The Oxford rejection - Is this really it?

So, this PPE applicant was kicked off the Oxford bandwagon after the interview. And of course it stings, but there's something I'm curious about. Is it possible that after any offers are rejected by students (in which case I'd ask them a huge, "WHY??") or withdrawn, the spaces that were to be filled by these applicants would be replaced by others who were originally rejected?

Some people do reject Oxford offers (for a variety of reaons) but in order to fill these places up they make 'Open Offers' which aren't college specific and the person holding the offer is guaranteed a place but once they meet their conditions they will be fitted in at which ever college has empty spaces after results day.

Unfortunately, a rejection is a rejection 9I feel you, I just got rejected too).

Unfortunately, no... I know, it's sad... But Oxford issues what they call "open offers", meaning they give out more places than what they have, since they know not all candidates will attain their predicted grades, and some will even reject the offer (fools!!). That's when those who were given the open offers come in: since they weren't selected by a college, they'll fill out the places that are left.
Anyhow, tell your friend to ask for feedback so that he knows what he can do better if he wants to take a gap year and reapply next year.

You got rejected?? I was looking at your participation in this forum and was certain you'd get in somehow!

Difficult to say, I'd say the chances of you now getting a place (especially if you haven't been interviewed) is next to none. Personally though, being able to write legibly is important, and being given 25% extra time because no-one can read your handwriting isn't something that'd happen at Oxford (well, I really doubt it would) so I doubt they'll take note about it on the PAT.

Actually if it's a known problem, they might be able to get special arrangements. Probably not extra time, but they might be allowed to use a word processor, because illegible exam scripts can cause a lot of bother for markers, colleges and the students themselves.
Basically what happens at Oxford if someone writes very badly in exams is that the scripts get returned as illegible by the markers and sent to the student's college. The college then has to arrange for an amanuensis and an invigilator at very short notice and then the poor student has to look at all of his exam scripts again and dictate them, so they can be typed up and passed back to the tutor who returned them to mark. It's a process which is expensive for the student, and it's also quite time-consuming. If the student can still read his own handwriting (which isn't necessarily the case) and is reasonably good at dictating and not completely crippled by nervousness, you can transcribe a script per 30 minutes, but often it takes longer than that, and there's quite a lot of time pressure because the scripts need to be marked, so you've only got a window of a few days in which to get everything sorted out. Nobody really wants all this, although obviously it's an arrangement which benefits the students, because they don't just get a fail when they write illegibly.

Oops, sorry, I think I waffled a bit there... The short version is: it's better if you can write legibly in exams, but if you can't, it won't be the end of the world.

I disagree. On my friend's offer letter there was a confirmation slip and it said: "Please indicate whether you are going to take up your place as we may be able to offer it to other applicants if you choose not to. But in most cases, a rejection is a rejection.

There is an official complaints process