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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Oxbridge 2024 Entry

988 replies

Lightsabre · 28/02/2023 13:52

Thought I'd start a thread for parents of dc considering Oxbridge applications for entry in Oct 2024 (I don't think there's a current one)? Past threads have been so informative and supportive and hopefully this thread will offer that too. Please feel free to add to the thread if your dc have recently had experience of the process, good, bad or ugly!

OP posts:
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7
User11010866 · 11/09/2023 15:31

Lightsabre · 11/09/2023 11:18

@Blodwen9 - bit of a nightmare with these school internal deadlines. We've had a difficult weekend of it too.

I can't help with the PS really - is she applying for joint honours for all of her choices or is this just a specific Oxbridge one? If she's applying to Cambridge there is a supplementary form (SAQ?) that can be filled in as an addition to the PS in which you can give more detail. Hopefully someone else can help.

Thank you very much for the information on SAQ for the Cambridge application. Just realised that DC can fill out the form for his ECs outside the PS.

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 15:34

spacechimp79 · 28/02/2023 15:35

Hey all and thanks for the thread @Lightsabre

My DS is considering on applying to Oxford for PPE. We have had a quick look around the city and a few of the colleges as can't make the open days in June.

He will get plenty of support from school if he wants and I'm thinking at the moment that he will probably just do an open application as it sounds tricky to decide on which college to choose.

They also have one in September.

We seem to have 2024 and 2025 entry on this thread.

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 15:36

Re PPE - unaccountably popular as a degree. My DH academic lawyer is not a fan

stoneysongs · 11/09/2023 16:27

Can I ask those who know about a couple of Oxford colleges to share their thoughts - what are the pros, cons and otherwise useful pieces of information about St Catz and Wadham?

ErrolTheDragon · 11/09/2023 16:54

Blodwen9 · 11/09/2023 11:32

She's applying for the same joint honours at all 5 choices (whatever they end up being...) and it's Cambridge so she's aware the supplementary form is there too.

I think her statement read nicely - but her German teacher wants her to address all aspects of the course - language, culture, history, linguistics, literature and film which seems OTT. DD has reluctantly shoe horned something about literature in but really that's not her passion and is not why she's choosing the course. She specifically chose Cambridge as the course doesn't include many compulsory literature components but the teacher seems unaware of this.....

Sounds like she's getting some poor advice. As far as I know, DDs school had the sense to realise it's a personal statement and didn't remotely try to micromanage like that (main bit of advice was to convey passion for the subject without using the word passion).

WombatChocolate · 11/09/2023 16:57

We found an open Days useful. Before we went, DS hadn’t really seen a uni and didn’t realise how big they are. We visited 6, with both myself and DH goiing to a couple with him and just one of us to some. Without a doubt it was time consuming and expensive. There were overnight stays in 3 Premier Inns and 2 overnight stays with friends and just one which involved there and back in one day. In one weekend, it was possible to fit 2 in. Most were travelled to by car, but one was by train and for that one with train, overnight accommodation and food, it cost over £500. I can totally see that this isn’t going to be accessible to lots.

The visits were lovely in lots of ways and certainly useful. From seeing DS see places for the first time and hearing him think through what he liked and didn’t like was great. Just having those weekends one-to-one with meals and time together is also a period of time I will remmeber findly and hope he will too.

For him, visiting the places was vital for getting a feel for them…the uni and the city. He knew he didn’t like Warwick even thought the course was good and reputation strong.

Because he was going to put places which might not offer, even though he had high predicted grades, good GCSEs etc, he couldn’t guarantee he would get offers from any of the top 3 or 4 of his choices. He had Oxford down, which he knew he probably wouldn’t get an offer from and then Durham was his next choice, but he knew that lots of strong candidates don’t get offers for the course there either and then he had a popular Scottish one which often turns away top candidates too. So he wanted to be sure he had someone that was good which would more definitely offer to him, but of course it was important to him that he actually liked it and was prepared to go. What they don’t know is if they might get offers from all of these very selective unis, or just one or two. Because of this, he really wanted to visit lots.

