Rejected from Oxbridge : The Bright Side

So, as many people have been getting Cambridge Offers today, and are free to talk about it on the Cambridge Forum, i thought people with rejections aren't as free, and they need their own space as well.

This thread should be for people who have been rejected straight out, Interviewed then Rejected, or pooled then rejected.

I want to show everyone out there that even though Oxbridge is a very prestigious set of Uni's, us "Self Loathing" Oxbridge Rejects, go to good Uni's as well, and we can do well in life too. :biggrin:

However this thread is mainly to give people an idea of what to do if they have been rejected, and that Oxbridge aren't the greatest Uni's out there and there are plenty of people who are doing well without them.

Well Done to the Oxbridge Offer Holders!!!

Good Luck to those who had the confidence to apply in the first place, because you unlike the rest will always know that you at least applied and tried, and you won't ever have to answer that "What if i had applied to ... ?" Question.

Reply 1

Junaid16

14

I got rejected today, but I ain't gonna kid myself that there's a bright side. :unsure:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

innerhollow

18

My uni is filled with so-called "Oxbridge rejects". Trust me when I say that you will soon stop caring about your rejection from Oxford/Cambridge, especially once you actually start uni. You will be just as happy at whichever uni you do go to- be it UCL, Durham, Imperial or wherever- and do just as well as you would have done.

The "Bright Side" is that it doesn't matter, life goes on. You can have a good time at uni, get top grades, make mum and dad (and yourself) proud, get a kick-ass graduate job; whatever it was that made you want to go to Oxford, Cambridge or any other university in the first place. It's up to you from here on now.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3

FredrickTrott

OP

6

Original post by nohomo

The rest of your post seems fine, but the bit in bold is arguably just incorrect. Oxbridge are generally considered the best unis in Britain, at least.

Subject-wise, Yes you are correct, however taking in all the factors, such as living, workload, social life (Although Cambridge has quite a good one), there are a few Uni's equivalent if not slightly better than Oxbridge.

The Universities of London, are very sought after Uni's they are placed in a great town, Jobs are relatively easy to get, Workload is alot lighter than that of Oxbridge, and if you're applying just for the name brand, then you shouldn't really by applying in the first place.

But thats just one example, in Britain, if you go over to America, Technology Uni's like MIT, Caltech, Stanford dwarf Cambridge in Prestige.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Pah, no one wants to go to Cambridge anyway :p:

On a serious note: rejection from Oxbridge really isn't the end of the world. You go somewhere else, meet great people, have less work and then wonder why on earth you wanted to go in the first place. Tiz all good in the end, even if it doesn't seem like it now :smile:

Reply 5

innerhollow

18

Original post by FredrickTrott

Subject-wise, Yes you are correct, however taking in all the factors, such as living, workload, social life (Although Cambridge has quite a good one), there are a few Uni's equivalent if not slightly better than Oxbridge.

The Universities of London, are very sought after Uni's they are placed in a great town, Jobs are relatively easy to get, Workload is alot lighter than that of Oxbridge, and if you're applying just for the name brand, then you shouldn't really by applying in the first place.

But thats just one example, in Britain, if you go over to America, Technology Uni's like MIT, Caltech, Stanford dwarf Cambridge in Prestige.

A little about my self :

Today i was rejected from Cambridge

I was depressed for 2 Hours

I then realised, why the hell am i depressed i have 4 offers from 4 other great Uni's where people would die to go, and have equal opportunities to that of Cambridge.

I then thought about all the other Cambridge Rejections in my position, and made this thread :smile:

Hmmm...

Reply 6

FredrickTrott

OP

6

Original post by Junaid16

I got rejected today, but I ain't gonna kid myself that there's a bright side. :unsure:

You have 2 offers from great Uni's and probably a third on it's way. Warwick, albeit not of the same calibre as Cambridge for Law, is an excellent Uni. And you should be proud of what you have achieved.

If you were interviewed by Cambridge, then they obviously thought you had something in you that they might like, and you'll always know that Cambridge thought this.

Reply 7

FredrickTrott

OP

6

Original post by innerhollow

Hmmm...

According to some people in their first year at UCL, Imperial has an extremely heavy workload, So Imperial may be an exception to this.

But graduating from the Imperial Engineering Department = OMGFTW!!!!!

Reply 8

dignityinclay

8

Always look on the brighter side of life I guess.

Reply 9

Slowbro93

20

There is a bright side to this story. I was a Cambridge offer holder and missed my offer (so technically a sort of reject, I'm not sure :dontknow:

) But now at Kings, doing really well on my course having a brilliant time and forgotten about going there for maths :yep:

Reply 10

RP-MRU.

8

Original post by Junaid16

I got rejected today, but I ain't gonna kid myself that there's a bright side. :unsure:

Unlucky mate, good luck with the rest of your applications!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 11

Ghost6

7

Let's face it there is no bright side. Sure you can be successful in life regardless of attending Oxbridge, but attending Oxbridge does make this quite a bit easier. At Oxbridge most people surrounding you are truly exceptional and devoted to the study of their subjects, and this is less the case at other places where there will be a lot more 'regular' students that mainly care about partying. Now make sure you get a first to attend Oxbridge or the Ivy League as a graduate student.

Reply 12

Slowbro93

20

Original post by Ghost6

Let's face it there is no bright side. Sure you can be successful in life regardless of attending Oxbridge, but attending Oxbridge does make this quite a bit easier. At Oxbridge most people surrounding you are truly exceptional and devoted to the study of their subjects, and this is less the case at other places where there will be a lot more 'regular' students that mainly care about partying. Now make sure you get a first to attend Oxbridge or the Ivy League as a graduate student.

