Oxbridge applications 2023 mutual support thread

[Riverpebble]

A new, friendly thread.

SO much luck and congratulations to everyone. Dad just heard two timings for interviews Wednesday. After that life can resume

@whiteroseredrose thats good to hear, am glad he’s had a good time with his course. Good luck to him on whatever his next stage will be after it’s all over.

We got the offer of an interview today.

Congrats to your DC!

Thank you 🙂

Who is still waiting to hear ?

It feels like the vast majority (all bar one or two?) of applicants on this thread got an interview is that right?

I expect some who didn't will have just quietly left, it's not easy always online to say you didn't

Stress levels rising here ready for next week. (His not mine) DS has interviews with 2 colleges next week which I understand is the norm for music. Not helped by EPQ presentation this week and generally busy week. I feel all I can do is make nice dinners!

We are! 😩 Human science Wadham. College, Ox. Dd looks very relaxed about it.

Dd has got an interview for natural sciences, however is thinking about withdrawing :-(

If she's got good reasons then better now than later. However, if it's due something like 'imposter syndrome' then maybe people on this thread who've had kids go through the process can help a bit?

Sorry pressed send too soon.I am very disappointed , but she got really stressed in lockdown and then the uncertainty of gcse and wants to take a year out to decompress and think more about her choice of course and uni.she is no longer even sure whether she wants to do biological natural sciences and she seems to be leaning towards engineering at the moment.She also wants to go to a uni where she can enjoy the student life and not be stressed about workload all the time

@fUNNYfACE36 I feel for you. My DD is a NatSci graduate. She wobbled just before A level results but confirmation of her place cured that.

The workload is intense but students are supported. In her 1st year DD said her supervisors were really helpful and supportive. Now she is a supervisor for 1st years and I hope is modelling that behaviour herself. When we went to look round the college that made DD's offer (which was not the one she applied to/she was interviewed at), we met a chap who was in the year above her at her school. He said the workload was intense but you could take on 2 extra things. DD has varied her 2 activities, normally one musical and one sporting, over the years, but that is a really important part of being there.

As your DD has done so well to get an interview, why not go ahead with it as she literally has nothing to lose? If they offer her a place, she needs to take time to think, but doesn't need to accept it until May (or whenever it is now). If she doesn't get an offer, the decision is made for her, BUT she can always be proud of getting that far.

The night before my DD went to university she decided she didn't want to go, she agreed to go for one day and then come home, then two days etc.

I think with an interview I'd suggest doing it but as interview practice and wait and see. I have awful imposter syndrome so if that's what it is, I do sympathise.

No but I'm sure that would help! Work experience through school was all cancelled because of Covid at the time when DS would have been doing it but he has been doing NHS volunteering.

Also some of the university departments have outreach programs with webinars etc so he went to those.

Yay! Congrats

I think the stress is worth thinking about. I do wonder at times whether the cachet of 'intense terms' is somewhat pointlessly pursued at the expense of undergraduates' happiness. DS1 is doing maths at O and the workload (if you want to do well) is something else, completely unlike any job I've ever had (although admittedly I'm no professional high-flyer). He maybe goes out once or twice a week and plays one sport once a week. Most of the extra curricular stuff he'd like to do clashes with his timetable.

For what it's worth I'm sorry to say he really doesn't rate the mental health support at Oxford. If an applicant is vulnerable to mental health difficulties it's definitely worth having a really hard-headed think about it all. Although finding a university that really does support vulnerable young people is a difficulty in itself of course.

Thank you so much @Gwenavyne for the advice. He's also thinking of natural sciences so if anyone has any advice on their dc journey to that course too, I'd be grateful. I wish all of your dc the best with the interviews. Hoping it will be Ds next year but who knows. If he gets as far as an interview it'll be tough for him as he's very shy and not great at debating, even when it's a subject he's interested in.

Wave to @PettsWoodParadise also. We have 'met' on other threads (I had a different user name) as my Ds is in the boys equivalent of your dd school. She sounds very independent now so wishing her all the luck for her interview.

Huge congrats to all those who got an interview, my DS was undone by the PAT (we are in Ireland and curriculum here is very different to A-levels so it was a big ask) and got a "no" from Oxford today but proud of him for giving it a go ... he has no regrets! Best of luck to everyone!

Hello again @Turmerictolly and good luck to your DS next year.

DD’s school had about 25 Oxbridge applications this year.I’ve heard of one rejection which has surprised the cohort. All three who are applying for English have got interviews, but that is about as much as I know.

I think Ds school has around 70 applicants but I'd need to check that (out of approx 250 in the sixth form). They usually end up with circa 25 offers. This has decreased - possibly due to wider outreach targeting less selective schools?

Out of 10 at the college, 3 interviews, 3 rejections. 4 still waiting. Awkwardly, one is for the same subject and college as mine.

It's the end of the road for Dd. No interview for her. She is fine about it. She has no regrets, her grades are very good so she could try. She has an offer from Manchester, but hoping for Exeter (favourite) or UCL.
Good luck to those with interviews!