Oxbridge applications 2023 mutual support thread

[Riverpebble]

A new, friendly thread.

Thank you @ErrolTheDragon

Same with my DS yesterday, very quick intro before straight into tough Latin grammar and then touched on his PS at the end.

What are others alternative choices? Did you go for all high achieving uni’s or did you put a safe bet in there too?

We got the interview dates, two interviews at the same Oxford college
On Wednesday and Thursday

St Andrews and Edinburgh and a couple of similar ranked English universities.

After her train wreck of a first interview, second interview went well and she really enjoyed it 🤷‍♀️, sound like many of the DC have faced similar. Hoping that's now it until Jan 10th, and no more interviews...

Excellent news!

Pretty high: Durham, Edinburgh, Warwick and Exeter. Offers in from Warwick and Exeter, still waiting for the others (expecting a late response from them both).

DS didn't want to do any "insurance" universities, so the others are Warwick, UCL, KCL and Durham. Currently has offers from Warwick and Durham, interview tomorrow at Oxford and waiting to hear from UCL & KCL

Is it unusual not to have had any other interviews or offers in by now?

First interview at Cambridge - absolute carnage. Barrage of quickfire questions; no time to answer the ones she could in full, several she couldn't answer at all. Focus entirely on a single left-field topic, which she had never studied. No intro, no eye contact, no ref to PS. She hated it.

Second interview - two dons, ranged right across the subject, stimulating questions, terrific conversation, ending in mutual warmth and laughter.

First interview departmental overlords; second interview, college professors.

Really good luck to all those doing their interviews in the coming days. May they be fortunate with their interviewers!

Not unusual at all. It depends entirely which universities are involved. Durham. Edinburgh, UCL and several others generally come only in January.

No it’s the same unis that other people have had offers through really quickly from. Exeter Bath Bristol etc

It also varies by course. DDs course has only offered to contextual and overseas thus far

DS received a pleasant and informative email from his chosen college, it congratulated him on getting to the interview stage and gave some statistics from the applications this year. He has two interviewers on both of his first interviews and they have been named. One, however, is not from his subject, but it is a subject he is taking at A level and is slightly linked in - computer science. Also he now knows his 2nd college allocation, but no times as yet for them.

Sorry to sound thick but how do you know if an offer is contextual?

Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrew's, Cambridge, Trinity Dublin.
Unconditionals for all, interview at Cambridge, waiting to hear from Trinity.

DS (engineering) is waiting on Bath and Bristol but got relatively quick offers from Warwick and Manchester (same offer as Oxford would be - A star A star A!). He has no contextual factors. Very difficult to read the runes about why some offers/decisions come earlier than others. He loves Manchester so he's happy to have that one.

A contextual offer is generally slightly lower than standard, for instance AAB instead of AAA, or they might be willing be be more flexible about how grades are distributed. Sometimes a lower offer applies if the candidate makes that institution their firm choice. None of this applies to Oxbridge, where all offers are the standard for the course, irrespective of contextual markers such as school or postcode.

Other people DD knows applying to same course and same unis have had offers but she’s had interview at Oxford as the only response so far so is a bit nervous now that there is an issue with her PS or something?

DS has his first interview this afternoon. And then another tomorrow. He has contextual offers from Bristol and Newcastle and we're waiting for York and Edinburgh. Nail biting times.

UCL - has anyone heard anything? Also Edinburgh for humanities courses?

Thedoglovesmore - stupid question but has your DD definitely checked the status on UCAS? Emails can go awry sometimes.

@Scottishsummer very rarely do people hear from UCL prior to January in my experience.

Thank you !