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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Continuation of Oxbridge 2025

978 replies

BananasAllofIt · 27/11/2024 18:17

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

OP posts:
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16
coffeerevelsrule · 14/01/2025 15:40

DS got in! Sent an annoyingly cryptic message at 1, then ignored me for a bit then confirmed. Very happy and relieved as he had properly invested in it and I was dreading the fall out if it was a no!

Well done to everyone who has got this far - whatever the outcome they've done brilliantly to get to this point.

Currentquandry · 14/01/2025 15:59

Huge congratulations to all those who have had an offer—enjoy the glow! It was a no for our DC so very appreciative of all the kind and encouraging messages from parents who have been here and whose DC survived and thrived! Hope we can help our DC see that it’s just the start of a new path. But got to give them space to be disappointed for now. Congratulations again to all those who are through and solidarity to all those who aren’t. They’re all fabulous! (And fingers crossed for the Cambridge applicants too.)

ValentineBlack · 14/01/2025 16:40

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HeathcliffvsMrDarcy · 14/01/2025 16:51

@Nearlyadoctor My ds was pooled (but not picked up from the pool) for Cambridge History last year and is now at Warwick.
I remember the anxiety of last year.

The course at Warwick is great with lots of range of modules and academically strong.The first year lead lecturer was at Cambridge just before joining Warwick.

He has met like minded course friends and has plenty of time for lots of clubs. There's so much going on at Warwick. He will be going for the term in Venice in third year.

thefridgehaseyes · 14/01/2025 17:02

To ofteninaspin and foxglovetree - thank you so much for your answers but maybe I understand it LESS now? Does it sort of mean she is sort of the reserve of the college that accepted her? Which was not even the college she applied to? Like she's just sort of on a general reserve list?

ValentineBlack · 14/01/2025 17:06

@thefridgehaseyes shes not a reserve because she definitely has a place. The college will be confirmed on results day. It’s a great achievement

Nearlyadoctor · 14/01/2025 17:10

@HeathcliffvsMrDarcy thats so good to hear, thank you for posting. She always said she liked the course at Warwick better and was unsure re the pressure of Oxford and again the renaissance module in Venice really appeals to her.

I think today it’s obviously all a bit raw and having been revising so hard for mocks it’s all a bit emotional 🥲. She says it’s a bit embarrassing not to have got an offer, and I have hopefully dispelled that notion from her and explained how amazing she did to get this far. There was only one other Oxford application from her school (Biology) and unfortunately she didn’t get an offer either. I think he does make Dd feel better though as she thought the other girl would definitely have got in. 9 A* at GCSE.

GuppytheCat · 14/01/2025 17:11

thefridgehaseyes · 14/01/2025 17:02

To ofteninaspin and foxglovetree - thank you so much for your answers but maybe I understand it LESS now? Does it sort of mean she is sort of the reserve of the college that accepted her? Which was not even the college she applied to? Like she's just sort of on a general reserve list?

No, she's definitely in and will go to the college that has agreed to take her, unless another college has a lack of qualified applicants on results day.

periodiclabel · 14/01/2025 17:32

DC got in. I'm really pleased for them, Having received a yes and a no in past years I agree 100% with everyone who says it's such a lottery and the people who heard no today will feel sore for a bit but honestly then go on to do amazing things. Often if several people from a school are applying (or there's been a successful sibling) it's about hurt pride and it heals. All parents on here can toast their fabulous children tonight.

coffeerevelsrule · 14/01/2025 17:35

Ds has just got home and says he has no email from the college (Magdalen) and only knows through UCAS . He's accepted obviously! Anyone got/had this? Apparently it says on their website they send it through the post?

pistachioicecream · 14/01/2025 17:36

It was a no here too. DD fine about it. Several people interviewed for her subject at her school, but all were rejected today so I suspect that makes it slightly easier to deal with. She always knew the chances were slim and is just back at her desk revising as she's in the middle of mocks. As always am immensely proud of how hard she works and how she has approached the whole thing.

Congratulations to those who were successful. Hope everyone else who didn't get the result they were hoping for moves on quickly and can become excited about their other offers. Oxford is not the be all and end all of anything.

Roomgigi · 14/01/2025 17:51

Has anyone received an Oxford offer with Opportunity Oxford attached?

ColouringPencils · 14/01/2025 17:51

It's a no here, too. Haven't seen DD yet as she stayed back late to revise for 2 exams tomorrow. She said she is okay.

Congratulations to everyone who had good news today and commiserations to those who are disappointed.

foxglovetree · 14/01/2025 18:01

thefridgehaseyes · 14/01/2025 17:02

To ofteninaspin and foxglovetree - thank you so much for your answers but maybe I understand it LESS now? Does it sort of mean she is sort of the reserve of the college that accepted her? Which was not even the college she applied to? Like she's just sort of on a general reserve list?

