u/elphaba33

AP Physics 1: 5

AP Physics c mechanics: 2

AP Physics c em: 2

AP lang: 3

AP spanish: 3

AP Calc BC: 4

I will be applying to Oxford this Autumn and I am currently trying to understand how Oxford treats academic percentages in admissions.

If an applicant already meets the academic requirements for a course, does having a higher average percentage (for example, mid 90s vs high 90s in Canadian grades) actually give any meaningful advantage? The course I am looking for have a requirement of 91 percent average for reference.

Or is it essentially that once you’re above the required academic threshold, percentages stop mattering much and the decision is driven mainly by the admissions test and interview?

Just trying to understand whether Oxford meaningfully differentiates between, say, 93–95% and 97–99% academically, assuming both are already considered strong enough.

I will be applying to Oxford this Autumn and I am currently trying to understand how Oxford treats academic percentages in admissions.

If an applicant already meets the academic requirements for a course, does having a higher average percentage (for example, mid 90s vs high 90s in Canadian grades) actually give any meaningful advantage? The course I am looking for have a requirement of 91 percent average for reference.

Or is it essentially that once you’re above the required academic threshold, percentages stop mattering much and the decision is driven mainly by the admissions test and interview?

Just trying to understand whether Oxford meaningfully differentiates between, say, 93–95% and 97–99% academically, assuming both are already considered strong enough.

I (48F) am really worried about my daughter (17F) and I’m not sure if I’m overthinking this or if I should be more concerned than I am right now.

She just finished her junior year of high school. We moved to this area from a small town in the same state when she was in sixth grade, and she’s been at the same school since then. It’s a relatively small school, around 150 students per grade. Before that, she was at a much smaller but academically strong charter school where she did have a couple of friends, but after we moved, those friendships slowly faded since they didn’t really spend time together outside of school to begin with.

Since starting middle school here, she’s never really seemed to form a close friend group. She knows people and will talk to classmates during the school day, but it doesn’t extend beyond school hours. She describes it as having “people she talks to,” not actual friends she hangs out with or communicates outside of school hours.

What worries me most is that this has been going on for years now. She doesn’t go to school social dances or events, even when her so called friends do. She is involved in many clubs and sports, which she does out of true passion. At home, she’s an only child, and we don’t have extended family nearby, so there are days where she can go without speaking to anyone her age.

I’ve noticed that even the small social interactions she has seem tied to school context only, and I can’t tell if she’s actually okay with this or just used to it. I also can’t help wondering if the only reason some of the other kids are even friendly with her is because of my own connections with their parents, rather than a genuine amity towards her.

When I bring this up at home, my husband doesn’t seem too concerned. He feels that if she were really struggling with loneliness, she would be more motivated to try to change it herself. I’m not so sure it’s that simple, especially at this age when social circles feel pretty set.

I guess I’m just trying to understand: is this something I should be worried about, or is it more common than I think for a teenager to go through high school without close friendships?

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm more worried about impacts to her social and emotional development in the long term then her own opinion surrounding her social situation.

I got waitlisted from UF SSTP. Did anyone else get waitlisted, or were waitlisted and got off the waitlist, or is anyone accepted but not going? Currently refreshing my portal in panic.