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Fairytale Oxbridge stories?

Erm, well.... I'm forever hearing of the straight-A/ A* private school kids getting Oxbridge offers (I don't mean on TSR, I know you guys work your ass off to get where you are)... But anyway, I was wondering if there is anyone here who was actually REALLY surprised to get an offer??

What I mean is those people who got bad-ish GCSE, AS level or predicted grades. Or people who came from a crappy school. Or had to re-take. Or who no-one had faith in. Or had an illness or accident. And STILL managed to shine! :smile:

I know it's silly, but I personally would love to here stories like this; to alot of people Oxbridge is many many miles away, and Im sure it could inspire people who previously didn't feel good enough! :smile:

Thanks for reading, and please reply if you have a "Fairytale Oxbridge Story" :biggrin:!

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If I remember correctly, Yoda from TSR achieved relatively poor A level results but still got an offer from Oxford.

EDIT: His profile http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/member.php?u=95315. You could've PM'd him about it, but he appears to have gone missing. Maybe he got kidnapped by Fake Oxbridge Interviews Ltd.
Reply 2
Avatar for Liar
Liar
12
Hardly poor, he got a B didn't he?
2 marks off a C, you would be hard pressed to find worse marks for an Oxford offer. Besides he hasnt posted since results day, so im wondering about wether he actually met the offer....
Reply 4
Avatar for --
--
3
Hmmm, suppose I fit in here. Left school with no qualifications due to illness, had to then take (5) GCSEs the next year to get onto A Level course at my local college, got ABBBC. Then got AAAB at AS (with the A's around 90%), and then at the start of my A2 year had a near-fatal motorbike accident, broke my spine, arm, leg, collapsed both lungs, lost my spleen and spent 3 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator and probably should have died. Took me till about March before I was well enough to consider reading a book, though I still couldn't walk (would take another four months) and so couldn't go back to college. So taught myself the entire syllabus for all three A2s at home in three months (exams began start of June) with pretty much no help from college (essays were marked for one of my subjects, weren't for the others, no other help). Got As in every single module, AAA overall at about 90%, 97% UMS at A2 in the subject I'm now doing at university and got into Cambridge.
Reply 5
Avatar for OxyMoron.
OxyMoron.
7
:eek:

You're a historian, right?
3232
Hmmm, suppose I fit in here. Left school with no qualifications due to illness, had to then take (5) GCSEs the next year to get onto A Level course at my local college, got ABBBC. Then got AAAB at AS (with the A's around 90%), and then at the start of my A2 year had a near-fatal motorbike accident, broke my spine, arm, leg, collapsed both lungs, lost my spleen and spent 3 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator and probably should have died. Took me till about March before I was well enough to consider reading a book, though I still couldn't walk (would take another four months) and so couldn't go back to college. So taught myself the entire syllabus for all three A2s at home in three months (exams began start of June) with pretty much no help from college (essays were marked for one of my subjects, weren't for the others, no other help). Got As in every single module, AAA overall at about 90%, 97% UMS at A2 in the subject I'm now doing at university and got into Cambridge.

Wow! :eek: Absolutely remarkable!
Reply 7
Avatar for Liar
Liar
12
3232
Hmmm, suppose I fit in here. Left school with no qualifications due to illness, had to then take (5) GCSEs the next year to get onto A Level course at my local college, got ABBBC. Then got AAAB at AS (with the A's around 90%), and then at the start of my A2 year had a near-fatal motorbike accident, broke my spine, arm, leg, collapsed both lungs, lost my spleen and spent 3 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator and probably should have died. Took me till about March before I was well enough to consider reading a book, though I still couldn't walk (would take another four months) and so couldn't go back to college. So taught myself the entire syllabus for all three A2s at home in three months (exams began start of June) with pretty much no help from college (essays were marked for one of my subjects, weren't for the others, no other help). Got As in every single module, AAA overall at about 90%, 97% UMS at A2 in the subject I'm now doing at university and got into Cambridge.


:eek: I am so damn impressed right now! What an achievement!
3232
Hmmm, suppose I fit in here. Left school with no qualifications due to illness, had to then take (5) GCSEs the next year to get onto A Level course at my local college, got ABBBC. Then got AAAB at AS (with the A's around 90%), and then at the start of my A2 year had a near-fatal motorbike accident, broke my spine, arm, leg, collapsed both lungs, lost my spleen and spent 3 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator and probably should have died. Took me till about March before I was well enough to consider reading a book, though I still couldn't walk (would take another four months) and so couldn't go back to college. So taught myself the entire syllabus for all three A2s at home in three months (exams began start of June) with pretty much no help from college (essays were marked for one of my subjects, weren't for the others, no other help). Got As in every single module, AAA overall at about 90%, 97% UMS at A2 in the subject I'm now doing at university and got into Cambridge.


