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!

@BiancaBlank and @FlyingSquid The only problem with HPS at Cambridge is that you can't do just that, you have to start off doing NatSci and then switch into it. (I did the M.Phil. ages ago, after the Physics & Philosophy degree at Oxford, and am very willing to chat about the sorts of things that they involve, although obviously things have changed a bit since then.)

So what else are DC putting down other than Oxbridge.

Where else has good halls, dining hall, campus.

I feel that DS despite being competent with cooking etc would enjoy being looked after a bit more than he is at home.

Parents often working late etc having to cook for himself quite often

I think I'd like him to just get on and study, make friends but not worry too much about accommodation or food.

I feel like Durham is too full of posh boys ?!?
Edinburgh or St Andrews same ?!?
But they all look to have decent facilities

Bristol, York?

Not London too expensive I think ?!

Durham looks excellent for maths but is also difficult to get into.

I know someone who goes there so will ask their sibling who is often at ours what they think of it

@Ireallydohope, at the moment we're loosely considering Imperial as another aspirational (and probably unlikely to get one). Then maybe Bath, Warwick and Southampton. Perhaps UCL also.

I'm not sure about Durham and St Andrews - they both look amazing and I think Ds would suit St A - small town, he loves hiking but both might be too far away (we're in Greater London) and they do have that public school reputation (but then so does Oxbridge I guess). Someone posted a picture of some sort of social at Durham and it wasn't very diverse which is what we're used to. However that could have just been a snapshot of a particular cohort. We did visit Durham whilst on holiday last year and it's a great place. I'm pretty sure all of the RG universities have a large international intake. It wouldn't put ds off I don't think. We did visit Lancaster and loved it but that's also a long journey but has the campus, sports, hiking and courses he'd like.

On the other hand, I'm not sure whether he'd get a full uni experience in London plus it would be nice for him to experience living away and gaining independence. Ds is very shy and might find it difficult to make friends (he's not into partying) so I think he'd be happier with the safety net of knowing he could come home for a weekend if needed. I've told him he definitely needs to leave home for the first year at least - mean mum

We looked at Southampton, Imperial and Royal Holloway (ruled out RH as the stem courses weren't great). On holiday also had a quick look at Edinburgh and Stirling.

What about everyone else?

DD is far from deciding any of this but we are going to open days at Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and UCL. It may be that these all get binned 😂

At least she will get a better sense of campus vs city, London vs not etc and then can narrow things down from there.

(Durham and St Andrews too far for us to visit at this stage really and probably too far for her to consider seriously)

DS is also not into partying and despite being social isn't bothered by socialising that much

London is too close to home.

I feel he'd be suited to a proper campus with guaranteed room in halls

Bath and Bristol might suit so am looking at and have booked open days there. York maybe but a bit far.

I feel he might get irritated if Durham is full of public school boys although he himself has a weird sense of confidence so may well find it suits him.

To be fair where ever he ends up he'll hopefully eventually find his tribe as will everyone.

https://www.palatinate.org.uk/durham-has-lowest-state-school-intake-of-any-uk-university/

Not intended to put any student off Durham, just thought it made interesting reading to compare which universities take the most private school kids.

We went to brum open day recently as it is local and where I went to uni. Daughter absolutely loved it. She thinks she wants to move away though which is her only minus for it.

Don't know if it's helpful but o work at Oxford Uni and, although I don't work in admissions at the moment, I did for many years. Feel free to ask me questions, I've probably answered a lot of them before!

At the moment DD3's other choices are St Andrews, Edinburgh and Durham. We're on the south coast so I'm starting to think she's trying to get as far away from us as possible! Even going for an open day is a logistical headache.

DD2 is at Warwick and she is happy there. She says the nightlife is rubbish, but as she's not a partying type, that doesn't bother her much, and she likes being on a campus. I think she's been into Coventry once! All her friends seem to be Oxbridge rejects like her, though I don't think that's deliberate, and they're a nice bunch. She's also got friends at Exeter, who like it very much, and I'm trying to steer DD3 that way just because it's that much nearer for us.

Shortlist so far is Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, UCL (in case he decides he wants to stay at home) and either Leeds or York.

