Oxbridge 2025

[SnowFairy2000]

Let's start the journey here !!!

I think the problem is that some courses are just very very competitive with a glut of amazing candidates with outstanding scores - it seems to be (at least including) economics, medicine, engineering, law.

And our children were all born in a bulge birth year so it must be extra hard.

UCAS released the numbers for early applications (Oxbridge and medical) and they're very similar to last year. Actually a few hundred fewer UK sixth form applicants, but more from US and China. They don't break it down between Oxford and Cambridge though.

That's good to know. Thank you.

Interview for DS! He hadn't checked his email yesterday afternoon... It's for Cambridge NatSci. Be interesting to see what his test scores were!

@PhotoDad congratulations, that is exciting news.

Lots of interviews on here this week - congratulations everyone!

And commiserations to those who have had rejections. It's really tough. I hope they have other options they can get excited about soon. I have a nephew who was rejected by Cambridge after interview last year who is now having a fantastic time at Leeds, as well as a close family friend who got an offer but didn't make his grades and is now very happy at Bristol. There are many paths out there, but that definitely doesn't take the sting away at the time.

DD expecting to hear one way or the other about Oxford interviews next week. She's got a couple of interviews through from other places now, so organising those (seven and ten hours away from home!) has been the focus this week.

Congratulations and good luck to those receiving interviews.

We're still waiting for news either way from Oxford. Fingers crossed for a quick reply.

Congrats to everyone who has an interview and sorry to those who weren’t called - it is very tough and these kids need to remember that they’ll hopefully have an amazing time wherever they go.

At my DC’s very high achieving school (where very impressive results for GCSE and A-level are the norm), lots apply for Oxbridge each year - and while all those candidates are very capable, the majority of them don’t get in. The teachers are very keen to remind these kids when they apply that Oxbridge is not the be all and end all, and beyond a certain point it does become something of a lottery. A small college could have an unusually high number of applicants for a certain subject each year, for example - they can’t interview or make offers to all, brutal as that is.

Good luck to those waiting for interview calls and stay safe in the storm everyone!

‘One particular year’, rather than ‘each year’, I meant!

Well done to @PhotoDad DS and everyone else who has heard they have an interview, commiserations to those who haven't.
When D1 was applying, she heard she had interviews on 29th Nov and had to be in Oxford from 9th-14th Dec for them.

Six Cambridge colleges have gone back to in-person interviews. I think that all the other Oxbridge colleges are online.

Although in-person is good in some ways, as a teacher I always thought that "jump on a train or get a lift next week for an interview!" was a bit steep, given that most colleges wouldn't refund travel expenses. I am pretty sure that now the handful of in-person colleges have some funds available for that.

My own (short-notice) Oxford interview involved a lot of expense as I lived in the Channel Islands. I managed to change interview dates at the other unis that wanted to speak to me, so that I could do a plane-and-train one-week tour of England, one-two-three. Fun times.

Yes, it was a big thing for D1, she'd never really travelled on her own and it's 5hrs+ on the train, over £100 even with the hastily bought railcard (another £70). She missed most of a week of school including lots of revision sessions.

But...she loved it, could see herself there, met people and made friends who were still her friends at graduation.

In-person colleges at Cambridge are reimbursing food and travel expenses if you're on FSM or various other criteria. And accomodation if you're over 90 minutes away (so not London...)

DD had a week or so notice for in person interviews at Oxford. She was told to be prepared for up to two nights in college and accommodation and meals were free. DH drove her to Oxford (in the snow) after school but she took the train home afterwards. She loved her interviews and the city but found the overnight bit and meals in Hall a bit daunting.

DS had two weeks notice for interviews and went to Cambridge and back in a day which takes between three and four hours each way. He was so nervous beforehand but his interviewers were friendly and encouraging. He has been helping a friend’s son with their Cambridge application and they have just received an interview invite for Economics.

Has anyone heard about interviews for Psychology at Oxford yet?

Brilliant news @PhotoDad - delighted for you.

Great news @PhotoDad 🤞

Congratulations and good luck to everyone with interviews coming up🤞

Am I right in thinking that the bulk of Oxford interview offers come out next week?

I believe so, ds has just shown me a few Reddit threads saying that they like to give 14 days notice with the bulk of interviews in a couple of weeks time. The timetable was linked above.

Good luck to all your young people. My stomach is in knots for mine. They're all so brave putting themselves through this and to be able to apply they must all be amazing.

What I genuinely don't get is the live or die on Oxford or Cambridge attitude I've seen from lots of parents on this thread and sometimes as a reflection of their children's expectations. Talk of "putting them out of their misery". You'd think everyone was beating their chest and tearing their hair out over this. We are not at all. For my DD it's the wild card, which she has no expectation of achieving but would have regretting not having a shot at. I think this may be helped by the fact we are not living in the UK and so she has not been whipped up to think its a life or death thing.

Well done @PhotoDad DC!

For my ds he'll be the first in our family to goto university properly. We come from a poor town in the North West so it is unusual and we don't know anyone who has applied to Oxbridge apart from a couple of his friends this year let alone attended there. He isn't live or die, he's just very brave and I hope he gets a look in. If he doesn't get it he'll still go to a great university.