Oxbridge -any DC considering reapplying?

[Maggiethecat]

Dd was disappointed not to be offered by Cambridge and felt doubly rejected because she was pooled.

She’s recently had results (Scotland) which were good and may consider reapplying.

It would be lovely if she were offered but think that another rejection would be very difficult to swallow.

Anyone considering it?

Dd was also pooled, but not reapplying. She has been diagnosed with a chronic illness and the short terms and workload at Cambridge would be impossible for her to manage.
congratulations to your daughter on her results.

No. DD applied with grades in hand (three A stars) and was rejected so she is kinda pretending it never happened. I did once mention she could try for her masters there but she shot me down. I think she would have loved it and the system would have suited her but for whatever reason (poor interview? A level subject combination? That pesky 6 in GCSE Math?) they didn't (you are automatically pooled if three A stars already and was not picked up so double blow).
So she's put it behind her and will be that walking cliche (white, privately educated Oxbridge reject) and is going to Durham. I truly hope they don't ask on the first day, as I've heard has happened, how many present were rejected from Oxbridge - she would be mortified.

Thanks @ShanghaiDiva, hope it all goes well with your Dd and her studies.

@mondaytosunday - Dd is Durham too but doesn’t seem very happy with it. Not because it’s not Oxbridge but she felt it was a bit meh as a place.

Prefers Manchester, her unconditional insurance, but she’s conflicted because the Durham law degree is supposedly better regarded. Think she secretly hoped she wouldn’t make the grades for Durham, taking the decision making away from her.

Hi all,

Just noticed this thread - my ds is applying to Cambridge this year.

@Maggiethecat - sorry your dd has had a challenging time over this. I wondered about pooling - do pooled candidates get offers (or not) at the same time as those who are given offers by the college which they apply to?

@mondaytosunday - 'you are automatically pooled if three A stars already' - do you mean if you apply with grades in hand or do you mean UCAS grades? DS' UCAS grades match that but I haven't heard anything about automatic pooling!

Thanks so much for any insight you can offer!

DD is eligible for the Cambridge summer reconsideration so she can reapply on Thursday if she gets the grades and there are places on the course. Don’t know if this is something she’d consider or not. Maybe if she does better than her predicteds she might have another stab at it. 🤷‍♀️

@aliumblue - yes, I think it all happens at the same time

@Rollergirl11 - think there are criteria for the reconsideration and she wasn’t eligible.

DD messed up her interview at Oxford but didn't re-apply. Her grades, work and exam were all high, but the interview was a car crash!

She is starting her Master's at Oxford in Sept. But even then didn't get the college she applied to. It's rarely a smooth run, whichever way you do it. But she is very happy to be going and looking forward to immersing herself in Medieval History.

She went to Exeter, where there were also a considerable number of Oxbridge rejects!

@KnittedCardi Iur children were fellow history Oxford applicants back in the day - I hope she has a great time on her masters. The whole masters college allocation thing seems quite odd - two of DS1’s friends were provisionally allocated exciting ones and then post-acceptance went into a long reallocation process, ending up in less well known ones (eg Kellog) and without accom. Hope she is happy with where she has ended up.

Just to explain about the Masters college allocation: graduate admissions at Oxford works completely differently from undergrad ones. For undergraduates, the colleges are the admitting bodies. For graduate students, all admissions decisions are all made by the relevant Faculty, and the college has no input until after the students have been accepted onto the course. After that point, colleges get told which the students put them down as first choice, and are asked to say which ones they have room for. Some colleges (usually the famous pretty ones) are hugely oversubscribed and will need to reallocate most people - this happens more at graduate admissions as most students are international and not able to visit Oxford before applying so likely to apply to the colleges they've already heard of - they can't really do the undergrad thing of going to an open day and falling in love with a particular vibe. Graduate admissions is also complex as many of those offered places won't make a final decision about whether they're coming until they find out the funding situation (meaning that things change after the initial allocation when people decide not to take up their Oxford place or move to another college to take up a scholarship that requires them to be there). This makes the reallocation process a lot more drawn-out.

The good thing, though, is colleges are pretty good at creating community, and most people end up happy with wherever they end up. Also, graduate students tend to be more immersed in the social life of their Department/Faculty than undergraduates, so their college doesn't have to be the place they hang out if they don't want to.