No. She isn't a reserve - she definitely has an Oxford place, and even if every offer-holder made their grades she would still go. It means that the department identified some strong candidates who were generally agreed to deserve an Oxford place. These then get allocated to guaranteeing colleges. The college who has accepted her will be very happy to take her (and so will plenty of others). They know that on results day there will be colleges who lose candidates because some people won't make their grades, and they can't predict which colleges will be most affected. So for example, College A may have 5 places for Subject X and lose 3 of their offer-holders, and College B may have 5 spaces but keep all of theirs. When results come out, if your DD has an open offer guaranteed by College B, she may end up being reallocated to College A instead. If College B is also a place down, they'll almost certainly keep her and not let her be reallocated, which is their right as the guarantor.

The reason that it has to come with a 'guaranteeing college' is because Oxford can't just say 'you have a place at Oxford and we'll sort out which college when the dust settles'. Even though the admissions process is centralised in many ways, it's the colleges who are formally speaking the admitting bodies and so an offer has to come from a college.

Try to encourage her to think of it as an extra surprise come results day. She will end up loving wherever she ends up. She has done really well and should be really proud of herself. They don't give open offers to people who they aren't confident deserve a place at Oxford.

Statistically, it's more likely that she'll end up at the guaranteeing college than at any other college. But there's a chance she'll end up elsewhere (so encourage her to look at it by all means, but not become too passionately attached to it).

thefridgehaseyes · 14/01/2025 18:16

Thank you so much, I get it now! Okay we will stop looking at whether there are en-suite rooms!

WutheringConniption · 14/01/2025 18:29

@thefridgehaseyes My daughter had an open offer this time last year and it took me a while to understand that it wasn't part of a pool, but others here have explained it well so I won't reiterate. Her open offer was from the college she applied to and that's also where she ended up being allocated on results day.

I think in some ways, the open offer helped us both keep a bit of healthy distance and not get too invested in lots of detailed research about the college etc, as we were very aware that she still had to achieve her grades. In practical terms, it felt a little frustrating not knowing about accomodation specs or cost, but ultimately pretty much everything is Amazon Prime-able at the last minute in any event.

Just on the above point about uncertainties around accommodation - there is a Sainsburys in the Westgate shopping centre in Central Oxford - you can place an order from Argos online and have it delivered there for collection - we found this really useful on move in day for eg bulky bedding and so on.

Panicmode1 · 14/01/2025 18:31

Congratulations to all of the offer holders - how exciting for them and you.

But huge commiserations to those who didn't make the cut - and as lots have said, they will be fine after a period of adjustment.

And good luck to all of those now waiting on Cambridge...having done the wait 3 (already??) years ago, it seems unfair that they have to wait even longer than Oxford offers.....

trickortrickier · 14/01/2025 19:00

@Roomgigi - my DD is in 3rd year now but her offer was with Opportunity Oxford attached. Feel free to ask any questions.

Roomgigi · 14/01/2025 21:04

@trickortrickier just wondering how much time the program is going to take up - it suggests 2 weeks of work which seems a lot

tiggerandpoohtoo · 14/01/2025 21:28

redblonde · 14/01/2025 12:23

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

My dd is at Durham doing chemistry and loves it! She too didn't get offered a place at Oxford last year but is very happy she is at Durham now.

JanglyBeads · 14/01/2025 21:28

Oh I've got an Opportunity Oxford child too! All the details and dates are in the 9 page email. One day in Feb, online stuff in July/ aug, plus two weeks in Sept. Sounds amazing, but not sure what you do if you already had holiday or something booked!

200 students from under represented groups, we were trying to work out what that would cover, e.g. Would it include all ethnic minority freshers? Not sure what the stats are currently. Must include economic disadvantages home or school address, young carers, disabled students mustn't it?

trickortrickier · 14/01/2025 21:44

@JanglyBeads @Roomgigi they get given some work to do after their exams but the most impactful element of it is the 2 weeks they get in an Oxford college in early September. All the costs are covered by Oxford. They get some lectures, tutorials, a couple of formals, tours of Oxford, socialising etc and basically 2 weeks of finding their feet before officially starting in October. It is well organised and meant to give them a head start. DD thoroughly enjoyed it.

JanglyBeads · 14/01/2025 22:58

Thanks@trickortrickier, that's great to know. It does sound very good.

Imogen710 · 15/01/2025 07:36

As the parent of an aspiring Cambridge applicant, it has been lovely to see all the support through this channels over the last 48 hours. At my DC's school (a northern grammar), two out of seven applicants got Oxford offers - one expected (very strong mathematician), one a complete surprise. One other outstanding candidate (grades, national level musician, England rower) missed out, illustrating how very challenging places are. Good luck for all parents of Cambridge applicants in a couple of weeks time. My DC is already resigned to a rejection, but not too disheartened - just wishing they had spent more time prepping for the ESAT!

PhotoDad · 15/01/2025 08:20

This has been a supportive thread, and it's nice to read. I hope that those who've experience rejection bounce back quickly!