Continuation of Oxbridge 2025

[BananasAllofIt]

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

It’s a yes here for my DC after a no last year for Cambs. Delighted for them.

Thinking of everyone still waiting and those for whom the news was not what was hoped for.

@Cysco - that’s brilliant 🤩 you must both be thrilled

congratulations @Cysco and @IfYouLook !! wonderful news :)

DS1 is on study leave for mock exams until tomorrow, and only has one exam left - tomorrow. He doesn't want to be woken until 12, and I'm quite worried about him being very sad. I'm out this afternoon/evening at a memorial for family of family (my cousins' stepmother) but dp/his dad should be back (hopefully) fairly soon after I leave, and I expect DS1 will go out to meet friends/play football whatever the outcome.

He is really keen on studying at Oxford/on a "good course" - at least he does have 3 offers on hand if Oxford says no.

I haven't heard anything from DS yet - I was hoping he might have been able to message me during morning break which finishes in a few mins! He was very quiet this morning (not like him!) so I think it's definitely weighing on his mind. I agree with previous posters - sending all the decisions at, eg, 5pm would take some of the stress out of the process.

Congratulations to @Cysco and @IfYouLook - well done to your dc! Commiserations to those whose dcs have not received an offer.

It's a no here. Helped a bit by her friends mostly having 'no's too. Sad for them too but does help her not feel quite so bad.

DD has an offer for medicine! Surprised, and delighted for her.

Congratulations to those who've received offers, and commiserations to anyone who hasn't. I hope it's a bump in the road, and everyone ends up in a place they love, but definitely a tough day today.

Sorry to be stupid, can anyone explain what an open offer is? Is it in practice nothing at all? DD got open offer from a college that interviewed her.

A yes here from Pembroke College 😊

It's a "no" for DS. Disappointed for him, of course but just glad the wait is over. He's had 3 offers from other unis, so in a good position. Just hope he's not too sad about it today.

@thefridgehaseyes My understanding is that an open offer means that your dc has a definite offer of a place at Oxford but it might not be at the college she/he originally applied to.

Thank you, Bella.

We are especially happy because London was second choice and is so expensive it would bankrupt us but I have met enough people from Oxbridge to know it is neither a place that makes people happier than other unis nor one filled with ultra clever people. Hope your ds is okay, he'll work this out too soon enough.

It's a yes for ds to study chemistry. We are shocked as his second interview was "rubbish". Was absolutely, fully expecting a no. Complete shock.

An open offer means you won’t know the college for sure till A level results day. There will be a college guaranteeing the offer and they will have first dibs on the candidate, but open offer candidates may end up being picked up by a different college if someone at that college doesn’t get their grades and everyone at the underwriting college does. It’s a mechanism to deal with the likelihood that some people will miss their grades.

It means your DC was definitely considered worthy of an Oxford place - open offers don’t go to weak candidates.

Yes for DD History at Worcester. We got a letter in the post! Then an email about half an hour after.

Well done to all with offers and I do hope those who have not received an offer can become enthusiastic about another great university very soon. It is tough adjusting when the application process requires so much investment.

If any with offers have any queries from existing parents then do drop in to this thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5159139-current-oxbridge-students-continued-again?page=15&reply=140685436

It's been quiet over Christmas but usually quite active.

@thefridgehaseyes congratulations to your DC. foxglovetree has described an open offer perfectly. Just wanted to add that DD had an open offer (one in four offers are open offers for her subject) and ended up at an ancient, central college that she hadn't had the confidence to choose when applying. It can feel a bit unsettling not knowing which college might take you at this stage but equally can work out really well. DD loved her college from the start, was a scholar and graduated with a First and is very grateful that her tutor chose her on A level results day.

Still no news here. No idea if that's a good or bad sign ! Probably neither

It's a no here for Chemistry. Got a sad girl but she has an offer from Durham and had done so well to get to this stage considering she only switched to do Maths instead of law less than a year ago. Congratulations to all those with offers x

It’s a no here for History, so I think Warwick will definitely be first choice now.

Well done to all your DC with offers. For those with a no, I hope they feel proud of themselves for getting this far and will soon feel just as excited about one of their other carefully considered options.

No for DS1 (Maths) - have been trying to prepare myself and I think DS1 was reasonably ready for bad news - may have been why he was putting it off until just now. He'd asked to be woken at 12 and came downstairs before looking (doesn't have his email open all the time). There was nothing in his email so I guessed at that point, the rejection was on UCAS.

He does have 3 offers to choose between. Not sure if he's gone upstairs to talk to get dressed or to talk to friends/family. I need to get ready to go out to a family thing.

A yes here for MFL + Linguistics. She's very happy and it's particularly good as she's ND and has had help from Learning Support over the years.

A no here for MFL but taken it really well - I think she knew deep down the tutorial system wasn't for her and she's more than happy with her other choices. Well done to those who got a yes, and well done to those who didn't - they're all amazing.