Too late to flag possible extenuating/mitigating circs?

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DD(18) has offer for Oxford for maths-based subject. Did the MAT exam and a number of interviews in December and got an offer of AAA, which she "should" have achieved pretty easily (As in pretty much everything throughout 6th form).

However... she has OCD and, more recently, an eating disorder, which I'd thought was under control (in therapy for OCD and related stuff for a couple of years now). She's just told me it flared right up before the exams, and she couldn't concentrate as a result. I didn't realise :(. She's better again now, and it's only since feeling better that she realised how much she was impaired by it during A levels. She had blood tests and a referral to mental health services for eating related issues back in March/April, and also saw the GP a couple of times around then, so GP aware. Is there any point now in telling this to anyone, in case it's affected her results? I realise we are late on this, but hadn't quite realised the impact. TIA.

Offer is A* AA - typo. Not that that really matters to the question!

And A* throughout 6th form. Clearly some asterisks removed from previous. Anyway, realise it's probably irrelevant but thought would give full info

What A level subjects did she study? Did she actually think the exams went badly?

She thinks they probably went OK, but that she can't tell because her concentration was out the window for some of the time so she "can't remember" (for one subject in particular)....

Maths, further maths, english

Main questions are about pragmatics - if we were to try to do something... how??

Special consideration needs to be applied for within 7 days of the end of the exam series, which would have been early July I think.

School special consideration is via school exams officer and there's a time limit, might have gone and also they are likely on annual leave now but could try.

Oxford also have their own form for special consideration which is for if haven't claimed in exams, again deadline is around now. I think but not certain its via the college she has an offer from and they do prefer proof sent with it.

I'm afraid i only know about the school end, not the Oxford end...

IIRC I think you need to speak to the school / college / exam centre and they then submit the application. Think is a deadline which depends on the exam board. Hopefully the exams officer at the school should be able to tell you.

Oh, thank you. I'll get her to check on the offer form.... obviously would be going via uni end at this stage. I imagine we could get letter from GP.

I would get in touch with Oxford asap as I'm not sure if the form also goes part via school - proof can be anything so appointment letter, referral letter and would get that later if not got already and get it started now. It will help if she's gone down a grade. Though hopefully its fine and just nerves.

Honestly I wouldn't tell them about this - the OCD etc was triggered by exams, not by extenuating circumstances - death in the family, divorce, illnesses of a different kind.

They want undergraduates who can cope with exam stress.

I am sorry, this sounds brutal but it is the truth.

Oh, right, OK - this is interesting perspective. There was some other stuff going on as potential trigger but it's too complicated to go into, and I wouldn't want to give extended reasons.

Is this something others agree with??

I would declare - DD had special circumstances and they were and continue to be incredibly kind. It wasn't to do with DDs mental health but I don't think they would use that against her, they would want to be aware so they could help. Oxford can be quite pressured though, some subjects more than others, but there is very good support for mental health. If she's seems not well enough when time comes I would consider deferring.

If her ocd might affect accommodation preference - like if its cleaning / contamination ensuite might be easier - may be worth mentioning for that as they don't allocate until after results.

Maths is one of the least forgiving subjects entry wise. You need to get the grades required, they won't be flexible.

If your DC started and had a MH issue they would help, but they are not going to help at this stage, before she has the grades required to take up the place.

It's difficult that it 'flared up' and seemingly took her attention or affected her concentration, but nobody noticed, and she can apparently now say with certainty, despite not being able to at the time, she was actually impaired by it.

I think the deadlines for recording extenuating circumstances are in place so that this isn't done retrospectively with no evidence, as that wouldn't be very reliable.

The workload at Oxford is brutal - my main concern would be about your DD’s mental health if she did get a place.

My son is at Cambridge not Oxford but I would think they are pretty similar (also doing maths-based subject). He is VERY mentally resilient and kind of breezed through his A-levels with 4 A stars but the workload at Cambridge has made it a very pressured experience even for him. It is academic work at an insanely high level and the pace is extremely fast. He pretty much doesn't have much of a social life during term time. He is happy to do it as he knows the pay off will be worth it but he has said that he would have had a more "normal" and more relaxed, more well-rounded experience at a different university. His girlfriend has found it stressful too. They see each other every night but it's just to study together. My son doesn't regret it at all and I think it will set him up for life but he has said he wonders how people who arrived at Cambridge already with some mental health difficulties have coped.

I would not pursue anything now and let the exam results speak for themselves. She will end up where she is meant to be.

Yes. Brutal is the word. Some wierd kids kind of thrive on that, though, my son is one. He relishes the challenge trying to finish each year in the top 10% in his subject. I'm sure he must have been switched at birth because his dad and I were more interested in getting drunk in the student union at his age!

I don't know if she did go down on grades the chance they would take with special circumstances - my DD is there for E&M and I think she found a Freedom of Information request somewhere for that and I think anyone down 2 grades was not offered a place, 27 were 1 grade down over a few years data and 5 were offered a place from that. She doesn't find the workload bad at all but different subject. It is very full-on in term time and she is very full-on - in the holidays she's working in a sporty job 5 days a week and rowing every day and meeting up with friends.

Her college have weekly group counselling sessions which she said loads of people including her attend as they get free £3 doughnuts. Also given college parents who have been supportive - her college Dad also gives her lots of free food from meetings he organises though depends who you get.

My DD is intensely hardworking but did find finals in particular extremely stressful and was phoning several times a day for reassurance, unusual for her as she was fine with school exams. She described the workload as “academic rigour” but it sounded really tough.

I'd suggest contacting Oxford. We did similar with Manchester after DD got her IB results and she got less than their minimum (her circumstances were family issues/Dad's mental health). Unfortunately while her grades were too low for them to go ahead (and she's going to her insurance) they made it clear that they would have done if she had been closer to her predicted grades. So definitely worth trying I think, and sooner rather than later.

Manchester is not comparable to Oxford on this, really.