Oxbridge 2024 Entry

[Lightsabre]

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!

@SirVixofVixHall - I have done it with both and filled a roof box.

This weekend I'm collecting DD's stuff on Friday. DS1 is not coming home as as he studies more effectively in Oxford and needs to knuckle down for his 3rd year exams.

My DS will applying to start 2024 so this is definitely the thread for me.

I'll now go and RTFT

Thanks for the essay links folks. The Woolf essay is definitely something DD will do.

Some great advice and links on here, thank you. Ds was on a waiting list for a masterclass and has now been offered it but unfortunately it's at the beginning of a holiday we booked (luckily in the uk). Will have to do some juggling.

@Malbecfan, there are a few of us considering Natural Sciences so any input would be great.

@Lightsabre not a problem. I have had 2 DDs apply to C for NatSci, both got to interview. One received an offer, got the grades, went, graduated & is now studying for a PhD there, the other was rejected after interview, went elsewhere and is doing really well and having a fab time.

DD1 (C graduate) did A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics & Chemistry plus an EPQ. Her EPQ was mentioned briefly at interview. She went to a Women into Stem event at Corpus Christi college Cambridge at the end of y12 which was good as they gave them taster sessions and talked through the interview process. We visited C over the summer but not during Open Days and had a wander round several colleges. Of course the college she ended up getting her offer from was one that we only visited after she received the offer but it is very welcoming.

DD has worked with a couple of organisations where she has mentored pre-GCSE and post-16 students from school where there isn't a tradition of sending students to Oxbridge. She has enjoyed it and was thrilled when a lad from a school in Glasgow got an interview. Cambridge in particular don't seem to be that impressed by grade 8 in several instruments, D of E, school prefects etc. They want enquiring minds and a genuine love and enthusiasm for the subject.

Feel free to ask questions. I don't know loads but if I can help, I will

DS really enjoyed the Cambridge Physics masterclass yesterday and is now seriously considering whether to apply for Maths with Physics or just straight Maths. I think they are quite flexible about switching between the two in the first year. Both have the same entry requirements including STEP so potentially lots of work ahead of him. Hopefully he will rise to the challenge.

Just hopping on the thread but maybe not for long - DD is considering PPL at Oxford but is quite ambivalent about whether Oxford would be right for her. We hope to attend an open day in June to help her decide whether she wants to give it a go. She is studying maths, biology, French and psychology and has AS exams coming up in May.

My DD applied for maths with physics and then decided to do straight maths within first couple of weeks of term. It is quite flexible at her college at least

Good luck to all starting their journey on this process.

If anyone is looking to apply for Geography or Modern Languages do ask if you've any queries and I'll do my best (or ask DC). I've one DC doing Geography - 2nd Year and another DC on their year out and will be starting ML in October (both Oxford).

Hello, name changed but joining in for this. DD undecided between History/with or without a MFL or possibly Law if applying to C. We visited the Cambridge open day last Summer post GCSE and found it really useful to compare colleges, cost etc. I’d really recommend encouraging them to visit. Cambridge seems very good wrt pastoral care. It is true no off campus jobs are allowed but there is a fund which can be accessed if needed to allow students to concentrate on studies. I also like the fact they can stay on campus for all 3 years. We plan on visiting Oxford this summer. She’ll take the school’s advice as to which one to apply to. She has an in person master class booked at Cambridge for this weekend which she was going to attend with school mates but unfortunately it collides with the planned rail strike so I’m driving them. Her school does send significant numbers to Oxbridge but are at pains to point out that other courses at other unis are considered top of the range for certain subjects.They also admit that sometimes they are surprised by the college rejection/acceptance choices. This year O offers were at previous years but C offers lower. They try hard to play down offer days due to the reasons mentioned upthread about friendship groups having to deal with one not being offered and all their mates getting accepted. This was also the same for the competitive entry for her school 6th form where the rejection affected many of her peers in their GCSE year and I don’t think many parents had considered the negative effect a rejection might have on their confidence. DD takes failure in her stride but has an attitude of ‘like the lottery, you can’t win it if you haven’t bought a ticket’ do I guess we can’t ask for more than that. She also failed her driving theory test today (by one mark) but left revision to the last minute so I think that’s made her think about knuckling down for the summer exams. On the point of trying to analyse the stats by each college, DD’s school have said that it is not possible to ‘game’ applications in this way so not to bother trying to second guess and to apply to a college they are interested in (and have visited/researched) for a course they actually want to do. Regarding essay competitions be aware that some submissions have to go via the school and that each school has a maximum number of entry’s. DD entered one a couple of weeks ago but the school was only allowed 5 entries across the entire year group (which is large) in a very popular subject. The school chose the 5 students to enter from all who expressed an interest to apply. As with her sixth form application, I’m clear that I’m here if she needs me, but that this is her choice where and what she applies for and her personal statement is just that, hers etc. obviously we are entering the unknown for 2024 entry given that UCAS will not be adding a school/college reference for this year group.

