Being rejected by Oxbridge

I wasn't implying that at all >_>. I stated "unless they have a really convincing reason for doing so", and I still consider turning down an Oxbridge offer because of the "workload" after the said applicant has read the prospectus, visited the uni, payed for their application and had their interviews, a fairly silly reason. It's extremely unlikely that someone who has to pretend they turned down an Oxbridge offer would be able to carry off that claim and give a valid reason to boot.

Not really. You could decide that the course wasn't as good as the one you've been offered by another uni. You could realise that you don't want the workload. You could be intimidated by a harsh offer (get x in module y, get AEA, get a letter of approval from Gordon Brown - all whilst doing the hokey cokey.) You could be have visited elsewhere in the meantime and decided you prefer the other one. The idea that Oxbridge are, absolutely and unequivocally, the best at everything, is simply nonsense.

Why not both? It's a group dance!

I'm not saying that that was your view, implicitly or explicitly, but you appeared to carry the assumption that someone who has applied to Oxford wants to go to Oxford. That's a fair assumption. However, that doesn't mean that they necessarily consider Oxford to be their best bet - it could be a toss-up. I, for example, am currently undecided between Imperial and Oxford. They are both on a pretty level playing field, in my mind. If I don't get an offer, fine - no decision (clearly I'd prefer an offer, because I'd like to be in a position to make that decision). If I were to get an offer, I don't as of yet know whether or not I would take it, or opt for Imperial instead. If I were (purely hypothetically!) to be given an offer, equivalent to Imperial's, and were to decide in the end that Imperial was the one for me - I don't think that that would make me "sound pretty stupid". It's not a specific "really convincing reason" for doing so - there's loads in the way of ± going for Imperial and Oxford, separately, and I couldn't explain my decision other than that I felt overall Imperial would be better for me. I'm not saying that, if I get an offer from Oxford, I would opt for Imperial instead, but it's a very real possibility in my mind.

I regret telling the interviewer that I sing in a punk band.
This + other things tells me that a rejection is winging it's way to me.

Good point. But if he writes the letter while dancing, wouldn't he need somebody to keep the paper straight, so the letter will be vaguely legible?

Nah, he doesn't write it with his own hand. He dictates it to his secretary, so it's all his words, just not in his hand. I'm not sure whether he has to sign it himself or if he's allowed to get it signed PP (Per-Procurationem) by his secretary. I should probably ask the college if they mind a pp, or if they expect him to sign the letter whilst doing the hokey-cokey.

I just find it really weird that this kind of thing goes on in some schools. I went to a pretty good school (state grammar as I live in an area where the 11+ system still exists), and we have people applying to Oxbridge every year, but I can't imagine anybody was so obsessed that they would try to hide their rejection.

Out of interest (Bumblebee), how many people in your school generally apply and what proportion are accepted? I really think your school (or maybe the parents of students in the school) need to start promoting a healthier attitude about the whole thing.

Indeed. As if the lecturers themselves all sit around listening to Palestrina and Monteverdi. Some do, of course, but many have modern tastes as well and swap music with their students - maybe not Punk, but the Kings of Leon go down very well with the tutors I know.

I noticed the general etiquette amongst those who did not get in from my school was to tell teachers and the general community that they *had* been offered a place and had decided not to accept. In some cases I think that the worst part of rejection is the social humiliation factor rather than the fact that they won't be going to their university of choice - which explains a lot in itself.