(no subject)

[ewx]

It's so rare that the media talk anything but nonsense about Oxbridge admissions that it seems worth flagging it when they break the habit. Certainly my recollection is that those of my classmates who didn't get into Oxford or Cambridge weren't considered somehow inferior or to have failed; we all knew perfectly well that there was a large element of chance involved.

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[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

My school typically got between 10 and 20 candidates into Oxbridge. In my year there were 2 successful applications. Unfortunately for pretty much my entire life my mother had been telling me "if you're really smart, you'll go to Oxford or Cambridge". Hence *I* felt like a reject when I didn't, It was the first time I'd 'failed' at anything academic.

In my direct family, I'm the first generation ever to go to university at all (technically my mother went as a mature student when I was doing my A levels, but you get the idea). The fact that I still didn't go to the 'best' university still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I know logically it's not that big a deal, but I can't seem to let go of it. Shame.