Oxbridge Entrance

[coodles]

I wonder if anyone has any information or hints on applying - the school has given some advice, but I would appreciate any information.

My DS wants to apply to do History, he has 11 A* grades and other good reports. I've heard the chances of getting in are probably low, especially in this climate.

The suggestion to apply has come from his school and he is keen himself, doing extra work.

Find out when the Open days are, and consider going with him for a visit.

Find out which College is most suited to your DS. I do not know wheter there are still Male only or female only Colleges, but if he is willing to apply for a College which hitherto has been female only, he may just stand a better chance of getting in.

As an alternative to Oxford have you considered Durham?

Lots of people who could go to Oxbridge don't apply (they self select). The present climate will not make it any harder to get in.

Does he love his subject? Have his teachers suggested he applies? Or does his school not send people to Oxbridge (if this then contact the admissions and see if he can get a special visit)? Why does he want to go there? Do investigate the colleges (there is only one single sex college left, it is at Cambridge btw).

Thanks for your replies. I think I'm feeling pessimistic about his chances of getting in as I imagine the competition to be fierce, though I take the point about self selection Mummytime.

Yes, he loves history and goes to lectures and other events in his own time! A teacher suggested he apply after he did well in earlier exams, he was initially reluctant to consider it.

Someone else mentioned Durham - I'll try to find out a bit more.

You can request a visit to the History Department at Durham. If your son doesnt mind you going with him, you can have a short break. Have a look at the Durham web site.

Let him visit and look at the syllabus, and if he still wants to apply then go for it :)

My DD had her heart set on Oxford, fell in love after a school visit, so we went back for a department visit with Q&A etc. She then realised that the Oxford course as totally wrong for her, but the Cambridge one was more her thing. She applied (also had 11 A*'s, + 5 A's at AS when applied), was pooled and then accepted by another college.

The process is daunting, and stressful, but worth it. If your DS applies and doesn't get in, at least he won't spend time later wondering "what if...".

There are a lot of other great Uni's out there to use as alternate choices (DD was offerred EE by one, which was covered by her AS grades if she cashed them in!)

Oxford and Cambridge are ove rated.

Did you go to Durham DLIguy by any chance?

How on earth did you guess that?

Probably a stupid thing to ask but you know the application date has passed for this year? Is he doing ASs at the moment?

The chances of getting in are always low, but that doesn't mean there's no point in applying. Def worth going for it if he wants to and he's got such great grades.

Has he had a look around either town?

DS2 has just started at Durham doing history and is v v happy. He applied to Oxford, had interview and absolutely loved the place. Unfortunately he didn't get an offer. He also had 11A at GCSE and was prediced 4 x A for A2s. Did a few weeks of History work experience (musuems work and archive work in two famous London museums), a residential introductory archeology course and read countless history books that he could talk about at interview.

It's a tough place to get into.

Cambridge web site has the stats of the offers per applicant for each subject.

History is about 1 offer for every 4-5 applications, which looks quite good (compared to some subjects, eg architecture) until you realise that nearly all the applications will be of the same calibre as pippop1's DS2 or OP's DS.

It must be very hard for them to decide who gets the offers.

Your DS sounds very bright and motivated. His school have suggested he apply. I think he should go for it IF the course is right for him.

As other have said, there ARE other very good universities. However, he should not be put off applying bacause he thinks Oxbridge is "not for people like me". Someone has to get in and it could well be him!

Am I right in thinking that he goes to a state school? If he was at a private school I think he would not think twice about applying and would assume he had as good a chance as anyone else of getting in.

Remember, most students at Oxbridge came from state schools.

It is often just a matter of confidence. He has as much right as anyone else to go for a place and should do if he has the ability and the course is what he wants.

Good heavens, pippop1 - who do they choose, then?

Kids with 15 A*s who have been the acting curator in seven museums?

And what about those students who don't have a hope in hell of working in a London museum (too far away) but have a great interest in the subject?

Do they just pick applicants out of a hat?

We wondered that too gramercy. I don't know what else he could have done,although he has been at private school since the age of 11 when he got a 50% (academic) scholarship.

He got over the disappoitment very well and, would you believe has met up several times with a crowd of kids that he met at the Oxford interview. Some got in and some didn't but he said they were all interesting people.

No one got into Oxbridge for history from his school (although 19 got into Oxbridge altogether) so I don't know what that says.

