Oxbridge 2024 Entry Part 2

[Lightsabre]

Continuation thread (when old one is full) for those supporting dc through Oxbridge applications. All welcome as we enter the next phase.

@jaxx 😂. Poor DS - he went in convinced he would be able to get a first...he's now hoping he can get a 2.1...but he's (sensibly I think) decided that he'd rather get a 2.1 and row, and do some debating etc than just have to work to the exclusion of everything!

From 'whatdotheyknow' website sone requested info about pooling, this was Cambridge's response (several pages longer but this is the relevant page).

Click on pic to see the top bit about post A levels

@lifeturnsonadime she's doing an Art Foundation course. There's a student there who already has a place at Cambridge for Architecture.
Before she got her results she was going to do Animation, but had been worrying about lack of jobs in her field (2D) and doesn't like the idea of working freelance. So decided on a more academic route.
Edinburgh back off the list. I like the look of Surrey though, much lower grade requirements but student satisfaction very high and earnings after graduating higher than average too. 7th for Sociology on Times league table. But currently C, Bath, Durham, but I think she needs another for safety. York? She didn't like the look of Loughborough.
She got the SAQ form already.

Still waiting for school to submit ucas but I thought I would look at the Cambridge interview process- being a bit optimistic!!

I see it says
‘You may be asked to share your workings if the interviewers ask you a problem-solving question. This usually happens if you’ve applied to a Science or Mathematics course. Ideally, you would share your workings using a tablet and stylus.’

would that be something like an iPad and apple pen? We’ve got an ancient iPad but I don’t think it would support an apple pen.

this is for the online interviews. Would it mean that it’s electronically connected up in someways so they see it? Otherwise why couldn’t they just use a white board and pen?

or would it be a teams meeting where they share their screen I wonder?

just trying to work out potential logistics! But getting ahead of myself I know!

@LoveTurnips I was wondering that, I heard from a friend that their DC used a small whiteboard and pen and held it up to the screen in their online interview. I guess it's not fair to expect all students to have an iPad and stylus so assume it is to show to the camera rather than be connected up. But I think I will double check with the college if DS is offered an interview.

@LoveTurnips DS has an ipad but he just used a whiteboard and pen and it was fine..

The compulsory pooling thing is really interesting. In essence an applicant with 3 A stars achieved could totally stuff up the admissions test and interview and still end up in the pool. It also suggests they treat predicted vs achieved differently ie if grades are achieved, the ‘holistic picture’ that they mention is potentially less required.

The pooling is a bit surprising. But if someone is put in the pool but stuffs up their test and/or interview, then they're presumably very unlikely to be fished.

Maybe it's mostly a way to get kids with good achieved grades to throw their hat into the ring.

@FebuarySmith @ErrolTheDragon If they stuff up the rest they won't get fished as you say. Grades must be the initial filter, but the other bits have to be very good too.
SAQ very straightforward, I don't think my daughter will do the extra PS, as she said it all in her longer PS. They do ask for postcode of GCSE school and all those contextual offer type questions. I thought it would ask what a student was doing if PQA, but it doesn't.
Also everyone do check that GCSE grades have been put in correctly on the UCAS form! My daughter had a 6 for English rather than the 9 she got! Lucky her Head asked her to double check after she (the Head) had already checked!

Very interesting@mondaytosunday , and thank you. It’s not what I have read elsewhere, but this is authoritative.

Here is similar information, for Arts’ entry for 2022.

Ugh, DD's tutor is doing my head in and I've never even met him. So far he has said you have to apply to all five choices at once (wrong), and if you don't it will cost you more money (also wrong).

And when she said she didn't want to do an EPQ as she has a lot on with 4 x A levels and prepping for entry test and hopefully interview, he said it was compulsory because Oxford like to see that you can manage the workload (wrong) and anyway there's no problem because she doesn't need to start it until January? Has anyone ever heard of a stupider idea than starting your EPQ in the January of Y13? 🤦‍♀️

Also she still hasn't had her predicted grades, despite asking for them, and doesn't want to ask again. Poor thing has me telling her one thing and her tutor telling her another, and I'd like to have a word, but she doesn't want to fall out with him because he also teaches her. It just makes me so mad that he hasn't bothered to find out the most basic UCAS stuff before sending snippy emails that make her think she's doing it all wrong.

