To many students applying to university, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge (known colloquially as ‘Oxbridge’) are often flouted as the ultimate aspiration. The image of extravagant May day balls, tutorials in grand, hogwarts-esque buildings, and ceremonies in Latin have come to be seen as the sole paradigm of a university experience. For students who hope to attend these prestigious institutions throughout their schooling, the ultimate rejection — as with any — is undoubtedly crushing. There exists, therefore, a small pool of universities — Durham, Exeter, Bristol, and Edinburgh in particular — which seem to have gained a reputation as a back-up university, solely for housing Oxbridge rejects.
In my first few weeks of university, conversations lingered around what degrees people did, where everyone was from, and what universities everyone had applied to. It felt as though everyone had applied to either Oxford or Cambridge, and that I, having applied to neither, was the outlier. Yet now, of the students I spoke to, a surprising majority stated that they had not applied to Oxbridge, and that for many, the University of Edinburgh was always their top choice.
This assumption of Edinburgh as an Oxbridge reject University, however, isn’t without basis. Oxbridge’s history, academic standard, and alumni network have long been seen as the academic standard that all other universities should strive towards — no one can forget Durham’s ‘Doxbridge’ campaign. Of students I spoke to, there were still a sizable number of students who admitted they had applied to Oxbridge. They emphasised that this was mostly because they had nothing to lose in applying, and that it was worth a shot- they weren’t confident of a place. However, by no means was it the majority, or enough to brand Edinburgh as solely an ‘Oxbridge reject university.’
To view the University of Edinburgh as an ‘Oxbridge reject university’ risks viewing it, and higher education more broadly, through an Oxbridge-centered lens. This entails an elitist approach to higher education that asserts the inferiority of all other universities — an ironic attitude given Oxbridge’s slow decline amongst league tables, recently dropping out of the top three of The Times’ Good University Guide.
One Scottish student emphasised this notion, stating that it feels like a lot of Oxbridge rejects “kind of have the sentiment that Edinburgh is their safety option. It’s almost like a ‘ugh I’m only at Edinburgh, I could be somewhere better’ attitude, which is crazy, because this is still a very good university to get into.” They remarked how so many people in first year referenced their Oxbridge application in general conversation. In particular, in a tutorial one of the sources given had come up in an entrance exam, which led to many people discussing their rejection. They stated that they found it odd that so many people were willing to speak about this: “it seemed like there was almost a sense of superiority in the fact that they even applied there.”
Scottish students, in particular, have the lowest Oxbridge acceptance rates across the UK, sitting at only 12.8 per cent. When discussing Oxbridge, many Scottish students, particularly those who came from a state school, emphasised that their top choices for higher education were often Scottish universities. Many of them stated that their schools never really flouted the idea of applying to Oxbridge to them, instead focusing on Edinburgh, Glasgow, or St Andrews. One physical geography student remarked that they saw no point in applying to Oxbridge due to the financial burden it would entail: “why would I want to pay to go to university, when it’s free up here?”
When speaking to others, one final year student stated that “I never even thought about applying there,” remarking “I don’t think I would have been able to handle the intensity and pressure of their courses.” Undergraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge are typically considered some of the most academically intense across the country, with eight week intensive courses, averaging one to three essays a week. This notion of Oxford and Cambridge as being incredibly work-intensive is a common sentiment shared amongst students as to reasons they chose not to apply.
Cambridge specifically advises students against having part time jobs in an attempt to get them to focus on their studies. One student commented that “this means that, as a widening participation student, I would have really struggled there, as I don’t know if I would have been able to balance it all.” Another student, who was rejected from Geography at Cambridge, reflected on his rejection: “if I had gone [to Cambridge], the workload would’ve been more demanding, and I would have had less free time.” He continued: “This means that I would have had less time to focus on societies and my future career.”
The allure and romanticisation of Oxbridge is long-standing, and the universities are undeniably excellent. Yet, this should not lead to inferiority being conferred on to the University of Edinburgh, and the idea that it is an institution of rejects. Higher education needs to shed itself of its’ Oxbridge–centric approach that gives disproportionate weight to two institutions and confines all others to a perpetual second-best.
Illustration by Clara McDonald for The Student.