Original poster
Lightsabre · 11/09/2023 18:29

Good insight @WombatChocolate and a similar experience to us. Ds has 2 aspirational (Oxford and Imperial) and two that should be achievable )Warwick, Bath) and one that he's happy with if he has a bad exam week (Southampton).

We accompanied ds to the open days as we wanted to check the courses/accommodation offered value for money.

@singingstones ds liked Wadham on the open day, it had a fair few students taking the course he's interested in. Ds told me it has a reputation as a 'political' college - not sure what that means (hopefully not loads of Tories). I get the impression it's quite competitive - I'm sure I read somewhere that it's quite high up on the Norrington table if that's important. I liked St Hilda's and the one with the bridge (Hertford?). We should have been a bit more organised and taken notes/pictures because now they're all mixed up in my head with the Cambridge colleges.

Paid for the UCAS form submission today and now school are reviewing. It's all been a bit rushed at the end to be honest - we'd have liked another week. Feeling very real now after all this time.

OP posts:
SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 18:46

ErrolTheDragon · 11/09/2023 16:54

Sounds like she's getting some poor advice. As far as I know, DDs school had the sense to realise it's a personal statement and didn't remotely try to micromanage like that (main bit of advice was to convey passion for the subject without using the word passion).

Show quote history

Good advice on the word passion. I think schools are very keen to assert the importance of the Personal Statement. University Teachers (Lecturers/Reader/Professors) at Cambridge less interested in this because they have interviews and entry tests unlike many other Unis

stoneysongs · 11/09/2023 18:54

Thanks @Lightsabre
Yes I think I heard elsewhere that Wadham is a liberal and alternative (all relative ofc Smile) but that might be right up DD's alley.

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 19:06

stoneysongs · 11/09/2023 18:54

Thanks @Lightsabre
Yes I think I heard elsewhere that Wadham is a liberal and alternative (all relative ofc Smile) but that might be right up DD's alley.

Mine likes Wadham, it’s quite central which is good generally.

mondaytosunday · 11/09/2023 21:44

@SuperiorM my daughter's school said they reckon about half of the unis don't bother with the PS. But every YouTube video about interviews at Cambridge say (from interviewers) that they may refer to things mentioned on it (so be sure you have actually read the books/know the theories you reference), and from students about half say that they were asked about their PS. If Cambridge is as forensic as mentioned in weighing up candidates it makes sense they would look closer at the PS. However, most of what I looked at related to humanities subjects, it may be different for STEM courses.

goodbyestranger · 11/09/2023 22:37

Wadham is most definitely not known as a right-wing college. It’s very beautiful and since a number of major building projects have been completed, offers excellent accommodation especially in comparison to many other colleges. My eldest DC chose Wadham chiefly because it was founded by a woman who lived in a house just around the corner from us. A quite extraordinary achievement for a woman at the start of the seventeenth century, and everything directed by letter from Devon: Dorothy Wadham never made it to Oxford to admire the finished buildings. In one of her letters she wrote that she endowed the college for the education of young people from her own area, not Londoners, so DC1 thought well that’s me, so why not?

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 22:51

mondaytosunday · 11/09/2023 21:44

@SuperiorM my daughter's school said they reckon about half of the unis don't bother with the PS. But every YouTube video about interviews at Cambridge say (from interviewers) that they may refer to things mentioned on it (so be sure you have actually read the books/know the theories you reference), and from students about half say that they were asked about their PS. If Cambridge is as forensic as mentioned in weighing up candidates it makes sense they would look closer at the PS. However, most of what I looked at related to humanities subjects, it may be different for STEM courses.

May be different in STEM. Basically, the Admissions Tutor interview is more likely to refer/reflect/reference this than the subject tutor

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 22:53

SuperiorM · 11/09/2023 22:51

May be different in STEM. Basically, the Admissions Tutor interview is more likely to refer/reflect/reference this than the subject tutor

Show quote history

Please send me a link to these videos, I’d be very interested

Hertsessex · 12/09/2023 00:48

mondaytosunday · 11/09/2023 21:44

@SuperiorM my daughter's school said they reckon about half of the unis don't bother with the PS. But every YouTube video about interviews at Cambridge say (from interviewers) that they may refer to things mentioned on it (so be sure you have actually read the books/know the theories you reference), and from students about half say that they were asked about their PS. If Cambridge is as forensic as mentioned in weighing up candidates it makes sense they would look closer at the PS. However, most of what I looked at related to humanities subjects, it may be different for STEM courses.