AAAAARGH roll on August 2024.

Anyway, form now has three choices on it, Oxford, UCL and Liverpool, two of which she would have preferred to have added later, and is waiting for the dickhead to do his part. Hope to add Warwick and Birmingham in the next few weeks, after their open days.

singingstones the tutor hasn't got a clue.

@singingstones i would call a meeting with the tutor to discuss and put him straight if I were you.

@singingstones For her sake I’d get involved for assurance. I’d be in tomorrow wanting the predicted grades. With that much bad advice from the tutor I would have no faith they’d got the application, references etc done properly.

Wow @singingstones i thought DD’s college were inept but yours takes the biscuit! Your poor DD she probably doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going. I can’t believe that they are making you submit the UCAS application without knowing her PG’s. It’s utterly bizarre.

And suggesting beginning an EPQ in January, what is he thinking?! She’d still be doing it come the exams! It’s an absolute madness.

@singingstones I feel your pain. My DD is applying for The Ruskin for fine Art and her tutor- who has been assigned especially to look after the Oxford applicants actually asked them if anyone had been to visit, and asked what it was like? And this is at a specialist Art university as well!

I would love to have a "friendly chat" with the tutor but she doesn't want me to, she's scared of upsetting him because he's teaching her this year. So I have to respect that I guess, she's the one in class with him. I will be writing an email of complaint once it's all over though. For now I think I need to play down the drama and be chief cheerleader. This time next week the form will be in and she'll have done her test and hopefully everything can go back to normal.

I cannot get my head around these delayed predictions. I child I know who had been hoping to apply to Oxford (and Warwick and Bristol etc) for law has just leanrt today that one of his predictions is a B. I don’t understand how children are meant to navigate the process under these conditions. I can only assume that the schools have no intention or interest in pupils having early application date targets. It is a total disgrace.

His first argument for doing the EPQ was that it wouldn't be any extra work because she could do it all in class - wrong, it's 120 hours and they have an hour a week. And then said she doesn't need to start until January, you couldn't make it up. She's not going to do it anyway.

He also told her to add references to the bottom of her PS (Harvard style), I mean can you imagine how desperate that would look 🤦‍♀️

Why are so many schools so bad at this?!

@singingstones - unbelievable! My daughter put way more than 120 hours in to her EPQ, how he thinks someone can start it in January is beyond me. Might be time to go over his head to the actual Head? But I know what you mean - my daughter told me once she would never forgive me if I complained about an issue she had (about her D of E perdón, years ago).
Argh my daughter has just said Cambridge says you must be available for interview between December 1-21st! I thought it was first two weeks as we fly (for the first time since 2019) to visit family in America on the 17th! They clearly state they will not make allowances for holidays.

Do not worry. The Cambridge interviews tend to take place the first 2 weeks of December (even though the University asks that the kids remain available for the first 3 weeks. In reality the staff would like to wrap up the process as soon as possible. We were on the same boat last year and DD's interview was on 6/12. All her friends were interviewed the first week of December as I recall.

She is now writing essays like mad at Cambridge... and prepping for weekly supervisions...

Best of luck!

Can't believe the advice given by the tutor! For what is worth DD's school sent 30 to Oxford and 14 to Cambridge the year (DD included ♥️). The school does not even offer EPQs... 😂 They have internal essay competition/projects you can get involved to boost your PS but nope. No EPQ. And they advise to drop the 4th A-levels (unless one is Further Maths).

Unless your student is one of those that is super academic and gets top grades without much effort I'd stick to 3 A levels. Doing 4 cost one student I know their place when they got Bs rather than As.

Oh @FancyFanny I know, and we have been all around the houses with this - it's not FM but she likes all of her subjects and doesn't want to give any up. She knows the possible consequences and plans to carry on for now and abandon one later if she needs to. Fwiw one of them is maths, which hasn't required much work so far, but that might change. I think it's a mistake to do four, but it's her application, so I am cheering her on and keeping my fingers crossed. (This is also why I'm not marching off to put the tutor in his place - she would see that as a massive betrayal when she has asked me not to.)

August might be nerve wracking though, she has a good idea of where she is because her AS grades count as 40% of the A levels, but realistically she could still get anything from ÅÅÅA to AABB 😬