Oxbridge Rejects 2023 - Come this way and commiserate

[Rejects]

As mentioned on the other thread a safe space for those who'd like a bit of support while not dampening others' moods Sorry that I have gone on a lot about this rejection already on here - it's helped me keep outwardly calm and cheerful when my ds has been very upset.

I am acutely aware in the scheme of things a university rejection is not a huge deal and that amazing lives and outcomes no doubt await all our dc wherever they go, it's just getting through the time between now and A levels and/or offers from other unis arriving, keeping dcs' morale up. Good luck everyone

Yes, he is really chuffed and fortunate to have the offer!

This is so good to read, thank you

@TizerorFizz I thought the Manchester offer for comp sci was higher than eg Imperial or Cambridge. And on the surface it does appear to be.

But if you look at the achieved grades of the vast majority of students accepted at Imperial for example, they are 3 and 4 A stars.

So my reasoning is that although the minimum predicted grades to apply to Imperial look lower than Manchester, the reality is they only seriously consider applicants who are predicted 3 A stars. Plus of course the dreaded step requirement.

DS will be applying this autumn and we've pretty much ruled out Cambridge for comp sci. We're not convinced the extra effort is worth any extra benefit Cambridge may have for grad outcomes in a subject like comp sci.

I'm dreading the whole thing after reading this. It's such a cruel process to put teenagers through. I think we need to plan a constructive gap year and be prepared to reapply so it's not as hard to deal with the possibility of no offers. That would be seriously damaging for DS self esteem and confidence.

@Amboseli
Does Cambridge require STEP for computer science?

Which courses and where require STEP?

@yoyo1234 not Cambridge, Imperial.

Why not apply for Cambridge then 🤔. If they don't require a dreaded STEP paper?

These posts have really cheered me up - ds is v down in the dumps right now because of being the only one without an O offer for his subject at his school and it was dragging me down with him but reading these posts has reminded me of how many exciting opportunities await and helped me revert to my original take that in the end such (mild in the scheme of things) adversity is the making of us. I was in one of the cities where he has an offer today and even though it's his fourth choice felt really excited at the prospect of him living there and what a ball he'll have

I'm a Cambridge reject myself (as is DH) met each other at another university we both got into 😁. I can't even remember which College I applied to 😂. Not sure if our lives if we both got into Cambridge could be better than now 😀. I have him 😍.

@Amboseli
The grades quoted are minimum entry requirements. I would imagine on most very competitive courses Dc will have in excess of the minimum. AAAstar at Cambridge will almost certainly be exceeded by the majority. I suppose they pitch lower to get a broader entry spectrum? Manchester probably know where they sit and know what most students will achieve for that course. It might make their decision making easier. Maybe?

Manchester only upped the CS entry requirements to 3A* last year.
This creates inflated prestige, even though their CS department is not quite in the same tier as the top 3 (it's still good but it's more or less the same as Warwick, UCL etc.). Along with grade inflation and CS getting more competitive this year, I guess Manchester's taken measures so that it's easier to filter candidates.

Imperial CS requires an online CS admissions test, then filtering for interview (shortlist) and then an offer which could indeed involve a 2 in STEP.
Manchester only requires a good PS + the right predicted grades. Realistically speaking, it's hard to get into Imperial without 3A*+ predicted anyway.

I'd recommend anyone going through this to plan a gap year - I wish we'd done that. It still might happen depending on what offers dc ends up with but only so she can have a break from the grind of the past few years of lockdowns and endless exams and grow up a bit, it may be my imagination but she seems MUCH younger than I was at the same age, mainly because she's been locked away all the time - I wouldn't encourage her to reapply to O, however. For compsci I can't see what added merits the Cambridge brand would really offer, so if it doesn't appeal then don't do it!

Ds was pooled but not picked for C. I think he was disappointed, but is getting on with things. The stressful thing is that he only has his safety offer, so still waiting for Imperial (he's done the compsci test, and is interviewing next week), waiting for St. Andrews and Edinburgh. If he were lucky enough to get offers from all three remaining for compsci, I'm not sure what would be best. He's a Scottish student, so it would be expensive going to England. But, that wouldn't be the deciding factor. Edinburgh would be super easy for us...

I was a lurker on the other thread and just wanted to say best of luck to @ Rejects son. I think you sound like a lovely mum who hates seeing their son disappointed and is struggling to understand the rationale. We all just want our kids to be happy and I am sure he will be wherever he goes. Am rooting for him and hoping he gets positive news soon. I’m currently selecting candidates for interview for a degree course and the margins between interview and not interview are tiny and if it makes anyone feel any better i am agonising over it! Good luck to everyone

Thank you, that's very kind - I am well aware I became too woe is me at one point after a bad half term (other stuff happening which I won't being in here) and with an ill ds, but having been a prat I came to my senses again and am now back at my initial reaction to the news which was that's harsh but never mind, that we need a bit of rejection in life to give us grit and - most importantly - what amazing other opportunities are out there for all these dc and how lucky they are.

Ds needs to be handled carefully as if I say anything like that right now he snaps back at me that I went to C so can't understand how he feels, but he's doing mocks and a bit ill, so I am just holding my tongue and can see in time he'll be more than fine. Every mum on here is lovely and hates seeing their child disappointed, but this will all soon be a drop in the ocean (though hurry up StA, Durham, Edinburgh and all the other big players who seem to be keeping everyone in suspense)!

Don't want to get your hopes up too much but generally an interview invite for CS means that your son will have a good chance of getting an offer from Imperial :)

@curiousllama I am trying very hard not to count our chickens 😂

I think the assessments taken pre interview are probably used a lot , fingers crossed 🤞. I think some Unis interview more (may have more capacity to, eg I think C interview a high percentage of candidates) others narrow down pre interview (eg Imperial) .

Morning, it looks like St Andrews is sending out offers. DD has an offer for E&M.She is pleased and relieved after Oxford non offer.She is predicted 5A* and holds an offer from Bristol and waiting on Durham and Kings. Good luck to all still waiting.

DD is an Oxford reject here, but she seems to have moved on. She's got her mocks starting Monday, so she's definitely been concentrating on revision over half term, and hasn't brought the rejection up at all. She's still waiting on Durham and Edinburgh (her current no 1 and 2), but has offers from Exeter and Warwick (although says she's not particularly interested in going to either of them...). I did warn her from the very beginning that Durham and Edinburgh could also be very tricky, and that she may be limiting herself, but it was what she wanted.

Just hope at least Durham starts their offers soon. She had an email a couple of weeks ago saying they hoped to let everyone know by April 21st (which would mean missing offer holder days, which is pretty annoying). It's a long old wait, isn't it?!?

Fantastic that StA have started, congrats @hiltz to your dd. Fingers crossed to everyone still waiting on them and all the other slowcoaches ...

@Rejects Surely it’s only 4 weeks since applications closed? No one is really slow - yet. I think offers after offer holders days is ludicrous though.

Durham final offer holders' day is 21 March, Edinburgh is 5 April - both far, far too early unless they suddenly accelerate their offers/rejections

I meant too slow compared to offer- holder days and many other universities who started offering months ago