UCAS rejections

[iwastooearlytobeayummymummy]

DD2 is 18 and is predicted to get A and 2 further As in her A levels this summer.She's at a top rated state girls grammar school and got all As and A in her GSCES
She has run the debating club,organised a prom, edited school magazine and had serious work experience on a national tabloid.School gave her a glowing reference on her UCAS form and her personal statement was good enough to get her called for an interview at Oxford
She wants to do an English degree so how come she has been 'rejected ' by 4 of her 5 university choices?At least Oxford interviewed her and whilst disappointed could make sense of the 'well it wasn't for me if they felt i wasn't for them" argument.The offer she has got is from her least favoured choice and she doesn't want to go to there.
She is now making active plans to go to Spain in the autumn and to really learn Spanish but is seriously pissed off that through no fault of her own she has to wait and reapply again this Autumn, with a now genuine concern that she may be inthe same boat this time next year.
Of course going to uni is not the be all and end all, but she has always wanted to go and has always worked hard.
Any other parents out there with similar stories?

Careful with relying on changing courses once there. Friends son got in on history and archaelogy then tried to go on to second year just history and there was no room.

Also, joint honours degrees are often more competitive as only a few places. However, when it comes to MFL this may not apply.

Also she must have done well in the pre-admission test to get an interview at Oxford, even though she was ultimately rejected.

As I said earlier, I know several DCs of friends (my older DCs are at/finished university)over the years, who have had only one or two offers first time round (or none at all!!!) and then are successful with their first choice(more often than not, Oxbridge) second time round, especially in competitive subjects such as English or Medicine).

Unfortunately, everyone applying to the top universities these days has all top grades (at GCSE and A levels)and it must be extremely difficult to differentiate between them. Am very sorry for your daughter though, it must be very disheartening, but it really is not that unusual.

Thanks Senua for drawing my attention to Extra, DD was of the impression it was only for those who have rec'd no offers but she could decline her 5th choice and see what's available for 2010 enrty elsewhere.
Sorry all, I am a bit loathe to say where she applied,as she'd be very ticked off if she knew I was dicussing her, but Southhampton is her only offer and now she doesn't like the look of the course.

Thinking outside the box, has she thought of studying in America or Ireland?

Am very sorry for your dd's disappointment.

Can I ask...does she know what she wants to do as a career? what is her passion?

Encourage her onto a gap year, and take the pressure off her. Her talents and intelligence are obviously great and she shouldn't feel that University is the only great proof of that. Or that waiting a year is a waste of her time. This enforced year could be the making of her. There is so much for a bright intelligent 18 yr old to do. If it's journalism has she applied for an internship at the BBC?

(Appreciate all this will fall on deaf ears while she's still smarting)

Thanks for the words of advice, everyone.I will remind her to use the year to read more for fun and to hone her writing skills, as she has ambitions to be a writer.
DD1 researched at length US unis 2 years ago and without recourse to mammoth amounts of money or alternatively sporting talent, especially soccer for lasses, this is a non starter.

At present we are researching Spanish unis offering intensive Spanish courses so any suggestions gratefully rec'd.

I will enourage her to have another stab at Oxbridge as she did well in their pre-test and also, ironically enjoyed the interview.
I just hope she can repackage her self confidence

BTW her school has been worse than useless so far.I may have to over rule her and get in to see the head of 6th form.

Finally thanks for the UCAS Extra link I will make sure she follows it up.

Be aware that university tuition fees may rise next year. And also be careful about which Oxford college she reapplies to. One or two won't reconsider reapplicants.

By the way one A and 2 As of 3 A levels isn't especially competitive for Oxbridge. My son is predicted 3 A and 2 As at A level and he didn't apply to Oxbridge.

Universities are fined for exceeding quotas so they are probably being especially careful about student offers this year, as they are on extremely tight budgets as it is.

Also be aware that the best courses are likely to raise their standard offers to something include the A grade next year (Cambridge, UCL and Imperial have done this already this year). For the most competitive courses, the standard offer might easily include more than one A.

I wouldn't like to be a reapplicant next year to be honest.

I recently went to a talk by the Vice-Chancellor of a very good British university. He thought it most unlikely that tuition fees would rise for several years - he said that a rise in tuition fees is too much of a political hot potato at present.

Whilst they probably won't rise in 2011, I strongly suspect they will go up to £5000 the year after that Anna - that's what most VCs beleive, whether they admit it or not.

Swedey the fact that the OP's daughter will have her results will count for a lot - an achieved AAA is better than a predicted one. Your son's predicted results are unusually high as most schools only allow students to do 3 A2's rather than 4 or even 5. Oxford have stated that they will not ask for A in their offers for 2011 entry. Also I think it will be "easier" to achieve an A in a maths/science subject than an essay type subject so someone applying for English would probably be expected to get less A at A level than say a mathematician.

