Oxbridge applications 2027 entry

[Justlurkingmostly]

Starting up a new thread for anyone whose YP might be applying this autumn for entry next year!

He's already put his application in.. so advice a little late, but it's within the 14 days so he could take some off. But he has applied to (in his words!) "the only 5 I'd want to go to" anyway!

Imperial said they may offer reduced for excellent TMUA scores for early applicants which I think swayed him a bit (he does LMO and did some summer schools with them so has chatted to them a lot)

@BreakfastClub80 that’s frustrating on the whiteboards, I didn’t ask DS about how many invigilators were at his. Glad she is feeling positive about other options. It’s so hard, and so time consuming doing all the preparation on top of everything else! I guess you’re right that they need to prepare for interviews anyway as it could be quite soon after they hear, it’s a shame they couldn’t do the admissions tests earlier so that they could know sooner if they were being interviewed or not

The invigilator asked dd how many white boards she wanted. Dd said one and was given six! She only used one.

Stupid question. Being a white board, can't rub it all off at the end of each question?

Yes, but that takes time and they may want to come back to tricky questions if time allows.

That makes sense!

I kind of presumed it was a do one question on screen and move on.. I'd not thought about returning to questions. Especially as the one complaint I hear about TMUA and ESAT is there isn't enough time!

I just asked him and he said the whiteboards were laminated sheets of paper, and he asked for more twice! 😂

He said they weren’t easy to wipe and he didn’t want to waste time trying to clean them.

DD managed, came out with bright blue hands 😂

Jumping in - DS has got his ucas application in with Cambridge as first choice. a
He sat Tmua this morning. Was confident before but said he didn't have enough time to check all answers so had to do a quick guess on some.

DD will be sitting the TARA on Friday morning.Are anyone else’s kids doing the TARA?

All the online chat today is about how hard the ESAT was compared to yesterday. DD now feeling a lot better about herself and apparently they moderate the paper? So if the questions pulled on one day are significantly harder (as identified by overall scores being much lower) then the grade boundaries will be adjusted for that paper.

Feels a bit more reassuring but she’s still not hopeful 😂😂

Seems really harsh that it’s not a level playing field everywhere. I get that they adjust for different papers, but what if a different day’s paper would have played to your strengths? I much prefer everyone taking the same paper.

@MissMogs I guess it stops paper leaks and malpractice though so much fairer in that respect?

DS had his first offer this evening from Sheffield! A nice positive after the ESAT stress.

Well done @Eccle80DS. Would you mind sharing if it is the standard offer or different?

DD used a whole pad of laminated paper at the ESAT and had to ask for another one!

Thank you! He had both the standard AstarAA and a contextual offer of AAB if he firms it

@Eccle80 That’s fabulous news! The contextual offer certainly takes the pressure off. Nothing for my daughter yet - she was really hoping to hear from Southampton and Birmingham whilst waiting for Cambridge and Bristol to come through.

@RatherBeOnVacation hopefully something comes through for her soon. DS would really like to get Southampton and Nottingham, I wondered if some might wait until after the early application deadline then deal with all of those at once. The acknowledgment email from Southampton came yesterday so later than most of his, and he’s not had an acknowledgement or the on hold message from Bristol yet.

Good luck to all the DCs doing entrance tests and waiting for results 🤞that’s another layer of stress and challenge to manage!

My DD (applying for history so no entrance tests thank goodness) still hasn’t sent her form in but she assures me it’s all in hand. 🫨

Sorry, but back on the MyCambridge app, my DC has had email from the college confirming they have received UCAS application etc In this email there is a link to info about MyCambridge form and info about it https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how/cambridge-application] but no actual link to the form. Does that come later, does anyone know? In a separate email? Under pressure to get it done as DC is away on trip from tomorrow.

DD's email from her chosen college that she sent me said ' please ensure you have received a SEPARATE confirmation email directing you to complete a My Cambridge Application. Because she's at school I've not seen her inbox - she just sent me a photo of this one - i"ve no idea if she actually has the email.

thanks v much @summernameandthelivingiseasy sounnds like it must come in a separate email. hope it's not a tricky form to fill in as my DC is going to be doing it FAST!
Also, hard to know isnt it if it's worth trying to add stuff in the extra (optional) Personal Statement if your DC is doing a standard course.

I think DS said he had an email from Cambridge that had the MyCambridge info on, and another separate email from the college

Yes - I've not quite got my head round that one yet @Jane077 - trying to help with the Durham one first which genuinely does have to be a different full statement. I think this one might be shorter.

I've suggested she writes something about a specific module or the masterclass she did or something - just to give them one more thing to go on! Hope you get it done in time.

What a stress - and then after this we need a marked bit of harmony, and an essay by November 4 apparently. So she'll only just be back at school

DD submitted MyCambridge with nothing extra as PS was very specifically aimed at this course. college form has to be submitted by Nov 4th.

Acknowledgement from Warwick has arrived, saying they give equal consideration up to Jan 12th so not to worry if offers not received quickly.

In other good news she may have found a 3rd option to apply to, Southampton. She liked it there but the course wasnt best fit. BUT, that course now has new modules that more closely match her interests! It is a different course to Cambridge/Warwick, so may have to contact admissions about a different PS.