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How to deal with being rejected from Oxbridge with a sibling studying there?

I got rejected recently and my older sister currently goes to an Oxbridge uni (not specifying on the off chance she sees this lol). I've been trying to tentatively comfort myself (whilst feeling pretty pathetic about it) by reminding myself that the acceptance rate for her course meant she supposedly had double the chance of getting in compared to my chances, if acceptance rates even matter, and her course isn't something that a lot of people apply to in the first place. She was already amazing, and I had little doubt that she would be able to stand out amongst what is a smaller number of applicants in comparison to other courses.

But it's just sort of embarrassing? I'd never say this of anyone else, that getting rejected from Oxbridge makes you an embarrassment, but I'm very aware that my sister and I have always been similar. Our personalities, academic abilities, way of acting and talking - we've been matched in many ways since we were little, and in terms of grades I've sometimes even pulled ahead of her despite handling illness.

But at the same time, I've always felt like she's just been better than me, despite all the evidence that we're pretty evenly matched. I don't know if that's just a thing - that everyone feels like their older sisters are so much more mature, organised, disciplined. But getting rejected just really hammered down on my little inferiority complex in regards to her, and I feel bad mentioning it to anyone in real life because I don't want to make some crazy sibling drama out of my own failure and put a dampener on her deserved success.

Yeah, it's just embarrassing. I just feel weirdly ashamed and pathetic that we've always been similar, which was one of the reasons everyone else expected to see me get in, only for me to come out unsuccessful.
Reply 1
My outlook is take your sister out of this. Just think William Shakespeare didn't go to any university so practically anyone is lucky to go to any university, let alone Oxbridge. Most geniuses who've ever lived not only didn't study at Oxbridge but possibly wouldn't have found it the best environment for their personality. Oxbridge offers a very specific kind of education in smallish settings but there is nothing written in stone that it's tailor made for even most of the best. If they weren't such old, pretty, places (with colleges often not even designed by Oxbridge-educated architects, no doubt), we wouldn't think so much about it. Imperial is arguably best for Computer Science but there aren't legions of computer programmers down the decades cursing that they didn't get in Imperial. Talented people are talented no matter where percentage chances, best fit reality, and circumstancial likelihood resulted in them ending up.
(edited 2 months ago)
Reply 2
There are plenty of other good universities to study at. Undergrad degrees are a starting point and shouldn't define you. Comparing yourself to siblings is a never a good thing. I understand why you do it but at the end of the day you have to make your life choices based on your life options. Oxbridge isn't an option so choose from what you have. Your sister's life and yours will diverge ever more as you both leave home and start working and have/not have families of your own. Comparing yourself to her will simply cause you unhappiness.
Original post by Anonymous #1
I got rejected recently and my older sister currently goes to an Oxbridge uni (not specifying on the off chance she sees this lol). I've been trying to tentatively comfort myself (whilst feeling pretty pathetic about it) by reminding myself that the acceptance rate for her course meant she supposedly had double the chance of getting in compared to my chances, if acceptance rates even matter, and her course isn't something that a lot of people apply to in the first place. She was already amazing, and I had little doubt that she would be able to stand out amongst what is a smaller number of applicants in comparison to other courses.

But it's just sort of embarrassing? I'd never say this of anyone else, that getting rejected from Oxbridge makes you an embarrassment, but I'm very aware that my sister and I have always been similar. Our personalities, academic abilities, way of acting and talking - we've been matched in many ways since we were little, and in terms of grades I've sometimes even pulled ahead of her despite handling illness.

But at the same time, I've always felt like she's just been better than me, despite all the evidence that we're pretty evenly matched. I don't know if that's just a thing - that everyone feels like their older sisters are so much more mature, organised, disciplined. But getting rejected just really hammered down on my little inferiority complex in regards to her, and I feel bad mentioning it to anyone in real life because I don't want to make some crazy sibling drama out of my own failure and put a dampener on her deserved success.

Yeah, it's just embarrassing. I just feel weirdly ashamed and pathetic that we've always been similar, which was one of the reasons everyone else expected to see me get in, only for me to come out unsuccessful.

Your feelings are valid. However, you answered your question in the first paragraph. You applied to a different course that’s more competitive, so it is unfair to compare your abilities.

You can cry about it. When you are done, I would suggest that you consider your options. You can either re-apply next year or go to another fantastic uni.

Good luck

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