Should I disclose my mental health background to oxford? (my firm choice)
hi everyone,
I hold an offer from oxford, I'm not sure I will meet it. I know that i'm smart enough, otherwise I wouldn't have got the offer in the first place. However I get incredibly down about my work sometimes, so much so that during my GCSEs I became really quite ill and overdosed and had to take some time off (obviously).
I'm not worried about my mental health when/if i get to uni; I know the teaching and work style will suit me much better, and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I just want to know, does anyone have experience with this? Do you think I should let them know? It would be a great relief to me if they could take some of the pressure off, like by saying if I am overcome with depression for some of my exams they would look at my results individually, instead of rejecting me instantly if i just miss the offer. I just think it's unfair because the prospect of needing such high grades makes me depressed and unmotivated, resulting in a lower grade.. I'm not looking to get in with a lower grade, but if I knew my depression would be taken into account, that might help. Or would it just make me seem like I wanted an unfair advantage over other prospective student? (I really don't.)
I hold an offer from oxford, I'm not sure I will meet it. I know that i'm smart enough, otherwise I wouldn't have got the offer in the first place. However I get incredibly down about my work sometimes, so much so that during my GCSEs I became really quite ill and overdosed and had to take some time off (obviously).
I'm not worried about my mental health when/if i get to uni; I know the teaching and work style will suit me much better, and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I just want to know, does anyone have experience with this? Do you think I should let them know? It would be a great relief to me if they could take some of the pressure off, like by saying if I am overcome with depression for some of my exams they would look at my results individually, instead of rejecting me instantly if i just miss the offer. I just think it's unfair because the prospect of needing such high grades makes me depressed and unmotivated, resulting in a lower grade.. I'm not looking to get in with a lower grade, but if I knew my depression would be taken into account, that might help. Or would it just make me seem like I wanted an unfair advantage over other prospective student? (I really don't.)
I don't know to what extent they'd be willing to take it into account for your A Level grades if you missed your offer... but if you really do want to go to Oxford and are sure it wouldn't be detrimental to your health, you ought to tell them anyway, so that you can apply for DSA and get things set up ASAP for if you potentially start there in October. Oxford is a very tough environment and you'll want all the support you can get from the very ouset so that you swim rather than sink 
@BrasenoseAdm can advise more about how the information might be taken into consideration
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
@BrasenoseAdm can advise more about how the information might be taken into consideration
Thanks for the summons.
Our general advice is for offer-holders to ask their UCAS referee to report extenuating circumstances ahead of results day to the Admissions Office making the offer. If the candidate concerned misses an offer, we discuss with the selectors who can then make an informed decision. If the candidate doesn't miss, the extenuating circumstances remain confidential unless the health issue is on-going and the student subsequently declares a learning or support need when starting their programme of study.
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
I don't know to what extent they'd be willing to take it into account for your A Level grades if you missed your offer... but if you really do want to go to Oxford and are sure it wouldn't be detrimental to your health, you ought to tell them anyway, so that you can apply for DSA and get things set up ASAP for if you potentially start there in October. Oxford is a very tough environment and you'll want all the support you can get from the very ouset so that you swim rather than sink
Original post by BrasenoseAdm
Thanks for the summons.
Our general advice is for offer-holders to ask their UCAS referee to report extenuating circumstances ahead of results day to the Admissions Office making the offer. If the candidate concerned misses an offer, we discuss with the selectors who can then make an informed decision. If the candidate doesn't miss, the extenuating circumstances remain confidential unless the health issue is on-going and the student subsequently declares a learning or support need when starting their programme of study.
Our general advice is for offer-holders to ask their UCAS referee to report extenuating circumstances ahead of results day to the Admissions Office making the offer. If the candidate concerned misses an offer, we discuss with the selectors who can then make an informed decision. If the candidate doesn't miss, the extenuating circumstances remain confidential unless the health issue is on-going and the student subsequently declares a learning or support need when starting their programme of study.
Thank you both!!
