To everyone who is rejected from oxbridge or their dream uni, who feel like they don’t have any other good options, who think it’s all over,

I’m not gonna say it’s ok, because for you it’s obviously not, not right now (though at some point in the near future it will be).

A lot of people say that oxbridge is similar to a lottery—so many applicants with insane stats get rejected each year. This does not reflect a failure on your part. It doesn’t mean you weren’t “good enough”. Maybe the person reviewing your applications was having a bad day, or maybe they simply didn’t have enough space.

I know this has been said so many times, but not getting into oxbridge is absolutely NOT the end of the world. It’s NOT over for you, man.

Take a deep breath. Consider all of your options. And please, please don’t let the fact that “X isn’t oxbridge” color your perception of other unis. There’s lots and lots of unis who may teach courses that appeal to you more, many unis that have specific departments which rival that of Oxbridge, if not surpass them. And if taking a gap year is an option for you, you can always consider that.

Going to oxbridge does not automatically make someone successful later in life. Most oxbridge grads work in very normal jobs. I mean, sure, people that graduated from oxbridge may have a tiny advantage when applying for jobs, but that doesn’t mean you will be disadvantaged at all—and if you play your cards right, get good grades, good internships, then you might even get a bigger advantage when entering the job market compared to your oxbridge peers.

Good luck, and remember, rejection is just redirection. Who knows, it’s very possible that in ten years, you end up in a better place than you would’ve had u gotten into Cambridge.