He is, however, amazingly happy at Durham and told me that he was enjoying writing his history essay when I last spoke to him so maybe it was just meant to be. It's probably a very good lesson for him as he'd had a pretty straight run of academic success before that.

When it comes down to it, a lot of it is just personal. The tutors pick the people they think they will be able to have good, interesting and enjoyable debates with, and youu can't measure that on the CV etc.

What I would recommend, OP, is that your DS picks a couple of colleges that he likes, and goes to their open days. I went to two different colleges, and knew I would never hit it off with the tutor at college A (she was interested in my least favourite area of the subject and I found her quite distant), but really liked the tutors at college B. They're unlikely to remember you when you go back for interview, but at least you've seen them before, and you've got a feel for what they are like.

Thank you everybody for your helpful replies. You are a mine of information.

My DS is currently in lower 6th and is at a private school. He had previously been at a state school, but we moved him after problems with bullying and other issues were not resolved.

He is quiet and rather shy and does not like to put himself forward, as I said, the suggestion to apply came from a teacher.

We will go to the open days and be guided by his teachers and I will also find out more about Durham as hearing good things about it.

Durham is fantastic - it was DS's first choice, but unfortunately got A*AB rather than AAA, so missed his place. He's now happily settled into his insurance, so things do work out.
Visit everywhere you think may be of interest - DS wasted one of his UCAS choices by putting in somewhere everyone said was great, that he just didn't like after he'd been.
Good luck!

Coodles - there are loooads of good universities out there, and it sounds like you both have a good perspective on the fact that Oxbridge is far from being the be all and end all. Have a chat to him about some practical things - would he rather live in town or on a campus? Close to home or anywhere in the country? etc. If you haven't got it yet then the Times University Guide is excellent.

There is a LOT A LOT of work at Oxford and Cambridge. Far more IMO than at most other universities , and it can be very stressful, so that's something to think about. On the other hand the places are beautiful, and historic of course (which he will like I suppose :)), you are being taught by the people who write the books on the reading list very often, and there are loads of extra-curricular opportunities if you have the time for them. They are full of quiet shy boys so he will be in his element.

If you are picking colleges then it's amazing how different they can be. All the colleges are mixed now IIRC bar St Hilda's at Oxford, but some are far more academically focussed (read - don't organise any fun for the students that could tempt them from the library), others more sporty, others have more a public schoolboy reputation etc.

I don't know where you're based, but why not go to both the towns for a day next term, half term or something? Just to look round, get a feel for the places etc. IME being happy with the place is very important to being a happy student.

Yeah I second aj's advice to visit everywhere if possible. Better still, send him on his own to an open day, or with friends to have a look.

When one of my children was identified as having Oxbridge potential we looked at this site for providing some preparation.

When we were trying to decide on colleges for DS2 we looked at the ones that guaranteed three years of accommodation. It works out to be cheaper as they only pay rent while they are there. If you have to move to a normal rental place for a year or two they need rent for 52 weeks per year, even though the term length is around 24 weeks per year.

It was a good a way as any to choose a college (that he didn't get an offer at).

St Hilda's is now mixed, I think only Newnham Cambridge is still single sex. (My 7 year old wants to go there, as boys are yuck!)

A lot of it's about the interview. So it will largely be a personal thing. I'd say the best thing to do is speak to people who go or who have gone there about what the interview's like.

SOMEONE has to get in, you may as well give your DS a chance to be one of them.

In terms of colleges, not sure about the Oxford process but at Cambridge St.Johns and Trinity are REALLY oversubscribed, and Homerton/Fitzwilliam less so. However the colleges do pool people so theoratically the college one applies to shouldn't make a difference to success.

Visit, do an open day, see what he thinks. He sounds academically gifted so no reason why not.

Cambridge actually has three single-sex colleges (all women) - Newnham, Murray Edwards (until recently called New Hall) and Lucy Cavendish (only for mature women students). So some choice for your little girl mummytime! though whether any of them will still be all-women in 10 years' time I'm not sure.

coodles - I am a lecturer and have interviewed at both Oxford and Cambridge (not for history, but in a fairly similar humanities subject). Your son sounds like a good candidate. He should focus on developing his interests in history beyond and outside the school curriculum as this is the kind of enthusiasm that interviewers will be looking for. Don't worry too much about general extracurricular activities, or things like work experience (even historical-based ones) - generally speaking they matter less than schools and parents tend to assume.