Hello. So last week I received an offer from Oxford but I am feeling a bit insecure about my offer. Some part of me feels that I did not deserve me place…
First of all, I was given an offer with a place on Opportunity Oxford (Oppox). Therefore, I felt like one of the main reasons I was given a place with due to some contextual information about me (such as the previous school I went to). I was almost certain I had not gotten an offer after my third interview (which I believe I did not perform too well on) and therefore I feel like Opportunity Oxford was the only reason why I got an offer at this university. This is also supported by the fact that I am an ethnic minority so maybe the admission tutors had sympathy for me and despite my bad third interview still wanted to give me a place because I fit some of the criteria for Opportunity Oxford. Therefore, even though there may have been much stronger applicants for the course I applied to, they may have got rejected yet I got an offer.
Additionally, I got an open offer. I have read a lot of discussions about an open offer on TSR so now I do not feel so worried about it. However, a part of me still believes that this is what happened prior to getting the open offer: I was interviewed, the admission tutors were not too sure about me so they put me in the pool; and then my underwriting college took me out of the pool because I fit the criteria for Opportunity Oxford.
I am really sorry if I come across as being ungrateful I’m struggling to not have these thoughts especially since I was preparing myself for rejection from the moment I applied to the university, and made myself believe I had been rejected after my third interview. Or perhaps there may be some truth in what I’m saying.
Also, I have a question: Oxford says that Oppox is in place to help to “support talented UK offer holders from under-represented backgrounds in the transition from school or college to university”. Therefore, is it valid to say that, if someone was from an underrepresented background, even if their overall application was not so strong, then they still have a high chance of getting an offer because they fit the criteria for Oppox?