Oxbridge deadline panic

It wouldn't be an Oxbridge application without a healthy dose of extreme last-minute chaos.

I'm a gap year applicant applying through my school centre - who I assume are for the most part reusing my references from last year. I submitted my UCAS application on the evening of the 13th and breathed a sigh of relief. I also received an email from my school centre the morning of the 14th, saying they had it, and I'd get my references draft emailed to me though they would be sending the form to UCAS after pasting those in. I had work at 2, and let the school take it from there.

Returning from work at 9 this evening I saw that the school emailed me around 3 after bouncing my application back to me, because I'd make a small error that would take 5 minutes to fix. But now, of course, school is closed and will be tomorrow so no one will be around to push it through to UCAS before the deadline in spite of the fact that I'll have submitted it in time. I've desperately emailed the head of sixth form but it's his professional email which I doubt he'll be seeing now. I also never got my references emailed to me so I cannot paste them within an independent application.

So this is a conundrum.

I plan to phone UCAS when lines open at 10 to explain the situation and then all my five choice unis.

I know I can submit the application without references and contact Oxford to ask if it's alright to give them the references on Monday, but this really is throwing myself on their mercy and doesn't reflect well on me as a candidate!

I've gone to all this effort to make an Oxbridge application and it feels like this might fall apart at the last (well - last of this stage) hurdle.

If there are any other, possibly better options I'd really appreciate hearing them. Thank you :scared:

It wouldn't be an Oxbridge application without a healthy dose of extreme last-minute chaos.

I'm a gap year applicant applying through my school centre - who I assume are for the most part reusing my references from last year. I submitted my UCAS application on the evening of the 13th and breathed a sigh of relief. I also received an email from my school centre the morning of the 14th, saying they had it, and I'd get my references draft emailed to me though they would be sending the form to UCAS after pasting those in. I had work at 2, and let the school take it from there.

Returning from work at 9 this evening I saw that the school emailed me around 3 after bouncing my application back to me, because I'd make a small error that would take 5 minutes to fix. But now, of course, school is closed and will be tomorrow so no one will be around to push it through to UCAS before the deadline in spite of the fact that I'll have submitted it in time. I've desperately emailed the head of sixth form but it's his professional email which I doubt he'll be seeing now. I also never got my references emailed to me so I cannot paste them within an independent application.

So this is a conundrum.

I plan to phone UCAS when lines open at 10 to explain the situation and then all my five choice unis.

I know I can submit the application without references and contact Oxford to ask if it's alright to give them the references on Monday, but this really is throwing myself on their mercy and doesn't reflect well on me as a candidate!

I've gone to all this effort to make an Oxbridge application and it feels like this might fall apart at the last (well - last of this stage) hurdle.

If there are any other, possibly better options I'd really appreciate hearing them. Thank you

Try the school number at 9:00 tomorrow, although it is unlikely they may have someone in due to it being deadline day.
Does the head of sixth form or even any of the teachers that knew you have a twitter account they use for work purposes? If so they will probably have the app on their phone and be alerted if you tweeted them.
Also possible that he has his emails come through to his mobile and that he will see your email in time, or that he'll be checking his emails tomorrow because he is aware of the deadline and knows he still has applications to send off.

Try the school number at 9:00 tomorrow, although it is unlikely they may have someone in due to it being deadline day.
Does the head of sixth form or even any of the teachers that knew you have a twitter account they use for work purposes? If so they will probably have the app on their phone and be alerted if you tweeted them.
Also possible that he has his emails come through to his mobile and that he will see your email in time, or that he'll be checking his emails tomorrow because he is aware of the deadline and knows he still has applications to send off.

My old geography teacher has an account so I'll tweet them and hope for the best. Also hoping against hope that the head of sixth will check his email. Cheers!

Wake up early tomorrow. Send emails out. Tweet your school / teachers. Call UCAS at 9, hopefully they have a copy of the reference. If they don't, hang up. Keep trying to get in contact with someone until 3pm. If nothing works call UCAS again, and send that application with no reference.

Yep, will do. Although will have to have my UCAS form definitely sent in the morning because - yet again - I have work in the afternoon. And they're inflexible so I absolutely can't miss it.

good luck. keep us updated!

good luck. keep us updated!

My head of sixth replied this morning. I submitted the UCAS application and he's pasted in the reference and sent it off.

And breathe.

All's well that ends well. Thanks again!

Yes, yes, yes!!!!!! Happy for you, let's just hope you get an interview now : )

Lesson being - don't be so stupid! If you'd have missed the deadline I'd have blamed you, not them. So many last minute things can go wrong.

Submit at least a couple of days early next time!

Lecture over.

Lesson being - don't be so stupid! If you'd have missed the deadline I'd have blamed you, not them. So many last minute things can go wrong.

Submit at least a couple of days early next time!

Lecture over.

Did you read the OP? I submitted on the 13th to make way for things going wrong. My personal statement was practically ready on the 10th. My school said they'd get to it in the morning and give me my references. They didn't until the afternoon, nor did I receive references. It's a good thing I did submit it ahead of time.

I also have a hell of a lot on my plate right now besides Oxbridge: work, fundraising, amongst other deadlines to meet. So I really can be spared the sermon.

To clarify - I'm not blaming the school here. A set of unfortunate circumstances led to this debacle, but I did everything I could reasonably do to get this in on time.

So which university did you go for? Oxford or Cambridge?

Oxford