How to increase chances of being accepted by Oxbridge

Why you would do this Protagoras?

According to Cambridge's postgraduate admission website, 8/10 in Brazil seems to meet the minimum requirement, but the only way to find out is to contact the admission office.
What happened to your offer of KCL's master's course? Are you looking for an alternative postgrad course?
As I said before, one of the most important thing for PhD is your research subject. I don't know much about the postgrad courses in your field, so I can't give you any useful advice or info, but make sure you choose a course/uni that has an expert in your field who can be your supervisor. Otherwise, it's meaningless.

Getting some work experience would be beneficial, bringing your skills learnt in the masters to completing a project or two would help.

Yeah... some work experience definitly would help... Do you know any company in close relation to oxford or cambridge?

Yeah... some work experience definitly would help... Do you know any company in close relation to oxford or cambridge?

I see... I am going to start my masters at KCL this semester, but I am trying to see what moves I will have to make to have a decent shot when applying to my PhD at a top institution like Oxford. Those applications are pretty expensive, thus either I will apply for a PhD in a top 10 institution (given that I have a reasonable chance) or I will apply only to those I think I have greater chance...

Yeah... some work experience definitly would help... Do you know any company in close relation to oxford or cambridge?

Why close to Oxbridge? It is more about what you actually did and as long the company isn't really small and unknown (though that can work in your favor, too), I see no problem. Work experience is a plus because of what you learned, seldom because of who you worked with.

If you are thinking defence/military applications then have a look at Cranfield, exclusively postgraduate and highly regarded as Oxford.

Again, don't turn down King's for a Ph.D., if offered.

PhD is completely different from undergraduate course. You should not choose uni because of its position in university rankings. It's all about your research subject you decide to write your thesis on and whether the institute has some academic who is appropriate for your research and agrees to be your supervisor.
While you're at KCL, you'll probably find a subject you want to do PhD on. You can then look for an academic in the field who can be your supervisor and apply to the institute. In this order. Not the other way around.

Some info on how to apply for PhD in UK.
https://www.postgraduatestudentships.co.uk/talkpostgrad/applying_for_a_phd
http://www.findaphd.com/advice/finding/phd-faqs.aspx

Also, I strongly recommend you'd find some good scholarships/grants, unless you (or your parents) are very rich. Self-funding PhD, especially science course, is going to be very expensive.

Well Nathanielle I thought about it because working in a company close to oxbridge could put me in contact to some professors who could be future advisors while working in a joint project... If by chance, he likes the way I work, I would gain some positive points... But that, is just something I was wondering....

b) Good extracurriculars: it seems that they are quite adamant on accepting students who will also be part of the 'Oxbridge experience';

I don't agree at all. From my experience and those I know closely who are or have studied there this can't be further from the truth. Does it hold equal weighting with academics? No. But is it important? Absolutely.

This is something i've been wondering about. I am very into drama and have a bit of professional acting experience and wasn't sure whether or not to mention it in my application? On the one hand I would love to get involved with the drama scene at either oxford or cambridge should i be accepted and contribute to the 'oxbridge experince' but on the other hand I worry they would worry that my acting might interfere with my studies (I don't intend to let - I plan to not even go to any professional auditions during term time). Opinions would be much appreciated.

So to summarise the question, is getting a 1st at a bad university better than getting a 1st at a good university in terms of application success towards a MSc degree?

So to summarise the question, is getting a 1st at a bad university better than getting a 1st at a good university in terms of application success towards a MSc degree?

Thanks

For postgrad? Absolutely not.
Jantaculum is currently studying postgrad at Cam. I've just completed a master's there. This is not second hand info. ECs mean nothing for postgrad admissions, which (you may not realise) are made directly to the departments, not to the colleges.

Once again, studying there does not mean you are somehow an authority on the matter. Part of my current job is in admissions for a top Business school and we have just hired two people who worked in admissions at Oxford. Their information was clear: it won't make up for bad grades but it always looks good.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Nothing makes up for poor academics bu t if you're really looking to improve your whole application, ECs will never harm it.

There are a lot of factors that come into play when applying to Oxbridge and unfortunately quite a few are out of your hands. Luckily, there are a few things you can always ensure you have:

a) Good grades: I think this goes without saying. Oxbridge are easily some of the best Universities in the world and having top grades should be your priority;
b) Good extracurriculars: it seems that they are quite adamant on accepting students who will also be part of the 'Oxbridge experience';
c) Great references: it's really important to make sure you select referees who not only know you well but are also on good terms with you. So, look for people who know your academic potential well but are also people who trust you and who understand you.

I don't know about Oxford. Cambridge doesn't even ask about ECs on their application form and there is no personal statement section so I don't know how admissions are even meant to know about them. Hard to see then how they can possibly make any difference to the process unless the academics evaluating the applications are telepathic.

I'm not sure why you being a second hand authority somehow outweighs cambridge students who actually have spoken to admissions tutors about what they look for, by the way.

Business schools are known for being less academic than other departments so maybe your Said friends did things differently to most departments but that does not mean a blanket statement about ECs being important is anywhere near true and for most applicants it will be irrelevant to admission - possibly only playing a part in college placement, but that only happens after the department has made an offer.

I can see you have already softened your stance from your original post significantly ...so just keep going, you'll get there