The 2017 Oxford Decisions Discussion Thread

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Subject: Economics and Management
College: Keble
Outcome: Rejection, no other colleges reviewing your application blah blah
How I'm feeling: Far better than I thought I would be - attending Oxford was never "my dream" like it was/is for some people, it was merely a means to an end. I'm disappointed yes, but I'm happy with my MORSE offer from Warwick which will keep my career options open. At the end of the day I can look back and say I gave it my all; nothing ventured, nothing gained etc.

Reply 341

Row39

Original post by fablereader

Technically I have a Facebook account, but in practice I have no idea where it even is. Twitter's for me.

Hahahaha got twitter for like a week and then got bored.....

Reply 342

fablereader

Original post by Row39

Hahahaha got twitter for like a week and then got bored.....

It depends on which people you follow. I try to curate my feed so I only follow those who tweet interesting things or who are people such as Youtubers I like.

Reply 343

Row39

Original post by fablereader

It depends on which people you follow. I try to curate my feed so I only follow those who tweet interesting things or who are people such as Youtubers I like.

Yeah true I probs didn't give it a chance

Reply 344

fablereader

Original post by Row39

Yeah true I probs didn't give it a chance

Granted, it has gotten a little bit out of control. I'm more than two days behind on the feed and follow 200 people, way too many. :biggrin:

I'm planning on making lists, which apparently should help even it out ...

Reply 345

Row39

Woahhh good luck with that!!! :wink:

Reply 346

fablereader

Original post by Row39

Woahhh good luck with that!!! :wink:

I'll probably give up a lot of the past 2 days' tweets and just reboot, having figured out how lists can help. :biggrin:

Reply 347

Row39

Original post by fablereader

I'll probably give up a lot of the past 2 days' tweets and just reboot, having figured out how lists can help. :biggrin:

Yeah sounds like you'd have your work cut out :h:

Reply 348

fablereader

Original post by Row39

Yeah sounds like you'd have your work cut out :h:

Eh, I'll do it tomorrow, too tired and busy with Maths tonight.

Edit: That kind of procrastination has led to the current problem.

Reply 349

Row39

Haahahaah know how you feel - have a maths paper I was gonna do today but looks like it's gonna be tomorrow....

Reply 350

AsmaaMahamud97

Original post by P&T16

Finally a fellow Pembroke applicant!

And then there were three :ninjagirl:

Reply 351

qeyoo

Original post by wolfmoon88

Check the Prospective Students thread, people are having a Corpus lovefest there! :tongue:

Posted from TSR Mobile

The corpus lovefest is well deserved

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 352

qeyoo

Original post by ggana19

Subject: Medicine
College: Corpus Christi
Outcome: Conditional Offer
How did you find out? (Email/Letter/Owl): Email (10 AM)
How do you feel?: Relieved, shocked, thrilled

anyone else here who got into Corpus?

May I ask if you had a Skype interview or came over to the UK?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 353

ggana19

Original post by qeyoo

May I ask if you had a Skype interview or came over to the UK?

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm from Europe, so I came to the UK

Reply 354

csheehan10

Result: Conditional offer!!
Course: PPE
College: Merton
Offer Conditions: 6H2s (Irish leaving certificate)
How did you first hear and when?: Email around 11am on wednesday

Reply 355

qeyoo

Original post by ggana19

I'm from Europe, so I came to the UK

Hmmm, just wondering if I met you at interview, were you in the JCR much?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 356

A_Sircar

Original post by chumaniward

what are your grades?

Predicted grade in IB of 42 points.

Reply 357

ggana19

Original post by qeyoo

Hmmm, just wondering if I met you at interview, were you in the JCR much?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hmm, not really, I mostly walked around the city and the only people I talked to were there for medicine I think. But huge congrats on your offer! Hope I'll see you around in October

Reply 358

dschramm

Subject: Biochemistry
College: Open Offer w/ St. Peter's underwriting my offer
Outcome: Conditional Offer -- IB 39 points w/ 7 in Chem HL & 6s in Bio HL and Maths SL (I went in with a predicted 42, w/ 7 in Chem/Bio/Maths)
How did you find out? (Email/Letter/Owl): Email

How do you feel?
It's crazy to think that I was accepted out of all the other outstanding interviewees I met whilst there. It was about 2:30AM on the 11th when I received an email detailing my "enclosed offer" on my phone (I'm from Canada). After reading it, I immediately thought that this was a dream. I'd doze in and out of sleep, rereading my offer and trying to convince myself it was real. It has taken until now for it all to sink in. I feel truly honoured to be given this offer of admission from such a wonderful institution, and couldn't be more excited to be given a spot in a programme that fits my interests so well!

What I took away from the process:
As someone who has been taught that being "well-rounded" and "balanced" student was the key to getting into a good school--particularly in the United States--I have learned how important academics is to Oxford admissions. Although the grades are a significant aspect of the admissions process, I believe that the interview plays an immense part in your application. In my opinion, it is what tips you in or out. While the other aspects of your application can be heavily prepared for, the interview tells the tutors who you are and how you will react to the rigorous coursework that you'll be faced with whilst at Oxford. Many of the applicants look similar on paper, particularly for a program like Biochemistry (a "reverent passion for Biochem" and A* or As in Biology and/or Chemistry--by the way, if you are thinking of applying to Biochem, you really need to take both, or else the interview will be a living hell). The interview is where the tutors will try and look past even the most impressive of grades, allowing them to accurately determining how you will fit into the programme. In the natural sciences, the problems that students are faced in the interview will test if they have the knowledge base and can apply it in ways they've never seen before.

I met my fair share of students who had outstanding grades and personal statements. I didn't feel as though I had anything to distinguish myself with; yet, I'm the only one I know of who's received an offer. The one thing I can identify as being a distinguishing factor is my interview, which tested each applicant to their fullest capacity.

By no means am I suggesting that the grades and personal statement do not matter. I think that if you are above the minimum cutoff and exhibit an interest for the subject you are applying for, you've just gotten your foot through the door. While the interview may not be worth half of your application, I'd bet its worth at least a third.

Sorry for the long post, and I hope it's of some help to future applicants!

Reply 359

D-brane

Subject: Physics

College: St Hilda's

Outcome: Conditional Offer (9 out of 10 at Romanian Baccalaureate)

How did you find out? (Email/Letter/Owl): Email

How do you feel?: I am still trying to digest this thing, I was extremely excited for the first 3-4 hours. I was expecting this offer since I did almost perfect regarding the PAT and the interviews. Also, I was hoping to get an offer from my second college (St John's), but that was statiscally very improbable. What I can say more is that I can't wait to learn all those things, get in touch with the professors and tutors and the other passionate physics (and not only) students. If there is anyone who also got into St Hilda's for Physics or any other college, I would be pleased to have a conversation about this whole process.