Missed Oxford offer

Original post by Anonymous

Hi, just got my remark results back and I still missed my offer by a grade.

I honestly feel like a failure and would now have to retake the year, resit an A-level and reapply as I lost my place at my insurance too.

I contacted Oxford admissions and they said I could reapply and when I asked whether I would be at a disadvantage they said “ we would treat your application based on its own merits”.

What does this mean?

They also said I wouldn’t have to mention any extenuating circumstances which confuses me, as everyone says you can only reapply with extenuating circumstances if you’re retaking an A-level.

I’m still unsure whether I would want to reapply as I don’t know if I could take another rejection.

Does anyone have any experience with missing their offer from oxbridge or another RG uni, reapplying and getting in afterwards?

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated!

iirc Oxford doesn't store data of applicants so you can reapply without worrying about anything. idk about resitting A Levels though, but I've never heard of needing extenuating circumstances? As long as you have email proof that the university told you that you wouldn't need extenuating circumstances for reapplying you'll be fine.

I found this post on some other social media of a successful Oxford reapplicant who had to retake an A Level too, it might help you:

' ' '
so uh i had this exact experience last year - i narrowly missed the grades for oxford last summer, and didnt want to go to my insurance choice (it was a fine uni, good course, i just didnt like the vibes and was so attached to oxford)
so i took a gap year and reapplied, my situ with subjs was weird but in the end ive ended up resitting biology
obviously got my offer again, and hoping to get the grade this time round
from my experience, pros have been:
obv another chance at oxford
being able to work and save up
being able to travel
still having a subject for some academic work but also having much more free time
recharging a bit after alevel burnout rather than going straight into uni
more time to research other options for the worst case scenario happening again

but obviously cons such as:
having to go through the whole reapplication process again with no guarantee of an offer
resitting exams sucks.
being a year behind friends
working out accom options (im living at home but have to pay parents rent)
stress of missing your offer a second time, and having a plan for if that happens
id suggest that it can be a great option, but to make sure you plan your gap year well before doing it - i hardly planned mine at all because i was so in denial for ages, and it ended up being really chaotic and ive hated so much of it

but you can definitely do it well, and end up at oxf next year :smile:

' ' '
P.S. You're not a failure! A Level results day was just brutal for us all. If you need someone to talk to, I don't mind being that person. (I'm an Oxford physics soon-to-be-fresher, but I was also very very very worried about my A Level grades and I had a sort-of gap year planned just in case my A Levels flopped.)

Reply 4

beautifulworld

18

i'm not sure what they meant by treating your application based on its own merits. if your reapplication is at a disadvantage, i would still apply because there is still a chance.

was it a specific college that told you to not mention extenuating circumstances? i am unsure of their motivation...

despite the possibility of another rejection, i would still apply for the chance of an acceptance. then your future self won't look back and regret not giving it a try. :smile:

if i were you, i would achieve the grades this year and apply again to Oxford :smile:

Reply 5

OP

Thanks for the advice, I will try that!!

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Sorcerer of Old

I think generally speaking reapplying doesn’t put your application at a disadvantage, maybe that’s only the case for a few subjects but reapplication isn’t uncommon. I even read about a guy on here who reapplied to Oxford I think 7 times and eventually got in although of course I wouldn’t recommend doing this.

Hopefully it won’t! Ah 7 times he was very persistent. Thanks!!

Reply 7

OP

Original post by PAT_22

iirc Oxford doesn't store data of applicants so you can reapply without worrying about anything. idk about resitting A Levels though, but I've never heard of needing extenuating circumstances? As long as you have email proof that the university told you that you wouldn't need extenuating circumstances for reapplying you'll be fine.