He has ruled out all the Scottish universities as he wants a 3 rather than 4 year course, which is a shame as Edinburgh and St Andrews would potentially be good options for him.

Having looked at how much bigger and better value accommodation is at Cambridge than the other universities has made him want to go there even more! He is visiting Cambridge on the 6th April for a day at his link college and he is going to Oxford with school after Easter. He is looking forward to going to some other open days, but nothing booked in as yet.

He’s applied for a few more things this week, another master class, Lumina (3 day online course run by Harrow School), Eton Summer School (in person, but non-residential) and the History and Politics residential at Selwyn College. He probably will not get any of them , but we decided it was worth a go anyway.

Signed him up for Latin Camp today, which he is really looking forward to as all his A Level class are going too.

@Jaxx it may be possible for your child to do a second year entry to a Scottish University. I can't remember offhand, the exact number but there is a large number of English students doing this at Edinburgh for Maths.
DS is currently thinking Edinburgh, Oxford , Leeds and 2 out of 3 of Warwick, Manchester and Durham. We were going to look at Lancaster but he has decided against it at the moment. He doesn't want to stay in London.

DD wants to go somewhere that's not too big and not too small. Probably if we didn't live in York she might consider it but as we live less than 2 miles from the university campus she definitely wouldn't go there!

She was considering Durham but seems to be going off it. Think she's considering Edinburgh. Must check with her.

Something to consider, you can send your application in with just Oxbridge and add the other 4 later up to the deadline

@littelmadnyness thanks for that. Interestingly, my DD's experience in Newcastle has been that in student accommodation and amongst student houses the proportion of state school pupils is even lower because many state school pupils are living at home and commuting to a local University to save on costs.

Yes. You can. There's a small extra fee.

Best avoided if your child is the type to forget the later deadline and end up with only one shot, though.

That's interesting to know. How does it work - do you use the same personal statement for example?

The information is here @Lightsabre https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/making-changes-your-ucas-undergraduate-application
If two or more universities were applied for in the first place, you can add the others for free, if only one was applied for it's £4.50 extra. I think it's purely adding additional universities and not changing the personal statement. It does give your DC to decide where to apply depending on Autumn results and early responses from Universities

Talking of personal statements I highlight that Cambridge has something called ‘My Cambridge’ that students also fill in. As DD did it I don’t know all the ins and outs but gather it has a section on why you particularly want that course, any mitigating factors in your educational experience plus any adjustments needed for tests or interviews.

It doesn't cost extra to fill in slot later - rather, it costs less to submit if only one uni is named. So it is a top-up payment, not an extra charge. Nothing else on the form alters, just more universities added.

Cambridge have the SAQ (Supplementary Admissions Questionnaire) which is like a mini extra PS. They can use it to explain what aspects of the Cambridge course they like and why.

Then, before the interview, there is another form asking what modules they took in each A-level; class sizes, any disruptions at home or school, SEN... all kinds of things like this.

For Cambridge, it's worth having a look at the interview style / format for their subject at individual colleges as this can vary quite a lot. For instance, for DS' subject, some colleges did one (longer) interview; most did two; some had a general interview (good if they have a very strong PS) and a 'subject interview,' while some had two subject interviews. Then there was a situation where some colleges send reading material a few days beforehand, some half an hour before, some just hit you with something random in the interviews like a text or object, some use no materials. So it really varied. Also some colleges wanted one essay, some two, some none.

For Cambridge, it's worth having a look at the interview style / format for their subject at individual colleges as this can vary quite a lot.

In addition to the examples you gave, for STEM subjects some colleges may do an additional test. DD was told they weren't expected to be able to finish it all and the second interview would be used to discuss it. But she did , so the interviewer posed a fun question- salvation from the train wreck of her first interview! So - don't see an extra test as necessarily a negative!

Thank you @mushroom3

DS had his 6th form trip this week to Oxford and is completely and utterly set on studying there.
Nothing is going to stand in his way apparently and he has blind faith that that's where's he's going.

My telling him I've lined up a few open days during the Easter holidays elsewhere was greeted by subdued disappointment that I could even think that was necessary

So I'm keeping right out of it henceforth