Applying to Oxbridge for 2023 intake

[riverpebbles]

Not sure if there is already a thread on this? My son is hoping to apply to Cambridge for Computer Science for October 2023 start.

Hi all
Sorry if this has been asked, already, but my DS is applying to Oxford and the school are saying he needs to include the other university 4 choices before the 15 October deadline. The UCAS website clearly states you can add them later. I believe this is just the school's preference. Can he refuse to add them now? thank you

He can add them later (for a small extra fee). It's his application, not the school's.

Hi, my DD submitted her Oxford application along with the other 4choices yesterday. She's received emails acknowledging her application from 2 universities so far. I think its good to get submissions all done and dusted and then focusing on other things,like the TSA preparation etc.
Like Flying Squid said above, it's his choice. He could always ask the school if he can submit the rest of his choices later if he wants to do that.

We are going to submit it with the five choices too. At least ds is. I'm guilty of the opposite of micromanaging, I've done what he's asked of me and that's it.

DS submitted his last week too. Just realised that it is under 4 weeks for the entrance test. When are the Cambridge ones- earlier I think.

Maybe I am a truly lax parent but I didn't read either of my DDs' personal statements before they were submitted. Their head of 6th form did as did their form tutors who had way more experience of these things than I do. I left them both to it as far as entrance tests were concerned too. Both DDs got interviews from different C colleges.

I do think that some people on MN/TSR are massively over-invested in every aspect of their DC's lives (not necessarily this board). As a native northerner in exile in the SW, I don 't know if this is a regional thing or something more modern.

DS's 5 choices submitted to O now so focus is on Admissions Test. On the whole "over-invested" thing, I tend not to sit in judgment of other parents. My experience is that different children have different needs for different situations and hence some will do everything off their own back and need little/input (DS1), while others are the laziest buggers on earth will need some..ahem "encouragement" (Yes DS2, Im looking at you!)

Live and let live

Encouragement and nagging is fine. Writing the PS for them and fretting over every little detail is something else. I suspect such DC will either crumble away from mummy’s apron strings or breathe a sigh of relief.

DS2 submitted his PS for Oxford last week. I haven't read it but he did share with DD and DH for a sense check before it went in.

He's lucky in that his school provides good support (saw it with DS1 and DD) so I was confident they would give good advice. However I can totally understand why a parent might want to be more hands on if the school didn't seem to be give much advice.

Yeah thats a great point @HoneyMobster DS's school actually has a "Head of Oxbridge " so is fully supported, meaning I could be incredibly laissez-faire about the whole thing.

I might not have been so chilled if we were having to do it all ourselves

DD hit submit yesterday on her UCAS application. Already got a reply from one university (not Oxbridge) to confirm they’ve received an application and to expect a reply within a month.

Next step now is for the My Cambridge email which is meant to come within 2 days which means another form to fill in by 22 October.

I am definitely more nervous than DD. Most indubitably. Certainly. And breathe..

DD's pressed the button and it's gone. Her ps was clearly checked by school as they suggested a couple of (grammatical I think) minor changes. I saw an earlier draft but not the final one.

She's glad it's gone, done ✅ not at all sure still about whether Oxford is even where she wants to go but going with it for now with Bristol as most likely alternative

Dds still hasn't gone. They still haven't finished the references. They were supposed to be done before term started.Assuming they get it sorted on Monday, how long till she has to submit Saq?

It has to be in by the 22nd, I think. Which is all very well, but DS is away (abroad) from the 15th-22nd so we're battling to get it in asap so that he can do it before he goes... School have 3 different teachers (tutor, head of 6th form and teacher wiht responsibility for Oxbridge) who all have a hand in his application, and it's a bit tricky getting them all co-ordinated.

Has anyone visited an Oxford college not on an open day? As Dd decided late that she could and should apply she missed the open days so we're thinking of going in Half term.
Did you contact the college, were they welcoming?

It's never a problem: just turn up at the college and tell them that you're a prospective applicant.

We went looking round Cambridge during August last year. Went in DS’s favoured college a bit further out and went to the porter’s lodge, and then one of the more historical ones in the centre so he could compare. The Porter at his preferred college was mega helpful. It wasn’t open day time and all the students had gone home so he had loads of time to chat to us and let us walk around the grounds and see some of the inside spaces too. I remembered his name cos he was so nice and just got a gut feeling we’d be seeing him again.

and we did, last weekend when we dropped DS off to start his first year. He’s settling in well! 😀

the other college in town was very different. More formal. All closed up even though the Porter was there and nice enough. It was Just a bit “colder”. It did help to formulate an opinion even if we weren’t at an official open day.

My DS had a funny experience trying this - he went to the porter's lodge at a very traditional college and said could he look around. Porter said, "Which subject?", DS responded, "Geography". porter said "No, Oxford doesn't do that subject - you'd better go and look at Oxford Brookes." 2 years on DS is studying Geography at a rather more friendly college down the road. Admittedly that college doesn't do Geography but as Oxford is no 1 in the World for Geography it did make us giggle....

We travelled a long way to Cambridge last October. There hadn't been an open day (except online during school hours) and the plan was to look at the colleges on DC's shortlist. We arrived at one of the top 2 colleges and the porter was aggressively chasing a pair of (presumably tourists) out. We asked if we could look round, because DC was applying. The porter aggressively refused to allow us in at all, and said we'd have to email someone to arrange an appointment. We were very short of time, which we explained to the porter, but he was unsympathetic. So we had to cross that college off the list. This was probably lucky, as I looked at the statistics later and the college turned down all its applicants for DC's subject, choosing people from the pool instead. DC applied to the other of the top 2 colleges on the shortlist and got in.

Perhaps I'm generalising from the particular of my eight DCs' Oxford experience then. Although balzamico did ask about Oxford and none of mine applied for Geography. Not a single one has ever met with anything other than extremely welcoming porters when they went to visit outside of open days. That said, they had no interest in ChristChurch and apparently the porters there can be pretty iffy. Last Sunday when I had a few hours to spare before meeting DD4 and DS4 for supper, I went on a tour of the DCs' various colleges (nine in total) and every single porter was absolutely fine about me going on in to take a photo or two for old times' sake when I said I was the mother of an alumni, was that ok etc. Not a grumpy one in sight, although they did chase off people behind me at both Corpus and Queen's tbf. All you need is a relatively legitimate reason, and to bother to ask if it's ok.

@goodbyestranger I agree the grumpy porter my DS met was the exception rather than the rule so for all those applying this year please don't be put off if you have one bad experience - go along the street and you can be pretty sure there will be another college with someone friendly.

Hello all,

Wish I had found this thread before...

My DD submitted her application to Oxford by school deadline and it has been received by all unis that were on it - all five.

So now - it is a case of (as others have said) doing the Thinking Skills Assessment at the beginning of next month. I believe it takes place online - though that may change...

I'm not a helicopter parent by any means but find myself as others have said too - getting stressed out by the process at times.

Glad
the application is off though - seemed to take a long time to get the bits and pieces together for it that were needed.

Good luck to all and calm for and with other mums, dads and carers in this process.

Ours still hasn't gone but the references are being checked and his tutor is coming in on his day off to submit it. I can't fault his school.

First offer received - Liverpool
Form was sent by school yesterday and offer received today, one very happy Dd

Wow @balzamico quick work! I think getting an offer in the bag early must be reassuring. Good luck with the remaining offers