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. More great advice 🙂 DC has four offers so I will be encouraging them to go to one of these.
Would anyone on here be willing to share what super curricular their DC did for Maths??
My DC did the Olympiads (through school) and got to go on their residential weeks in the summer hols but apart from that nothing! May be seen as quite lazy and possibly not that passionate!?

@R50 i’m really sorry about your DS, it’s tough news to accept. Having been here three years ago with an older child, who received extremely high marks not only in the entrance test, but also we later found out in the interview, I would still say reapplying is not a good idea. The main reason in this case would be because the maths department really aren’t keen on it, for understandable reasons. I also agree with putting Oxbridge on a pedestal stuff.

DD was doing a humanities subject and so could have reapplied and indeed Oxford told her in the feedback she’d be a very strong candidate for reapplication, I was quite keen that she did, but she was adamant she didn’t want to and in hindsight, she was right – she’s moved on and she’s in the third year at another excellent university now, having the time of her life and enjoying some opportunities that would not have come her way at Oxford.

Yes, there are successful reapplicants every year, but there are also lots of unsuccessful ones – Dd is friends with a few. I also would imagine that your DS is keen on studying at other big universities – let’s say the London ones, Durham, the usual suspects, and its a big risk to reapply to any of them too. I think these few days after rejection are very hard but it really is better to start being positive about truly great alternatives and move on ASAP.

Congrats on the Oxford offers, and as someone whose older DC didn't get a Cambridge offer a couple of years ago, lots of fellow feeling to those who are dealing with the fall out.

To add to the excellent threads above, I would add that not reapplying was also right for my DC. It was a huge readjustment - having full house of 9s at GCSE and 4 predicted A stars for A-level and an achieved Astar in a subject related EPQ, with lots of extra/supra curricular and good results in admissions test and interview, to eventually only get 2 out of 5 offers for an extremely competitive STEM subject.

Once recovered from the knock to self confidence (and I think for all our DC, being in the position to apply at all means rejection is possibly the first time they've had to deal with this in an academic context) I think they took the view that the level of competition and the extra challenge of keeping Maths fresh was too much of a risk. They're now loving their course elsewhere, and while I think it will always sting a little bit (particularly if younger sibling is successful later this month) I think they recognise that there is a high degree of luck in getting a place or not as the margins are infinitesimal.

As PP say, there is no rush - take time to come to terms with changed expectations and understand what options are available.

There have in previous years been really excellent and very helpful "Redirected from Oxbridge" threads, but haven't checked to see if there's one yet for the 2025 cohort.

Thank you both.
I don’t think that DC should reapply but we’ll wait for the feedback and see what they thought of DC in the interview.

We know a dc who applied for maths at O and was successful. Marginally lower MAT score than your son. Entered Olympiads, usually through to the higher stages. Read several books, attended an Oxford Masterclass, followed maths blogs/podcasts. Did well in interview. One of several top achieving maths candidates at their school (not state). . Very supportive teacher who wrote a glowing reference. Oxbridge parent and grandparent which may have helped, who knows.

A higher proportion of candidates get offers at Cambridge but then there is STEP to overcome in which they cull around 50% of offer holders. I'm not sure how they view gap years but studying only for Step and not having the distraction of A levels on top would be good. He'd maybe need to show he's continuing study in maths and competitions, reading or maybe giving tutoring support.

Maths at Warwick and IC will also offer the same opportunities post degree.

My own dc rejected from Ox but enjoying another uni where almost everyone else was rejected from Oxbridge too 😄. He is quite glad of the longer terms to spread the work out and now has a (very) part time job which will hopefully be useful in preparation for career applications in future.

Although for some kids/parents it is very disappointing not to get an offer, particularly if they were a shoo-in compared to other successful peers, they really should try to not get too hung up on it. Time will be a good healer and give a clearer perspective.

Thank you for this info. The student you know who got the offer clearly did more supercurricular than my DC so maybe it’s so close that’s what it comes down to (presuming my DC has positive reports from the interviews). Great to hear your DC is enjoying studying at a different Uni.

DS1 is sad about being turned down for Maths at Oxford, as I thought he would be, but now seems to be picking himself up a bit - he has told us he got a high mark in his Physics mock, which he seems pleased by, and he is now turning his attention to his other offers - he has booked an offer holder day at Warwick, and is looking out for invites from Manchester. He thinks he got a good enough idea of what York is like. I suspect this means that he is still keen to study at a university with a mpre prestigious reputation. I have a slightly different opinion on reputation and rankings, but think this is an entirely reasonable reaction to being a disappointed Oxbridge hopeful, and just want to support whatever decision he makes.

