Transcript Document

APPLYING TO
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE
WHAT DO OXFORD AND
CAMBRIDGE OFFER?
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Exceptional teaching and academic support
Extensive financial and other support
Student life
TEACHING AND
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
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Unparalleled access to leading academics via:
 Lectures
 Seminars/classes
 The unique tutorial/supervision system
Academic guidance
Libraries, labs and computing
Subject societies
FINANCIAL AND
OTHER SUPPORT
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Bursaries: up to c. £3000-4000 per year
Government bursaries: up to c. £2835 per year
Student loans
College awards: e.g. scholarships, book grants and
travel grants
Low cost of living
Pastoral support in College via Director of Studies, Tutor
and other College staff
University support services, e.g. disability support,
careers
STUDENT LIFE
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High-quality accommodation in College for 2/3 Years
(Oxford) or 3 years (Cambridge)
Rents competitive and payable only when room occupied
(c. 30 weeks per year)
Kitchens/dining hall; JCR/bar and other student facilities
Subsidised sports teams, music and drama groups, etc
Busy/lively student cities
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN
APPLICANTS?
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They are passionate about their chosen subject and our
course offers it in an appropriate form
They have a strong record in examinations
They are very motivated and organised
They are very strongly backed by school/college
They have the potential to succeed at the highest
academic level, by which we mean they have:
 Enthusiasm for complex and challenging ideas
 Great clarity of thought and analytical ability
 Real intellectual flexibility
Vocational commitment (where appropriate)
SELECTION CRITERIA
Admissions decisions are based on:
 A level (or equivalent) grades and subject combinations
 AS grades and (Cambridge) unit marks
 GCSE grades
 UCAS school/college reference
 UCAS personal statement
 Submitted work (where requested)
 Test results (chiefly Oxford)
 Interview performance
WHY DO WE GO BEYOND THE
UCAS FORM?
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Because we have the resources to do so
Because choosing fairly between applicants on paper is
very difficult
Profile of a statistically ‘average’ Oxbridge applicant:
 GCSE: c. 5-8 A*s (most successful applicants have
A* in most of their GCSEs)
 AS: c. 87-93% across three most relevant, or best,
subjects
Interviews, aptitude tests and submitted work help us to
assess rightness of subject and course, and potential
UCAS REFERENCE
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Most references describe excellent students but few
describe exceptional ones
We are especially interested in:
 Where an applicant lies in relation to his/her peers
 Academic and subject-related issues
 Organisation and focus
Extra letters
UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT
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How do we use personal statements?
 To confirm appropriateness of chosen subject and
course
 As an embarkation-point for discussion at interview
Subject focus
Reading and other wider exploration
Work experience
Personal statements must be both honest and personal
Extra-curricular activities/positions of responsibility
INTERVIEWS
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The vast majority of applicants are called for interview
Interviews usually take place in December, and are
conducted principally by the ‘preference’ College
Applicants usually have 2-4 interviews, each lasting
20-30 minutes
Interviews are academic, subject-focused discussions in
which lecturers hope to see applicants thinking problems
through for themselves
We have no hidden agenda, and applicants are not
asked ‘trick’ questions
20% of successful applicants receive an offer from a
College to which they did not directly apply
WHAT TO EXPECT
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Focused and challenging questions, typical of teaching
and learning at Oxford or Cambridge
Applicants are usually asked to talk about:
 Academic work completed in the last year or two
 Relevant wider reading or work experience
 Subject-related issues that are very readily visible in
the wider world
 ‘Prompt’ material
New approaches to existing knowledge and problemsolving questions
Questions to interviewers
Prompting from interviewers
SUBMITTING A STRONG
APPLICATION
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Choose the right subject/course
Maximise public examination grades
Do some reading and other wider exploration
Be organised
In advance of interview, refresh your memory about:
 The Oxford or Cambridge course for which you have
applied
 Recent school/college work
 UCAS personal statement
 Submitted work
Practise discussing academic work and ideas
UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS
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Every year c. 10,000 unsuccessful Oxbridge applicants
go on to achieve three or more A grades at A level
We could happily take many more of our applicants were
places available
The strength of competition and the difficulty of our
decision
The ‘Pool’ (Cambridge)
Feedback
Re-application
Conditional offers: they are conditional
MORE INFORMATION
Useful additional information is available in our
prospectus and on our websites at:
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www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/
www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/
If you have any remaining questions, do not hesitate to
ask an Admissions Tutor or Schools and Colleges
Liaison Officer