University of Oxford offer-holders' thread 2015

Thankyou! I have no idea how things work regarding accommodation either, like at what time people usually pick/are allotted their rooms and whether i'll be disadvantaged because I won't even know what college i'm at until August?

Don't quite get why some people make such a big deal of it to the point of crying for it then...

Congratulations for your offer. You all must be really proud of the achievement.

My son had an offer from Oxford for 2014 entry for one of the most sought after course. His friend also had an offer. They were the only ones at their school successful to get an Oxford offer. They both went to a comprehensive state school. However both of them lost the offer after the results in August 14 2014 as they narrowly missed the A* grade. Both had brilliant GCSE with all A*, AS level with nearly 100 UMS and excellent results in their entrance exams.

I am posting this so that no one in this forum becomes complacent and lose the offer. The heartbreak, which happens then, can be really unbearable and it does not go away easily. Last year 374 students lost their conditional offer at Cambridge (according to freedom of Information website). You don’t want to be one of them. Oxford and Cambridge do not normally listen to appeals. They would rather leave the seat vacant than taking someone who did not meet the grades

My advice to you:

You can’t score marks in A Levels and GCSE just because you have subject knowledge or intelligence. You should know to answer according to the mark scheme. Mark schemes and past papers should be your best friends from now on;
Make sure that you take help from teachers or extra tuition if you are struggling in any aspect
Make sure that your lab work and controlled assessment are up to standard; don’t take them lightly as that can cost you your A*. If there is any opportunity to re-sit take it;
Avoid clubbing (if you do that too much now; you won’t be around to attend fresher’s week parties at Oxford.) It may be tempting as most of you are turning 18 and there are too many parties to go to. But focus on the end goal;
Make it clear to your girlfriend /boyfriend that you need to focus on studies for the next few months and don’t entertain unreasonable expectations;
Don’t be arrogant regarding your offer. Please note that there may be others who were better than you who were rejected after the interview, as interviews can be subjective

My son accepted his insurance choice which is nowhere near Oxford regarding international reputation and he is disappointed. In his mind he knows that he could have done better preparation for final A level exams.

So after partying this weekend to celebrate your offer; get back to your studies and make that offer unconditional in August. Even if you decide not to go to Oxford later; you want to be the one making that decision; not them. All the best. The new series of Game of thrones can wait!

Hi! I also have an offer from St Catz (to do maths !)

This is sound advice. A few queries have appeared on this thread from holders of Open Offers. As pointed out in the responses made to these, Open Offers are made because each year a small proportion of students do not make conditional offers or withdraw for other reasons. I would like to comment on the statement that Oxford and Cambridge do not normally listen to appeals. A college will consider an appeal if a candidate has mitigating circumstances supported by the school and (usually) medical evidence. If a problem arises, it is important to communicate this via your school as soon as possible (ie before your results unless there is a reason why this is not possible). Missing offer grades for the reasons the author of this post states, however, would not be grounds for an appeal. UCAS gives candidates insurance choices to cover this scenario.

Me too! I was really surprised as the MAT didn't go well and the interviews weren't great, but obviously really happy! How many of us do you think there are?

Well you proved them wrong didn't you (it's the best feeling in the world)
What subject have you received an offer for?

Spanish and Linguistics how about you?
(And I know)

History at St. Johns. What college?

St Peter's

Oooh. Nice choice .

Oooh sounds interesting, especially personal identity =D

Hey! You're the first St Catz maths person (apart from me) that I've seen my interviews were so bad, I have no idea why I got an offer, but I'm not complaining! Was St Catz your first choice, I originally applied to Worcester but St Catz looks pretty awesome and a lot more chilled out I was having a look on their website, I think it said normally 8 maths people but I don't know if that's joint schools as well or anything.

Thank you St John's was actually my second choice but I preferred the accommodation at St Peter's

Catz was my first choice yeah - I went to visit before applying and really liked the feel of the place, and the interviews confirmed that. It's obviously the most modern college so facilities and accommodation etc. are pretty good! That's about what I thought yeah, quite a small group. I quite like the sound of that though - I imagine you get to know each other well

Was there any large difference between the two? I personally quite liked St Johns' accommodation although I was given quite a large room for my stay and felt a bit like 'there's too much space'

My friend was interviewed at New and her room was enormous! I know what you mean by the 'too much space' thing but I reckon that as undergrads we'll get the small rooms (y)

No, not massively - St John's rooms were orange whilst St Peter's were blue and I just preferred the layout - it's only tiny things :')

My friend was interviewed at New and her room was enormous! I know what you mean by the 'too much space' thing but I reckon that as undergrads we'll get the small rooms (y)