Semi-related but I heard of someone - a friend of a founder I worked for a couple years ago - who tried to get into Oxford and failed, so took a gap year to go travelling. Applied again the next year and failed, so took a second gap year and keep travelling. Tried a third time, failed yet again, and spent more time on holidays. On his fourth attempt he ticked a couple diversity boxes as he'd been travelling around strange parts of the Globe for long enough and actually got in haha.

He was a white Etonian but had the privilege to pay for a long enough holiday to move into one of the diversity groups.