Firstly, congratulations! Receiving an offer from Oxford or Cambridge is a fantastic achievement. You deserve this after all your hard work.

Perhaps you’re breathing a sigh of relief, grateful that everything has gone to plan. Or perhaps receiving the offer was a complete surprise, if retrospectively you weren’t so confident in your interview performance or admissions assessment. Either way, be proud of yourself! The admissions tutors chose you over lots of other candidates because of your enthusiasm, curiosity and passion for your chosen subject.

But what comes next? As well as Oxford or Cambridge, you’ll also be hearing back from the other universities you applied to. You might have already heard from them all, or you might still be waiting. Once you are happy with both your firm and insurance choices, you can go ahead and confirm this information on UCAS. The deadline for accepting offers on UCAS is 9th June 2022, however Oxbridge colleges can sometimes have their own deadlines or requirements - these will be outlined in your offer letter or email. Personally, I actually withdrew my application to one of the universities I applied to, because I decided against choosing them for my insurance choice and they were taking too long to consider my application! But there is no harm in waiting to hear from all your university choices, as long as you have accepted your firm and insurance offers by the deadlines set.

Receiving an offer is also not the final step in this journey to Oxbridge. Unless you have already achieved the relevant qualifications (ie. if you’re applying while on a gap year), your offer will be conditional on a specified set of grades to be achieved in your A Levels, IB or equivalent. These conditions are invariably challenging, usually involving some combination of A*s and As. So you can’t afford to get complacent! Keep up all your hard work, keep revising at a steady pace throughout the year, and stay focused on your goals.

Alongside your academic work, you might want to get excited about the future by doing some research into what university life might entail! For instance, you might want to learn more about rowing at Oxbridge 🔗 or take a look at what one student’s ‘day in the life’ 🔗 looks like. You could also look into the different societies on offer at both universities, and have a think about whether you’d like to continue a sport or hobby you are already involved in, or try something new! Find out more information about societies at Oxford 🔗 and Cambridge 🔗 respectively. All universities have a huge variety of societies, not just Oxford and Cambridge, so hopefully you’ll find something you’re interested in, no matter where you end up going to university.

So, be proud of your achievements, but don’t be tempted to take your foot off the gas! You still have lots of hard work ahead of you to confirm your place at Oxford or Cambridge. That said, make sure you don’t ‘burn out’ before your final exams - take regular breaks, spend time with friends and family, and make time for hobbies or other things you enjoy. You can also look forward to a nice, long summer holiday once your exams are over, so perhaps make some plans to look forward to! Best of luck with the remainder of the academic year!