WHAT NEXT IF YOU DID (OR DIDN'T) GET AN OXBRIDGE OFFER?

Oxford application replies are sent out on January 10^th and those from Cambridge a little later. For a bright student who has worked hard, understood how the system works and made wise choices, these may well bring an Oxbridge offer.

 

While this is great news, it does not mean you can rest on your laurels. Most offers are conditional on very specific A-level grades, so there is little flexibility from now on. Calling the university the morning after your A-level results to ask if it will take you with slightly lower grades will do no good. So, hit the town for a night out by all means, but then hurry back to your books. You have a lot to feel confident about.

 

A student told that Oxbridge is unable to offer him or her a place will feel quite differently. Parents, too, may be disappointed and let it show. This leaves some applicants horribly upset. Some years ago, a neighbour's son in this state called me at midnight to say that, without an Oxbridge place, his entire life was now ruined. There is no need to feel this way, honestly.

 

The fact is, around five times as many students apply as there are places for. Applicants, though, may not have quite the right A-level subjects, grades or test results for their chosen course. Even brilliant, well qualified students sometimes don’t get in, especially if they applied for a hyper-popular Oxbridge course. While academic preparation generally pays off, there is also a small element of luck, and the admissions process, although much improved, is not perfect. Fortunately, most top employers know this.

 

Besides, making a serious academic effort to get into Oxbridge is also the way to impress other (but intellectually just as stimulating)  Russell Group universities. Each one will have slightly different entrance criteria, but most qualify graduates for similar careers. So, if your teachers advised you to try for Oxbridge but things did not work out, you can still expect to do well in life. Students elsewhere also have lots of fun in their undergraduate years, if not on quite as smooth lawns.

 

Still wondering whether reapplying to Oxbridge next year may not be your best choice, though? Before you decide, read chapter 22 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.

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TEACHERS:
 

Does your school rarely get a student into Oxbridge,

or has it perhaps not yet tried?

 

Would you like a staff teach-in on Oxbridge entrance, at your school,

on the way to maximise able students’ chances?

Starting this term, teach-ins will again be led by

Elfi Pallis, author of tried-and-trusted guide

OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.

For all details see  http://www.tellbooks.com/teach-in.htm.

 

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