Page 3 | Oxbridge Aspirants - Part 6

Original poster

HoneyMobster · 27/01/2022 20:36

That's really exciting @heinztomatosoup - I don't think DD's college has set anything up yet. We're hoping for a visit fairly soon though.

OP posts:

Panicmode1 · 27/01/2022 21:13

@PermanentTemporary I think that was what DS was hoping for!! Nice offer.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/01/2022 23:39

My DS got his engineering offer today. I was a bit shocked: AA in FM and physics and AA in computer science and maths. Seems high. I thought the A might have been either Maths or computing but not in both.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/01/2022 23:40

Bloody bold issues.

That’s 2x A star in FM and physics, and 2x A in computing and maths.

kitnkaboodle · 28/01/2022 00:04

Ahh ... @Panicmode1 and @CurlyhairedAssassin ... so both your offers demand A* in FM? Yikes. I can hopefully update you soon about DS and complete the trilogy. Any other engineering mums lurking??

Panicmode1 · 28/01/2022 06:53

@curlyhairedassassin almost identical to DS...it's a big target for sure. DS is hoping to go up to Cambridge this weekend with a couple of other friends with offers, to help him decide what to do.

Let us know @kitnkaboodle...wonder if it is a pooling effect, or just a 'too many qualified candidates' effect!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 28/01/2022 08:20

I reckon there are just too many candidates this year, prob deferments too from last year not helping

kitnkaboodle · 28/01/2022 08:30

@Panicmode1 a trip to Cambridge this weekend sounds fab! DS only has another offer from Southampton at the moment. A fine uni for engineering but not high up his list. Also waiting on Imperial, Bristol and Bath. We were very cool on Tuesday, playing it down and saying 'that's amazing that you've got a C offer. See what other offers you get and then you can choose' etc, but he came straight back with 'Why wouldn't I choose C??' 🤣 Mind you, if he got an offer from Imperial I think it might throw him a bit.

Decafcoffee · 28/01/2022 08:53

@pantjog music at C for my dd. She plays violin, piano and sings. She was a bit undecided about the choral scholarship but I think she wants to go for it. The rehearsals at her college don’t seem too intense.

We are still waiting for offer details here although in the email they said they’ll be in touch about all of that on the 4th of feb.
She was also pooled so the higher offer does seem scary!
So good to see we are allowed to visit. We’ll be enquiring about this. Exciting!

Notonetojudge · 28/01/2022 10:18

Does anyone know when they have to officially accept their offers?
My ds is at boarding school and he never replies to my calls/ texts. I’m terrified he’s going to miss a deadline because he doesn’t pay attention to tiny details like deadlines

ladygrinningsoul · 28/01/2022 10:57

@Notonetojudge

Does anyone know when they have to officially accept their offers? My ds is at boarding school and he never replies to my calls/ texts. I’m terrified he’s going to miss a deadline because he doesn’t pay attention to tiny details like deadlines

Not until June! www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/types-offer/replying-your-ucas-undergraduate-offers

Official acceptance has to be done via UCAS (after all offers or rejections are in).

DS offer letter says they are "always grateful should you choose to notify us of your intentions" - i.e. it's polite to let them know you are going to accept even if still waiting for other offers.

Notonetojudge · 28/01/2022 12:07

That’s great @ladygrinningsoul thanks.
Can relax a bit, and I won’t email his tutor to tell him not to forget

kitnkaboodle · 28/01/2022 16:01

@CurlyhairedAssassin @Panicmode1 DS's C engineering offer details just in. Guess what?
A* Further Maths
A* Physics
A Maths
... so I think exactly the same? He has no 4th subject I am now very happy to say!!
I don't really understand why this is different to the published requirement of AstarAstarA with no real specifics of which subject should be which. I think most applicants would read that and assume that they were 'allowed' to drop off a teeny bit in the dreaded FM. Uh-huh
DS is a Maths whiz, I have to now confess, with Olympiads, etc. A bit of a surprise that he chose engineering and not Maths for a degree but maybe that was strategic... Good luck to them all. He's doing mocks atm and I'd be very surprised (just because ... mocks) if his school dished out many A*s at this point.

kitnkaboodle · 28/01/2022 16:03

Forgot to say - he was fished out of the pool so didn't get in at his first choice college.
Also ... 'uh-huh' in that post was supposed to be 'ho-hum'! I didn't mean to sound like flippin' Elvis!!

