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.

Ds’ mates have all gone to their various unis today .
i think he’s in for a long two weeks

Dd's mates have slowly been trickling away to other unis, but luckily a couple friends are doing gap years and are still around. We are just starting to get piles of stuff together in the spare room. Have realised that 8 hangers that I had for her brothers might not be enough for the enormous quantity of clothes she is planning to take....

What is everyone doing re: GP? We had planned to keep her registered with GP at home as she is home more than at Oxford, but can now see that she can move her registration and then have temporary cover at home, so maybe that is best?

DD is going to remain registered with her home GP. We are in London so not that far if she needed to see a GP face to face, and she really likes our doctor and doesn't want to take the risk of not being able to register there again. She also has an ongoing health condition and would prefer to discuss it with someone who really knows the background if it is necessary. And most appointments are online anyway. If she absolutely has to see someone in Oxford for whatever reason, I guess she can be a temporary patient there.

She had an appointment with her doctor recently and discussed it and the GP is in agreement that this all sounds sensible.

I'm not sure what to do about GP. Our GP isn't brilliant so she might be better off with the Cambridge GP. But then she'll be home a lot and I don’t know how easy it is to register as a temporary patient.

re:GPs, seems a really poor system, why can’t they have some sort of student registration in both places and split the funding or something? Annoying. Anyway we’re in London too so have decided to stick with home GP and hope for the best.

Apparently there is another matriculation for DS to attend next month as a post-graduate and another gown to buy. I suppose on cold autumn evenings he can wear both for warmth.

Indeed @Clemenc0 the Masters gown is longer. However, once your DS has it, he can attend any degree ceremony as long as he wears it. At my DD’s PhD graduation, all her housemates were able to go as they were suitably gowned, and they borrowed one for DD2 so she was able to be there.

We live 5 hrs from Oxford and have / had two DC there - one has now graduated and one is still there. We take them at the beginning of the year and collect at the end of the year. There are often work arounds - there are commercial storage options but also many colleges will find somewhere if you explain you live too far away. Also not all accommodation blocks need to be vacated - DC2 was in a college flat for years 2 and 3 and could leave stuff there.

Also how much stuff do students need - I used to travel from Cumbria to Oxford by train with a trunk and a rucksack and take a taxi at the other end. I couldn't believe the stuff people took when DC1 started - full length mirrors!!!

If a parent can't drive then don't worry maybe you can take the train and meet your DC and each take two large suitcases back home ...

Oh for the days of Passengers Luggage in Advance! Such a civilised approach to life in the years before such high levels of family car ownership.

Would it be complely bonkers to use the Cambridge Park & Ride & get on the bus with 2 suitcases each?

Sounds like a plan @RobinEllacotStrike . Plus can't you do unlimited journeys on the P&R?

Sounds very sensible

Actually just remembered that DD’s bike wouldn’t fit in/on the car with all the rest of her stuff. To be fair, she took 2 large musical instruments. DH put the bike in his car, parked in the P&R and rode it to her college. It lived there for 4 years, moved house twice before being upgraded. That bike cost £8 from the recycling centre. Happy days!

I'm planning to take DD's bike by train in a couple of weeks. I don't think she'll need it from day 1.

Make sure you have a really good lock for the bike. DD’s bike had to have the college stamp on it to be able to use their bike shed. I wouldn’t take a decent bike because lots of them are stolen - DD’s decent bike has stayed at home the entire time.

There is the other hazard - pre-occupied undergraduates forgetting where they have left their rides. DS did that in his 3rd year and stated dolefully that it been stolen. It stayed carefully locked in the open air at the main faculty building for a term and a half when he found it just after Finals. It is still in use and will be when he returns to C. next week to commence a doctorate. We bought it second-hand in Norfolk before his first year. As you say, happy days.

thanks for the P&R advice. The Cambridge P&R the parking is free and you pay £4.50 for the return bus.

The bus stop in town is a 5 minute straight walk from DD's college and its a much easier/more manageable walk than from the nearest parking building in town so a good option for us.

I've bought DD a super strong ABUS bike lock - she will need her bike to get to the 2nd campus and gym. I've got a previous version of the the same lock - mine is 20 years old & still going strong.

We’ve had helpful info from college about Oxfords new filter system. It’s really not a car friendly city by all accounts. DS is packing “tomorrow “ & planing a trial car pack to check if it fits!