Oxbridge applicants 2026 - thread 2

[ArchitectureMum]

Someone has to be the OP and I have no fate to tempt now in this journey.

Congratulations to all the Oxford offer holders. Some lovely stories yesterday afternoon.

Comiserations to those who had different news yesterday. I hope your DC are doing ok and beginning to look positively towards their other options.

Good luck to everyone waiting for news from Cambridge on 28th January.

And hello to all the Oxbridge observers - alumni, parents of past and future applicants. It is always a thread of highs and lows and it was a privilege to be a small part of it for this cycle.

Good luck to all today. This was us last year and I remember being sick with nerves (though trying not to show it to DC!) He made his Cambridge offer in the end and had a great first year there - best of luck to your young people.

Dd is in!! Cambridge Natural Sciences. The day suddenly takes a whole different spin!

Good luck to everyone today.

Phew! DS met offer for maths at Oxford. So, so pleased for him.
Good luck to everyone else for your young people. 🍀

So officially off to Oxford 😮. She is soooo happy.

We got a no, DS is devastated, we don’t know grades yet so don’t know what happened

We got Cambridge too, although her friend didn’t get it so a mixed day 😖

DS is in to Oxford for maths. Very happy day.

She needed AAA and she got AAA. What a relief! So happy for DD.

Blimey what a huge relief, DS in for maths at Oxford
He’s over the moon!
Massive congratulations to those who’ve received positive news. Huge commiserations to those that haven’t - my heart goes out to those who’ve been through this Oxbridge rollercoaster only to miss at the last hurdle. Hopefully great insurance offers will soften the blow.

DD is short of her offer by a grade. Waiting to see if the college will accept or reject. So nerve-wracking.

I think it is incredibly harsh of Oxbridge rejecting people because of one missed grade. The poor applicant has already had to get through an incredibly competitive interview process including university examination so Oxbridge know they the student is suitable and would thrive academically. The student application would have been supported through stellar support letters from teachers as well.

it may be that the student in question had an off day for a multitude of reasons when taking an A level but extenuating circumstances can't be used in mitigation.

How many of these unfortunate going people have really considered their insurance offers as well and are the insurance offers suitable for someone who let's face it at this stage deserve an Oxbridge education.

Dd is in for English and Modern Languages! She was crying with delight. Just off to school to pick up her certificates. All her friends happy so far too... a great day.

DD got her place for Management and Economics at Oxford. So proud, her friend has achieved her place too.

I'll be thinking of ones who have missed out, it won't define them but will be so hard.

Some prefer not to pool. I think I have known of late opt ins, but probably not this late

I am so sorry.

Has she seen her marks? Are there any surprises?

Phew! Both DTwins have their Oxford places confirmed. Huge congratulations to all who made it and commiserations to those who didn’t quite. It’s a brutal process.

DD missed the Cambridge maths offer, the STEP paper was hard she didn’t get the grades. She still did amazing with 4 x A* and going to Imperial University, but it is taking a few hours to sink in (she had her heart set on Cambridge).

DD got 4 x A*s - I'm so pleased for her and proud of her

Congratulations to all after a summer of waiting and taking the next steps. Good luck to all wherever they are going.

These messages take me back 4 years when we set off for DS' school in an uncertain mood. He had seen his STEP results late the preceding night and was upset to see he'd missed his grade on the easier paper and exceeded it on the harder. Frantically refreshing the UCAS page on his phone in the back of the car finally revealed he'd got in to C. He only believed it when he called the College admission office for confirmation. It does, as comment above, put a different spin on the day.

Anyway, he has enjoyed it so much he has elected to return there for another 3-4 years as a post-graduate.

gosh that is harsh - 4 x A* and not getting a Cambridge offer!

Imperial is fantastic and I'm sure she will do brilliantly there.

Huge congratulations to those whose DCs have been successful, and massive commiserations to those who have not been successful - especially those who have 4A stars and missed STEP. I really think it is an utterly brutal process for Cambridge maths.

As the parent of a recent Cambridge grad, enjoy it - it goes SO fast (DS was there for 4 years too!) so definitely take up the chance to go to formal halls and evensong and bumps if you are invited!!

And sending huge un Mumsnetty hugs to those who didn't get the grades...they will excel wherever they go and their new places of study will be lucky to have them.

We are not talking of the August reconsideration pool here-the widening participation one. We are talking of the missing your offer narrowly one. Eventually the 2 pools may merge but it’s a different process and I know of many kids that got accepted a day after they missed their offer (but also many that did not). It depends on whether they made the minimum Cambridge offer and the available spaces.

3A* here, he’s off to Oxford!

It's a day of huge emotions! This is the first year for a decade that I haven't been involved as a HoD (I've just retired), and that was exhausting, having to switch between happy congratulations and measured advice about second-choices or clearing. It's a completely brutal process. Good luck to everyone on the next chapter!

Congratulations to everyone here, and good luck to those still waiting for decisions! Leaving the group now, it has been fun.