You rock! I might steal some of this for my personal statement:p:.
Reply 9
Avatar for Oldmannow
Oldmannow
18
Yoda didn't meet his offer most likely because he was too busy being arrogant. OH well. Had he achieved his offer he would have been here 24/7 leading up to the start of Uni telling everyone :wink:
Reply 10
Avatar for --
--
3
>> peaches
:eek:

You're a historian, right?



Yep. :smile:
Reply 11
Avatar for gruffyddd
gruffyddd
1
Erm my story's not much of a fairytale, more a case laziness. I was thinking of doing medicine right up until October when I realised it was not for me and chemistry would be much more interesting. It was only then I considered Oxford because the admissions statistics are so much more favourable for chemistry.

I was intent on just ticking the Oxford box on UCAS, but my pushy sixth form college forces all applicants to attend Oxbridge classes (which believe me put alot of people off applying). I managed to miss going to most of them despite angry letters from my tutor; of the ones I did go to it usually involved discussing philisophical issues with arts applicants, not much help in a science interview.

I was invited to interview but I wasn't too hopeful as my AS grades were AAAC thanks to my half-hearted biology coursework losing me marks. In the first interview I had a bit of nightmare over what was a simple topic in hindsight. My 2nd interview went really well though and I ended up getting accepted.

Goes to show that straight As are not essential if you're choosing a less popular subject eg classics/physics.
Reply 12
Avatar for Alive
Alive
10
Jigglypuff
Nothing like some of the other stories on here (most notably 3232's; that's amazing) but I had below average GCSE and AS results (2.5 A*, 6A, 2B and AAAC with the C one mark from a B)


Considering (at my school at least, I would guess it's pretty standard) that only about 50% of kids get 5 A -C GCSEs, there is no possible way that those results can be considered below average.

Not really fairy story at all, but my friend here got an AAA offer for english, worked so hard on that that he only got a B in philosophy (AAB overall) but OXford rang him up and said they wanted him anyway.
Reply 13
Avatar for --
--
3
Alive
Considering (at my school at least, I would guess it's pretty standard) that only about 50% of kids get 5 A -C GCSEs, there is no possible way that those results can be considered below average.



She meant that they are below average for Cambridge, which is true.
This is a bit of a bizarre thread. Ok, so there are a bunch of us who went to local comps, but that doesn't make Cambridge any kind of fairytale. If only people would stop putting it on a damn pedestal.

MB
Wow..!

3232's story is exactly what I mean, in fact thats what made me wonder if there were any extroardinary other stories out there! Pretty amazing, ouch about the spleen bit :s-smilie: lol!

So what IS the story about yoda then, did he only get 2 marks of a B in one AS subject (like, AAAB), or was it the subject he wanted to study...? Just curious! Although if he'd met his offer i'm sure he would be here parading it, surely?

And JigglyPuff, thanks for sharing, it's great that you can achieve turn it ll around with motivation and hard work! :smile:

Alive, :eek: :eek: :eek: OhMyGosh! He must have done awesomely in his interview! I never knew thay did that...

musicbloke, I don't mean 'people who went to local comps', and anyway there is usually one or two kids that apply to oxbridge anyway, the private school think was just an example of the steriotype that puts people off. I mean stories like 3232's. Infact, the whole idea was to pull people off of the pedestal! The fairytale bit might have been a bit of an exagerration, but, believe it or not, many people they feel that it's more likely they will be elected Prime Minister. Regardless, it's fun to read! Lighten up!

Thanks for all the stories, Keep 'em coming! :biggrin:
Let's not have this as the yoda discussion thread please...
Reply 17
Avatar for Gault
Gault
State. English.
The Anthropologist
Ouchy, someone just negged me for no real reason:

"wtf? That's absolute rubbish that is. Unless you mean positive discrimination; but even then, the university doesn't do that. They look at the person and grades, not the circumstances from where they came".

I don't know who left this, but seriously you don't even seem to know what you are saying. Of course Cambridge view applicants on their background aswell as their academic history. If someone comes from an awful, failing school, it's only rational that they will give special credit, via the CSAS that's already in place. Please, i emphasise, leave neg/pos rep for a reason, and on a topic you actually seem to have a fathom of knowledge on. It's not "discrimination", it's consideration of, and for, that persons situation and background.


OMG, thats ridiculous!
Ofcourse uni's take into account that some people have to work considerably harder to get a good grade, otherwise it would be unfair! :rolleyes:
Reply 19
Avatar for pyrolol
pyrolol
I don't think it's a case of people having to work harder actually; it seems more to compensate for poor teaching or an otherwise disrupted education.

They want everyone to work hard, if people show the same potential and attitude they are equally worthy of a place I think; just peoples resources differ and consequently they may get different grades, without either hypothetical person being 'worse'.

On the subject of low grades: A noticeable minority of applicants to Christs Cambridge will get EE offers. Having said that, don't hold your breath - they're the best of the lot >_<.

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