who presumably were re-interviewed) no one would have known till the results day.

Piggywaspushed · 02/12/2021 18:13

That's what I wanted. Thanks chill!

ACloseMatch · 02/12/2021 18:21

DD has her interview links for next week. They've sent her links for all the interview days. I suppose if you can't pick the correct ones, it's a rejection. Grin

She spent her free period today reading about her interviewers. One is the master of the college, which I'd be really intimidated about, but DD thinks that's fun.

Chilldonaldchill · 02/12/2021 18:45

@Piggywaspushed

That's what I wanted. Thanks chill!
You're welcome. I knew about the pooling day from TSR but DD was completely unaware. I was glad she didn't know.
SayYouDontMind · 02/12/2021 19:11

Sounds quite a positive experience piggywaspushed will keep everything crossed!

Geamhradh · 02/12/2021 19:54

I'd been wondering where everyone was, didn't realise we'd filled up the last thread!
Catching up with you all.

Gottasinggottadance · 02/12/2021 19:57

SirVix, my DC only just found out yesterday about an interview at first choice of college, having heard from another one last week about an interview, so hopefully your DC will hear soon.I had no idea there would be 2 college interviews.

Good luck to all the interviewees!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 02/12/2021 19:59

Oooh it's exciting that this thread has moved onto our DC actually having their interviews. Good luck to everyone!

I was also interested to know if any of your children had had mock interviews through school - sounds a bit mixed. Despite going to a grammar, DS hasn't been offered much support for the whole Oxbridge application process I don't think. DS had his Imperial College interview for aero engineering on Friday, and the same afternoon heard he had been offered a Cambridge MEng one. His happiness was shortlived as next day he started to feel unwell and it turned out to be COVID!

So, he'll be having his Cambridge interview on his last day of isolation, which is Monday. He isn't feeling too bad at all now but obviously not having the rigours of daily school life and lessons to contend with, and no-one at home all day, plus feeling a bit under the weather, I'm a bit concerned that his brain might have switched off slightly. I just hope he's "on it" on the day. I suppose technically he could postpone but I don't think he'd want to. He feels ok now and to postpone would just drag it all out

It doesn't sound like anyone else at school who has an Oxbridge interview lined up has had any offers of support from school re practice interviews. DS seems to think that it might not be any use anyway so didn't want me to contact school to ask what they were offering. Too late now anyway I guess....it's in the lap of the gods!

Piggywaspushed · 02/12/2021 20:07

DS had a mock interview. The local private schools are part of a charitable trust so as part of their charity status they do mock interviews for state school students in the county.

DS said his mock interview was longer and more thorough!

The school I work in seems to have been doing some in house interviews this year (I did say I thought they should be online...) and I am not sure they are great. I am helping an MML boy with his, because the whole French dept is off with Covid...

Geamhradh · 02/12/2021 20:16

No mock interviews here obviously. When I read about some of your kids being prepared at their schools, I panic, but then think, well, they're going to know that DD hasn't got anything like that!

@Piggywaspushed, sounds like a good interview!

DD has interview next Thursday and a webinar thingy tomorrow to meet current students for a Q&A session. I'm at work when she has the interview, she'll stay home for the day. I was wondering if I should stay home to deal with any tech crises...she is fine with tech after 18months online but not sure she'd think on her feet if the screen went blank.

@Puffalicious, sorry to hear your news.

SandyBayley · 02/12/2021 20:32

@Geamhradh - DD has a webinar thingy tomorrow (Friday) at 5.30, maybe it's the same college? They are offering an alternative slot next Wednesday as well. DD surprised me by asking if I wanted to watch it with her!

ProggyMat · 02/12/2021 21:33

@Piggywaspushed- well done to your DS- sounds very positive!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 02/12/2021 21:41

@Geamhradh

No mock interviews here obviously. When I read about some of your kids being prepared at their schools, I panic, but then think, well, they're going to know that DD hasn't got anything like that!

@Piggywaspushed, sounds like a good interview!

