Oxbridge 2024 Entry Part 4

[Lightsabre]

New thread as our dc start the rollercoaster ride of interviews.

Well I'm sorry to hear that @lifeturnsonadime

I hope he bounces back quickly. He may yet be surprised with an offer, everybody seems to say that the people who feel they did the worst are the ones they want.

Well done to everyone who had an interview today, regardless of how it may seem it went. I think my DS is beginning to get a little anxious now. Two of his friends are making the drive to Cambridge this evening. He thinks we should be doing the same. I feel it’s best for him and us to sleep in our own beds - he doesn’t need to be there until 3pm and it’s a 3 hour drive - we are leaving at 8am after dropping DD to school first. Anyone suggest where we could park for 6-7 hours?

Parking depends a bit on the college in Cambridge, some of it is astronomical like £8 an hour on pay and display and they fine a lot. Though sometimes its worth paying to be close. Otherwise its generally the further out the cheaper and less payable hours.

We parked at "Castle Street Car Park, off Castle St, Cambridge CB3 0AH" today.

@User11010866 Thank you. I’ve just seen castle street as an option in my search as the 2nd closest. Will keep that in mind if the other one is full.

When DS was at Cambridge we often parked in the Grand Arcade car park (under John Lewis) as it was large and handy for his college but also loos, cafe etc, especially during Covid when access to the college was limited. Might not be ideal at this time of year though with Christmas shoppers.

I’d recommend the Queen Anne Terrace car park (think that’s the name) where the leisure centre is near the large green. Very reasonable for long term parking. Good luck to your DS!

DD has the first of her online interviews at O tomorrow. Have been through it all before at C with her brother, but that was pre-Covid and felt very different, as he just went off on the train to C for the day. Feeling much more involved this time, partly because the school's made it very clear they're not hosting, so it all has to be done at home.

Thank you @whenindoubtgotothelibrary & @RIPMatthewperry Grand arcade seems to be closest to the college.

Grand arcade is pretty expensive for that length of time. If you make good time and you're not in a rush might be worth considering park and ride, traffic can be bad driving into the centre of C.

When we dropped my child at Cambs we were shocked by the £33 charge at the grand arcade car park!

On Friday I visited by train and saw that car park was full by 11 with huge car queues to get in. Xmas shoppers.

My advice is go early or find another car park. Consider the park and ride just outside. The centre is rammed.

@Redhotchillipeppers
You could try Just Park - we used that successfully in Oxford and sounds like it might be cheaper and less worry.

Or leave the car at a nearby station and get the train into Cambridge.

Cambridge park and ride is pretty good. We were staying in Cambridge over the summer and used the park and ride which stopped at Addenbrooks- very convenient.

Foxton is a very easy place to park and get a train - eleven mins to Cambridge.

I use JustPark when we visit DS in Cambridge...the traffic is often bad (even without Xmas shoppers), the centre is designed to be car-phobic - and it costs a fortune. I found one space on JustPark for the bargainacious price of £7 for the day just near DS's fairly central college!

The train station is a little way out of the center though, the park and ride busses drop off pretty centrally.

You can park on the road for free in Cambridge on Adams Road or Herschel Rd - there’s an easy walk in past the university library, Trinity Hall and Senate House.
PM me if you need a map.

DS had his in person interviews today for Engineering and seemed to think it went ok. Most of the questions were maths problems rather than asking about his personal statement.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Just spent the last half an hour convincing my son that the casual clothes we decided on a few days ago are absolutely fine and he doesn’t need to wear a suit. His friend has bought a new suit for the interview! Now I’ll get back to investigating your suggestions for parking lol.

From what I saw today, the majority of boys wore chinos and a shirt type outfits. One boy was in a suit and one was wearing jeans.

My daughter has her in person Cambridge interview tomorrow - she didn’t get told who was going to interview her. She thinks everyone else has been told names and she’s the only one who hasn’t been. Is this normal?

DS2 has in person interview at Cambridge next week. Best of luck to everyone with interviews during the next 2 weeks.

Two down, two to go...

DD thinks they were ok, more challenging than she expected I think, but she's happy with how she responded to the pre-reading and subsequent new info. She did all her thinking out loud and felt that in the main, the tutors were supportive. So far none of her prep has been relevant so she's been fully reliant on her wits.

None the wiser as to offer chances. Very hard to tell and only part of the process. She's gone out to see friends now before getting back to the grind tomorrow.

Two down and one to go for DD unless hears about additional ones later in the week; DD still upbeat although the quantity of material in the pre reading was a surprise. Best wishes to all