@Twoin18 and @collegemom3717 really great advice.Regarding to convince them that this is where you want to go more than anywhere else, how or what is the good way or best way to do so? Thanks.
Hello all. I’m new to this forum so if this is the wrong one for this question, please let me know. I have a kid who’s applied to PPE at Oxford this year. I had two questions: 1) has anyone got an interview notice from Oxford for PPE yet? and 2) since we don’t get scores for the TSA test till mid January, does that mean the scores have gone directly to Oxford first so they can use that to qualify candidates for an interview? Thanks much!
PPE is right at the beginning (arrive Sun Dec 2nd). Last year we heard on Thanksgiving morning, probably will be about the same this year (almost certainly by Friday given they aim for 10 days notice). And yes the colleges use the TSA result in the shortlisting.
FWIW the British site has an interview tracker so you can see who’s been invited by subject and college amongst their readers. No PPE invitations listed yet.
That’s very helpful. I did find the interview tracker on the studentroom site. Thank you much!
@ailele Do your research on the course. So for example you might say you particularly liked the idea of doing X (but don’t be creepy by researching/asking about your interviewer’s particular research focus). Or have a rationale that otherwise shows you know what you are doing (e.g. do you have any relatives who went to college/lived in the UK?). Or ask questions that imply you’ve thought through things like staying over vacations (“how easy is it to find somewhere to live here (outside college) if I get a summer internship in Cambridge?”). But more than anything, don’t highlight your US alternatives, or say you’ve applied to 10 different universities.
Can someone please post the link or name of website for the interview tracker on the studentroom site for Oxford? I am having trouble locating the British site. Thanks so much in advance. Good luck shortlist hopefuls!
Search for “The official Oxford interviews thread 2019”
@Twoin18 Many thanks.
@GPDallas Looks like PPE interview invitations have started to hit over on the student room
Hey everyone, Edinburgh just sent me an offer! Although I’m really excited, it is conditional on a 4 or above on the AP Literature and Exam, and let’s just say that I’m not very good at analyzing English literature, especially since English is my second language.
My programme is Economics and Mathematics so I did not expect them to give me an conditional offer on the Lit exam.
My counselor did not show what she predicted for my AP scores although now I think that she predicted something too high for Literature.
I also find it weird that they gave me a conditional offer with AP Lit especially since I only had 2 actual 5’s related to math when I applied.
Anyway, is there anything I could do about it except work really hard in my Literature class and hope for the 4?
What do you guys think about that?
Also thank you for the help for cambridge interviews, that gave me a lot of insight on how to prepare. I have mine Tuesday!
@kiwi351, congrats on the offer!!
Your counselor must have predicted the - you should go find out what else s/he predicted for you!
Yes, if you decide to firm or insure your Edi offer you just need to buckle down & study hard for the exam in May. In the meantime, good luck on Tuesday!!
Good luck @kiwi351
If you end up not getting the score, contact Edinburgh at that point, and they may still accept you.
@kiwi351 i wonder if Edinburgh will take Lit Sat or another relevant Sat. It might be worth asking. AP Lit is a difficult exam, even for native speakers.
Once an offer is made it is unusual to be able to re-negotiate. The offer is conditional on what the OP’s GC (who the unis trust know the students ability) predicted- to go back and say, ‘sorry, that one is kinda hard- can we sub this easier one’ is a tough sell,
Agree with @collegemom3717, this is down to the GC’s prediction and I think they would need to sort it out not you (at least that’s what would be expected in the UK). It can be done: my high school renegotiated my Cambridge conditional offer (to substitute a different required A level in the offer), but they knew what they were doing and were trusted by the university (60 kids in my year went to Oxbridge). A US GC who doesn’t understand how the UK system works (and doesn’t have an established relationship with the university) would be at a big disadvantage.
The key would be for the GC to frame it properly. For example by saying “how about a 5 in X (other subject) and a score of Y (700?) in SAT 2 Lit instead”. The way to approach this is to say “the student wants to come there but would like to get the SAT 2 test score in Lit, to make the offer less risky (not easier) before firming it”. Also might be better done by phone than by email I suspect, though your GC may be reluctant to do that if they don’t know what they are doing.
Any relaxation is more likely after the scores come in - that’s how it works for domestic students wo haven’t got their A level grades.
^^ 60 kids in 1 year?? Westminster or St Pauls?
It was ok, a little bit harder than expected.
@ailele You mentioned in the previous post that your interview was in New York. I went to Cambridge for interview. What subject did you apply?