I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and happy new year!
I know many of you must be feeling pretty nervous for 10th January. I remember the waiting felt so horrible, especially if Oxford is your dream!
The tutors make a decision based on:
Your interview
Any admissions tests or written work required for your course
Your examination results and predicted grades
Your personal statement
The academic reference
The Oxford system can seem pretty confusing when it comes to offers, so here are a few things to bear in mind:
1. You may be offered a place by a college you didn't apply to.
This could be for a number of reasons; you may have interviewed at multiple colleges and been selected by a different college from the one you applied to or you could be 'pooled' after the interview process and allocated to a different college based on recommendation. This happened to me; I applied to Magdalen and was offered a place at Jesus, where I had my fourth interview. Everyone I know ended up loving whichever college they were allocated, so don't panic about this!
2. Open offers
This means you've been offered a place at Oxford but your college hasn't yet been specified. You'll find out after results day. This might feel a bit weird, not knowing exactly where you're going but you do know, as long as you get the grades, you're going to Oxford Uni, so try not to stress about the rest!
3. Conditional Offers
This means you'll find out for definite whether you have your place on results day, as your final offer is based on achieving specified grades in your exam results. If you've been offered a place though, Oxford clearly think you'll meet the offer! Make sure you work hard between now and your exams to ensure you get your place!
4. Unconditional Offers
You're winning with this! You've already achieved the grades and have 100% got a place at Oxford!
5. You didn't get a place
This can seem like the worst thing ever at the time, if you set your heart on Oxford but everyone I know had a blast wherever they ended up. Don't forget it's a huge achievement to even be offered an interview!