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.

Sorry last two messages for Aurea.

Thanks for that info Azure.

And congrats for Nottingham. Yes it helps to have 'one in the bag' does it not? DD has ABB for York which she is pleased with 'that means they want me' she said happily.

Yes, I said.

Thank you Perseverance

Any Scottish offers should be unconditional based on his already achieved higher results. He has 6 As at higher and 1 A at advanced higher in the bag. This gives some comfort.

I think he may be minded to add his fifth choice later on, just in case he receives an early offer before the deadline and he can adjust his final choice accordingly. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic. Only time will tell......

Yes comfort is what is needed at this stage isn't it, quite a long haul ahead for them and us too - keeping morale up I can see is important.

Yes it's really nice for them to feel wanted and all of DS's choices are lovely places to go to.

Perseverence Each subject holds interviews at Oxford at the same time. There is a published timetable of dates. They DC typically hear 8-14 days before interviews for their subject start if they have one.They may be interviewed by the college they applied to, they may start somewhere different or they may be interviewed by multiple colleges (sometimes as moderation).

They may get offers from their original college, somewhere else or even an open offer which guarantees somewhere will take them if they get the right grades. Everyone finds out on offer day, which is immediately after results for TSA etc are released to the candidates in January.

Cambridge has it's own approach.

Hello - another newbie to the thread! We have twin boys. Son 2 has Cambridge on his list, for computer science. Open application is in, and he got an immediate, standard offer from York, which was a boost to his confidence. Now it's all about the TMUA next week....

Hi, just some info on C interviews from someone who went through this with a DC last year -

• odds of an interview are very good as C interview about 80% of all applicants (Oxford make much more of a 'cut' pre-interview)
• interviews will probably vary significantly between colleges (for the same subject) in terms of format and content - eg. some colleges will do one longer interview; most will do two interviews; some will do two academic interviews; some will do one academic and one general interview (with a senior admissions person)
• if it's a general interview, they will probably use the PS as a basis for discussion
• If it's an academic interview, it could be anything obviously
• I seem to remember that for all those who get direct offers, the same number again get "pooled." If they get "pooled," there is a day or two in early Jan when tutors have access to all the pooled candidates' files and can assess whether anyone in this field of pooled applicants is 'stronger' than anyone they have down as "worthy of an offer."
• There is variation though as to how tutors use the pool. You can see this is the stats for a given subject at a given college year on year - ie. some take from the pool every year, some rarely / never. You wonder how much is to do with the quality of applicants snd how much is just the personal working style of a DoS.

Also, GCSE grades are contextualised according to the 'average grade profile' of students in the specific school the DC attend. It's not as simple as 'state v private' as some seem to think. Unis know that some private schools are very average or even rubbish, whole some state schools are exceptional.
So if they are applying with ten 9s from a school where'd the average grade profile is. ten 5s /6s, they will get a stronger contextualised score than they are applying from a school (grammar, academy-type school or independent) where nearly everyone gets all 8s / 9s.

Later (quite soon?) there will be a questionnaire in which the college ask them specific questions - eg. what were the size of your classes; have you experienced any disruption, etc. They also ask about all the modules covered at A-level for fairness at interview. They ask about parents' professions, whether parents went to uni and any SEN among other things.

Thanks Zezzez I really appreciate this, though it will take me a while to get my head around your last two posts.

I'm particularly interested in the 'disruptions' bit of it and Oxford(?) asking the school about disruptions (have I got that right?)

Given that the recruitment crisis - last year and this year in FE colleges meant that my DD was missing a subject tutor in her two main subjects for a year (yes honestly!) and her new one has now gone on leave - then this might be highly relevant to us! Did I get that right that Oxford approach the school and ask this?

Do we get a copy of what the school says? And can I ask for it? I do feel that part of my DD's impressive profile is the sheer number of hurdles she has had to overcome - not having subject tutors being one of them!

Sorry 10th January is Oxford.