I am very glad to have this thread to read of others' experiences and post about DS1's and my thoughts and feelings, and will probably stay at least to hear of Cambridge offers and future plans, but am interested in redirection threads, and/or ones about Maths and/or the universities DS1 holds offers.

I am sorry for those who missed out, merely anecdotally there has been a post on WIWIKAU on facebook since Tuesday from the parent of a YP who missed out last year, reapplied this year grades in hand, something like AAAA who has been unsuccessful again on the reapplication.

They are frantic because last year at the point of rejection from Oxford they had an offer from Durham amongst other universities which they met the grades for. and subsequently let go to give Oxford another shot. This year they, on reapplication, have not received offers (maybe yet) that wasn't clear.

So a whole load of stress for no guarantee of outcome.

As I said upthread my DS is now enjoying his redirected university which is UCL, along, seemingly with a whole load of other Oxford rejects.

I'm so relieved he didn't reapply.

Obviously some are successful on reapplication but rejecting good offers and applying with grades in hand is always a risk.

Mine has two friends from the last school who also reapplied this year. Both had 4XA star on their application. They were also rejected similar circumstances to those you mentioned above and who turned down fantastic offers from Durham and the like last year. conversely, one of their friends reapplied on a whim Having turned down Durham etc last year and secured a place for an incredibly competitive course at Oxford but having grades which were a AstarAAB…🤷‍♀️

Best thing is to make no decisions now and keep options open.

If admissions test results, in relation to released admissions data aren’t impressive, no need to get interview feedback.
If test results are impressive in relation to admissions feedback, if possibly considering re-applying it’s good to get interview feedback.
If the interview feedback is then also very good, on top of impressive test scores, the candidate knows they were a near-miss and might consider re-applying. HOWEVER, shouldn’t decide until after A Level results, waiting to see if perfect grades achieved there and something sensible and useful can be done with gap year. Def also worth firming and insuring alternatives, as going to alternative uni is prob the best route for most.

It’s too soon to make a rational decision. Firstly, it’s all too raw at the moment. Secondly, even if they’ve got their admissions test score, they dont know their interview score.
By next week, they might have moved on and decided somewhere else will be good and not bother to ask for interview feedback. Or they might ask for it.
That interview feedback usually only comes in about a month. That’s good because a little bit of distance from it all has occurred and it might be possible to look at it all a bit more objectively.

We know that every year, candidates who reapply with perfect A Level results in hand go onto do well in the admissions tests and interviews and get a place. But equally, similar candidates do well in admissions tests and interviews and don’t get a place. There is no dead cert. Lots of people seem amazed such candidates are rejected ‘who can get in if they can’t’ kind of comments. But the fact is there are simply too many excellent excellent candidates.

Wait and see. Ask for interview feedback if you want. And put it all on the back burner…see what other offers appear. Focus on A Levels and giving everything to those exams. If necessary, make some plans for a purposeful gap year, but also bear in mind the alternative options which could be very good. Let time pass and the student mull it over without pressure to decide now or until results come out. Expect them to quite likely take another option and be heading off. If come results day they still want to reapply and have a good plan for the year out, support them, especially if they have the mental resilience to deal with another disappointment.

The A Level results are just one small part of it all. Often the admissions tests and interviews test what matters much more than knowledge of the A Level curriculum. Someone might have that ‘something’ yet not have all A star at A Level, whilst the person who has perfect A Levels might not. It’s why the scenario you mentioned above happens. Unlike other u is which don’t interview, Oxbridge has the benefit of being able to base decisions on GCSEs, and A Levels (predicted or achieved) and possibly an admissions test and possibly submitted written work and an interview.

In reality, most accepted candidates do have or go onto achieve a raft of A stars. But some will have a lower grade or 2, often in far less relevant subjects.

For humanities the Oxford standard offer is AAA and not higher, because most candidates are predicted and will achieve far in excess of that, but they really want the candidates they have chosen, based on the admissions test and interviews, and don’t want a small blip or subjective exam marking to prevent that candidate coming.

