The 2017 Oxford Decisions Discussion Thread

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Wait do international students get letters as well?

I think that it depends on your college, but I got an email from Merton on Wednesday and then a letter on Friday. (I live in Ireland btw)

Reply 441

SonOfAGeek

Original post by valgal

Finally heard back and got an offer, but for only one of the two courses I applied for. Probably not taking it, as I wanted to study both. Sigh.

Congratulations/Commiserations?! That must be frustrating. Which subject(s) & college? Where else are you considering?

Reply 442

fablereader

Original post by csheehan10

I think that it depends on your college, but I got an email from Merton on Wednesday and then a letter on Friday. (I live in Ireland btw)

You got a letter from Merton? I just got an email.

Reply 443

valgal

Original post by SonOfAGeek

Congratulations/Commiserations?! That must be frustrating. Which subject(s) & college? Where else are you considering?

I had applied to Magdalen for the joint program in English and Modern Languages (French). I got an offer for just French at Queen's College. Have to think about this as English Lit is my primary focus... I have offers at Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Durham for both English and French, and am still waiting to hear back from UCL as well as all the US colleges I just applied to. The US application deadlines are at the start of January, and we don't hear back till end of March or early April.

Reply 444

valgal

Original post by SonOfAGeek

Congratulations/Commiserations?! That must be frustrating. Which subject(s) & college? Where else are you considering?

And congratulations on your offer!

Reply 445

SonOfAGeek

Original post by valgal

And congratulations on your offer!

Thank you. Being a recipient of an open offer is a little strange but it will hopefully keep me focused to get the grades. Durham is a great Uni & nice place. You could certainly do far worse if you decide the right course is more important than Oxford.

Reply 446

csheehan10

Original post by fablereader

You got a letter from Merton? I just got an email.

Oh that's weird

Reply 447

fablereader

Original post by csheehan10

Oh that's weird

The only thing I can think of is because you're in Ireland, but I'm really not sure about that ...

Reply 448

66mhnldn

I know a big part of the Oxford mystique is the individual identity of the colleges. This is a big attraction to us as applicants but that does not of itself justify the continuation of different approaches to shortlisting, offers and decision notifications across different subjects and colleges. A quick look back at previous years shows that every year there are avoidable administrative errors and unnecessary stress enabled by unnecessary complexity.There has been reform and some standardisation in recent years but more could be done to create consistency in the criteria for shortlists/offers and the decision notification process.

Reply 449

auburnstar

@valgal
I would probably stress the importance of course choice over the university, unless the university is willing to discuss it further with you. My dad's friend was accepted at Cambridge for medicine (aeons ago, to be fair) and they wouldn't let him switch from biomedicine (i think?? or pharmacy?? not sure) to medicine, so he went to Bristol instead. He said that he was much happier and doesn't regret it (he is now a professor of neuroscience at UCL so boy done good), although was understandably slightly aggravated by Cambridge.

Changing course at Cambridge and Oxford is harder than other places, precisely because they look (partly) for enthusiasm for your course (although your situation is a bit different as it's a joint degree). But that example is a little outdated; I'd suggest discussing it with them a bit and if they're firm about it then you can make a decision. It might be possible to incorporate more literature or take different modules.

edit: also does anyone who got rejected feel like they've taken it worse than other people? Most people I know who got rejected acted like they didn't care/brushed it off but it really hit me hard, especially looking back and realising some of the stupid things I blurted out. Maybe I am just one of those people who takes things badly (mental health + ambition = inevitable disappointment with life). The only plus I guess is that it's motivating me to study a lot and get A*s.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 450

valgal

Original post by auburnstar

Thanks so much for your insights and tips. Yes, I was wondering if I started off the first year with only French if they would consider allowing another English interview next year and perhaps adding that course back in if it went well. Probably not, but I am curious if it is even an option. I'm pretty certain that the interviews were the negative deciding factor, since my test scores (albeit US tests) more than fulfilled the qualification requirements. Once I get responses back from the rest of my college applications, I'll be better able to weigh the pros and cons of each option. A lot of terrific schools exist here in the US, and one of those might make more sense for me now, or else one of the other UK schools I applied to. Despite having my heart initially set on Oxford, I don't think studying only French aligns with my passions and goals. If it had to be only one course, I would have been okay with English only as that is really my primary focus. In any case, final decisions are not due till May, so there is time to think about it.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 451

LucyQu

Original post by MickMon

Subject: Economics and Management

College: Keble College

Outcome: Conditional Offer IB 39 points with a 7 6 6 in Higher Level subjects

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

How do you feel?: Very surprised and happy with the offer. Did not think my interview was that great.