In my daughter's HSPS interview last year pretty much EVERYTHING in PS was discussed in her interviews.

WobblyLondoner · 12/09/2023 07:29

stoneysongs · 11/09/2023 13:13

Anyone else having personal statement nightmares?

Not yet but expecting them. She is planning on starting it tomorrow, college deadline is not until the middle of next week for the first draft but she needs to get it out of the way and start focusing on the entrance test imo.

DS's school have already asked for the full application details including the PS, to be submitted, for checking apparently. This only applies to the Oxbridge applicants.

HewasH2O · 12/09/2023 08:13

Re PPE - unaccountably popular as a degree. My DH academic lawyer is not a fan

Was he turned down for a place then ? 😂

stoneysongs · 12/09/2023 08:15

DS's school have already asked for the full application details including the PS, to be submitted, for checking apparently. This only applies to the Oxbridge applicants.

Yes, DD's deadline of 20th for the first draft feels a bit late to me. I am hoping she can write something tonight and hand it in, to give her time to tweak and amend.

SuperiorM · 12/09/2023 08:39

HewasH2O · 12/09/2023 08:13

Re PPE - unaccountably popular as a degree. My DH academic lawyer is not a fan

Was he turned down for a place then ? 😂

Er no, he won scholarship to study and is a law professor.

HewasH2O · 12/09/2023 09:12

Just not sure why the views of an academic lawyer are relevant, especially in such a random comment with no justification. It would be the equivalent of me saying medicine is unaccountably popular (& yes, I am also an academic) & just like your DH medicine is not my field. I assume your DC is not applying for PPE then, despite others on this thread doing so.

mondaytosunday · 12/09/2023 09:34

@SuperiorM posting a link seems beyond my capabilities but just go to YouTube and search Cambridge (subject) interviews. I actually watched a couple more last night, both econ and both said their PS was referred to.
I guess it might or might not be, but any candidate should reacquaint themselves with what they put on it and the texts etc sited. One student for Natsci said that the interviewer even referred to something mentioned on his school reference! He was taken aback as he purposely did not mention it in his PS as he didn't really want to talk about it, so he recommends that kids also look at their reference if allowed to.

SuperiorM · 12/09/2023 09:49

HewasH2O · 12/09/2023 09:12

Just not sure why the views of an academic lawyer are relevant, especially in such a random comment with no justification. It would be the equivalent of me saying medicine is unaccountably popular (& yes, I am also an academic) & just like your DH medicine is not my field. I assume your DC is not applying for PPE then, despite others on this thread doing so.

Edited

So you think a teaching academic in a closely allied discipline wouldn’t know about this? You think someone who teaches and researches doesn’t know what a good degree subject is? And, of course, you know better, you know more.

SuperiorM · 12/09/2023 09:50

mondaytosunday · 12/09/2023 09:34

@SuperiorM posting a link seems beyond my capabilities but just go to YouTube and search Cambridge (subject) interviews. I actually watched a couple more last night, both econ and both said their PS was referred to.
I guess it might or might not be, but any candidate should reacquaint themselves with what they put on it and the texts etc sited. One student for Natsci said that the interviewer even referred to something mentioned on his school reference! He was taken aback as he purposely did not mention it in his PS as he didn't really want to talk about it, so he recommends that kids also look at their reference if allowed to.

That’s very interesting and good to know 👍🏼

ForeverbyJudyBlume · 12/09/2023 09:55

All the colleges these days have a strong liberal and alternative element, the idea that Wadham is some left-wing bastion is a hangover from the 80s when the Brideshead myth prevailed. But it's very central and pretty, Catz is further out but that is extremely relative.

Blodwen9 · 12/09/2023 09:58

Youtube links sound good.

The whole PS thing seems such a huge waste of energy. DD has to hand hers in on Thursday and I can't wait for it to go - too many iterations and opinions...

Looking forward to going with her on Friday to look at the colleges she has shortlisted - she was like a rabbit in the headlights in the summer!

open days - it's horses for course I think - no right or wrong answer