"she did well [Oxford's] pre-test and also, ironically enjoyed the interview"

What does 'enjoyed' mean? This may be more urban myth but I think that if someone has an awful interview it is because they have had a grilling because the interviewer thought that they were interesting enough to grill. If they have a nice interview it means that the interviewer has lost interest and is just going through the motions.
How sharp is her debating technique, can she fight her corner? Could she hold her own in a tutorial?

Webwiz - My sons' school only gave A* predictions to people who received 90% or higher in that subject at AS, they made no exceptions. They were much less meaner and less flexible than the local state schools. This has resulted in some anomalies at son's school, as some students have dropped from 5 or 6 subjects at AS, down to 4 or sometimes 3 subjects for A2. I would think therefore their more concentrated efforts will be more impressive.

There are so many other things apart from A levels to distinguish a candidate. For example in Medicine, if you screw-up your BMAT it's unheard of to get into Oxbridge, UCL. No matter how many A*s you might get at A2.

I just looked on the Times Universities League table and Southampton comes out v favourably. Twelth in the country across all subjects and particularly good at modern languages.

OP - it's a shame she chose a course that she doesn't really fancy now as she looks like she has been offered a place at a v good university.

I think you have misunderstood me Swedey - I was saying your son is exceptional to be on course for 5A2's at A and A* and that the OP's daughter still has a chance for Oxford with only 3 as this is what a lot of kids have to offer. No one at my DDs school is taking more than 4 ASs/3 A2 and they still get kids into Oxbridge every year.

Did she just apply for pure english single-honours at each university?

She may be more likely to get in somewhere to do English and something else.. i'm a big fan of joint honours as it gives you twice the number of modules to choose from and you can really tailor your degree to your interests.. it also broadens the horizons a little.

At my university my friends doing english often combined it with philosophy or social anthropology or some form of history.

[p.s. if any of her choices were in scotland she'd probably have to do three subjects in her first year anyway]

Senua, DS1s school also goes by your 'urban myth'. Alotof kids coming out of really tough interviews very upset and get offers. The myth goes that the interviewers go easy on those they feel might crumble intellectually under the pressure. Oxford aside, 3 rejections for a good candidate is odd and her school should be looking at this. However, it is not unheard of.

I did a similar sort of application to your DD, and back then (few years ago) the Southampton course looked really good. Are you sure she's not just thinking she doesn't want to go there because she's got no choice, IYSWIM? Did she apply based only on league table position? Some places, like Sussex for example, used to be lower on the league table but offer a lot in terms of course quality, reputation and student societies/politics etc.

Friends I knew who got few offers were usually applying in a competitive subject, and also had some fundamental flaws in their personal statements. Presumably you've read your DDs - what did you think? It should be about her interest in English, predominantly. Is there someone (perhaps a friend of yours with some experience of reading e.g. CVs) who would look at it and give some honest feedback?

Oh, and tell her to please not feel bad about not getting into Oxbridge - she'll likely have far more fun elsewhere [controversial emoticon]

DD2 didn't apply for Oxbridge but she didn't get into any of the universities she applied for the first time round, She was getting audutions but not getting anyfurther, Anyway she took dance classes and got more involved with theatre suff during her Gap year. She is now at university doing an Acting for stage and media degree. She started in September and was actually more ready to go then if she had gone at 18.

I work at a good independent school which gets many students into Oxbridge and there are still very many superb students who don't even get an interview. Same for medical school. It really is very hard and getting harder. Oxbridge isn't everything though! I am sure your daughter has done all her research/open days etc and the Sunday Times site is hugely useful. Also get her to go to the university site itself and then she can talk to the students themselves on message boards. btw, my DS1 (lazy sod) was lucky enough to get 5 offers from good uni's (not Oxbridge!) but didn't do any work so didn't get the necessary grades as was rejected. Biggest shock of his life. He turned it round on clearing and talked his way into a place at a Uni he hadn't orginally applied to and he LOVES it. He also got an offer through clearing on the same course he had applied for at one of the offers he hadn't accepted iykwim. Clearing can work out it she is prepared to spend a couple of days on the phone. Have mixed feelinigs about EXTRA, students I know who went for that found it more limiting than if they had just gone through clearing -which you are ruled out of.

My daughter was rejected (after interview) this year by Oxford and I did look into it about whether because the UCAS forms are entered early ( a giveaway) if this affected their chances at other universities. She got an offer from York (although she doesn't want to go there and if she doesn't hear from the 2 that she does want to go to, she too is talking about a gap year urgh a worry for Mums, but understandable!) within days of submitting her forms in Oct.

No I don't think it does at all, my eldest daughter is at St Andrews uni and half the students there have been rejected from Oxbridge. This also applies to Durham, UCL and Warwick ( where my daughter wants to go)

As far as I understand it, the personal statement and references are critical.

There are many people that get into Oxbridge after being rejected the first time round, so always a possibility, but you should make sure she doesn't set her hopes ion it as it is a lottery. It is not a reflection of their abilities, there are just not enough places for every able student.

She will be able to find a uni with the qualifications she has, it is not essential to go to the very top universities, but she will be able to find one I am ure that will accept her with those grades within the top 20 I imagine!