We have

Oxford
Liverpool
Manchester
Edinburgh
St Andrew's

No insurance choice but DS was determined only those five would do. He'll get a contextual offer at some though.

DD has had an offer from Bristol, so she's over the moon and sooo relieved. Her other choices are:
Oxford, King's College, Bristol, St Andrews and Durham

Congratulations to all the other offers received and fingers crossed for those waiting to hear back.

Can I take this opportunity to thank everyone for the information shared thus far, it is such a help. Going through this process is quite nerve wrecking ( I might as well be sitting the exams), but this thread has been a Godsend so to speak.

perseverence - my posts were about Cambridge as I have no experience of Oxford. The questionnaire I was talking about is sent to the student, not the school. They ask the student if they perceive they have experienced any disruptions to their education - so yes, the things you mention about your DD missing a subject tutor for a year would be very relevant. I'm sure Oxford do a very similar questionnaire.

But also (as I'm sure you know anyway) the interview process at Oxford is slightly different in that rather than pooling candidates who are worthy of an offer but not the strongest at a given college, they will send them to be re-interviewed at another college which is potentially interested (or perhaps two other colleges). This is a fairer system I think, as they get the chance to 'sell themselves' (for want of a better expression) again, face to face. At C, pooling means applicants are just 'files' and reliant on their previous interview scores. But also, at Oxford, they shuffle very strong candidates to be interviews at other colleges too so other tutors can gauge the overall standard of applications in a given year.. I think Oxford are perhaps better at making decisions at a departmental level, from what I can gather?

Hello, can I join?
DD has applied for Oxford, Warwick, Durham, York and Exeter.
Received York offer so far.
She is predicted 4 A star.
I’m not massively hopeful for Oxford. She’s not a big reader. She’s very bright but a crammer, likes to party, I’m not sure she has the passion. But we’ll see.

Firstly, whilst oxford are interested in grades, Cambridge are not, unless the students predicted grades are very low in comparison to their A level predicted or actual grades.
Furthermore, this year the cohorts grades are based on centre assessed grades which will differ a lot in how they ae assessed and how generous the school has been.i don't really they can attach much weight to them.

well done hiltz and family.
You are totally right with the nerve racking bit.

I feel like the prime minister's PA (without the pay cheque) half the time.

Thanks to all also for info shared and support really appreciate it too.

thanks again zezzez.
No doubt my DD knows far more about it than I do...
playing catch up half the time here...

welcome lionsandlambs

Morning. Can I join the thread? DS has applied to do music at
Oxford
Bristol
Birmingham
Manchester
Nottingham
I think Oxford is a very very long shot for him but I guess if you don't apply you'll never know and of course I backed him. My other two ended up with almost unconditional offers from Bham (different subjects) and then just basically coasted through final two terms... feels very different this year.
Good luck to everyone.

I checked the entry requirements for St A, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. Two of them don't make any changes to the grades but one will guarantee an offer at the lowest admissions grades because of his EPQ grade and another do something similar so that'll be ABB or BBB.

That makes me feel a bit better about him having chosen ones who all want A*s and As.

My DD also got an offer for Englsih from Bristol almost instantly she applied - well done Bristol! She's applying to Oxford and would LOVE Edinburgh because I'm Scottish and we have family there but obviously we know the first two are a long shot with the added stress that Edin are notorious for not sending offers out until very, very late in the process (in friends' cases when their dc were actually walking into A levels). So psychologically Bristol may well shoot to the top of her personal list as she has nearly a year to get used to the idea of going there, talk to students already there etc. Good luck to everyone on this thread over the next few weeks.

I live in Scotland and a lot of the local kids go to Edinburgh and Glasgow. I would certainly warn my own DC to check the accommodation situation before accepting an offer for 2023/24 as it’s currently dire.

Agreed goodbyestranger - I don't want to jinx things by checking it out without an offer but am definitely bearing that in mind.

I’ve been horrified by the stories of overcrowding. The CAG years have had an impact in Oxford too but by comparison the Oxford squeeze is marginal.