Oxbridge applicants 2026??

[Justlurkingmostly]

Is there a thread for this year’s applicants - I can’t seem to find with a search. Thanks for signposting 🙏

Twin DS both waiting on Oxford interviews in different subjects, at different colleges. I'm much more on edge than they seem to be, thinking through the ramifications of one in, one not.

Best of luck to all who haven't heard yet. It is a bit nerve-wracking!

DD just home - interview confirmation via email for English and Mod Langs at Oxford, at the college she applied to. Thrilled and relieved, another step forward...

@Stringbean70DS told me the other night I wasn’t a helicopter parent, more like a “Sniper” that watches from afar and offers support when needed
I think I’m fairly chuffed with that description
DH was less impressed when he was told he was more like a landmine - generally ignorable but occasionally blows up unexpectedly 🤣 it was meant with love & teasing to get a reaction

re College Choice three years ago DC2 was reallocated to a different college after her first set of interviews and had her second set of interviews there. This was a college she actively didn't want to go to even though they took loads in her subject. They gave her an offer and she almost turned it down but has loved it from the very beginning. It did help that they had an offer holders day and that was a very positive experience.

In the end pretty much everyone ends up loving their college - they all have their quirks and individual traditions whether new or ancient.

DS heard this evening just before 6 that’s he’s got an interview at Oxford for CompSci, at the college he applied to! He’s so happy! Was not expecting to hear today, so it’s a lovely surprise

Yup, agree with all of this, especially post interview rejection. Although DS had a friend who didn't make his STEP offer for maths which I think is even worse again

Very swings and roundabouts as to whether it's harder to be rejected before or after interview. But online interviews do at least avoid those intense three or so days at Oxford meeting other applicants, spending time in the college and exploring generally which did seem to up the stakes for a lot of young people. That said, online interviews themselves must pale for applicants compared to the old style face to face ones. Cambridge has never had quite the same format so the bonding between applicants and colleges wasn't as it was at Oxford. More in and out job done type of thing.

Yes I often say no - you go on your own and see how it goes but I will come next time if you still want me to. She moans but then goes and has never asked me to accompany her to that specific thing again, even when I offer. But if I didn’t ask her to step out of her comfort zone and go alone, she wouldn’t - she needed that push. I used to accompany her to everything - doctors, dentists, tube journeys etc but stopped all that at the end of Y11.

PS good luck with the interviews to all who have them!

@Stringbean70 She sounds really self-sufficient and independent - well done for fostering that. We're definitely not quite there yet. DD does a fair bit independently – tube journeys etc since she was quite young – but likes a bit of handhold in other areas. I suppose I feel she's only with us for a while longer and the fully fledged independence will happen one way or another when she leaves home so I'm happy to be available on request for now! But time will tell whether that was the right approach.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and can switch off from any application angst.

So, one boy has his Oxford interview (Joint schools History with Politics) and we continue the wait for his brother. Poor chap, I wish he could have heard before the weekend...

The problem with missing out on STEP is that you’ve “wasted” a place in the 1st/2nd rankings, esp as at least one other university has a higher A level requirement than Cambridge. (Warwick, looking at you!)

Many congratulations to those who have heard and fingers crossed for those still waiting! It’s agony, esp when friends let alone siblings have had news.

Any Oxf biology applicants? Would be so grateful to hear any info about interviews once they’ve occurred and also whether your YP did an open app or picked a college. From the open day it sounds like college choice not critical bec the Dept considers applicants centrally? Am on a watching brief for our younger DD for next year, thanks in advance for any info.

@BridgeovertheriverTest I share (a little) of your anguish as also have twins applying to Uni, but fortunately not both Oxbridge. It’s tricky enough waiting for offers anyway, but then compounded by hoping they both get decent ones, (or any actually) and that one doesn’t feel “lesser”. It’s slightly easier at least that my two (and your two) are each going for different subjects and courses, but I know they still compare with each other. Good luck to both of yours!

