Oxbridge 2024 Entry Part 5

[YouOKHun]

Good Luck everyone whatever the outcome!

If it's an excellent education you want, go to the university that has the best scholars in your subject. If it's advancement and networking you want, go to Oxbridge,

I went to Oxbridge and have somehow missed out on the advancement and the networking. Like everything, it depends so much on the person you are, the people you meet and how much you are prepared to push yourself forward.

Simply going to Oxbridge doesn't confer magical advantages.

A no for DS. He seems quite pragmatic, probably because no one at his school’s ever got into Oxbridge, so he knows it was a big achievement to get an interview with no school backing. Good luck to anyone who’s still yet to hear.

Well done to those with offers.

This was us 3 years ago, dd was rejected from Oxford and I completely understand how painful it can be when so much is invested in the process. At the time there were fewer offers as they were still catching up after covid. Long story short but dd is now in her third year at Bristol studying History and having a great university experience (including a semester in Prague in second year). The work load is manageable compared to her friends at Oxbridge which has allowed her to persue more plenty of activities.

I would say to those with nos today - it will take time to process it but there are alternative paths which often work out very well.

I would also say to those with offers - don’t rush into accepting straight away. Make sure the course is exactly what you want and if you think the workload is manageable.

Sorry to @MirandaWest and @mushroom3 DC’s and wishing them every success with their chosen unis. Congrats to @Revengeofthepangolins!!

Definitely feels like there’s a lot more Oxford applicants than Cambridge on this thread! Who are the Cambridge posters? Off the top of my head I can only think of @mondaytosunday and @Jaxx but there must be more!!

Thanks Mushroom and sorry about your son. Edinburgh is a lovely university and city. Its very brutal when some get in and some don't on the same day and its not often the result people expected. There must be so little between some candidates.

Congrats to anyone who has got in and sorry to those who haven't. I hate the pizza DD likes, its soggy chain pizza, but they all should get to choose tonight.

Good luck to all those waiting for Cambridge as well.

@Rollergirl11
dd is Cambridge , Nat sci.
she was admitted to hospital on Boxing Day and is now back at school on a reduced timetable. Even if she gets an offer it may not be the best choice for her due to health considerations.

Sorry to hear that @ShanghaiDiva and hope she is making a constant recovery. I can imagine that you'd have to think carefully about things going forward.

Good luck to all of the Cambridge applicants on this thread going forward. Ds school has many applying to C, far more than Oxford so no doubt there'll be more news in a couple of weeks.

I am very glad the Oxbridge process is now done.

Yes I'm relieved it's done too. DS is home from college now. He's already moved on. I think that being sure he'd messed up in the interview meant that he really wasn't expecting an offer. One of the 4 boys in my family got an offer which is statistically about right, but it is not the one who is considered the cleverest!

Anyway I hope the other disappointed DC on this thread are not too disappointed and can soon get excited about other options and huge congratulations to those DC who got the news they wanted.

Ahh yes of course @ShanghaiDiva. So sorry to hear your DD was in hospital over Christmas. Hope she is recovering now. And yes you’re absolutely right to weigh up if C is still the right path.

Just seen this, all the best to your DD and I hope she recovers soon x

Utterly simplistic and quite untrue. There are several Oxbridge colleges which do have the best scholars in their subject.

@Rollergirl11 Waiting for C. A roll call would be handy as we can all countdown together. If there are any lurkers, please join us.

@ShanghaiDiva, hope your dd is doing ok. Health is so important and fundamental to happiness.

Statistically likely to be more Cambridge rejections though as they interview over 80% of applicants whereas Oxford have already narrowed field down earlier and interview around 50%.

I agree with this. It does vary by subject, but my dd has literally no time for anything apart from her course. She is working late into the evening most nights. I do sometimes wonder whether she might have been happier in a less pressured environment. Everything is so rushed, deadline after deadline, that there is little time to really delve deeply into things, which doesn’t suit her way of enjoying learning. It is pretty gruelling ! Everyone gets ill and run down by the end of each short , intense term.
She doesn’t want to move to another university, but sees that Oxford definitely has its cons.

A no from Oxford for my son to read Computer Science. With 6 percent acceptance rate for applicants, it was always a really long shot and I am super proud of him for getting this far. He is disappointed and talking about reapplying next year. We'll see...he has offers from Durham, Sheffield and York, so lots of choice. Congratulations and commiserations to other applications...they are all totally brilliant to have got this far!!!

Some haphazard old stats if you want evidence, although your initial comments reek of a prejudice which is uninterested in it: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/uk-universities-top-destination-mobile-nobel-laureates

Nobel prize winners ( and their colleagues, teachers etc) aren't the top scholars in their field. 'Course not.🙄

@Spirallingdownwards it's very subject specific for Oxford, eg E&M it's around 1/6 applicants who typically get interviewed and Maths 1/4. What is relatively consistent is of those interviewed, about 1/3 of those interviewed gets an offer.

Congratulations on all DC who received offers and sending hugs to those that didn't. It isn't a rejection just a redirection to where they want to end up. DS2 waiting on Cambridge and has UCL interview the same day.

Congratulations to all those who have Oxford offers.

Waiting on C (maths) here, two weeks tomorrow. DS also preparing for BMO2 that morning which is a 3.5 hour exam so hopefully he will let me check his email!! Of course even if he gets an offer only 50% of offer holders get in for maths so lots of extra work with STEP preparation will be involved.

Also hugs to those who've had a no today, I'm sure your amazing young people will do wonderfully well wherever they end up and they should be congratulated for just getting to this stage.

Yes I was talking generally but still remains the case that Cambridge will be rejecting more on offer day than Cambridge because Oxford interview fewer.

Longtime lurker, waiting on C for DD, who believes she doesn't have a hope. Has offers from Exeter and Bath so far.

Lovely to see the YP taking the decisions with such maturity, well done to them all.

Well done to all the parents of the O applicants for getting through a tough morning, whether you had the outcomes you hoped for or not. As we all agree, our kids are already brilliant for getting so far.

Last night we watched American Symphony on Netflix, and I was struck by the quote from Batiste - I thought it quite apt for the young Oxbridge applicants. This ask would be a lot for us older, more hardened types!

You have to confront the brutal facts of the reality that you might not pull it off.
But at the same time have unwavering faith. Completely unwavering faith.
And you have to do both at the same time.

After keeping a vague eye on proceedings this morning I have blocked the AM of the 24th out in my work calendar - there is no way I will be able to concentrate on a meeting during all the waiting.

@Circularargument Afraid you might not pass the entrance exam, it is perfectly true that Oxbridge has some of the best scholars in their fields, however not all the best in all their fields. As I said, go to where the best scholars are in your field of interest.