Am I right in thinking that the UNIQ courses are paid for? I just took a look and was 😱 at the cost. Was I looking at the right thing? It seemed like a family of 4 could have a lovely holiday somewhere wonderful for the cost!

Wishing everyone luck and sanity!

Hi! UNIQ courses are free but you are only eligible if you attend state school. The applications have now closed and places allocated.
My daughter is on the French one and has also been on a history taster day which she was accepted on separately. She also wants to do history and MFL
I believe there are also paid courses but I haven’t looked at those.
Good luck to your daughter.

Lots of good advice there @10ppicnmix - thank you for sharing and your ds has a good attitude coming into this. Target Oxbridge is also a free resource for dc from Afro Caribbean and African origin. Unfortunately the deadline has now passed but it might help anyone looking at this thread for the following years. They've also just announced Target Bath too. I'm finding there's lots of great support out there for candidates who might meet the widening participation criteria (we don't on most measures).

We've managed to juggle things for the holiday at Easter so ds can attend the Chemistry masterclass at C. I'm (not ds) slightly panicking as he's still not fully decided on which course he wants to apply for but school are asking them to think about their personal statements now. He likes the look of NS but is worried that if he gets as far as an interview, it will be maths based. He's not a slouch at maths but he's not a gifted mathematician either. I would have thought it would be a problem solving exercise around the subject - hopefully they'll give more advice at the Masterclass. Don't know whether you can add any insight @malbecfan about that?

Oxford don't test for Chemistry so that appeals to him more but he's not sure he wants to do pure chemistry either. Aargh.

@Lightsabre it's a few years ago now but I don't think DD had to answer outright Maths questions, although she needed to demonstrate Maths knowledge. Fermi questions are the thing she was asked.

From a quick google, here is an example: how many people can you fit into this (class)room? Obviously the answer depends on many factors: the size of the room, the size of the people - kids, adults, fat Malbecfan-types... (you get the gist). Then how squashed are they? Can they sit on each other's shoulders... Your DC has to be able to explain how they would work it out. From what DD told me about the thing she was asked, she didn't know some geographical thing. They told her to guess and because her geographical knowledge is abysmal, they did give her some prompts. However, she told them what she didn't know, so using my example, it could be: "are we talking about adults or children?"

Chemistry is a good course to go on because it is common to both NatSci strands. DD always loved it and took it in her 1st 2 years. Has your DS looked at the different subjects available?

My chemistry/Natsci interview, yonks ago, went 'Come in. Sit down. Explain the difference between an aldehyde and a ketone.'

Physics went better!

That sounds like something with an easy enough start with room to expand, so quite a reasonable question.
Otoh I got asked what should have been an easy physics question but the words deserted me... I wish I'd had the wit to have a pencil and paper about me and started by drawing a diagram.

Oh, it didn't expand from there. Expansive empathy was not one of her more notable features. It was more like being interviewed by Anne Robinson.

Those interview questions sound pretty terrifying to me!

Thank you @Malbecfan, that's useful. Just waiting for the Oxbridge open days to open up now. There was an unfortunate data breach from one of the colleges today. An email was sent with all recipients email's listed. It was recalled quite quickly. Luckily our email is non identifying but a lot had names plus school. Someone's head is probably rolling this afternoon.

Just trying to encourage ds to read and to look up any public lectures to try and spark a deeper interest in a particular area. He also sent an email to a company that sometimes take undergraduates for placements in the hope they might squeeze him in for a week in the summer. Not heard anything back from them or another scheme he applied for yet. He's really tired, has a two day sports thing next week and then tests and mock AS last week.

DS is hoping to go to Oxbridge. He's already visited both with his school and 6th form as he has been part of their Oxbridge school thingy they have. He's pretty much been destined to go since primary school as he's always stuck out like a sore thumb with his knowledge and ability.

As his DM though I just advise him that there are plenty of other excellent Universities in case he doesn't get in.

He just gets in with it and his 6th form will help him with his application or so he tells me.

Which is why I think this group will be useful to me.

We signed DD up for the Cambridge English master class that happened yesterday knowing that she wouldn’t be able to attend as she is in Poland on a History trip. They will send her the recording of it and she will do it during the Easter holidays. She is also signed up to do the History one in April.

@Lightsabre do you go on the websites to find out about the open days?

On the back of this I've signed up to get info re the open days as I'd quite like to have a proper look around Oxford especially as that's DS first choice. I know Cambridge but would still like a proper look around as well.

I've been looking a which colleges will suit him best as that's another element to navigate

@Rollergirl11, I've registered to receive the newsletters/info at both and apparently you receive an alert when the open day registration opens. Ds school authorises absence for both and I think two other days. Wish some of the summer ones were Saturdays but I guess the staff need time off too.

Glad your ds is confident of a place @Ireallydohope - what does he hope to do?

@Lightsabre Maths or Maths and Physics

There's no guarantee of a place as we know and he may bomb at the interview or just not be as good compared to others. There are so many factors

I hope he gets in though because then he's surrounded by people overly passionate and obsessed with their subjects

I want to let him go and watch him soar

Not too close to the sun though