Do Oxford ever make a mistake?

Do Oxford ever make a mistake in sending out the wrong letter for example?
My friend's brother received a rejection letter, and then two days later got accepted- great for him but what if it was the other way round!

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Reply 1

HannieTheConqueror

Oh no... now I'll be nervous no matter what response I get!

Reply 2

Alighty

Surely you answered your own question? :biggrin:

I imagine that'd be absolutely crushing though ...

Reply 3

04ghicks

They probably do make mistakes.

<insert sinister music here>

Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it, everyone seems to get so worked up about oxford offers or rejections, I'd be happy wherever I went ^^

Reply 4

ddrrzzeerr

I can't remember the guys name but he is on question time a bit. He got an acceptance letter off oxford when they meant to reject him but they let him in because it would be cruel not to. How lucky is that.

Reply 5

Phillipsherman

how bad would it be if they rejected him again saying the the acceptance was a mistake

Reply 6

riotgrrl

I think if they sent an acceptance accidentally, they probably wouldn't say (like they have done with your brother but the other way around) because that would be far too harsh.

Reply 7

Noodlzzz

Want one of those letters :frown:

DOH!

But yes, they could make that mistake but I doubt they would let you know.

Reply 8

Ideot

Damn it, now I've become hopeful again. I've already found an imaginary loophole in my rejection letter, I got pooled to Regent's Park which is a PPH, and it said "not under consideration by any other COLLEGES".

What a plonker :redface:

Reply 9

vms1993

I HOPE SO.
What I would give right now for my rejection to be turned into an offer ... :frown:

Reply 10

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Well as you've said yourself OP, sometimes the wrong verdict does accidentally get sent out. This happens infrequently though, so it's not something to be relied upon. That would be clinging to false hope and torturing yourself unnecessarily :yes:

Reply 11

electriic_ink

About 10% of all letters sent out are in error.

Reply 12

Huw Davies

Original post by electriic_ink

About 10% of all letters sent out are in error.

Source? I suspect you're joking, but this one's going to frighten the poor applicants a lot!

Reply 13

xoxAngel_Kxox

Everyone makes mistakes. But you just have to remember that it's rare, so trust your letters (generally..)

Reply 14

vms1993

They make mistakes regarding those were supposed to receive offers and those who DESERVED to receive offers

Reply 15

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by vms1993

They make mistakes regarding those were supposed to receive offers and those who DESERVED to receive offers

Well aside from the fact that "deserved" is rather subjective... If they gave offers to everyone who deserved them, they'd be making hundreds of offers, taking in far more people than they can offer that level of tuition to and thus cheating everyone out of the Oxford experience due to the decline in quality that would inevitably happen if they had to deal with hundreds of extra people :yes:

Unfortunate and a great shame, no doubt, but true :yes:

Reply 16

Assassnum

I am pretty sure they make a lot of mistakes concerning conditional/unconditional offers

I, for example, got an unconditional offer although I havent finished my qualification yet ... :P

And I ve read (in the "Look at me I have an OFFER" thread) that there are several people who got conditional offers although they already have their grades because they are on a gap year. :smile:

Everyone makes mistakes^^

Reply 17

Omio

Is it advisable to ask colleges to confirm that the decisions applicants have received are correct?

Reply 18

Assassnum

I am pretty sure that if you have the letter there are more or less binding legal obligations for Oxford to give you the place ... I wouldnt be THAT sure about e-mails :smile:

Reply 19

AnonymousPenguin

Original post by Assassnum

I am pretty sure that if you have the letter there are more or less binding legal obligations for Oxford to give you the place ... I wouldnt be THAT sure about e-mails :smile:

There's no such legal obligation.