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WHAT DO OXFORD AND WHAT DO OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE OFFER?CAMBRIDGE OFFER?
Exceptional teaching and academic support Extensive financial and other support Student life
TEACHING ANDTEACHING ANDACADEMIC SUPPORTACADEMIC SUPPORT
Unparalleled access to leading academics via: Lectures Seminars/classes The unique tutorial/supervision system
Academic guidance Libraries, labs and computing Subject societies
FINANCIAL ANDFINANCIAL ANDOTHER SUPPORTOTHER SUPPORT
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 LIFESTUDENT LIFE 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 WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN APPLICANTS?APPLICANTS?
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 CRITERIASELECTION 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 WHY DO WE GO BEYOND THE UCAS FORM?UCAS FORM?
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 REFERENCEUCAS REFERENCE
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 STATEMENTUCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT
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
INTERVIEWSINTERVIEWS 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 EXPECTWHAT TO EXPECT 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 problem-solving questions
Questions to interviewers Prompting from interviewers
SUBMITTING A STRONG SUBMITTING A STRONG APPLICATIONAPPLICATION
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 APPLICATIONSUNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS
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