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 🙏

Hi all! Thanks for starting this thread.

DS has applied for Chemistry at Oxford, so no entrance tests to take.

He already has offers at Birmingham and York, and has been invited to interview at Imperial. I am not sure when Oxford start to interview.

This is a lovely thread, so glad you started it @Justlurkingmostly.Appreciate everyone’s supportive comments and sharing experiences of DC going through this.

DD is applying to Cambridge to do Law, she has done her LNAT, and just submitted her extra info to Cambridge. Now we wait, I think. (and of course she focuses on her A levels!) I think it's a long shot but you never know.

Anyone know when she finds out what score she got in the LNAT? She thinks it's after the final UCAS deadline.

Can I ask how interview invitations work? Will all DC invited to interview receive their invitations on the same date, or if is staggered? If she is invited to interview at more than one college, will they both invite her at the same time?

I think the interview invitations come out in stages and it varies by college and subject. You may get only a week’s notice. If you Google your colllege name and applicant information you may get more of a clue - at least at Cambridge anyway where I have done that some colleges have some good information. They have probably received similar by e mail.

For Cambridge colleges with college assessments, these are only done if you will have an interview, so you find out a bit sooner. Eg for DD her drawing assessment would be on 19th November so she would know probably sometime between 10th and 14th November. Portfolio deadline is 5th November so it’s quite a quick turnaround for her. Lots to do before that date!

Well done to everyone’s DC that has taken their tests and good luck for the ones coming up.

My DD sat the TSA yesterday and found it quite tough. Has your DS done it yet @ComingInByAnsible? She ran out of time towards the end of the multiple choice section so had to rush and guess the last couple. She felt happier with the essay section. It’s so difficult to judge how she might have done. I suppose we just have to wait and see now.

DS is doing his on Monday @MotherofPearl. Sorry to hear your DD found it tough, hope it turns out she’s done well despite that. The past week has been challenging, we’ve all been ill, and DS has been uncharacteristically touchy (he’s normally super laid back and good humoured), he insists he’s not anxious but he clearly is!

Thanks. I suppose it is meant to be challenging, after all. Hope your DS finds it easier on Monday. It certainly is an anxious time for them all.

How did others find the MAT? DS did it on Thursday. He had been doing really well on past papers but ran out of time yesterday and only did half of the last question. Was it a particularly tough paper, or was it just one of those things?

Oxford have this information about interviews on their website. It doesn't say when the initial invitations come out though. It seems to vary by subject and, if I recall from previous years, the applicants don't get a lot of notice.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews/interview-timetable2

Someone was asking yesterday about ESAT dates? I can’t remember who it was, and I also can’t seem to find the question - perhaps it was on another thread I was reading? Anyways, I went the trouble of screenshotting this last night from the ESAT website but MN logged me out and I decided I would post it today. It still has lots of relevance to people on here so going to post it anyways.

My DS also did the MAT on Thursday. He also ran out of time and didn't finish the last question. He is rather nervous about the whole thing. Hey ho.

We have had an offer from a prime candidate for an insurance place, that DS thinks looks very doable. This cheered him up a bit, as he could have friends going there.

Hello, my DC said it was fine but the MCQs took longer to work out so they ran out of time on the longer answer questions.
Not sure how big a part the exam plays as the data released shows that those with 50 may be interviewed and those with 90 may not…
and I speak from experience as second time going through it for us.
Good luck to your DC.

Yeah, indeed, I googled last year MAT stat earlier this week after my daughter Weds MAT test(she was rather frustrated with it). And not every high MAT score got invited for interview though so not too sure what criteria play the part, might be gcse and predicted A level. I am researching for interviews still. Will run through the check list of things to revise this weekend. Have got nothing yet though. I was told that it will be pure academic.

Where was the information that you found from @Greenleave ?

DS seems pretty despondent today about how his MAT went yesterday, despite being reasonably positive when he came out.

On paper he looks like a great candidate - 12 A⭐️ at GCSE and predicted 4A⭐️ at A level, from a state comp, but who knows if he will get an interview! My concern is that we don’t have any up to date tech at home other than his laptop so I don’t know how we would do the interactive whiteboard thing that I’ve read is needed and I need to quietly come up with a plan if not a lot of notice is given for the interviews, just in case it’s needed!

Yes, all three of my DC1’s interviews were just solving math problems.

Your DCs school should provide the equipment. My DCs is, state school like you.

Hi all. My DS sat the MAT yesterday. Predicted 4A* and found it awful. Not thrilled about TMUA either. Just a waiting game now.

Joining! DS is also Oxford PPE like a coupon of previous posters. He had his TSA this morning 🤞

Have other people received their college allocations yet? DD has got St Hugh’s, and initially we thought it looked lovely, but now perhaps wondering if she should have taken a chance on choosing University College rather than an open application. Of course it’s too late now.

Look for the positives. She won’t have been allocated to a college that has been oversubscribed so the competition will be as good as it can be. I am sure there’s lots of good things about St Hughes, find those and focus on that. I don’t know much about Oxford so I can’t comment, but I was pooled to a different college in Cambridge which I would probably never have chosen and had the best time there and still think it has the best bar and the nicest gardens and think that the fact everyone can live on site there for the whole three years is a massive bonus. DD has applied somewhere else but I am secretly imaging she might be pooled to my old college! Lots of people who get in have been pooled (or have done an open application) and most people think the college they go to is the best one.

@Muchtoomuchtodo its here https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/Feedback%202024_0.pdf.

She has not sat TMUA, will be later, Jan next year, I think. I have not looked at the process because trusting that she often research well on her own and the school gives plenty supports if she needs. Apparently, if interviewed, there will be 4 for maths and philosophy for her course. I have not read about the white board. I thought its online, via a laptop.

Thanks, your link’s not working @Greenleave but I’ll have a dig around.

Yes, the Oxford interviews are online but I read a while back that for Maths they need a tablet device with certain software to show their workings out on. I’m off out for the day now but will try to get back to you on this. @Llangewydd57 do you have any more information about it?

Thanks ArchitectureMum. Yes st Hugh’s has fab gardens and you can live in all 4 years (she gets an extra year to learn Latin/Greek).

I didn’t realise that which college you apply for might affect how competitive it is to get in?

It shouldn’t affect how difficult it is to get into the university because there is a lot of reallocation (both before and after interviews) to try to avoid that happening. What it does mean is that she is more likely to get into her first “choice” college as you already know it is less over-subscribed, and she may find that less unsettling than being moved around. About a quarter of people who get an Oxford offer get one from a college they didn’t apply to, and they are nearly always very happy with their college, so it isn’t a good idea to get too attached to a college.