Does anyone know if there is a chat group for e&m offer holders or those from Keble college?

Hey there! There's a thread for E&M offer holders now, come and say hi! :biggrin:

Reply 452

auburnstar

Original post by valgal

Thanks so much for your insights and tips. Yes, I was wondering if I started off the first year with only French if they would consider allowing another English interview next year and perhaps adding that course back in if it went well. Probably not, but I am curious if it is even an option. I'm pretty certain that the interviews were the negative deciding factor, since my test scores (albeit US tests) more than fulfilled the qualification requirements. Once I get responses back from the rest of my college applications, I'll be better able to weigh the pros and cons of each option. A lot of terrific schools exist here in the US, and one of those might make more sense for me now, or else one of the other UK schools I applied to. Despite having my heart initially set on Oxford, I don't think studying only French aligns with my passions and goals. If it had to be only once course, I would have been okay with English only as that is really my primary focus. In any case, final decision are not due till May, so there is time to think about it.

All sounds like a wise reflection to me. I think that you're probably right; ML has an acceptance of 34% whilst English and ML has acceptance of about 19%. So they might need to move some of the English and ML people to ML sole. Happens with joint schools too especially History and joint ML (particularly French and German who are often offered sole, I presume because these are the most popular languages).

At first I thought I should have applied for modern languages because I'm trilingual (french, spanish, english - and I can read portuguese and understand and read italian by extension). I have a fair amount of natural aptitude for languages. But I just knew I wouldn't be happy studying it, so I decided to go for music instead. Even being rejected, I don't think I would have enjoyed an ML course even at Oxford half as much as a music degree at any RG uni. (Although I love the course so much at ox tbh <3)

Again, you might be able to email the college (or the one you applied to if its an open offer) and email them. They might just say what I said (nope! no changing for you!) or they might be more understanding. It does only say you can't change after you start and since you haven't yet started you could discuss it a bit.

Reply 453

Melody321

For people who are doing 4 subs but got an offer based on 3 subjects, are you continuing with 4 subs? Im currently doing 4 but my offer was a*a*a, and now I want to drop one to focus on three and make sure i meet the offer. Does anyone know if I can drop one subject? Should I inform them of the change?

Reply 454

Caitlin.Louise

Original post by Melody321

I'm doing four and am planning on carrying on with all four, although I suppose it depends on what subjects you're doing. My email said that if there were any changes to the exams/subjects I would be taking, to tell them immediately so I assume this will be the same for all colleges.

Reply 455

Maceyf

Original post by Melody321

Im in exactly the same position please could someone shed some light on this??

Reply 456

dkfalling

Original post by Maceyf

Im in exactly the same position please could someone shed some light on this??

I'm continuing with 4 - my email said if I was changing my subjects or exams to let them know so they can take it into account, and I don't want them to decide that I think I can't handle the workload. I've decided which three I want to meet my offer and am focusing on that, and I'm doing my fourth in any left over time. If I get a B or a C, that's fine as long as I've made my offer in my others.

Reply 457

Melody321

Original post by dkfalling

Does that mean that they do not change the offer to like 4A's if you were doing 4?(I know that they have already given out offers but i thought they might give out more personalised offers on ucas rather than the general offer) So as long as you meet the requirements with any three subjects does it not matter what grade you get in the fourth one?

Reply 458

SonOfAGeek

Original post by Melody321

All offers to UK students are based on 3 A levels. Some offers specify the need to get a particular grade/subject combination but never for more than 3 A levels in total.