Oxbridge applications 2023 mutual support thread

[Riverpebble]

A new, friendly thread.

To much focus on these statistics isn't necessarily helpful.

What is true is that all oxbridge courses have to turn down a lot of highly able applicants. And the other absolute is that the one sure way of not getting an offer is to not apply. Kudos to all who try!

Ds had an assessment today for linguistics (an ‘easy’ course…!) he’s not saying much other than he didn’t write much on the essay part and the rest was alright. Hmmm.
he’s got an interview in a couple of weeks so I’m hoping he’ll let me see the essay question before that so he can reflect on it in the interview assuming they will ask him to. He’s had a practice interview at school (state) but resists any kind of attempted input from me. He’s very relaxed about it all!

I think due to ( the thankfully) increased funding to offer Latin in non selective schools there is now ‘parity’ between those schools and the Independent sector/ SS Grammar schools combined at least to GCSE?
I think this was raised recently when further funding was announced?
My DD was educated in the Independent sector (100% Scholarship/ bursary) so was taught Latin and did Classical Greek GCSE as extra curricular - working through two lunchtimes a week one year or two twilight sessions in another- when they were not cancelled- neither of which matched the ‘timetabled’ sessions offered at schools that offered Greek GCSE on timetable
I’d add to the notion of ‘a filter’ for those taking Classical languages ( and I’d actually argue the same for MFL) - where offered - is that the students themselves have ‘applied a filter’ to themselves by opting to do them at A level?
Subject, of course, to schools actually offering them?

There's some potentially useful videos here www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/applicants

As for being kind, everybody who has applied has put in a huge effort and it's achievement being somebody who can apply to Oxbridge, so they should be kind.

One of mine went down the Oxbridge scholar route and decided not to apply as it wasn't for him, he preferred a different university, I'm no less proud of him than of the one who has applied.

All the DC on here are remarkable young people imo.

ProggyMat goodness where to start on funding. Just no. Your DD inhabited a different world to that of the ordinary state school student, even those at the superselective grammar that my DC all attended, where no classical language was or is offered even now. Or Classical Civ. There is no parity and it's a falsehood that grammars tend to offer Classics. Grammars, even superselectives, tend not to.

What is the 'Oxford scholar route'? I have only once heard a similar phrase used by an independent school teacher who was applying for the post of HT at our school and was busy lauding some kind of club at her own school which left all of us interviewers open mouthed....). Surely you mean something different? My own DD is currently an Oxford scholar but she's actually there, in situ. Other than that, I don't see what an Oxford scholar can be.

A bit purist this but )

This is quite sobering reading. Figures from Scotland only.

35 pupils in the whole of Scotland took the Latin Scottish A level equivalent. Same number took classical studies. Greek is not offered as an exam.

And I would bet that all these Scottish students came from private schools.

She did indeed- however not in the sense that you have framed her experience.
Some of DDs ‘ordinary state educated’ friends - none educated in Grammar schools as we don’t have them in the ‘frozen wastelands’ of the NE- have parents that have second homes abroad and/or in tourist areas and did attend comprehensives that offer a Classical language to GCSE and A level.
DD was educated in a state primary in a former mining community ( my dad and his dad etc was a miner) - way out of catchment for a much lauded comp alluded to above which did and does offer a Classical language - as do others in the region.
That said, as DD comes from a lone parent ( always has been just she and me) low in come household with a postcode that flagged for POLAR, ACORN and IMD , I’m thankful that Oxford didn’t apply such a blunt category as ‘privately educated’ and think ‘this lass has has inhabited a totally different world to her mates’ ..

ProggyMat a fair number of my DCs' friends at Oxford came/ come from what you call 'the frozen wastelands' of the NE (I can slightly identify on a very very superficial level having survived a particularly brutal winter in the eighties as a Durham student where the eye level cistern froze solid and the milk bottles on the doorstep froze and expanded in a visually quite extraordinary way). I was referring purely to your DD's educational experience, I thought that was clear - apologies if not.

But the fact remains that you are quite mistaken about the Latin offer in the state sector. There is a bit of a drive to re-introduce classical languages into the state school sector but it's not in reality touching the sides.

@goodbyestranger I use the term ‘frozen wastelands’ to refer to the fact that the region has been ‘left to rot’ for decades by political parties of all hues.
The region has the lowest applicants to Oxford and the lowest percentage of AAA at level - across both sectors.
As for DDs ‘educational experience’ I guess you’d have to consider wether going to an Independent school ( free of charge) given DDs ‘social background’ means that she’s ‘advantaged’ in comparison to friends at comps with much more affluent parents- and all that can buy?
Im not mistaken re the Latin offering in the State sector- it was brought up when the more recent round of funding was announced.- and long may that continue!

*at A level

I can understand that the fact Latin is not offered by that many schools would reduce applicant numbers at uni level. Just by contrast though, in London independents, Latin is compulsory until GCSE "options" and then they have hi choose one from Latin, Greek, 'Gratin' (Latin and Greek) and / or Classical Civilisation. They can do any or all of these at A-level, as easily as any other subject and many do. So it doesn't feel like a 'filtered' subject at all. The only one that feels 'filtered' would be Music (they all tend to be grade 8 or above in at least one instrument), Art (you have to be very committed and prepared to put the hours in) and FM (they don't all do that).

Also, at least one language at GCSE is compulsory - Spanish, French, German, Italian or Mandarin. Many do two, plus Latin or Greek. So it's more a case of having no choice!

palis I'm sorry but I think we may need to stop at the point where you juxtapose 'London independents' and 'So it doesn't feel like a 'filtered' subject at all'

This is a very narrow lens that you're looking through and I'm afraid blinkered for that.

Meanwhile in the real world the student room is full of applicants getting offers today. Nothing from Physics for Oxford though so DC2 is going slowly insane in the knowledge that his twin already has an interview at Cambridge.

What subject is your Cambridge twin applying for DownToTheSeaAgain?

Cambridge interviews come through earlier on the whole and Cambridge interviews far more applicants, on the whole.

Computer science

goodbyestranger - sorry, I think I was unclear. My point was that obviously those type of schools are not typical, but students from those independents will account for a lot of the classics applicants (because Latin and Greek are standard as any other subject in those schools). Whereas there would be less of an independent school bias for other subjects because all schools offer them.

We're still waiting here

It's really tough isn't it?

palis you were crystal clear :)

The Oxbridge scholar thing was a programme of support for students from lower income families, Oxford uni did outreach work with some schools and students went to visit and on residentials. It was by the uni not the Sutton trust or similar. About ten years ago now.

Sounds a whole lot better than the Oxford scholars club run at this independent then! That seemed to involve dressing up in black tie and eating supper in an old hall and not much else.

@DeliberatelyObtuse yes