I've been a long-time lurker on this thread for a while now, but with Cambridge decision day coming up I thought I'd introduce myself. My DC3 has applied for a humanities subject at Cambridge - their college is one of the less-preferred ones and the offer rate for their subject/college combination has sat at around 40% for the last few years (according to the admissions statistics data on the website). I think this has lulled them into a slightly false sense of security and I'm worried that they'll be even more disappointed should they get rejected on the 30th, as all things considered at the moment they stand in pretty good stead. Not 'perfect' GCSE grades (9988888887 from a non-selective but very high-achieving state school) but they are predicted 3A* +* *achieved A star in a subject-related EPQ.
Their interviews went well by their standards, first one was a lot better than the second but they've not told me much about exactly what 'well' means - just that the interviewers seemed friendly and were happy with their answers.

My DC1 graduated Oxford with a STEM degree a few years ago, and DC2 applied to the same degree but was rejected in 2022. I think that this is a good thing for DC3 because they don't have the internal pressure to get an offer as both their siblings have before them, but I know that DC2 didn't react well to their post-interview rejection and they lost a large proportion of their A-level motivation, and I'm worried that DC3 will be similar should they get rejected.

That's amazing - I can't remember what DD got in her French MLAT three years ago but I'm sure it wasn't that good... She is loving French at Oxford - so many opportunities.

Many congratulations.

Thanks, but I think they are purposefully vague on some of the criteria, see @TenSheds ' post slightly before yours. Thanks for that post 10Sh , very helpful.

10Sh is not entirely correct. For one thing, international students are not eligible for Opp Ox offers. I’ve been making admissions decisions as a tutor at Oxford for over 20 years and am currently the university admissions coordinator for one of the largest courses. I know my stuff.

Replying mainly because another user seems to be being tagged in error.
@irregularegular 's info on the socio-economic details is correct as well. I tried to give an idea of the range of people participating, but their eligibility might have been down to other factors (trends of under-represented backgrounds coinciding with socio-economic disadvantage). Thanks for that clarification @pinkspeakers - I would guess then that the international students DD met on OppOx were now UK residents and therefore home applicants for eligibility purposes.

Hi R50, this was us a year ago. For physics, not maths though. My YP has the identical profile as your YP, they went on to achieve 4 very high A stars summer 2024. We looked very seriously into reapplying but it became very clear that Oxbridge do not particularly like reapplicants for maths based subjects. I would give yourself plenty of time to think things through as many emotions will be processed and you do not need to make any decisions until August. One thing that I would say is that they really are looking for maths/physics based internships/qualifications for the gap year so I would look into that now. We didn't realise this and it was too late in August to organise. Just to say YP is absolutely thriving elsewhere. Good luck!
Also to say that their twin is at Oxbridge reading a STEM degree, they have identical profiles and results, so sometimes it really doesn't make much sense. But we are in a position to compare Both experiences and honestly I think any YP's experience and success is determined by them and not necessarily the institution they are in. All the very best.

Oops I’m the same person as irregularregular 😂. I logged in a different way as I was on my phone and it came up as an old username.

Thank you for sharing this. More great advice and so good to hear other parents experiences.

Ah I was wondering re international students, as knew they couldn’t be made to fly here for two weeks, fly home for two weeks then return again!

@pinkspeakers thanks for the clarification. Are you able to say whether academic potential / performance plays a part in selection for OppOx? Is it a whole complicated grid of factors? I

Maybe someone should start a separate thread!

am glad I learnt from here that the MAT results were out, my DS hadn’t thought to tell me he now had his score 🙄

They're at great pains to say it's nothing to do with academic performance/ potential. Though there is sometimes other support for that: mine had a disappointing MLAT score and while evidently good enough overall to get a place on the chosen course, was referred for a pre-term course to brush up (for a couple of reasons, didn't actually go on this, but all fine now the actual course has started).

A separate OppOx thread would probably have been a good idea for future searchers as well as to avoid the detour on this one, but I sense the conversation might be reaching a conclusion 😊

It is intended for those candidates who show sufficient potential for a place but it is felt that, due to their background, they might not be quite sufficiently prepared without a little extra help.

Admittedly, it might not always quite hit the intended target.

I find it odd that my dd has been offered OppOx when my son (from the same postcode and same school) wasn’t offered it when he went to Oxford back in 2022.
Not that it matters, just interesting.

The scheme only started in 2020 & has been growing ever since. Perhaps there simply weren't enough spaces in 2022 or your DD's school profile has changed since.