Advice for worried acceptee

I think the vast majority of Oxbridge freshers secretly believe they some how slipped in accidentally and won't be able to hack it, but he has to remember that the admissions tutors know what they are looking for- they've been doing their job for ages and know which applicants will have the ability and potential to succeed at their university. He was chosen, they know he can do it!

Reply 2

Madprof

Absolutely agree with Phil.

If he got in, that means they want him and think he can cope (why would they take him if he wasn't good enough?!), in fact would do well at Oxbridge (I'm asuming the 'bridge part if he was pooled?).

Most people were sure they got in by mistake, (I'm convinced I did), and they get on great, and have a decent social life. Maybe if your friend arranged a trip to visit his college, chat to students doing his subject, that might help reassure him that he's just as clever as everyone else?

Reply 3

Kicky

I'm feeling exactly the same. I had convinced myself that I was going to be rejected and now I've got an offer and I'm sure they've made a mistake! I hope what Phil and Madprof said is true though :smile:

Reply 4

Madprof

Kicky, they obviously think you're more than capable ... an EEE offer is like gold dust, I would have thought! :eek:

Well done!

So many of my friends didn't think they were clever enough, weren't Oxbridge material, etc. None of us are failing or have been kicked out yet! I have yet to meet any of the insanely interlectual prodigies I assumed were the only people who got in .... Oxford students are bright (I suppose the same goes for you 'tabs :wink:

), but you're just as bright as anyone else with an offer ... I hope you get what I mean, anyway!

Reply 5

jumping10

I feel the same. I wasnt even going to apply to Oxford, so getting in was insane.I do agree that most people think that they got in by fluke!

Reply 6

Jigglypuff

16

Yep, agreed with what everyone else said. Also, even if your friend really doubts that they will cope with it why not tell them just to give it a go? If somebody had told me beforehand that there was a good chance I wouldn't cope academically with it, I would have still given it a shot. I'd rather spend a term there and hate it, go on a gap year and then to another good uni than turn down the offer outright and always be thinking 'What if?'

It basically comes down to trusting the admissions tutors- Oxbridge get great results, so they can't often accept people who are completely unsuitable.

Reply 7

K.T.

^ don't forget the teaching style is unique - yes they work you hard, but you get a lot of personal support through tutorials/supervisions. So it's not like he'd be stuck surrounded by geniuses with no-one to help!

Reply 8

sebbie

Hmm I think although most people may act like they think they got in by fluke I think that is crap... Most people I know who got in knew they had a reasonable shot and deserved the place though I've known several very good people get rejected...

Reply 9

thomasjtl

9

Yes, but Sebbie, it's important to play it down, so the common dross don't think you're an arrogant tosser. Afterall, they're much easier to manipulate for your bidding if they think you're one of them. :wink:

Reply 10

DFranklin

18

mickeymouse123

A friend of mine recently got in to Oxbridge after being pooled and although I know he deserves it and is super-clever, he doesn't seem to think he can hack it. He is very worried about what it will be like, and I would like to know what I can tell him to make him feel better about it?

I know someone who actually asked at interview "what happens if I fail my university exams?". He ended up with the highest mark in Cambridge (this was the Maths Tripos, IA).

Reply 11

Kicky

thomasjtl

Yes, but Sebbie, it's important to play it down, so the common dross don't think you're an arrogant tosser. Afterall, they're much easier to manipulate for your bidding if they think you're one of them. :wink:

I'm not playing it down. I was told that I stood very little chance with my GCSEs, so I was just shocked when i got in. :smile:

Just goes to show that you don't always have to listen to teachers :biggrin:

Reply 12

Hubert Poo

10

I genuinely feel like some kind of fraud for having got a place, especially when talking to some really, really, really clever people who didn't get in. I don't think of myself as particularly clever, and I too am worried I won't hack the speed of the course. I'm more lucky than anything. However, I think I have to trust the tutors that they saw something in me which they can build on. We're not perfect, after all, while these dons have been doing their job for years very, very well and know what they want in a student. I'm sure the last thing they want is to sit in a room for three years with some ******** who thinks they know it all, and certainly would prefer someone who loves their subject and is not so concerned with their own intellectual vanity that asking questions would seem ridiculous.

Reply 13

FadedJade

Although it was somewhere I always wanted to go, and when I got my offer i was quite confident, as it got closer and closer to arriving i started to panic more and more about the workload and not being able to keep up. It isn;t as difficult as you'd imagine, its kind of like having a full time job, working 40 hours a week and having the rest for fun stuff, not that most people work that much. Just make sure you get enough fun stuff and dont work too hard. I worked too hard and my DoS told me to go out more, now i dont do enough work. Its ok to find a happy medium'

Congrats Kicky, top marks for doing what you wanted. my teacher, on receipt of my marks said 'well you get that silly Cambridge idea out of your head now', and when i emailed Kings about potentially applying there, they told me quite rudely that i should check the university entrance requirements before bothering to apply. But thats beside the point, i guess the general idea is believe in yourself and Kicky shows where it gets you.

Sorry, I'm rambling to avoid doing my essay....

Reply 14

sebbie

Kicky

I'm not playing it down. I was told that I stood very little chance with my GCSEs, so I was just shocked when i got in. :smile:

Just goes to show that you don't always have to listen to teachers :biggrin:

You had 5 As at AS level (in double maths and science) and were continuing all 5 to A2. You had 7A*s at GCSE.

Lets face it, it wasn't that unlikely!

Reply 15

Yoda

phil_m88

I think the vast majority of Oxbridge freshers secretly believe they some how slipped in accidentally and won't be able to hack it, but he has to remember that the admissions tutors know what they are looking for- they've been doing their job for ages and know which applicants will have the ability and potential to succeed at their university. He was chosen, they know he can do it!

Oh hell no. I've decided I'm the worst candidate who got accepted in oxford. Or at least my collage/subject. Whatever. Anyway, I KNEW I would be accepted way before I got the offer. Way before I even went there. Hell, I knew before I got my grades. Most people say they wont get in to cover the disapointment/make them look better if they get rejected. They wouldn't really apply if they don't have what it takes.

Anyway, just let your friend know that I got accepted. Tell him my grades. Tell him I only applied to oxford as I heard there are parties every day. All it takes is a little confidence and a little talent.

Reply 16

mickeymouse123

OP

Yoda

Tell him I only applied to oxford as I heard there are parties every day.

I picked the wrong one :eek:

Thanks Yoda- I think your advice might work!

Reply 17

Jigglypuff

16

Yoda

Oh hell no. I've decided I'm the worst candidate who got accepted in oxford. Or at least my collage/subject. Whatever. Anyway, I KNEW I would be accepted way before I got the offer. Way before I even went there. Hell, I knew before I got my grades. Most people say they wont get in to cover the disapointment/make them look better if they get rejected. They wouldn't really apply if they don't have what it takes.

Anyway, just let your friend know that I got accepted. Tell him my grades. Tell him I only applied to oxford as I heard there are parties every day. All it takes is a little confidence and a little talent.

That might be true, but people who only talk 24/7 about how they got into Oxford with '2 MARKS ABOVE A C!!!' will be shunned and never invited again. Sorry.

Reply 18

sufiankane

thats just harsh jigglypuff, it means that he did bloody good at his interview and is a reli good talker. And a person who always complains when people got accepted on low grades will be more likely to be shunned. Just step down, he is just trying to help mickeymouse123's friend gain some confidence.

Reply 19

FadedJade