Is Oxford reapplication truly something I should do?

I unfortunately heard the bad news today; that my application to study Physics at Worcester College was unsuccessful. I should've really predicted this, considering something like ~90% of students do not receive an offer for the course, but it does come with a sting.

I didn't expect to make it this far- when I sat the PAT earlier this year, I thought it was over. It felt much harder than previous years (none of the more common motifs came up) and I truly struggled on that day. Nonetheless, my hopes were reignited when I was invted to interview a month later and especially when I felt I performed well in those interviews.

So, I kind of got my hopes up. It's a really weird scenario because I hadn't even decided what my first choice university would be - Oxford sounds great for prestige + tutorial system, but I have the "gifted kid problem" of being unused to working hard so I thought it might be a very harsh four years! I also applied to Edinburgh, Lancaster, Durham, and Manchester, which are all outstanding universities for Physics (and Astrophysics, which was the speciality I applied for) so I had/have many good options to choose from.

And yet, as we came closer to today, I found myself more and more in the Oxford spirit, and so I am now vaguely considering reapplication next year. Maybe the rejection sucks more than the material idea of not going to Oxford ("tying up self-worth with your Oxbridge application" etc etc) or is it truly that I feel worse-off for missing out on a place at a very historic place? I'm not too sure, my feelings are very muddled today.

In short though, I'm not too keen on taking a full gap year. I really would doubt I'd spend it well, especially with the vestiges of the pandemic still going on, and it seems almost scary and lonely. I've heard of reapplying for Oxford while at a different university, but that also seems somewhat disrespectful and yet again I would miss a year in terms of the time when I would receive my qualification.

Is the undergrad programme (specifically for Physics but honestly in general with the tutorial system too) worth the second try, or should I look at completing my integrated masters at a different university and see if I could go to Oxbridge for postgrad? Should I even try to get in for postgrad, or (looking at DPhils) is the so-called specialness of Oxford not really shown anywhere else but in their undergrad programmes?

Thanks!

Where have you got offers from?

I have currently gotten offers from Manchester and Lancaster, both reduced by contextual, but my projected A-Levels are A*A*A*A* with an A* in the EPQ, so not hitting conditional offers of ABB isn't really too much of a risk. I have not heard back from Edinburgh or Durham, except from multiple emails from the latter saying "we have not made a decision yet." I've heard Durham is notorious for making decisions later on in the process too.

As of right now my first choice is probably between Lancaster and Durham, because I live in Manchester already and a Scottish degree would be an extra year too, although I need to research more into Scottish degrees before I make my decision.

Manchester is the best department - you can move out ... Durham isn't noted for Physics.

That's

That being said, have only had the chance to go and look at Lancaster in detail with the pandemic, so I might step onto Manchester's campus and be totally enraptured by whatever happens in the open day. For now, though, it is more so a back-up.

No I don't value League tables and Durham is not very student friendly is terms of keeping you waiting and if you miss the grades it's a pain in delaying decisions.

I would not think it's worth reapplying if you like the other courses.

Thank you for the advice!