Aiming for Oxford/Cambridge universities for my daughter

geek84

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.

Mupette

What does your daughter want to do?

jaylee3

I admire your ambition OP, but I wouldn't count on getting your daughter in. They are generally looking for either people from a 'upper middle class' or 'upper class' family, often with contacts and influence, OR they have to be be outstanding, and have a clean sweep of A* in GCSE and also A levels.

I know a couple of people who know people in Oxford, and they said the students are constantly under stress to achieve high, failure is not an option, and the students there suffer from stress and depression more than any other students at any other university. (Not sure about Cambridge, but I can imagine that may be the same..)

Also, there is an elitist attitude there, and your daughter may find it hard to fit in if she is not from the same background as the majority.

Still, if you are still interested.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/entrance-requirements

Thing is, does SHE want to go? Or is it more about you saying 'my daughter goes to Oxford?!'

Newly_retired

Oxford and Cambridge are expected to take a proportion of students from state schools, ie from a wider range of social backgrounds, so don't rule it out.
But has your daughter expressed any interest in Oxbridge?
Or university?
Or any particular career path?
There are some career or subject choices which would not be well catered for at Oxbridge.
Being ambitious for her is not a bad thing, but it has to be what she wants.
I would also say that you really need a supportive school, geared up to the process.
Oxbridge run taster days, though possibly aimed at year 11, but her school should be able to advise on this.

fairy_lights

Isn't it up to your daughter which university she wants to attend? She might not have any interest in Oxford or Cambridge, she might not want to go to uni at all.

Missyhenry

Oxbridge encourages students from low achieving schools and backgrounds, even offering them places with lower grades. Do you think she's underachieving or doing her best with good teachers?

gettingtheresometime

More importantly, as others have said, where does your daughter want to go?

ellesbellesxxx

There is a lot of pressure to get in to Oxbridge but even when you get there to keep up... I would see how her GCSES go before even considering it... Then if she got top grades, talk to her teachers.

When I was doing as levels, a few of us got invited to a meeting to talk about applying for Oxbridge by the college and discussed how they would support us if we wanted to apply... If she did want to go, she would need to really want to go!

FBaby

I would have thought the common ground of these pupils is a massive drive for ambition and desire to succeed? I can't imagine a young adult being amongt the most competitive people in this country without that special edge which is often a genetic trait to start with.

BritishBibliophile

Oxford and Cambridge are both very stressful, high-pressured environments. This is why they only accept the best and brightest, and have quite long breaks over the summer. Even then there are a lot of students who seriously struggle to keep up.

Obviously you want the best for your daughter, and an Oxbridge degree would set her up well for the future. But if it's not an environment that she will cope with, then you won't be doing her any favours in the long run.

Frankly I think Year 9 is a little too soon to be thinking about universities, except in any kind of broad "Let's see what subjects you enjoy at GCSE that you could do at A-Level" way, as generally one of those A-Levels will be a subject that she will take to degree level. Also, good GCSE grades are something that every decent university will require, so if there is something she really struggles with then getting a tutor one afternoon a week would be a better long-term investment for her future than worrying about an Oxbridge acceptance.

Once she's a bit older and has worked out what she wants to study at university, then look at what universities are coming out as top for that course and go to their open days. Yes, chances are that Oxford and Cambridge will be the top of any list, but frankly any in the top 10 will be good options to look at, without the same amount of pressure she would get at those two.

Person_one

FBaby wrote: »

I would have thought the common ground of these pupils is a massive drive for ambition and desire to succeed?

Also, money and privilege:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/24/oxford-cambridge-colleges-exclusively-state-school-pupils