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do people who reapply actually get offers?

afua12

if you're not good enough (that sounds a little harsh, but you know what I mean) the first time, why should there be any significant difference the second time? Unless you take the year out to do something related, and get some sort of amazing internship, it seems a little strange.

You seem to be forgetting though that there are far more students that deserve places than there are places available. I'm sure there are loads of people that 'deserved' to go to Oxbridge but didn't get in...possibly vice versa too. Reapplying (as long as you have spent your time in between wisely) might just show that you have that extra bit of dedication to your course, I don't know. I've met a few people that got in the second time.

Reply 21

willenium

10

i am reapplying next year, i got rejected from oxford for english this year. i was seriously reconsidering not reapplying but then i got my feedback which said that my written work was 'outstanding' and my interviews were 'strong' and that i got put on a list of 'probable yes' candidates, but missed out by one person. what let me down was the fact that the year of my as levels i had glandular fever just before my exams so came out with ABBE grades. the fact that i got an interview was ridiculous, i thought.
it would be a shame not to reapply if i only missed out on an offer by one person, but obviously i realise that i'm not guaranteed to get in next time. i just think that after the experience of my first interviews i am much more focused on english literature, and would be much more comfortable in an interview situation.

plus, i got rejected from pretty much everywhere so i was going to reapply anyway.

Reply 22

Aconite

17

house sparrows

i just think that after the experience of my first interviews i am much more focused on english literature, and would be much more comfortable in an interview situation.

plus, i got rejected from pretty much everywhere so i was going to reapply anyway.

Haha, snap. This was almost exactly my experience. I even applied for English too. Out of interest, do you mind saying which college you originally applied to?

You'll be surprised at how much difference a year makes. Having been through the pretty gruelling interviews once, and with the extra year of reading and maturing intellectually, I honestly think you'll be in a much stronger position.

I know I certainly was - I felt the interviews went MUCH better this year - and I got a place. :smile:

Reply 23

willenium

10

i applied for jesus. my first interview was a bit shambolic i thought but the second one i was really pleased with. my main slip up on the first one was not knowing my a level texts very well. never mind!

Reply 24

Aconite

17

My first interview consisted of me being confronted with a terrifying Irishman (Tom Paulin...I still quake in fear when I see him on TV) stabbing his finger at a Hardy poem and roaring about the word "stilly". I shrank back into the chair in fear and barely managed to keep the shiver out of my voice. I have a feeling that interview let me down a little bit.

Reply 25

RocketTown

i have a question for the people who reapplied and got in... did you pick the same college on the second time round? I'm not sure if it would be an advantage or a disadvantage and would like your input. I'm not even sure i'm going to reapply, and chances are i wont, but due to getting pretty great feedback i feel that if i don't give it one more shot it might haunt me. I dunno, i'm pretty confused.

anyway yeah, did you pick the same colleges? If so did the interviewers remember you and see where you'd improved from the year before?

thanks :smile:

Reply 26

Aconite

17

RocketTown

anyway yeah, did you pick the same colleges? If so did the interviewers remember you and see where you'd improved from the year before?

NO NO NO NO NO.

No.

I picked a college which was about as different as you could get. Why apply to a place which already has your card marked? Go somewhere which has no preconceptions of you.

Reply 27

RocketTown

thanks for the reply. the only reason i asked is because is the director of studies at the college i applied to was really really great. Great person, great interests etc. And i felt completely comfortable interviewing with him, and this is something i thought was quite lucky (as friends who interviewed at different colleges had really bad interviews)

I agree with you though, why go somewhere where they are already expecting something before they meet you, i guess it can only be harmful.

Reply 28

Rubberband

Aconite

You'll be surprised at how much difference a year makes. Having been through the pretty gruelling interviews once, and with the extra year of reading and maturing intellectually, I honestly think you'll be in a much stronger position.

I know I certainly was - I felt the interviews went MUCH better this year - and I got a place. :smile:

I'm considering reapplying for English if I don't get a place this time, for the reasons you mention - okay I know it's totally premature because I haven't even applied the first time yet, but just out of curiousity, what did you do in your year off?

Reply 29

Aconite

17

Rubberband

I'm considering reapplying for English if I don't get a place this time, for the reasons you mention - okay I know it's totally premature because I haven't even applied the first time yet, but just out of curiousity, what did you do in your year off?

I went to study English at Yale. I worked a lot, I read a lot. I'm going travelling in a couple of months. :smile:

Reply 30

kevinchong1

since i'm reapplying later this year, it's certainly encouraging to hear a few personal anecdotes. i screwed my cam econs interview the first time round cos i didn't revise after a few years away from school, so probably i can revise and work at that for a better second shot.

Reply 31

soph!e

Slightly different scenario- if you got an offer first time round but failed to get the grades for some reason would this be taken into account??? If you were to do resits to get up to AAA would this affect a reapp one way or the other do you think????

Reply 32

Erradhadh

Aconite

I went to study English at Yale. I worked a lot, I read a lot. I'm going travelling in a couple of months. :smile:

That's basically what I'm doing with my gap year. Except not Yale, but another good university, plus a killer internship, and just general extra knowledge gained from existing on this Earth a bit longer, oh, yeah, and all those extra APs.

