Continuation of Oxbridge 2025

[BananasAllofIt]

I for one still have a kid waiting to hear about interviews. Thought I'd carry it over...

Thank you all so much.

I didn't know that about lack of link between how they think it went and how it went. Googling for that graph, and can't find it. Don't suppose anyone could post it?

Thanks again x

Well let’s see if she’s so uninterested in an offer from Cambridge if she gets an offer. I’m really sorry you’re so stressed but I’m not quite sure why someone doing really well in an interview for a place they don’t want to go to anyway should be so stressful. Sounds like a dream scenario.

So was your dd interviewed by people who knew her from the summer school? Doesn't seem very fair if that was the case. The colleges should really avoid doing that to give everyone a fair chance.

This thread is worrying me a bit! Summer schools and knowing the professors on courses?! Is that the norm? Feeling a bit bad we did none of that stuff with DS. And his college doesn't really do preparation either. Anyone else's DC similar??

I suppose none of it will matter at some point. They'll get in or they won't. I really have been shocked at all the extra stuff though. It seems cruel as the hoops they have to jump the more it makes them want it.

*the more hoops they have to jump

WOW, sounds like she did amazingly well.
So lucky to have attended summer school etc and know the interviewees (didn’t even know that was allowed!). My DS had none of this, not even a mock interview 😆

This sounds great :)
Glad to hear your DD had a good experience. Fingers crossed for her, wherever she decides to go

Wonder if this was from private school. Saw Sam Freedman (now a state school evangelist) talking about backstage advantages the other day and how his school (St Paul's) invited the admissions tutor for the Oxford college he was applying to give a speech then sat Freedman next to him at lunch.

Sam Freedman, I know of him from Teach First and more recently Ark Academies.

Summer schools tend to be aimed at (and usually limited to) state schools and anyone who meets the criteria can apply to go.

If Oxford is to run summer schools, which is quite a good way of widening participation, a consequence is going to be that some applicants meet or speak to tutors who then end up interviewing them. You could also say that some candidates “know” tutors because they went to a Q&A at the open day and asked a question. It won’t make the slightest difference from the tutor’s perspective. It might make the candidate feel slightly more confident- but part of the whole point of running open days and summer schools is to make candidates feel more confident about applying.

I think dealingwithatrex is confused or pulling everyone’s leg.

I understand now, you are referring to outreach programmes. My school selects a same number of students each year to attend these, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have links with Southampton, Warwick and St Andrews. This makes sense, you certainly don’t get to know the tutors but may have seen them at a lecture.

@foxglovetree I have a sibling who attended a summer program with Cambs and then when they applied there, found that one of the tutors from the course (who they met daily and had discussions with over the summer course) was one of their interviewers. Got a place, did very well, etc.

Thanks for that. Not. I’m not pulling anyone’s leg.

DD is actually from a disadvantaged background FSM SEN PP and I don’t want to go into her childhood but it wasn’t great etc and she applied and got on a summer access programme to help access to university courses. She didn’t know she would know the people interviewing her. She had met them at the summer school access thing. I’m not stupid or confused or having a laugh.

She did have to fill in a adjustments for interview form for Cambridge for her SEN and send of a JCQ form 9 or something from her school and the SENCO wrote a letter so maybe it was slightly different because of her SEN. I really don’t know but it’s not what I expected.

I see, that makes sense @Dealingwithatrexrightnow

Dd also has SEN and had accommodations for the interview. This was 25% extra time. Which of course freaked her out that the interviews were actually longer!

2hrs 20m total.

So longer for yours I think.

Lots of questions about the Cambridge winter pool, this video gives a clear explanation of what goes on during the process. (The interviewer is - kindly - not amazing, but the academic is good.)

My thoughts were it was unusual to have all that in one go - dc's were for a join honours and over 2 colleges, hence 4 shorter interviews, even if it totals a similar amount. She was exhausted after each one - the thought of 2 hours all in one go seems crazy to me. It's a long time for anyone to have to stay on their 'best' without a break.

I think it’s this graph

I’m on my phone so I don’t know if it came out clearly. But it’s on the student room forum here

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5082346

Thanks so much

Merry Christmas to you all, thanks for all the great advice from this chat.

Well said, @Gina555, thanks to all those who've been so helpful!