Options
Aiming for Oxford/Cambridge universities for my daughter
Good Morning Folks
My daughter has just finished year 9 at school. She is in the top group for all her subjects. However, she is not an A* student or a gifted and talented student.
Over the last few weeks I was thinking if it would be a good idea to aim to get he in the top universities such as Oxford/Cambridge.
Do you think it is a bit late in the day to think of that, and that a student has to be labelled as gifted & talented in order to aim for those universities? Also, would I be applying unnecessary pressure on my daughter?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
My daughter has just finished year 9 at school. She is in the top group for all her subjects. However, she is not an A* student or a gifted and talented student.
Over the last few weeks I was thinking if it would be a good idea to aim to get he in the top universities such as Oxford/Cambridge.
Do you think it is a bit late in the day to think of that, and that a student has to be labelled as gifted & talented in order to aim for those universities? Also, would I be applying unnecessary pressure on my daughter?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
As for uni that is not your choice. It is her's. Do not push her into anything she doesn't want to do or anywhere she doesn't want to go. There are plenty of great universities out there. Not just the Oxbridge ones.
Also if you daughter is the top of her groups but isn't getting A* does that mean no one in her year is getting them? If so is it the right school for her if she does want to go to somewhere that you need exceptionally good grades for.
Good luck though - she still has a way to go so let her concentrate on the start of her GCSEs.
Her school should help her with any university applications when the time comes but don't put any pressure on her, especially as she hasn't even done her GCSEs, that's a stressful enough time as it is, and hopefully she will get the grades that she needs.
I'm fairly certain this post must be a pi$$ take.
Either that or the parent is less mature than the poor daughter who is described as neither gifted nor talented.
This. Don't be seduced by the names. Help her choose the path which is right for her.
I find it hard to take it seriously. No one considers university choice in Year 9. And no one would be silly enough to think that you could be anything less than an A* student to get into Oxbridge. You'd need at least A* A A in your A-Levels and they're significantly harder than GCSEs.
I think I did read a thread where he mentioned having a twins. On a side note I had brothers and sisters in my class in school who weren't twins, they were just born in the same school year.
Is this some sort of vicarious living ?
It's a bit early to know if she is likely to get the grades at A level Oxbridge will expect...to say nothing of the many other factors makes for an Oxbridge candidate about more than just exam grades.
Does your daughter have any idea yet what she wants to do as a career? Because if she wants to be a vet and IIRC Oxford doesn't have a vet course.
And I would advise against pushing her somewhere she has no interest in going...a contemporary of mine was pushed to Cambridge by her folks...she ended up drinking, doping, failing and pregnant by the middle of her second year when her parents finally gave up on their ambitions.
Irish twins
This is the nub of it. I know people whose kids are at private school and do intensive extracurricular activities because they need those extra factors to boost their chances of getting into Oxford. It could mean playing an instrument to a very high standard or being exceptional at sport, for example, both of which are fine if you have the talent or ability but you can't learn to have talent!
True. My son's ex got as far as the interviews for Oxford and despite getting all As in her A levels including 100% on the subject she wanted to study (as predicted) she was never offered a place.
And I was offered a place at Cambridge on condition that I got two As and a B at A-level (which is quite low for Oxbridge, and which I failed to get
There are plenty of top Uni's without those two elitist ones - check out Durham, St Andrews, York, Warwick and countless others - bear in mind a LOT depends what she wants to study. Also bear in mind, she's going to spend at least three years there, best to pick somewhere she would be happy.
Even if she was an A* student, and in the gifted and talented scheme, it's extremely unlikely that either Oxford or Cambridge would even offer her an interview - despite claims to the contrary, if you're not in a private school it's almost impossible to get an interview.
My daughter went to two Oxbridge events, both were the worst events she went to, and she told them where to stick their elitist heads
There are a lot of people who start considering university choices earlier than Year 9, for example choosing which secondary school to send their child to based on the universities that past students have ended up at*.
*Lots of schools put this information in the school prospectus as a 'selling point'.
I would agree with that because university itself might not be her preferred option. For example, she might want to go into an apprenticeship or go into a career at entry level and get professional qualifications along the way. Those are all equally valid career options.
If the daughter does want to go to university, then she ought to have the final decision about which course to study and which university to attend because she might really like one particular department at a certain university. Personally, it's an area where I think that the parents should back off and should support their child's own choice.
And I know dozens, from high performing sixth forms, all with masses of extracurricular activities (including some playing sports at County and Country levels), and all expected to get solid A*'s at A level - none even got an interview.
I also know a small number who have been to Oxford and Cambridge, not many of them enjoyed it there - and the level of tuition is lower than most other Uni's, and (in the cases I know) it 's quite common for the scheduled lectures not to occur.
Can't be a coincidence that most graduates go elsewhere for Masters and Doctorates?.
I agree a lot find it a disappointment. Many thrive though.
As to doing Masters and Doctorates it could be as simple as wantjng a change of scene or a course they feel is better for them.
However, going to places such as Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial can be a poisoned chalice because of their exacting degree standards. For example, someone might get an upper second 2:1 degree or a lower second 2:2 degree classification from those universities whereas elsewhere that same student could have got a 1st class or upper second 2:1 degree and final degree classification can have significant consequences if someone wants to apply to graduate job schemes, university administration training schemes, to apply for academic studentship grants or to apply for popular and prestigious postgraduate courses.
That's not true. I taught a boy from a very ordinary background who went to a comprehensive school and went sailing into Oxford. He was a brilliant boy and that was all that mattered.