Thank you, @Nuffalready. That inevitable sense of comparison is almost the only bad thing about having twins, isn't it?
Wishing your two the very best over the coming weeks and months as they each work out their path and the offers roll in.

Best of luck to those with upcoming interviews and commiserations to those who haven’t got the nod. I’m lurking this year as we’ll be in this position next year with dd. I have an older ds already at uni but Oxbridge wasn’t on the cards for him so this will be fresh hell for us! On paper, dd should be the “perfect candidate” but we’re very aware that this means nothing in the larger context of Oxbridge admissions!

Oxford interview here for DD. She doesn't have stellar GCSEs, and she gave up one of her A levels at the end of Y12, even though it was in a subject close to the one she's applying for. Not contextual. She's applying to a very niche but very competitive course with an entrance test so the entrance test must have counted for a lot.

Never quite sure what people mean by niche in the Oxford/ Cambridge context. It seems to be a term used quite frequently on MN.

Also curious about 'very niche but very competitive'. All courses are very competitive. Some simply appear to be more competitive on the face of it in terms of numbers applying but scratch the surface and you'll see that there are reasons for the disparity in numbers applying.

Emptynester2 presumably your DD is still taking three A levels though? So giving up a fourth is of incredibly marginal relevance. In fact it won't even feature on her application form - certainly there's no reason for it to. My own DD (the one I mentioned above) did fewer qualifications than others at her school simply because she didn't want to do an additional A level or an EPQ. Oxford simply couldn't care less if an applicant clearly has potential to do well. By the same token an applicant can do a dozen A levels and still not get in (a case in point is the girl who did a crazy number of GCSEs and A levels, was in the papers everywhere but was rejected in the last round).

That was my point. The not brilliant GCSEs and dropping the A level didn't seem to matter. In her case it was a slightly odd situation as the dropped A level was more or less in the subject she was applying for, so it featured quite heavily in her personal statement.

Of course a 10% acceptance rate vs a 40% acceptance rate doesn't equate to "this course is 4 times more competitive" or whatever. At the same time I don't think anyone would argue that all courses are equally competitive.

I use the term niche to mean a course with a small cohort.

I thought Mahnoor Cheema was at Oxford studying medicine. Or was there another student with 20 or so A-Levels?

@Sevillian, I understand what you mean about people describing these niche but very competitive courses. Could somebody give an example (doesn’t have to be what their yp is applying for)?

It’s well known that some courses have a far higher proportion of successful applicants than others. Classics is about 40%, history somewhere near to 30% and maths closer to 10%. Some courses are only available to a minority of students depending what subjects are available at their school - for instance, my DS would not be able to apply for Classics as there is no Latin or Greek offered at his (Welsh medium, state) school.

Are niche subjects more likely to be applied for by those who have been privately educated? I don’t know, just interested.

I would describe most of the joint courses with Philosophy (excluding PPE) as "niche". They admit small numbers per year.

However the application:offer ratio is very different for the different courses. So, for example, for Philosophy and Modern Languages it's about 3:1 whereas for Physics and Philosophy or Maths and Philosophy it's about 10:1.

Ancient history is niche, while history is less so.
It’s not just the acceptance rate that is higher for these courses; it’s also the higher % of UK residents.
So for maths or computer science, it’s as much the higher international student percentage as the lower acceptance rate that makes it so hard to get in.

For sure. We all parent differently and no judgement. We just felt that - with all of our DC - it was advisable/safer for them to build independence and experiment out of their comfort zones in 6th form - while still at home - rather than at uni 3-8 hours away. It is up to parents when to start severing the apron strings (some still haven’t with final year university DC - saddens me that!) but cutting in 6th form worked for us as DC all tried to step up while still under our roof so we could easily pick up the pieces (necessary on 1-2 occasions). X

So DS has got an interview for Engineering at Cambridge. He heard on Thursday. His interview is online - which is a disappointment as I was quite looking forward to a trip up. DS tolerates me accompanying him - open days etc. but I am aware that he doesn't need me there , he is more than capable. I would be worried about him attending Uni next year if he wasn't.