Rejected by Oxford despite IB 45, don't know what to think anymore

Ok so here is my story:

I did the IB in May 2009. Last September, I applied to Oxford for PPE but got rejected pre-interview, despite having been predicted 44 points. I was really disappointed because Oxford has always been my dream school. However, later I got a conditional offer (IB 40) from St Andrews for Econ-IR which sweetened it a bit.

In my 2009 IB exams, I got the maximum 45 points, the only person to do so in my country. Therefore, I decided to re-apply to Oxford PPE (dreams die hard with me) but seeing as my parents wouldn't let me take a gap year, I enrolled at St Andrews. I contacted Oxford and UCAS and they both said that being enrolled at a university has no bearing whatsoever on the decision for 2010 entry. I wrote a personal statement which I think might be one of the best pieces of writing I have ever produced and I feel I did quite well on the TSA entrance exam.

I got invited for an interview at Balliol College and I'm sure that both my economics and my politics interviews went well (not in the sense that "yeah I nailed it" while actually they just asked me easy stuff - I struggled with the questions but my answers were cogent and thoughtful and I think the tutors saw that). Anyway, I tried to temper my confidence by telling myself how difficult it is to get into Balliol PPE at Oxford, but despite this I was quite certain I did everything I could to get a place.

I was wrong. Turns out the IB 45, the solid personal statement and what I felt was an impressive performance at interview, were not enough. This morning I got a cold, impersonal letter telling me that my application was unsuccessful. I've been bashing my brain all day trying to figure out what went wrong but I can't find the answer.

I hope someone will be kind enough to read this huge post and maybe tell me their thoughts; any opinions, suggestions or just words of comfort would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Reply 1

definado

8

I feel for you man.
I really do.

I've got a Law offer with much worse grades and yeah..

have you tried asking for feedback?

Reply 2

Aack

tldr but I think it's fairly safe to say - Too bad mate, you're clearly just not a winner. Now get in line.

Reply 3

Leon Trotsky

3

Shows you just how elite Oxford is. But, buddy, there are worse things that could happen to you.

Reply 4

CocoPop

18

Wow. Just wow.

As a fellow IB student I feel your pain. I've been predicted 45 and was lucky enough to get an offer for engineering, but can only dream of actually achieving 45 points. People like you are idolized by the IB world. I have no idea what could've driven the tutors to think that a 45 pointer wasn't good enough for Oxford, and if I were you I would inquire where exactly your application was weak. I can't even imagine a small impediment in your application hurting your chances of acceptance so much.

Why would Oxford want to forgo the opportunity of admitting a 45 pointer? I'm baffled even more by the fact that you say your personal statement and interviews were decent.

All I can offer is my condolences.

Reply 5

BrightGirl

15

Jesus Christ - you got 45?!?! Isn't it like 0.0000000001% worldwide (or a real figure that I don't know) get full marks?

Study at Harvard! Become the head of Mensa!

Reply 6

Ylem

10

All I can think of is GCSEs. What are your results like? If they are less than about 6A* and 4 As, that could be the reason.

Reply 7

StraightDrive

8

There's a lot of luck involved in Oxbridge entries. You hear some stories about how interviewers shortlist and it's mind boggling about how stupid their methods can be.

Reply 8

FootPrints

10

Gosh. I know a guy applying for PPE at Oxford with worse grades and he got an interview at least :s-smilie:

Reply 9

Javindo

12

As teachers will always tell you; Oxbridge are so over subscribed that at the end of the day they could be faced with 10 100% amazing students fighting for one place and the only fair way is by random selection.

Reply 10

w4rtorn

what's 45 in A-level talk? I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff. :s-smilie:

Reply 11

Malsy

18

feedback...?

Reply 12

Notker

3

Try Cambridge? I'm not sure if you can though, or whether the one-or-the-other rule applies only to people outside uni.

Reply 13

CocoPop

18

w4rtorn

what's 45 in A-level talk? I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff. :s-smilie:

It's basically like getting 8 As. Around 0.1% of IB students achieve 45 points. Nobody in my school has achieved 45 points in 4 years!

Reply 14

LearningMath

14

w4rtorn

what's 45 in A-level talk? I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff. :s-smilie:

Likewise.... i've been googling it for 5 minutes now and i still dont understand how it works! There seem to be different types... :s-smilie:

Reply 15

i'm no superman

15

do st andrew's know about this?

Reply 16

murray29

Damn.... I feel with you...
How are you doing at st. Andrews?
Just be awesome, become rich and succesful, and then when they offer you a honorary Degree turn it down!!!!! OR donate a lot of money to St. Andrews, and tell/show them what they missed!!!

Reply 17

CocoPop

18

Max Hinks

God forbid. There are more factors to play that your results. 45 is nothing, they wants 39 +, so 39 is good enough for them, just ask my friend who just got an offer for 39 for medicine. Also, what you believe about your personal statement may well be different to them. Other people may well have written better personal statements or got on better at the interview. It's not the be all of end all, stick with your current course, your at a fantastic Uni so what's the problem.

Apologies for perhaps being too presumptuous, but like most people it seems to be a case of a desire for Oxbridge due to the pure elitism it entails. It's ridiculous. It's what's wrong with society, and most of the middle class/upper class teenagers found on Student room. The others however are lovely.

Deal with it, god only knows the rest of us have to.

You have no right to assume that the OP is applying to Oxbridge on the basis of elitism. Even though you don't explicitly state that, you imply it. Basic logic will tell you that a student with 45 points is more desirable than a student with 39 points - there is a massive difference between the two!

You have a point, and it's true that some people apply to Oxbridge due to its "elite" status, but you're still being overly presumptuous.

Reply 18

LearningMath

14

Max Hinks

EDIT: Have to add, whilst it may well be an amazing feat to achieve 45 points, it would be lovely to know what you did to so. What kind of social life did you have? Part time job? Fun? Cas, dare I ask?

Snide.

Reply 19

Formula 1

9

Pick your socks up. You weren't good enough then. Not now. Move on. Oxbridge isn't everything!

Rejected by Oxford despite IB 45, don't know what to think anymore

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