I found this post on some other social media of a successful Oxford reapplicant who had to retake an A Level too, it might help you:

' ' '
so uh i had this exact experience last year - i narrowly missed the grades for oxford last summer, and didnt want to go to my insurance choice (it was a fine uni, good course, i just didnt like the vibes and was so attached to oxford)
so i took a gap year and reapplied, my situ with subjs was weird but in the end ive ended up resitting biology
obviously got my offer again, and hoping to get the grade this time round
from my experience, pros have been:
obv another chance at oxford
being able to work and save up
being able to travel
still having a subject for some academic work but also having much more free time
recharging a bit after alevel burnout rather than going straight into uni
more time to research other options for the worst case scenario happening again

but obviously cons such as:
having to go through the whole reapplication process again with no guarantee of an offer
resitting exams sucks.
being a year behind friends
working out accom options (im living at home but have to pay parents rent)
stress of missing your offer a second time, and having a plan for if that happens
id suggest that it can be a great option, but to make sure you plan your gap year well before doing it - i hardly planned mine at all because i was so in denial for ages, and it ended up being really chaotic and ive hated so much of it

but you can definitely do it well, and end up at oxf next year :smile:

' ' '
P.S. You're not a failure! A Level results day was just brutal for us all. If you need someone to talk to, I don't mind being that person. (I'm an Oxford physics soon-to-be-fresher, but I was also very very very worried about my A Level grades and I had a sort-of gap year planned just in case my A Levels flopped.)

Thank you so much for your kind words!! :smile:

This has given me hope, do you know where they posted this by any chance?

Reply 8

OP

Original post by beautifulworld

i'm not sure what they meant by treating your application based on its own merits. if your reapplication is at a disadvantage, i would still apply because there is still a chance.

was it a specific college that told you to not mention extenuating circumstances? i am unsure of their motivation...

despite the possibility of another rejection, i would still apply for the chance of an acceptance. then your future self won't look back and regret not giving it a try. :smile:

if i were you, i would achieve the grades this year and apply again to Oxford :smile:

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it!! :smile:

Reply 9

Muttley79

20

Original post by Anonymous

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it!! :smile:

I would apply to a different college.

Reply 10

Original post by Anonymous

Thank you so much for your kind words!! :smile:

This has given me hope, do you know where they posted this by any chance?

It is on Discord :P

Reply 11

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by Anonymous

Hi, just got my remark results back and I still missed my offer by a grade.

I honestly feel like a failure and would now have to retake the year, resit an A-level and reapply as I lost my place at my insurance too.

I contacted Oxford admissions and they said I could reapply and when I asked whether I would be at a disadvantage they said “ we would treat your application based on its own merits”.

What does this mean?

They also said I wouldn’t have to mention any extenuating circumstances which confuses me, as everyone says you can only reapply with extenuating circumstances if you’re retaking an A-level.

I’m still unsure whether I would want to reapply as I don’t know if I could take another rejection.

Does anyone have any experience with missing their offer from oxbridge or another RG uni, reapplying and getting in afterwards?

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated!

Absolutely reapply. You have clearly shown that you are more than capable of getting in previously by landing yourself an offer (incidentally, this is also one of many things that would indicate you are anything but a failure).

I second @Muttley79’s advice for you to apply to a different college to any that you have applied to as I was actually given this same advice by a tutor at Oxford (who had coincidentally been one of my interviewers) when I went around on an open day during my gap year. I would also extend this advice to any other colleges you may have previously been interviewed by and / or have given you an offer in the first place (this is only in the event you did not get your first choice college at either stage of the process).

I would recommend you use the college suggester (http://apply.oxfordsu.org/colleges/suggester/) to find a number of colleges that may better fit your needs/preferences and if possible, go around them on the upcoming open day.

If you can go to the open day, make sure to ask questions to student helpers and any staff around to get to know what any new colleges you are thinking of applying to have to offer (so you get an idea as to whether Oxford really still is where you want to end up) and even more crucially so you can find more specific advice for reapplicants to whichever course you are applying for.

I would also recommend taking your old personal statement and tweaking it a little to account for any relevant supercurriculars you have completed since your last application. As for getting a reference sorted, I would ask your school if you can use their buzzword and if they can give you a reference.

Reply 12

Original post by Anonymous

Thank you so much for your kind words!! :smile:

This has given me hope, do you know where they posted this by any chance?

Btw how is your plan right now? Forgot to ask you if you want me to dm you the discord server link :tongue:

Reply 13

OP

Original post by PAT_22

Btw how is your plan right now? Forgot to ask you if you want me to dm you the discord server link :tongue:

Hi I've decided to retake and reapply, hopefully all goes well! Yes, that would be great! :smile:

Reply 14