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Before you applied, did you see yourself as a serious candidate?

I'd love to go to Oxford, although I don't really feel like I have any hope. I was wondering if the candidates who get accepted kind of know before they even get there, or if everyone feels this way. I mean, I love my subject, but I don't have the boundless knowledge that some people seem to have about it (history, by the way).

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yes.

Serious yes, but I didnt think id get in. And im usually an optimist.

Reply 3

calcium878

Do I now (before applying)? No idea...

Reply 4

Jigglypuff

Not really, but that was probably more to do with my misconceptions about the whole thing and about universities in general. I was a lot more confident after a mock interview and an interview at Southampton which both went well. I lost my confidence after a really bad written test the day before my interview though, but felt my interview went well.

Reply 5

coldfish

I thought I was a serious candidate, and after the interviews and a brief chat with the other candidates about the test we'd sat earlier I thought that I'd probably get an offer.

There's no point applying in the same spirit as one buys a lottery ticket, imho. You need to realise that if you have good grades, and like reading your subject and talking about it you have as much chance as anybody else. There's a massive gulf between the "OMG I'll never get an offer in a million years I'm not a genius" crap that lots of people on here seem to adopt and applying with an arrogant certainty that you'll get in, which some other people on here seem to have. That is the ideal you should strive for.

Reply 6

thefish_uk

I thought I could possibly be a serious candidate initially which is why I applied. Then as the process went on I got more confident as it turned out that I could put together a half-decent personal statement, that the school supported me, that the interview went alright and so on.

Reply 7

Kicky

I thought I had a chance or I wouldn't have applied, but I was nowhere near certain of getting an offer. I think if you have the grades then you've got the same chance as every other applicant and it's down to the interview, any other tests, experience, PS etc

Reply 8

epitome

Yes, I saw myself as a serious contender; but didn't think I would get an offer (statistically, if nothing else!).

Reply 9

Lottie

epitome

Yes, I saw myself as a serious contender; but didn't think I would get an offer (statistically, if nothing else!).

I felt exactly the same way.

Reply 10

D-503

Yeah because of my AS marks, but still far from confident about getting an offer.

Reply 11

Epitomessence

Dunno, my ASes were As (but some were low ones), I'm enthustiastic about Maths, but then again, so are thousands...

So I'd say no. Applying for the experience anyway. :smile:

Reply 12

Tom

notes

No. I considered it an offchance - possible, but highly unlikely. I was honestly expecting to be going to a different uni.

This, mind you, was before the interview. Afterwards, I did have a bit more hope that when the envelope came it would be an offer rather than a rejection, because the interview was so much less scary than (and thus felt like it had gone better than) I had expected.

I don't think anyone "knows" (or at least, anyone outside of the kind of schools where their parents have been paying £20k a year to guarantee they'll get in). People who seem very sure of their chances may be confident for a reason (or, indeed, their very confidence and ease with the process may help in securing an offer) but at least in my limited experience equally likely to simply be arrogant gits who despite their self-assurance won't actually get an offer.

If you're considering applying, then of course go for it, even if you don't feel confident - and if you don't think you've got enough "boundless knowledge", well, there's time between now and interviews to do some reading ^^

Reply 13

hunibuni

I have not actually applied yet, I have to say, but I will be applying this year and I just wanted to say I totally agree with Tom

If you're considering applying, then of course go for it, even if you don't feel confident

I am applying because I have reasonably good grades and I love my subjects....I am pretty certain that I won't get an offer for the simple reason that I am certain I will not do well at interview considering the fact that my school is giving me absolutely no preperation at all. On the other hand, I also think, you have this one chance and you may as well take it. If I don't apply I'll always wonder if I could've got in so you may as well go for it and find out. And you never know, you might even surprise yourself! :-)

Reply 14

Kater Murr

I am not especially confident. Not because I won't get preparation from my school; I don't really care for it. But, because:

a) Not so academic A-levels.
b) Average GCSEs (A*A*AAAABBBB).
c) No MFL GCSE.
d) I probably will **** up the interview.

Reply 15

notes

I'm in the position that my AS levels were all right (AAAB, and they were high A's in academic subjects and the B subject wasn't relevant), and I think my PS is good and my reference should be good. It's the interview I'm terrified about. I'm worried I'll be up against people who have been reading tomes of academic research since they came out of primary school. Although I've read books, I can't compete with people like that.

But like everyone has said, it's worth a try! And it's not the end of the world if I get rejected anyway. XD

Reply 16

epitome

To those guys who are saying already that they're going to **** up the interviews...just stop already! You have no idea how it'll be on the day - so just hope for the best. Talking yourselves down already is not going to help you in the slightest. Good luck. :smile:

Reply 17

Catsmeat

BornUnderPunches

Don't be so pessimistic. I'm certain that my 'academic portfolio' is tawdry in comparison to many applicants. It's not just about how many points you score but if you have that special Oxbridge (how can I explain it...) 'oomph'.

When I applied I didn't give it a thought; I just went for it with my head held high and the conviction that I could hold my own and try my best. What more do you need?

Reply 18

digital-observations

I had such up & down feelings towards the whole thing..sometimes I'd be confident and other times I wouldn't, same as sometimes I'd really want to go and others I wanted to put down one of my other choices as my firm on ucas. Now I'm lookng forward to everything though.

You really don't have any idea how you'll do which is why if you're thinking about it then you should just go for it. And don't worry, I definitely don't have any kind of 'boundless' historical knowledge and I got in. My interviews tended to focus much more on how I handled knew information/things I'd never thought about rather than any kind of knowledge test.

Reply 19

Catsmeat

nikkeh

And don't worry, I definitely don't have any kind of 'boundless' historical knowledge and I got in. My interviews tended to focus much more on how I handled knew information/things I'd never thought about rather than any kind of knowledge test.