DD has interview next Thursday and a webinar thingy tomorrow to meet current students for a Q&A session. I'm at work when she has the interview, she'll stay home for the day. I was wondering if I should stay home to deal with any tech crises...she is fine with tech after 18months online but not sure she'd think on her feet if the screen went blank.

@Puffalicious, sorry to hear your news.

How would they know that your DD hasn’t had anything like that?

I really hope they don’t make any assumptions about anyone regarding school background and interview prep. They could assume that my grammar school DS has had loads of support from school, when that isn’t the case, so I hope they account for his interview nerves and lack of polish! School obviously wrote his personal statement, and one of his teachers lent him an engineering maths book (uni level I think) and gave him some extension work last year but that’s been it. Apart from saying to us at parents’ evening that he’d picked a very difficult course but that DS has the ability so should go for it.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 02/12/2021 21:42

That was to @Geamhradh, sorry if it wasn’t clear.

Chilldonaldchill · 02/12/2021 21:48

Sorry to keep commenting - I don't mean to hijack the thread! But just to reassure you - DD did have a mock interview last year with school and she felt that it was quite unhelpful in that she felt very

Chilldonaldchill · 02/12/2021 21:51

Sorry. Pressed enter by accident.
She felt very relaxed after it, mainly because it was two of her favourite teachers. It was completely different from the real thing which made her quite stressed during the real one.
At their school they got mock interviews depending on the subject (some of them had to ask, other departments are very active) but I'm not sure how helpful any of them were really.
I think it's much more helpful for things like medicine or physio etc where there are definite things one shouldn't say!

Innocenta · 02/12/2021 21:57

@CurlyhairedAssassin Very nervous interviewees will come from every background - they've seen it all. I went to a very good state sixth form that sent kids to Oxbridge every year, had a decent mock interview there ... and extra interview practice paid for by my parents because they knew I was an incredibly nervous applicant.

Even so, I was absolutely terrified, miserable, during my interviews - convinced I'd failed the lot. A nervous wreck.

And still got a place, at first choice college. They are very used to nervous teens.

Good luck to all DC Thanks

Eightytwenty · 02/12/2021 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SandyBayley · 02/12/2021 22:30

DD is next Friday morning and then again on the Monday.

pantjog · 02/12/2021 23:06

DD currently stressing about the fact that she reckons plenty of other candidates will use a piano (which is forbidden) when preparing the harmony pre-interview task, thus putting the obedient ones at a disadvantage. Grrr.

SnapSnapDragon · 03/12/2021 00:55

Just popped in because my ears were burning and now I see why: lots of chat about Scottish students and Oxbridge. DS is one of only two Scottish students in his year in his college (O). Both are STEM, interestingly. DS did A-levels, proving the point of someone upthread, although his fellow Scot is from a state school in Falkirk so he seems to be bucking the trend. The SQA syllabus is shockingly dumbed down. I do maths papers to de-stress (I know it’s strange) and have found A-levels to be much testing (and fun) than Higher or even Advanced Higher.

The Highers system suits some kids (my DD1, at a different school to DS, being one of them) but DD2 may well be looking to Oxbridge and I’m worried. Maybe we need to be thinking about Advanced Higher maths early.

Good luck to all your DC, whether it’s at Oxbridge interviews or other universities.

VikingNorthUtsire · 03/12/2021 06:16

I'm in another group (not Oxbridge or even uni focussed particularly, more of a general parenting chat group, but uni applications have come up quite frequently recently) where one of the other members is an Oxford admissions tutor. I've found her posts really reassuring, they are totally switched on to the fact that some candidates get a lot of prep/support and others basically none, and they're very keen to get past that and see each candidate's potential.

DS got an interview invitation yesterday for Maths and Computer Science Smile Smile It's not from his chosen college but the email suggests that his first choice are planning to interview him and will email separately. Hoping this is a good sign esp as they are a popular college according to some of the discussion here. They've asked him if possible to download a virtual whiteboard app onto a tablet, but have said if he can't it's not a problem, he can use pen and paper and share it on camera.