Recently, I revisited two of my favourite cities in the UK: Oxford and Cambridge. Interestingly, I hadn't been to either of these places in the last 5 years, although at the time these two universities had felt like the only thing that mattered (spoiler: they weren't). I ended up an Oxbridge reject, and this post is dedicated all of those with the same destiny. I will say in advance that I'm sure this post will have biases, as although I now have 5 years of hindsight, I remember how much it meant to me at the time.
Unlike some of my peers, I hadn't grown up dreaming of studying at Oxbridge by any means; in fact, I hadn't even considered it until the Summer we had to draft our personal statements. One of my close friends wanted to visit the University of Cambridge, so I tagged along. The culture both shocked and impressed me, but more importantly, I fell in love with the idea of studying here. I attended open days at both Oxford and Cambridge, hoping for a clear preference, but ended up loving them both, and I really struggled to pick between them. Some of my friends had a preference from childhood (usually because their parents had been alumni), whereas I kept making lists of pros and cons. I actually found a list I made at the time in an old notebook (excuse the handwriting), which shows the factors I was considering: from the courses to the entry requirements, to the acceptance rates, to the colour of the sports uniform; I was truly grasping at straws.
A major deciding factor for me was the course. I had spent months deciding what I wanted to study and had finally found a passion: Neuroscience. The problem was that very few Russell Group universities offered this option (hence having to choose between studying Biomedical Sciences at Oxford or Natural Sciences at Cambridge). I visited a few other universities too, but the only ones I really loved were Oxford, Cambridge, and Bristol. As my list shows, I didn't entirely love either of the Oxbridge courses on offer, but with a 90+% average I knew that I stood in good stead for an interview at least. Although nowadays I prefer Oxford, something in my heart told me to apply for Cambridge, and I was set on applying to the very competitive Trinity College for Natural Sciences (go big or go home, ey?).
As mentioned before, I hadn't always wanted to go to Oxbridge, but the more time that I spent on the application and talking about it with schoolmates, the more set on it I became; the idea of my parents having immigrated to the UK for a better life and me going on to study at Oxbridge felt insane to me. Several personal statement edits and an early UCAS application later, I got an offer to sit a test and be interviewed at Trinity College.
Before attending the test, I had to ask all of my teachers what we would be learning until December (when the interview was scheduled), which I sent off to Cambridge. I didn't realise until the day of the test, but the test was based off of this content. My test had 10 questions: 3 were biology-related (which I felt confident in), and 7 were mathematical (specifically, they were all integrals). It is important to note that I actually learnt the rules for integration a couple of weeks after this test, so I had no idea what I was doing for 70% of the questions and knew that I had performed dismally. Nonetheless, I went straight on to the interview, hoping that I could impress the professors and that would compensate for the poor test score; little did I know that the interview was entirely based on the test. After painstakingly trying to figure out the integrals, I finished the interview and immediately burst into tears on exiting the building.
Although I knew that there was no way I would get an offer, until the day of the decision I held on to a tiny bit of hope. On that day, I remember I hadn't wanted to open the e-mail until after school (after all, ignorance is bliss), however my Head of Year asked pityingly how I was feeling and so, my dreams of Oxbridge were shattered.
My school had relativity high rates of Oxbridge applicants and decision day was quite the event. This was the first thing that many of us had ever gotten rejected from (little did we know how brutal Graduate Scheme applications were going to be in the future), and some people definitely dwelled on it, thinking 'if only I'd read ahead', or 'if only the test questions had been different', or 'if only I'd applied to a less-competitive college' but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. For me, I knew in my heart of hearts that I would enjoy University of Bristol more as I wanted to study in a big city with a good nightlife and not be constantly overwhelmed by a never-ending workload, but I also know that if I'd gotten an offer from Cambridge, I'd have accepted it without a doubt.
This post is by no means to say that I dislike Cambridge, after all there's a reason that Cambridge has the reputation it does, and the opportunities it offers its students are obviously incredible. I have many friends that went to Oxbridge and these universities are perfect for some people. The cities are stunning, the network is invaluable, and (some of) the traditions are great. For example, I'd love to attend a May Ball or Formal Hall, and I'd definitely consider Oxbridge if I were to apply for another Master's, however these universities are definitely not the be-all-and-end-all.
There are many ways to get in if you are desperate enough, from learning the organ to be able to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge, to applying to less competitive colleges and degrees, and I knew offer-holders who had appalling general knowledge, whilst some of the smartest people I know got rejected. Of course, this isn't unique to Oxbridge, and some of my friends who went there are insanely clever and amazing people. For those of you who have been rejected, remember that you can always reapply, or study for a Master's there, but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and getting rejected could be the best thing that happens to you. Take the Youtuber 'Unjaded Jade': she was rejected from the University of Oxford, but was then accepted into Minerva, where she is thriving and has the opportunity to live in several different countries with her cohort throughout her degree. The friends that I made and the experiences that I had at the University of Bristol, I wouldn't give up for the world; but again, this is much easier said in hindsight. Being rejected from Cambridge also allowed me to give up Physics A Level (which I didn't particularly enjoy, but took simply because I needed 3 sciences at A Level for Cambridge), which allowed me to have free periods for the first time in my school career, and in turn I achieved A*A*A* at A-Level.
If I could say anything to Oxbridge applicants, it would be to not put all your eggs in one basket. For you to be applying, you're clearly capable and ambitious, but you'll most likely succeed wherever you go, and Oxbridge is not the be-all-and-end-all (but if you are really determined to get an offer, I'd recommend reading ahead for the test).
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