I hope it works for me, too.

Reply 33

allymcb2

8

afua12

Just out of curiousity. They have been quite a few threads talking about taking a gap year and then reapplying, or applying to the other one (cambridge to oxford, oxford to cambridge), or just a different college.

Just wondering if this works? It doesn't really make sense, as if you're not good enough (that sounds a little harsh, but you know what I mean) the first time, why should there be any significant difference the second time? Unless you take the year out to do something related, and get some sort of amazing internship, it seems a little strange.

For some other less competitive unis, maybe it could work, but for oxford and cambridge, I've heard the selection is so precise, surely it would be unlikely they would miss something that significant first time over?

It works, I did it. They can only judge you based on your application and your interview. If you don't do yourself justice in your interview/overall application, then they won't know what you are capable of.

Also, there is an element of luck in the process. You are being interviewed by a human being and some people will do better in certan interview styles than others. It isn't all that precise, especially for arts subjects. Plus, if for instance you didn't do that well at GCSE, you have put more good academic results between yourself and GCSE than if you hadn't taken your full A-levels. The fact that some people miss the grades show they don't always get it right first time around.

Reply 34

Bethrice

6

My teachers want me to reapply next year ( I was pooled and rejected this year) and my other offers are from Bath and UEA (for Natural Sciences). My first choice is UEA because I like the range of options they offer and I can do a four year course for a masters.

Am I stupid not risking reapplying? I know UEA is nowhere near the standard of Cambridge, but I do really like it. Im not guaranteed to get in next year if I reapply and I havent really got anything to do for a year.

Any suggestions? My feedback from first college was ok, but I am generally pretty ***** at interviews.

Reply 35

allymcb2

8

Bethrice

My teachers want me to reapply next year ( I was pooled and rejected this year) and my other offers are from Bath and UEA (for Natural Sciences). My first choice is UEA because I like the range of options they offer and I can do a four year course for a masters.

Am I stupid not risking reapplying? I know UEA is nowhere near the standard of Cambridge, but I do really like it. Im not guaranteed to get in next year if I reapply and I havent really got anything to do for a year.

Any suggestions? My feedback from first college was ok, but I am generally pretty ***** at interviews.

I would go for it again. Travel, get work experience, save up some cash to give yourself an easier ride through uni. Maybe next time put some closer second choices Imperial etc now you know what you are made of.

The one thing I would say is make sure you do something academic to keep yourself in the right frame of mind and stop yourself forgetting evrtthing.

Reply 36

thomasjtl

9

It's your decision ultimately, so don't feel you have to do what your school says, one way or another, but at the same time they're more experienced than you are in the ways of the world, so don't dismiss them entirely. UEA is a step down from Cambridge; if it were Imperial or warwick or bath you were wanting to go to instead, i'd say take their offer and ignore your school, so do think about what it is you want to do afterwards- if you're interested in a big high-flying career in business or finance, or a PhD, you're probably not doing yourself any favours by going to UEA, however, you just want to spend a few years studying what you enjoy and then get a 'normal' graduate job, then by all means go to UEA, especially if you like it so much.

Reply 37

ravenous_soup_dragon

9

It happens. In fact, I don't personally know of anyone who didn't get in after reapplying and I know quite a few. I applied for English at Pembroke initially, and tbh I was rubbish in my interview and deserved to get rejected. I reapplied for Law (which is what I wanted to do in the first place, but I didn't think I would be good enough :rolleyes:

) at St. Anne's and got in.

Incidentally, it has been argued that reapplicants have a slightly better chance than first time applicants because they know the process and perhaps will be less intimidated by it all. They also have the advantages of being a year older than everyone else and their qualifications already in the bag, which colleges love because it helps with planning.

My tutor also told me that (unless you reapply to the same college for the same subject, obviously) the interviewers have no idea if you have applied to Oxford before, or if you just chose not to do UCAS the year before or whatever. Nobody thinks badly of people they suspect to be reapplicants. There's no shame in it and it sometimes shows determination not to fall at the first hurdle if you think Oxbridge is really for you. :smile:

Reply 38

Dictionary

you just have to remember that getting into oxbridge is a bit of a lottery - depends what nasty questions the college you applied to ask - i know people who applied the same year as me for the same subject, but got asked nasty questions.
that happened to me the first time i applied and i panicked and made a fool of myself, but the second time they made more sense, and i got in!

Reply 39

username115564

16

Aconite

My first interview consisted of me being confronted with a terrifying Irishman (Tom Paulin...I still quake in fear when I see him on TV) stabbing his finger at a Hardy poem and roaring about the word "stilly". I shrank back into the chair in fear and barely managed to keep the shiver out of my voice. I have a feeling that interview let me down a little bit.

I had a similar experience, though the terrifying interviewer was an Australian rather than an Irishman, who, according to Wikipedia, 'is satirized as "Mr Kurtz" in James Delingpole's novel Thinly Disguised Autobiography'.

I'm reapplying. They're not all like that are they?

do people who reapply actually get offers?

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