Oxbridge 2025

[SnowFairy2000]

Let's start the journey here !!!

There is absolutely no need to turn this into some kind of witch hunt, as there is nothing to report. If you don't like the tone, don't bother reading the posts. I've only ever received good advice from someone who is the parent of current and recent students.

Good luck to those who have been invited to interviews.

Another current Oxford parent wishing everyone the very best of luck in the coming weeks with interviews. A couple of reflections from DD's experience...

Many applicants get interviewed again a week or so later by a second college so do encourage your DC to keep an eye on emails for a further invite. DD only worked out which college from the Teams invite and sometimes two colleges both are involved in the second interview. You can sometimes work this out sometimes from the names of the academics invited ie google their names.

When my daughter had online interviews she found the experience was very different between the two sets of interviews. The first college she was straight into the interview with limited introductions, pretty unfriendly and very business like. The second interview she was greeted in a waiting room by current students who checked she was okay, got her to blur her background and answered any questions. The actual interview was conducted by several people who were all in a room together with one of those panoramic cameras so a little harder to focus on the individuals as they didn't have separate screens for each person.

So I suppose I'm saying just encourage your DC to be a prepared for a range of ways the interviews might be conducted.

This is interesting as one of the individuals on the panel that my DS is being interviewed by (Cambridge) is from another (less popular college) - so we were wondering if he was 'pooled' already....? There are two separate interviews on the same day.

@5starzz - interesting - there can be a number of reasons colleagues from different colleges join an interview.

1. Some colleges have job share arrangements or a fellow / lecturer at one college also tutors at another college so the email address isn't particularly significant.

1. Some people join in other colleges interviews for monitoring, training and quality control.
2. A college feels they would like to meet a broader pool of candidates than those that applied directly to their college while another college has lots of candidates. As Cambridge doesn't tend to do additional interviews they may well have decided to join some additional interviews.

Thats really helpful @Juja - thank you for that insight and taking the time to respond.

Is it unusual that my DC has two interviews (Cambridge MML, one for each language) but each with only one named interviewer? Can they expect someone else to be added in each case?

Re interview notice for Oxford last year (E&M) DD got a week and a half's notice so Mon for following Wed, dates are on here. 1 interview for mgmt, 1 for economics. She was only interviewed at her first choice college which later offered but about half who got in there had an interview at a second college which was another 2 interviews so keep those dates free as well. She does plenty of socialising and sport as well as work but it is very intense during the 8 / 9 week terms. Normally rowing at 6am each day to start including in the snow. Good luck to everyone.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews/interview-timetable2

DS was at a superselective state grammar - in his year they had 22 applications to Oxbridge, 20 were interviewed, 15 went to C and 3 to O. Last year I don't know how many applied but 22 were offered places (mainly to C) although I know that a couple were maths offers and they didn't make the STEP offer. This (current) year, they have fewer who have applied but so far, the interview 'hit' rate seems fairly high. I also disagree with a previous poster that offers are lower for state students - DS' offer was that he had to get A star in all four A levels, including FM.

Prior to DS' year, they usually had a handful of successful candidates - I don't know what has changed. A friend of mine with a child in a Bucks superselective grammar was told not to bother applying to Oxford as they are only looking for 'normal' state school children - no idea if that's right, but certainly there has been less success at Oxford for my son's grammar, so maybe there is something in that.

@Panicmode1 I'm bucks and more at my child's grammar school opted for Cambridge and interviews have already secured for Law etc . Daughter should have applied there!

That's a shocker @Panicmode1 if schools are actively telling people not to apply.

@jowanga maybe - but the great thing about medicine is that the course is rigorous at any med school so there's less of the 'my degree is better because I got it from XX uni' 😉And I know that you have said upthread that your DC liked the course, and despite what I've just said, in medical circles, according to my brother anyway, the Oxford course is seen as being a bit 'old fashioned'.

Can't speak for Cambridge but the norm at Oxford. My DD had two separate interviews each with one person - one for each language.

I know. Outrageous!!

@Panicmode1 both my DC were at a state grammar school and went to Oxford as did quite a few of their friends. At their school there seems to be a huge variation in success rates year to year. I think it is partially random and perhaps related to subjects chosen and quality of the candidates rather than Oxford being biased against state grammar school kids.

@HewasH2O There is a world renowned boys grammar in Bucks that actively encourage applicants to Cambridge as they don't have much success with Oxford . Maybe it's a bit like a football derby - too close as the county's butt up.
I bet plenty of Oxford Dons / tutors send their children over the border to bucks to access the free selective schools though 😂

If you look at the number of acceptances from eg QE Boys then it doesn't seem like state grammars are struggling to get kids into Oxbridge tbh

There was a really useful spreadsheet for oxford that someone put on here. Anybody know if Cambridge have one too?

Wow @Panicmode1, your DS's offer was for 4 A*. That's crazy! I thought they always offered on 3. I agree with you about state school students getting the same offer- we were told on open day that every successful candidate would get the same offer.

Ds is at a state grammar. All his friends group have applied to either Oxbridge or LSE. There is only two of them applied to Oxford. They are apparently an unusual year to have so many apply. Out of those who applied to C all but one have interviews. I think the school usually sends one or two each year. There will be others who he isn't aware of.

DS is still waiting to find out if he has an interview.

I find them helpful Thatllbetheday

It could well be the one of which you speak...but she was adamant her son would apply to C because of that advice ..

@cubic I guess Cambridge interview more so at least a chance to shine / show commitment to the course of study chosen. There is something in water though re state grammar schools and Oxford not gelling / aligning. Maybe like medicine and a lot of city firms -education establishments should be blind and only the contextual data on the school / individual is available to admissions tutors . Maybe the so called 'calibre 'of students who get in to Oxford will be less affected by the bricks they were taught in. I'm going to actually wave goodbye now as really my time is up on this chat but it was lovely meeting you all .

This is really horrible Ontheturn - encouraging people to gang up against Thatllbetheday like some mean gang of bullies at school.
Just scroll on by. Thatllbetheday hasn’t said anything wrong at all.
It’s fine to disagree but not to try and gang up on anyone.

Honestly I think comparing gcse results to cohort puts children at state grammar schools at an unfair disadvantage. These schools don't get extra funding but some are ridiculously competitive to get into.

The results these schools achieve aren't just merely a reflection of the education the children have received but of the ability of the cohort.

The Oxford policy actually favours students in the vast majority of independent schools (in smaller classes with £££ being spent on their education and special oxbridge prep classes and interview prep laid on) over those at super selective grammars where the teachers simply don't have the time to provide this sort of help.

There's no ganging up, the poster was suggesting to not engage if you don't like the tone.

If you don't find the tone snide and patronising then that's brilliant for you. Others do. It doesn't personally affect me because I've seen it all before but people who are stressed about their dc don't need to be told they're overreacting by being worried, that their children's applications were "deficient" and so on.

Fortunately this thread is nearly done.