Although this is true to an extent, there are cases where you get to Oxbridge and don't do that well (I know quite a few people who went to Oxbridge and got 2.2 and even thirds) in terms of job employment it can be easier, but if you have two applicants going for the same job and one has a 1st from a Russell group university and a low 2.2 from Oxbridge, they might take the first person as they would think what was the Oxbridge person doing during their degree.

Reply 13

mariann013

3

My Aunt graduated PPE from Oxford and won a scholarship. She is currently long term unemployed being really clever but lacking basic people skills will not get you far outside academia.
Of course my uncle went to Cambridge and is now a wealthy lawyer so that is more typical but the point holds that a proportion of people bright enough to get in to Oxbridge are not than employable.
Just trying to be comforting, I didn't apply to Oxbridge but feel the pain on TSR!

Reply 14

innerhollow

18

Original post by Ghost6

Let's face it there is no bright side. Sure you can be successful in life regardless of attending Oxbridge, but attending Oxbridge does make this quite a bit easier.

Wow you sound really fun to be around. If you look up actual statistics and facts rather than speaking from personal whims and biases you'll find a truer picture of this statement. Data for graduate employment rates, starting salaries, sectors of work, types of job etc. are all very easily available, I suggest you consult them first. I think you'll find a lot of the preconceptions you have are ill-conceived.

At Oxbridge most people surrounding you are truly exceptional and devoted to the study of their subjects, and this is less the case at other places where there will be a lot more 'regular' students that mainly care about partying.

This really isn't the case. Oxford/Cambridge students are not some weird alien race to be differentiated from "regular students". In the majority of cases they're simply smart, motivated, well-educated students who will still want to party and do crazy **** at uni. Believe me once you get to university a lot of these misconceptions you're having will clear up.

Original post by FredrickTrott

According to some people in their first year at UCL, Imperial has an extremely heavy workload, So Imperial may be an exception to this.

I guess what I should say is that it doesn't really make sense to compare entire universities when there's such massive differences between subjects at the same uni. Even at my uni, with its very narrow range of courses, you notice it. I will accept though that on general, for any given subject, Oxbridge does tend to offer more intense courses.

But graduating from the Imperial Engineering Department = OMGFTW!!!!!

Well, let's not exaggerate =]

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 15

AeroLB

2

In terms of employment, If a company truly values the university that the graduate went too, then they will surely know all about prestigious institutions outside Oxbridge.

Reply 16

Doughnuts!!

15

Original post by Junaid16

I got rejected today, but I ain't gonna kid myself that there's a bright side. :unsure:

Dude, we're probably gonna end up working at the same law firm in future 'cept to get there, you won't have had to practically kill yourself due to lack of sleep and stress.

Original post by Ghost6

Let's face it there is no bright side. Sure you can be successful in life regardless of attending Oxbridge, but attending Oxbridge does make this quite a bit easier. At Oxbridge most people surrounding you are truly exceptional and devoted to the study of their subjects, and this is less the case at other places where there will be a lot more 'regular' students that mainly care about partying. Now make sure you get a first to attend Oxbridge or the Ivy League as a graduate student.

Really? I wouldn't exactly describe myself as exceptional... :erm:

Reply 17

420719

1

Haha thank for the enlightening post, it made me feel a bit better.

Yeah after I got my rejection, I mopped around for like 2 hours, thinking about what my next steps were. I had no uni offers by this point and foolishly applied o high flying UNIs -.- so I thought y UCAS application was poor and was thinking of gap years

But I decided to open my email and here we goo an offer from Warwick / nice

So today was a balance between happy and sad

Reply 18

Junaid16

14

Original post by Doughnuts!!

Dude, we're probably gonna end up working at the same law firm in future 'cept to get there, you won't have had to practically kill yourself due to lack of sleep and stress.

You've probably got a point. I was so pumped for Warwick, but my rejection today just stung and let's be real Warwick ain't got a patch on Cambridge, and is only a force in the UK.

I had also really bought into the college system now i'll just be another annoyance to the lecturers. :rolleyes:

If I hadn't got into Warwick, I'd probably re-apply.

Anyway, enough of my self pity, on a final note just thought i'd say you and cpdavis seem like two great guys. :smile:

btw; for feedback, can i just email the admission office?

Reply 19

innerhollow

18

Original post by Junaid16

You've probably got a point. I was so pumped for Warwick, but my rejection today just stung and let's be real Warwick ain't got a patch on Cambridge, and is only a force in the UK.

I had also really bought into the college system now i'll just be another annoyance to the lecturers. :rolleyes:

If I hadn't got into Warwick, I'd probably re-apply.

Anyway, enough of my self pity, on a final note just thought i'd say you and cpdavis seem like two great guys. :smile:

Try and be happy, Law is an inordinately competitive course and you did well to receive the offers you did. And no, I'm not just saying that. Warwick is a very heavily sought-after uni, there's tons of graduate recruitment there.

It's natural to feel down over a rejection, but try your best to forget about Cambridge. Just remember that soon you'll be off to uni and it will be an exciting and thrilling new period of your life. Work hard at Warwick, get involved, and you'll have a fantastic time =]

btw; for feedback, can i just email the admission office?

Probably, but don't expect much from the feedback. Some interviewers give constructive feedback which can be extremely useful; others will give you some useless platitudes.

(edited 12 years ago)

Rejected from Oxbridge : The Bright Side

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