Oxford Parents Association

Original post by Muttley79

A majority is technically 51% so yes, that may be about right.

You think that about 49% of parents tell their children which unis they're allowed to attend? I don't personally think it's anywhere near that high.

Reply 62

Original post by harrysbar

I certainly wish my own parents had taken more of an interest in my university applications. My mum didn't know anything much about it and my dad was too busy with his career so basically I just muddled through the whole process alone. And subsequently made some daft mistakes that people with more involved parents would probably not have made.

At least you can show these daft mistakes to your kids, I also made a lot of those to be honest. However, it's worked out for both of us! I don't regret the path I've ended up having because the experiences led me to where I am and ultimately I learnt a lot.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 63

Original post by harrysbar

You think that about 49% of parents tell their children which unis they're allowed to attend? I don't personally think it's anywhere near that high.

We are straying off topic so I won't say much. I was making the point about what 'majority' means - I do think there is a lot of uninformed pressure to aim for RG [when some degrees are better elsewhere] or certain degrees [law, medicine, STEM]. I've dealt with a number of difficult situations over the years in all the three schools I've taught in.

Reply 64

Original post by Themysticalegg

At least you can past off these daft mistakes to your kids, I also made a lot of those to be honest. However, it's worked out for both of us! I don't regret the path I've ended up having because the experiences led me to where I am and ultimately I learnt a lot.

Yes we got through it mystical egg, and now we're trying to help other people on TSR to be a bit more informed than we were :smile:

And so is our lovely @Oxford Mum, to bring the thread back on topic.

Reply 65

Oxford Mum

OP

I was also not given any help with my uni application, as my parents left school when they were 16. I could have done with a careers teacher at my school but there was none, so I’m afraid I looked at the times league tables and went for Manchester. Big mistake. I should have applied to Aston with it’s pure languages degree. Ironically I would have hated Oxford with it’s very literature heavy degree. However my elder son is brilliant at literature, even gained 100 percent on an as level English lit paper , so that was why he fell in love with the Oxford course. The best guide to choosing a uni is: the course is king. Nothing, but nothing else matters

Reply 66

Original post by harrysbar

Yes we got through it mystical egg, and now we're trying to help other people on TSR to be a bit more informed than we were :smile:

And so is our lovely @Oxford Mum, to bring the thread back on topic.

Yes indeed - in fact we might make parents more aware that Oxford is not the place for some degrees or some people. Some of the colleges are not 'pretty' either and that parking around them is a nightmare. For example you can't drive into Balliol without permission to drive in the bus lane.

Reply 67

Original post by Muttley79

Yes indeed - in fact we might make parents more aware that Oxford is not the place for some degrees or some people. Some of the colleges are not 'pretty' either and that parking around them is a nightmare. For example you can't drive into Balliol without permission to drive in the bus lane.

I expect we can all agree that Oxford is not the right place for some degrees or people - everyone will have different priortities and requirements :smile:

Reply 68

Original post by harrysbar

I expect we can all agree that Oxford is not the right place for some degrees or people - everyone will have different priortities and requirements :smile:

Indeed - a 2ii from Oxford is not as valuable as a 2i from almost any other university these days. Employers are looking for good degrees rather than specific universities.

Reply 69

Original post by Muttley79

Indeed - a 2ii from Oxford is not as valuable as a 2i from almost any other university these days. Employers are looking for good degrees rather than specific universities.

Really? 'not as valuable?' Yes other experiences beyond university are also important but surely that statement is a bit of a stretch? Edit: Misread I thought you were comparing 2,1 Oxford to 2,1 anywhere else I stand corrected.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 70

Original post by Themysticalegg

Really? 'not as valuable?' Yes other experiences beyond university are also important but surely that statement is a bit of a stretch?

No - many employers and graduate schemes look for a 2i - the university is irrelevant.

Reply 71

Original post by Muttley79

Indeed - a 2ii from Oxford is not as valuable as a 2i from almost any other university these days. Employers are looking for good degrees rather than specific universities.

I wouldn't know about the specifics of how different employers would view this scenario... but it's obviously better to aim for a 2.1 or 1st whichever uni you go to

Reply 72

Original post by Muttley79

No - many employers and graduate schemes look for a 2i - the university is irrelevant.

Yeah I misread your post sorry and I could vouch for that statement for general graduate schemes. I'd say 10% of the jobs I applied for allowed a 2,2. This being said there are direct entry jobs than graduate schemes where your work experience is more important than your degree classification.

Reply 73

Original post by Oxford Mum

I was also not given any help with my uni application, as my parents left school when they were 16. I could have done with a careers teacher at my school but there was none, so I’m afraid I looked at the times league tables and went for Manchester. Big mistake. I should have applied to Aston with it’s pure languages degree. Ironically I would have hated Oxford with it’s very literature heavy degree. However my elder son is brilliant at literature, even gained 100 percent on an as level English lit paper , so that was why he fell in love with the Oxford course. The best guide to choosing a uni is: the course is king. Nothing, but nothing else matters

Yeah I chose my university with some basis on university league tables with serious pressure from my teachers to choose somewhere better. Then I looked on the methodology in which they are placed and I was like oh.... :biggrin:

Course content is definitely one of the most important things, no point in hating three years of your life for 'prestige' :tongue:

.

Reply 74

Original post by Themysticalegg

Yeah I misread your post sorry and I could vouch for that statement for general graduate schemes. I'd say 10% of the jobs I applied for allowed a 2,2. This being said there are direct entry jobs than graduate schemes where your work experience is more important than your degree classification.

Indeed - that's where the year in industry degrees win over Oxbridge.

Reply 75

greenapples2

Original post by harrysbar

You think that about 49% of parents tell their children which unis they're allowed to attend? I don't personally think it's anywhere near that high.

not sure if it is 49% but I can definitely confirm that my parents are trying to get me to study something else at different universities that I want

Reply 76

That being said summer internships are a viable alternative to year in industry sandwich placements and are equally useful. At the end of the day graduate assessment centres are mainly about how good you are at explaining your experiences. The extra keen student would have work experience in the field before university but those come few and far between.

I still think a 2,1 degree from Oxford is still quite powerful compared to your other universities especially for sectors where they will only select students from a few universities such as McKinsey, Bain etc. For areas less competitive than top 3 consulting and IB. Where you're going for your general graduate schemes advertised on gradcracker, gradjobs, etc. I can understand your argument. Predominantly most of people I met at assessment centres (75% maybe?) came from RG universities. This may of been sheer chance though.

Original post by Muttley79

Indeed - that's where the year in industry degrees win over Oxbridge.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 77

Original post by mpaprika

not sure if it is 49% but I can definitely confirm that my parents are trying to get me to study something else at different universities that I want

I know that some parents do this, and I feel sorry for you.

But I don't think the majority of parents do this, or a figure close to half. I think it's much more usual in the UK for young people to make their own decisions about what they want to study and where they want to go. The parents will probably have some influence, but most of us respect the fact that our children should make their own decisions by the age of uni.

Reply 78

greenapples2

yeah I think you're right about the parents in the UK part because we come from a different country :laugh:

Original post by harrysbar

I know that some parents do this, and I feel sorry for you.

But I don't think the majority of parents do this, or a figure close to half. I think it's much more usual in the UK for young people to make their own decisions about what they want to study and where they want to go. The parents will probably have some influence, but most of us respect the fact that our children should make their own decisions by the age of uni.

Reply 79