Offer Holders Day (Oxford)

[couchparsnip]

My brilliant DS has a place at St Edmund Hall to read Physics. He's taking me along to the Offer Holders Day.
I have no experience with proper uni, having done all my qualifications through OU and work. I am, quite frankly, a bit daunted by the whole idea. I want to make sure we get the best out of the day so if anyone has advice then please share!

Congratulations to your DS, OP!

Many parents will be feeling the sane as you. Any decent admissions team will have planned the day to make all of you comfortable, so don’t worry.

From an admissions tutor’s perspective, we really appreciate it when people show up on time. 15 min before activities begin gives you a chance to freshen up, settle and perhaps meet a couple of people. Don’t worry about the snobs - there will be some but others, parents and DC, will be nice. STEM students tend towards shy-but-nice.

Road traffic in Oxford is awful almost beyond belief, so even if you are just taking a taxi from the rail station it is good to allow more time than you can imagine you will need.

That's lovely thanks for the reassurance! We have been to Oxford a few times as tourists so we know not to bring the car. God knows how we'll move him in! We have a while to work it out though!

Many parents will be feeling the sane as you.

Love the Freudian slip @poetryandwine , I doubt many parents will be feeling sane at this stage!

From an admissions tutor’s perspective

Are you an admissions tutor at Oxford? If so, we may know each other 👀

OP my advice is look at what agenda there is for the day, look at if there's specific talks you want to do and what time, and look at a map online to orientate yourself. No need to feel daunted. Your DC is in a great position having an offer, so feel proud and enjoy the day.

Just turned up, and let them guide you. Different college, but we started with a chat and presentation in the chapel, the the dcs went off with older students on their course, who guided them for the day. We then had a few more presentations, a tour, and then all met up again for cake and tea in the dining hall.

I found the students really helpful. I was most interested in the practical stuff, like fridges, and what he needed to take.

He met the other students on his course, and they all joined the Facebook group.

Transport - park and ride. Beginning and end of term, I either park outside for 20 mins, or in an extortionately priced car park for an hour.

I am a former STEM admissions tutor, @Tohoku . RG but sadly not Oxford. have many Oxbridge rejects however.

Thanks for pointing out the fat fingers which are perhaps a Freudian slip.

@poetryandwine I found the typo amusing and cute. Wasn't typo shaming. I make 'em too.

You were talking in the present tense about being an admissions tutor. Best not to do that if it's not your job.

Didn't even notice the typo! Thanks for letting me know how it will run @Sittykitty . I wasn't sure if I would.be with DS or not. I assumed not as they are adults at this point!
It's all quite exciting but also scary because I have no clue! I imagine I won't be the only parent in that position though. DS is only one of two Physics students for his college so I am hoping to meet the parent of the other one !

I wasn’t aware that I was using any tense whatsoever, @Tohoku When I do I am scrupulous about using the phrase ‘former admissions tutor’ as I have many, many times on this Board

@poetryandwine

"From an admissions tutor’s perspective, we really appreciate it when people show up on time" is in the present tense. You may not have been aware of the tense you were using but I don't see how you can argue it's anything but implying you're a current admissions tutor, however scrupulous you think you're being.

Ffs, stop derailing the thread with your nitpicking. I'm sure being an admissions tutor right now is no different to being one five years ago in terms of what you want from attendees 🙄

couchparsnip ime the best thing to do for moving in to Teddy Hall is to drive so badly up Queen's Lane that the porters despair and the Principal offers you their parking spot, just to get you out of the way.

Hi sorry to jump on this, do all colleges have their day on the same day? DS has an offer but this is the first I’ve heard of a visit, trying not to helicopter parent but he’s academic, not organised 😂
I also missed the open day as had work so want to make sure I’m available for this one. Thank you

Oops, i had not realised that! A rare slip up I assure you, though I think the tense ambiguous. But I am foreign.

Just in case that rather clever idea doesn’t work…….

I went to Cambridge rather than Oxford but I was in a very central college so similar issues. We would do as following:-

1.We found a street on the outskirts of Cambridge that was free to park in and would park in it. Walk the mile or so into Cambridge. Pick up keys, find room, check they worked.
2.Go and have lunch in the pub. 😂
3.Walk back to car and drive to side gate of College where parking wardens generally looked the other way as long as you were quick about it. Unload very quickly.
4.Mum then drives back to special outskirts parking space and walks back to College
5.I would move all my stuff firstly into College (propping open the ornate but very heavy gate), then from the door to the bottom of my staircase (luckily close by) and then up the 2 steep flights of stairs. Mum would usually find one box still at the bottom of the staircase, one box half way up and me collapsed on my bed saying “can’t climb any more stairs” 😂

And then do it all in reverse 8 weeks later. 🤣

There were also wagons that you could use but only about 4 of them and hundreds of us and so I never actually got one.

There's an irony in you accusing me of derailing the thread when unlike me, you haven't even offered a contribution to the OP. At least try and make a relevant contribution if you're just going to pop on to accuse others of derailing.

It's not nitpicking, it's me talking to someone who is or was in a similar profession and wanting to be clear on facts. I believe there's integrity in accuracy. It's also part of a conversation I'm having with @poetryandwine on another thread, where she talked about Oxbridge candidates. I wondered if she was an Oxbridge tutor from that comment. On that thread we're in agreement so there isn't an issue between us.

No being an admissions tutor right now may not be any different to being one five years ago in terms of what you want from attendees, to use your time frame. But it will definitely make a difference in terms of admissions because that five years covers the Covid period and Brexit.

Anyway, I am roaring at @goodbyestranger 's suggestion. The poor porters of all colleges are quite long suffering, some more than others.

@JustAMummy3 No the colleges won't have their offer holder days on the same day, though most are likely to be this spring. I would imagine the vast majority of colleges will run an offer holder day this year, but there's no absolute guarantee.

Congratulations @JustAMummy3 from the parent of a Cambridge undergraduate. I didn’t go to any open days, bar my Alma Mater (Red Brick and RG didn’t exist then).

For DD’s college fir their offer holder day they made it clear they had a parent and a student stream. I wouldn’t have attended otherwise. It was hugely helpful for me to attend offer holder day - about pastoral care, accommodation, bursaries, tutor system, times to pay etc.

For DD she got the contact details of all those on her course at her college. It was quite sobering at A level results day when a couple of those she met ‘didn’t make it’ . Helped ground her and make her realise she had earned her place, We had visited the year before for an essay writing award ceremony so perhaps didn’t have to visit but the offer holder day definitely did give more relevant information to those highly likely to attend.

For DD she got the contact details of all those on her course at her college. It was quite sobering at A level results day when a couple of those she met ‘didn’t make it’ .

I always really feel for those students @PettsWoodParadise By that time they would. have been pretty committed to 'the dream'. Better in some ways to get the rejection before offer holder day than miss the grades. That is the same for all universities but with Oxbridge there is usually the added specificity of being potentially attached to a specific college, so the young people have a more vivid picture of what they assume/hope their time will be like.

This was something that my dad advised me on when I applied.

”Chances are you are not going to get in whatever you do darling. And much better to be sad in January than to be sad in August. So apply to the college that gives out the lowest offers.”

I don't think I have the balls to do this! Although DS could drive..😂

Oops.meant to quote!

Thanks for asking that @JustAMummy3 . I was interested too.
Teddy Hall apparently only takes 2 Physics students a year so I hope the other one is friendly! If they don't get in that would be awful! @PettsWoodParadise

@Mumofteenandtween That seems doable I guess. We don't live too far away so I reckon we could.make a couple of trips in one day too.