Panicmode1 · 28/01/2022 16:16

The pressure is on! DS is also strong at maths and has done well in Olympiads, but some of the further pure is tough and I think he's worried about having an off day....but that's just how it goes, I guess!

Good luck to them all...mocks don't start here until the 21st or something so there is time to plug any FM gaps...

petitebleu · 28/01/2022 19:14

Offer arrived today - A*AA, which is a relief but not a surprise.

I'd love to think we'll be able to go and have a look around soonish, although it's a bit of a trek. DS went in Y10 for a short residential so he knows what to expect but my only experience of Cambridge is going to stay with an ex's family not long after I graduated so I'm very curious!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 29/01/2022 08:52

@Panicmode1

The pressure is on! DS is also strong at maths and has done well in Olympiads, but some of the further pure is tough and I think he's worried about having an off day....but that's just how it goes, I guess!

Good luck to them all...mocks don't start here until the 21st or something so there is time to plug any FM gaps...

Yeah, my DS came home after his FM mock yesterday and said it was hard. He said that he realises he’s still got a lot to work on. And now I will worry till results day.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 29/01/2022 08:57

Does anyone know what happens if you’re doing 4 A-levels and get a B on the 4th one instead of an A? Seems a bit harsh if you then lose your place despite still getting 2 A stars and an A in the other 3, if everyone only doing 3 A-levels also achieved that.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 29/01/2022 08:58

And retained their right to a place, I mean.

Panicmode1 · 29/01/2022 09:29

@CurlyhairedAssassin - DS has been given a B target for his DT.....but has to get As in the rest...well not really, but if you are going to get an A in your further maths, then I guess your maths should be!

Does seem harsh, but I guess the pressure on places is such that they can make the demands they want :-(

PermanentTemporary · 29/01/2022 10:22

To me it's new that they're stipulating anything for the 4th A level - I thought they usually ignored it. I think they are just holding the door very tightly because of the pressure on spaces. They can't afford to get the calculations wrong the time.

Bigclockface · 29/01/2022 10:46

Hello, I have been following these threads since the beginning but never posted. DS has an offer for Linguistics at Cambridge. Also required to do the Bridging Course which I had not heard of until now, but am really pleased about. He is thinking of asking to defer to 2023. Not sure how likely this will be?

kitnkaboodle · 29/01/2022 10:53

I think what this shows is that doing a 4th A level is a very double edged sword. If you do four, then C at least seem to be requiring grades in all 4, so in a way it's a disadvantage. It's making me wonder how lenient they are if you have slipped a grade on results day. Do they ever still let you in or are they ruthless??
Btw I am a relic from the 1980s when Oxbridge made EE offers (ie unconditional) to kids who had impressed them in the entrance test and interviews. My friend did Law at C on an EE offer. Those were the days - if they wanted you, they took you! You tell that to the kids today and they don't believe you... grumble grumble...

pantjog · 29/01/2022 11:22

@CurlyhairedAssassin I’m afraid they do sometimes reject in the case of grade slippage. Happened to a friend’s DS who didn’t quite get the STEP grade for Maths at C. I have also heard of leniency, though, so it’s obviously sometimes pragmatic.

I was also the happy recipient of an EE offer back in the mists of time. It really was a different world.

Topicall · 29/01/2022 12:39

I got an EE offer to Oxford, despite being at a (pretty crap to be honest) private school. I remember that they asked me at interview what grades I expected to get at A'level. I said that one subject was dodgy because the teachers had missed a lot of lessons. And landed an EE offer! These days if someone said that they'd probably either not make an offer or raise the required grade from A to A*!
DD has a deferred offer to Cambridge - A*AA, to do MML. That outcome is far from a given.
Has anyone else got a DC who is planning a gap year? I think DC will need to find time to look into what they're going to do with the year soon, but Covid hanging over everything is off-putting.