Scrapping into Oxford?

[fakenamefornow]

I think my y12 teen should try for Oxford, she thinks she shouldn't because she won't get in and it'll use up one of her Ucas options. I think she has a chance. Honest opinions please.
Context -
From excellent state school, never been on free school meals or other disadvantage indicators. Not tutored.
11 GCSEs - 6 grade 9, 5 grade 8
Doing chemistry, biology and history, A levels plus history related EPC
Want to study History

It sounds like she might lack a bit of common sense, rather than lack confidence- which is completely fine and age appropriate, certainly doesn’t exclude her from oxbridge suitability given the oxbridge graduates I know (very academic, not necessarily full of sense or socially able).

@pimplebum I don't think volunteering makes a difference for Oxbridge. It's subject, subject, subject that matters. Unless the volunteering is directly associated with the subject.

The numbers don't stack up. Only around 3000 students achieved all 9s. Many of these ended up at other universities. Oxford takes 7-8000. So obviously they didn't all have 9s

I don’t think just wandering around would do much good. In term time, when the undergraduates are at the University, the colleges are closed to visitors. The porters will stop randoms just walking in ( otherwise they would be over run with tourists peering in while people are trying to work). Equally, I don’t think you can access libraries or lectures without a pass card.

better to go on a proper arranged day as PP have suggested.

My daughter in Y11 is part of her schools outreach programme. She doesn't do sport or play a musical instrument and although she volunteers I am not sure they know. She's also not predicted all 9's.

There us a other thread currently about gcse grades. Assuming people are telling the truth, you'd be surprised at the mixed bag of GCSEs of people currently at oxbridge

GCSE grades are not part of Cambridge's selection criteria.
Oxford do use the best 8 (for some subjects 9) GCSE grades as part of the ranking they put together to decide who to interview, along with performance in the entrance test if there is one. GCSE grades do not though form part of the decision making as to who to make an offer to at Oxford.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen

I suggested an informal visit just to get a feel for the city itself (I'm assuming the OP's family doesn't live there, though). Sometimes as a first step a visit to the city or town where a university is located can give a teen who is lacking in confdence a chance to imagine herself there without the pressure of a proper university tour.

It can backfire - one of my DDs strolled around a certain campus at age 17 and decided not to apply based on her idea that the students were a pack of poorly dressed dorks.

Visiting informally can be helpful to get the vibe of the place. Providing it’s not exam season, your DD could drop into the porter’s lodge at a college, mention that she is a prospective candidate and the porters will likely let her look around. This is how DS got a feel for the colleges and the city. He ended up applying to the college with the friendliest porters.

@jgw1 you are not telling me anything. I know this.

But I may be telling other posters something they don't know.

If you have a chat with the porters and tell them you’re a prospective student and ask nicely, most of them will let you in to have a little look around- especially if you avoid the ones that do get drowned in tourists (eg Christ Church)

You think Boris Johnson was a slogger? 🤣

Other than the idea that Boris Johnson ever slogged at anything, I agree that bright but lazy is not great at Oxford, although I did know one or two. One was “rusticated” for a year, came back then got chucked out before finishing his degree, and the other got a very amusing reference from his tutor when he applied to a City law firm (you were allowed to read what they said about you) - largely along the lines of him being very bright but lazy. He got his 2:1 without much effort. Not sure if anyone dares be so honest in references these days, but Oxford tutors certainly know their students better than tutors/lecturers at most other universities!

Another thing to think about re Oxford - your degree result is mostly, or even solely, based on your Finals exams at the end of your final year (although I think historians my do a dissertation???), so you don’t get any credit for the fabulous essays you wrote for your tutors every week…

This was way before contextual offers were a thing and it was just my own impression that it was a contextual offer or something of the sort based on the interview which went something along the lines of hmmm not exactly the right answers but we think it is worth giving you a chance.

Which lets be honest wasn't a resounding vote of confidence!

@carben

"What made you think you had just scraped in 1dayatatime?"

+++

Two things really, one I really worked my butt of to get the good A level grades I did which was fine for one year of upper 6th but I didn't think I could do that level of work for three years.

Secondly I stayed with a friend who was in her first year at Oxford and both my friend and all her friends were clearly way smarter and more naturally confident than I was by a significant margin even accounting for the age difference.

No but he did classics so 1 in 2 chance.

Just because you want her too? Is there a real reason you do or just 'it's oxford'?

She should go for it.
mu husband went and he had a fantastic time. All his friends came from grammar.

😂

I am not sure where you are with this one, but I certainly encourage your DD to try.

There is an amazing organisation called the Sutton Trust that might be helpful.

From personal experience I am aware that young people change their minds a lot about something like this - partly I feel because their confidence wavers - and partly because of fear of the unknown.

Good luck.

Those grades are more than good enough, this is the PPE admissions info for 2022/3 https://ppe.web.ox.ac.uk/files/ppeadmissions2022-23informationforapplicantsfinalpdf
this graph in particular is interesting, your daughter has 11 GCSEs at 8/9 so would be towards the higher end of applicants and offerees.

Hi @fakenamefornow I have DS1 at UoOx, and a DS2 who I would never consider. So, a couple of thoughts:

Oxford has really short terms, eight weeks, IRC mine were like 11. It's really very intense.

At interview they want to see enthusiasm and engagement. That candidates have read outside the A level syllabus. Students really need to engage at the interview. Don't see the interview as a test, see it as a rare opportunity to talk to someone who loves the subject as much as they do.

Please go to the open days. Look very carefully at the different colleges. We looked at a few, we looked at the "one" and DS said "I'm coming here". He's there.

Oxbridge isn't the right place for every candidate or even the best place for every subject.

After all these posts, it’s still not clear to me if this really is your DD’s dream or yours… What I will say, is the parent of a dd rejected this year, despite achieving higher than average scores in the entrance exam and the interviews, is that - however, much you rationalise it in advance – rejection is a real confidence knocker at a key part of the educational process. Id think carefully about whether your DD could deal with the rejection if she’s made it as far as interview with all the extra work and emotional energy that it entails. Dd is fine now but at some level it still stings and always will I fear. Before DD had gone through the process I would’ve definitely said nothing ventured nothing gained, now I’m not so sure, I’m ambivalent about whether my younger child who’s arguably more academic but less confident and already does nothing but study should give it a go