Oxbridge 2023 support; it's offer month. Good luck all.

[Riverpebble]

New thread for the start of the Oxbridge offers.

@Teriyakieverything is your DC also maths/engineering subjects. DS engineering waiting on Imperial

@yoyo1234 DD is going for NatSci Cambridge and Chemistry for the other 4 UCAS choices.

Do we really have to wait until March for Imperial? Wonder why the offer time line was for imperial in recent years.

DS MEng with C for Oxbridge choice. He was telling me until May for Imperial decisions. I think because there could be people applying up to end January via normal UCAS deadlines.

So will your DS withdraw the Imperial to firm up choices now or wait?

Whats everyone else in similar situations doing?

He (seems) as laid back as anything . He went a bit quieter than normal for a few days before 25th January. He doesn't seem worried about confirming anything . I want him to go for a really safe insurance (he has an offer of "B" from Glasgow).

Yes it’s difficult to know whether to play it risky or safe. I did say to dd that she needs to think carefully as she doesn’t want to end up in clearing.

we went to offer holder days in Bath and Birmingham, both great places in different ways. Just trying to make sure that she loves whichever uni she ends up in. Oddly , she was quite against applying for brum at first precisely because I went there ( did engineering there 30 years ago - so it was a trip down memory lane on offer holder day last week).

DS C offer is A star, A ,A so I think Imperial will be higher (shame as he really loved open day/interview). Glasgow great as no tuition fees (but are offering him bachelors not masters).

I think most courses you could switch from BEng to MEng once you are in?

Dd s C offer is challenging at Astar Astar A , with the A stars in further maths and chemistry. So it is unlikely that Imperial will be as high and specific as that.

C has not specified what subject the A star is thankfully

Is there a particular subject she is worried about?

Not particularly, but it just puts the pressure on more. The A star in the FM as opposed to maths which they didn’t specify at all , I guess it’s logical that it would be superfluous. Because if you could get an A star in FM . You are unlikely to get a B in maths .

I think DS is pleased no STEP requirements but quick Google online it seems STEP for engineering not normally required (in past they may have asked for STEP 1 but that doesn't exist now).

No, he has no such expectations but if he was interested in Edinburgh then nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He'd have nothing to lose by asking.

DS had an Imperial offer before his Cambridge one last year (Engineering) and it was lower.... He loved the course but decided against after going to an offer holders day.

And Cambridge had specified A star in FM (and physics)....

DS did exam (November) and interview (January) for Imperial.If anything he liked interview at Imperial more than Cambridge. Exams he certainly didn't let on there was an issue with either , did really well in Cambridge (got results back with offer) would be odd to not do well on Imperial one (and not realise it). If anything he seems to have felt better about Unis giving him exams as an additional piece of information about him. Bristol have not asked for exams/interview etc. Is Imperial exam very different to Cambridge for engineering could he have not done well without realising it?

Bath (A, B) and Glasgow (B) offered pre Christmas.

Sorry , just read on Imperial website end of March is when DS should hear.

Thanks @Panicmode1 . I presume your DS is now at C?

gosh, how did you cope between Jan offer day and Aug results day?

This roller coaster is far from over yet….

@Teriyakieverything he is now at C and 'enjoying the challenge' although I'n not sure he's loving the volume of work! He is throwing himself into everything though and despite the workload is managing to row and do some debating. He's also coming home today so I'm very excited - he's managed to get a day off rowing so is allowed to leave for the day!

It was a long wait between offer and results day, but he had worked so hard and was fairly confident - I think it's 'easier' with STEM subjects to know if you are on target or not and his school was relentless in their pre A tests to ensure they weren't shirking (They had 15 Cambridge offers and all of them made their grades).

@yoyo1234 DS really enjoyed his interview at Imperial - he said it was fun and the interviewers really put him at ease. I think he was sad to turn it down, but he just felt that although the course was exactly what he wanted, he wasn't sure he wanted to be in London - esp. as the students he met on the offer holders day were mainly very wealthy foreign students and he knew his student experience was going to be on a much more reduced budget than theirs.....in fact we are less than an hour from London so I joked he could save money by living at home and commute. Not something he wanted to do as a student.

I'm sure if your DS has a Cambridge offer, then Imperial will offer too...most of DS' friends who had a crack at, and were offered C, got Imperial too.

Apparently half the interview (according to DS was discussing gaming 🤔 😂).

My child has an Oxbridge offer of two A stars and two As for a science course. Edinburgh has offered one A star and two As. Which feels much more achievable.

I am trying to convince them to take the offer to Birmingham as it’s nearer home and they have all sorts of mental and physical health issues and I worry. But Birmingham ‘ruined it’ by offering a financial inducement and thus appearing ‘desperate’ apparently. So that strategy for them has backfired sadly.

I would be happy if they took their York offer too.

I am very scared how my child will survive in a pushy competitive atmosphere. But it’s their choice of course.

Dd s best friend applied to do Physics at Birmingham and was also offered financial incentives (music and academic related I think), and she did not see them as being desperate at all. But I see what you mean though.

Birmingham is a great all round competitive RG university, I think they would not have offered the incentives unless they really wanted you. It’s a shame how it could be perceived though.

Birmingham looks great to me. But my daughter says when she mentions it, people make a face and ask her why on earth she would go there 😐