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.

@singingstones But your dd might WELL be suited to that way of teaching, I don't believe they can categorically tell in a short interview, she might well just be unlucky - it does come down to things like they have six girls for the course and only one boy, so when it's between a seventh girl and a boy they choose the latter. @mondaytosunday the problem with the Oxbridge assessment process is it does indeed give students a chance to shine but it's then far more shattering when they don't make the cut. People take a rejection very personally and often they shouldn't - very many of them deserved a place and were edged out. I'm talking about people who get as far as interview here, obviously if you got 10% in the initial tests you're not a suitable candidate.

Well of course it's rarely one twenty minute interview is it. The absolute minimum is two these days, often longer than twenty minutes. And then there's all the other information which is triangulated, pre-tests, grades achieved, school references etc. Plenty of tutors find what the schools have to say in their references tenuous when they encounter the applicants but that's a different point!

And quite: there's bound to be an element of luck. That's not the same as a lottery.

Starlette not all colleges even this academic year have a mix of genders in every subject, surprisingly. That could go either way in terms of selection on bias or selection purely on merit. I'm assuming merit.

But your dd might WELL be suited to that way of teaching, I don't believe they can categorically tell in a short interview

I think that if they couldn't tell they would do it differently, they're not going to bother interviewing thousands of DC if it doesn't help them to pick the right ones. I'm sure they analyse all the admission info against academic performance on the degree and have come up with the least worst way of selecting people, given the constraints.

Obviously anything can happen on the day of the test or the interview, and they must end up choosing people who turn out to be not as suitable as they thought, and definitely reject people who would have done well.

But I'm happy to accept that they are entitled to select the DC that they think will do best, and that they know better than me or DD who those people are. And if they want to select people because it will make their cohort more diverse and interesting for everyone, that's fine too. The main thing for me is that DD feels she is simply chucking her hat in the ring and asking them whether they think she would be right for their course. And if they say no, that she understands that not being right for Oxford is neither bad nor good, and doesn't mean anything other than that.

Plenty of kids do actually shrug off a rejection very quickly.... It doesn't have to be made into a whole drama. Much healthier to move on rapidly without having to listen to anyone banging on about lotteries and how amazing you are.

Yes, it's the least worst way .. all I'm saying is it's by far from foolproof. It's not contentious and is meant to make people feel better when they're not successful. Of course there are often wild gender imbalances on courses but efforts are made to do something about this, it doesn't mean a hopeless girl will get a play for - say - engineering, but it means a girl will have priority over a boy. Not sure why what I'm saying seems to provoke such argumentative replies, it's meant to be reassuring. Oh well.

A friend was told by AO in C that about 30% of admitted will get an offer no matter who does the interview. The rest is like a lottery.

Starlette mine are simply replies. You're seeing arguments where there's purely another point being made or a different experience. Not a big deal.

Hopefully DD will be one of these - she seems pretty relaxed about it at the moment. I'm really only thinking about it because of what I've read on here about devastated DC who want feedback and find it difficult to focus on their A levels and immediately decide they're going to reapply. And I remember one poster who said she couldn't look at the Oxbridge thread when offers were coming out, she found it too painful because she was still so upset about her DS being rejected the year before 🤯

I don't think either of us would be like that but then presumably nobody expects it.

In all honesty I think the main reason DD is applying to Cambridge is out of a sense of duty to her English teachers, who have been talking about her going there since Year 9. She still remains slightly unconvinced that it is the right place for her. If she is unsuccessful then she will be more than happy to move on to her other choices knowing that she gave it a shot. In fact it will become more difficult for DD if she DOES get an offer because then she will have some serious decisions to make.

My DS is applying to Oxford just so he knows and he won't go through life wondering if he could have got an offer.

I'm more worried about him getting an offer from one of his other first choices. If and when that happens the 'pressure' really is off. I think it is a bit different for my DS because he's already exceeded expectations in being in a position to even apply.

It must be hard if school have had your card marked as a potential applicant for years.

Of course there are often wild gender imbalances on courses but efforts are made to do something about this, it doesn't mean a hopeless girl will get a play for - say - engineering, but it means a girl will have priority over a boy.

Hmm... my DD thought it statistically improbable that there wasn't still some oldfashioned bias the other way when she found that the college she'd applied to had picked 19 boys and only one girl. It wasn't that she thought she personally was better than any of those 19, more that it seemed unlikely only one other female applicant had been. Well, I suppose it could happen.

Luckily she was fished by one of the colleges created to redress such things.

Not sure why what I'm saying seems to provoke such argumentative replies, it's meant to be reassuring.

Just a wild guess but it may have been your use of the term mediocre 😂
(Which I know you have addressed)

Personally I don't think that the best way to think about rejection is that the selection process is flawed, your teachers know better, the uni is wrong, they should have picked you but it's either a lottery or they have given your place to an unexceptional girl/boy because they have too many boys/girls. It's way too complicated and too much to ruminate on imo.

Seconded :)

Fair enough!

Good news here! DC just got their first offer. I thought school had sent it already but it was an internal deadline. They actually pressed send on it all on Wednesday with their tutor after a quick look at the reference which was apparently quite lovely. They do seem to be quite on the ball at some Uni’s. This particular offer was a RG one. It most certainly is a confidence boost regardless of what happens next I guess. It’s been a shitty year with a lot of family bereavement so fingers crossed the family luck has changed…

We try and think of it as one door closes and other doors open, doing your best and what will be will be. Like others, DD gave it a shot because she wanted to go and didn't want to wonder 'what if' she tried for the rest of her life, but I have to say it is hard not to get overly invested the more into the process you get into, even as you tell yourself not to at the start. Luckily, she is now settling into C. But in a parallel universe, we envisaged that she would have moved on, gone to Imperial, and would not have reapplied - she had already decided that at the start of the process.

Anyway, DD's form has finally gone off, she has three choices on there so far, but one is Oxford and one is UCL who I think tend to offer after the deadline? So not much chance of anything coming through just yet. Maybe Liverpool but it's her least favourite.

@Rollergirl11 was it your DD who was "allowed" to wait until after the Warwick open day before submitting? What did she think of Warwick? We are going next weekend.

Yes @singingstones it was. She really liked it and she has applied. I don’t think she was expecting to as she had some friends go in the summer who thought it was “boring”. She loved the campus and got a really good vibe. She’s less sure about being further away in subsequent years but not out enough not to apply.

put off enough*

Congratulations @Uohoxbridgeapplicationtime! A relief to have an offer and so quick!
I think it's more the almost mystical way Oxbridge is regarded as it is the application process that crushes some unsuccessful applicants. A friend of my daughter's was one of only a couple from her school applying to Oxbridge (non selective independent), everyone knew she was applying and is now at Kings. She said having to tell everyone - as of course they all ask - was worse than not actually getting in. So my daughter has banned me from telling anyone that she is even applying. I know some kids who've dreamed of Oxford or Cambridge since start of secondary - for them it is a bitter pill.
That's an interesting point @singingstones. That's one of the main reasons my daughter would like to go - she is eager for the supervision system and being pushed on her ability to process ideas and express her thoughts in a smaller setting. Her Head of Sixth mistakenly believes that because she is quiet in a class of 12, she will not suit it. But she's always done well at debating and is thinking the interview, though of course nerve wracking, might be almost fun!

What are the actual chances of getting into Oxbridge. DS2 has applied to Cambridge for medicine but I am wondering if he has a good chance of getting an offer. He has all top grades at GCSEs and predicted top grades for a level. He has relevant work experience. I am sure that there would be hundreds of other applicants with the same but what would make you stand out from the rest to get offered a place?

DS1 was earmarked by his school early on as an Oxbridge applicant. He was never interested said the application process was way too difficult and he didn't want to waste his time on it. This was 2 years ago he got an offer from another university which was top 3 for his course but turned it down to go to our local RG university. He was looked down at by a number of people but at the end of his first year he got an award for most outstanding student in his subject. He has just started his second year and looking back now I know if he had chosen anywhere else he would've struggled with his mental health. He would've thrived academically but it is not always about that.

The point I am making is that not all universities suit all our young people and it is a matter of looking at a number of other factors and deciding where you would be the happiest.

Luck undoubtedly plays a factor plus how can the field be totally level when some have so much help, experience and opportunities and others very little?

Ds is a 'throwing his hat in the ring applicant' too. Not really expecting an offer as he is also a quiet type and is bright at his subject but not exceptional but you never know. As with some others, he is anxious about telling friends he doesn't have a place as he has several friends who will be a shoo-in. He actually feels the course at Imperial will be better and he'd be very happy to go there ( but that's also very difficult to get in to) and will be a different uni experience too as he'd have to live at home for some of it.

I know the Oxbridge threads can be a bit of a bunfight sometimes but I do appreciate hearing from those with academic and personal experience of applying. It's all useful to us first timers.

Is it Cambridge where they don't start seeing patients until the 4th year? I think that course structure will put off quite a few applicants although I'm sure they'll still be over subscribed. His grades and experience sound excellent but there's a lot of emphasis put on the admissions test results. The Student Room has tons of info on applying for Medicine at Oxbridge. Wishing him the best of luck.

@losingtheplot999
You can see data on Cambridge admissions on their website, by college and course. It looks like the application to offer ratio for medicine is about 6:1 which is not the worst but still very difficult. As you say I'm sure most will have excellent grades so the test and interview will be the crucial factors I think.

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics