[fluteflute]

(Original post by belle01)
I'm more inclined towards Cambridge since I've heard their May Balls are out of the world But seriously, which one's better? If it helps, I want to have an intensive college experience where I can be closely acquainted with a group of people while being part of a larger college community.

You'll get that experience at either

But I would suggest Cambridge, seeing as Oxford doesn't offer an undergraduate Architecture course

[Bax-man]

(Original post by Blutooth)
I heard on the grape vine that there are some rather good philosophy tutors at Hertford. The college also has the famous bridge of sighs, one of Oxford's landmarks.

Peter Millican gave the lectures for the General Philosophy part of the first-year PPE course and I found them to be most interesting. (He's also a leading scholar on Hume.)

[Jazzeh]

I'm not sure which I should apply to. I've only ever really considered Oxford for some peculiar reason, which is quite ignorant of me.

It's recently come to light that Oxford care more about GCSEs. Now, at GCSEs i think I got 4A*, 6A, 1B and 1C, or something along those lines. A*s include English Lit, English Lang and History. Am I right in thinking that these GCSEs will be below average for an Oxford applicant and put me at a disadvantage?

I know if I do well in A Levels I can claw it back etc. etc. but there'll be people that get excellent GCSEs and excellent A Levels, so I don't want to apply to Oxford if I get rejected based on my GCSEs.

Took my AS English a year early and got 188/200(A) so aiming for an A* in that. All others are predicted A(Law, Economics, History).

Should I be choosing Cambridge over Oxford purely based on my grades? Obviously whatever Uni I prefer etc, but do I have more chance of getting in Cambridge than Oxford?

Sorry for the poorly structured post, it's been a long day! Thanks to anyone who offers to help, it's much appreciated.

[Brutal Chav]

(Original post by Jazzeh)
I'm not sure which I should apply to. I've only ever really considered Oxford for some peculiar reason, which is quite ignorant of me.

It's recently come to light that Oxford care more about GCSEs. Now, at GCSEs i think I got 4A*, 6A, 1B and 1C, or something along those lines. A*s include English Lit, English Lang and History. Am I right in thinking that these GCSEs will be below average for an Oxford applicant and put me at a disadvantage?

I know if I do well in A Levels I can claw it back etc. etc. but there'll be people that get excellent GCSEs and excellent A Levels, so I don't want to apply to Oxford if I get rejected based on my GCSEs.

Took my AS English a year early and got 188/200(A) so aiming for an A* in that. All others are predicted A(Law, Economics, History).

Should I be choosing Cambridge over Oxford purely based on my grades? Obviously whatever Uni I prefer etc, but do I have more chance of getting in Cambridge than Oxford?

Sorry for the poorly structured post, it's been a long day! Thanks to anyone who offers to help, it's much appreciated.

GCSEs aren't too problematic but Oxford might look down on that B and C

If there's not much difference between both universities for your course and no specific reasons why you want to go with Oxford, it is wise to play to your strengths and apply where you'll look better...

Cambridge have said many times that qualifications taken early will be judged just as harshly, but nevertheless, 188/200 is really good. Your best bet is to get your AS UMS as high as possible in these exams and decide over summer.

By the way, this might sound mean but don't compare yourself to average applicants. The average quality applicant almost always gets rejected (think about it, no course admits 50%+ applicants) so if you want to get in you have to think of it as competing with the average successful applicants, not the average applicants - and believe you me, there's a big difference

Good luck

[Jazzeh]

(Original post by Brutal Chav)
GCSEs aren't too problematic but Oxford might look down on that B and C

If there's not much difference between both universities for your course and no specific reasons why you want to go with Oxford, it is wise to play to your strengths and apply where you'll look better...

Cambridge have said many times that qualifications taken early will be judged just as harshly, but nevertheless, 188/200 is really good. Your best bet is to get your AS UMS as high as possible in these exams and decide over summer.

By the way, this might sound mean but don't compare yourself to average applicants. The average quality applicant almost always gets rejected (think about it, no course admits 50%+ applicants) so if you want to get in you have to think of it as competing with the average successful applicants, not the average applicants - and believe you me, there's a big difference

Good luck

A very thorough answer which has helped somewhat. I'm going to have to have a good look at Cambridge now, always ignored it in favour of Oxford, but that shall change.

Sorry, I meant average successful applicant but understandable how that wasn't obvious. It'd be interesting to see the average grades of successful applicants.

[gethsemane342]

(Original post by Jazzeh)
A very thorough answer which has helped somewhat. I'm going to have to have a good look at Cambridge now, always ignored it in favour of Oxford, but that shall change.

Sorry, I meant average successful applicant but understandable how that wasn't obvious. It'd be interesting to see the average grades of successful applicants.

In the last admissions round the average Cambridge applicant scored about 90% on this measure, while the average successful Cambridge applicant scored nearer 95%. Note that both these figures are averages. There were successful Cambridge applicants who had UMS averages in their best/most relevant three subjects below 90%.

Source: Cambridge Requirements Page

[12lightf]

(Original post by Jazzeh)
I'm not sure which I should apply to. I've only ever really considered Oxford for some peculiar reason, which is quite ignorant of me.

It's recently come to light that Oxford care more about GCSEs. Now, at GCSEs i think I got 4A*, 6A, 1B and 1C, or something along those lines. A*s include English Lit, English Lang and History. Am I right in thinking that these GCSEs will be below average for an Oxford applicant and put me at a disadvantage?

I know if I do well in A Levels I can claw it back etc. etc. but there'll be people that get excellent GCSEs and excellent A Levels, so I don't want to apply to Oxford if I get rejected based on my GCSEs.

Took my AS English a year early and got 188/200(A) so aiming for an A* in that. All others are predicted A(Law, Economics, History).

Should I be choosing Cambridge over Oxford purely based on my grades? Obviously whatever Uni I prefer etc, but do I have more chance of getting in Cambridge than Oxford?

Sorry for the poorly structured post, it's been a long day! Thanks to anyone who offers to help, it's much appreciated.

I'm not sure how true it is that Oxford place a lot of emphasis on GCSEs. I have worse GCSEs than you (5A*s, 2As and 4Bs) and no mitigating circumstances (went to an albeit minor private school, nothing happened to affect my GCSEs) yet I'm an offer holder at St Hugh's, Oxford. I don't think GCSEs matter nearly as much as people seem to think and don't think you'd have a problem with yours.

[TimmonaPortella]

Just to point out, guys, the solid thrashing Cambridge just gave Oxford in the boat race is another thing you might consider to make Cambridge the more awesome choice.

[dogmatichurricane]

(Original post by TimmonaPortella)
Just to point out, guys, the solid thrashing Cambridge just gave Oxford in the boat race is another thing you might consider to make Cambridge the more awesome choice.

Only thing I saw getting thrashed was one of Oxford's rowing blades.

[The_Lonely_Goatherd]

(Original post by TimmonaPortella)
Just to point out, guys, the solid thrashing Cambridge just gave Oxford in the boat race is another thing you might consider to make Cambridge the more awesome choice.

Temptation to neg...

[TimmonaPortella]

(Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
Temptation to neg...

Red gems can't change history, sis

[jozef161]

I have a strong dilemma over which course to choose. Today i finished my AS level exams. The AS subjects i did include:

History
Government&Politics
Russian language
Sociology
Psychology

I am interested in international relations and politics. PPE at Oxford would be a good choice but the fact that i dont have Maths puts me at a disadvantage. However, there is also History and Politics course at Oxford, i would have an advantage there as the course requirements say that History, Politics and Sociology at AS level are very useful backgrounds. But, is that course suitable for international relations specialization? To make the matters even more complicated, Cambridge HSPS is probably the best option for me, but i resat 2 AS modules from January in June. They will be able to see my 2 B grades from January, wheread Oxford will only see the better module grade from june. English is not my first lannguage, i have been in england for 1 year only by now. For this reason, i hope Cambridge will accept my 'valid excuse' that i resat 2 modules as the subjects were essay baded, requiring a high level of english. I am expecting to get strong 5 A's with 90%+ for all modules, this will allow me to apply for Cambridge. But, if i get low A's, should i rather apply for Oxford ? In September when i start A2 level, i will drop Psychology and carry on with the rest 4 subjects, hoping to get predictions A*A*A*A*

[BJack]

(Original post by jozef161)
To make the matters even more complicated, Cambridge HSPS is probably the best option for me

I reckon this should be the deciding factor. Apply for the course you most want to do. The entry criteria are broadly similar for the two universities; they're looking for the same standard of student, after all. I don't think you should let a couple of weaker modules put you off applying for the course you'd most like to do.

[alexsasg]

(Original post by jozef161)
I have a strong dilemma over which course to choose. Today i finished my AS level exams. The AS subjects i did include:

History
Government&Politics
Russian language
Sociology
Psychology

I am interested in international relations and politics. PPE at Oxford would be a good choice but the fact that i dont have Maths puts me at a disadvantage. However, there is also History and Politics course at Oxford, i would have an advantage there as the course requirements say that History, Politics and Sociology at AS level are very useful backgrounds. But, is that course suitable for international relations specialization? To make the matters even more complicated, Cambridge HSPS is probably the best option for me, but i resat 2 AS modules from January in June. They will be able to see my 2 B grades from January, wheread Oxford will only see the better module grade from june. English is not my first lannguage, i have been in england for 1 year only by now. For this reason, i hope Cambridge will accept my 'valid excuse' that i resat 2 modules as the subjects were essay baded, requiring a high level of english. I am expecting to get strong 5 A's with 90%+ for all modules, this will allow me to apply for Cambridge. But, if i get low A's, should i rather apply for Oxford ? In September when i start A2 level, i will drop Psychology and carry on with the rest 4 subjects, hoping to get predictions A*A*A*A*

If HSPS is the best course, go for that. I applied for PPS earlier this year with 3 As and 2 Bs at AS. On my SAQ, I mentioned that I would be resitting two modules (I only ended up resitting one). I got an offer regardless of the Bs or the resits. So if you feel that HSPS is the ideal course for you - go for it!

[minhtri1995]

I am from the Czech republic and cannot decide between the economics course at Cambridge and the E&M course at Oxford. Could you please point out some differences between the two courses and universities?
i.e.
Which course has better reputation, quality?
Which course is harder to get in?
Which university is a nicer place to live?

Also, I have a lot of leadership experience. Should this be a reason for deciding for the oxford EM course??

Thanks

[ROBBY7896]

(Original post by minhtri1995)
I am from the Czech republic and cannot decide between the economics course at Cambridge and the E&M course at Oxford. Could you please point out some differences between the two courses and universities?
i.e.
Which course has better reputation, quality?
Which course is harder to get in?
Which university is a nicer place to live?

Also, I have a lot of leadership experience. Should this be a reason for deciding for the oxford EM course??

Thanks

First of all, I should probably say that I don't do either course so I am only saying what I have picked up from other people. Generally, I think the Cambridge course is more mathematical than the Oxford course, which, while still being pretty mathematical, is supposed to focus more on an intuitive understanding of how everything works. Other than this, you obviously spend some of your time covering management modules at Oxford whereas you don't at Cambridge.

As for reputation, I wouldn't say there is any demonstrable difference between the two courses: they are both incredibly well respected.

Numbers-wise, it would seem that Oxford's E&M is harder to get into, with 12 applicants per place compared to Cambridge's 7. However, this says nothing about the quality of the applicants and I expect at the top end it is fairly similar, and so I expect the standard to get into both courses is also fairly similar. In fact, I think its better to play to your strengths and pick the course you are more passionate about than to pick the course that you think will be easier to get into.

Both towns are lovely towns and its all about personal opinion when deciding which town is nicer. Cambridge is a smaller town that is completely dominated by the university. Oxford is a bigger town that is less dominated by the university. I know it is probably difficult because of where you live, but the easiest way to decide which you prefer is to actually visit both towns.

Unfortunately you're leadership experience probably won't make much difference at all to your application. Unlike the American universities, Oxbridge are only really interested in your academics and take very little interest in your extra-curriculars.

[Miryo]

Are there any differences between the people? This is generalizing massively but is one more laid back than the other etc?

[Llewellyn]

(Original post by Miryo)
Are there any differences between the people? This is generalizing massively but is one more laid back than the other etc?

In their entirety; no. There are minor differences between the colleges at both Universities. e.g. some colleges are known to be posh, some are known to be more musical, some are known to be more "friendly", some are known to be extremely academic, some may be more traditional... but these are only minor differences.

[MrLuketastic]

Hi everyone, thought you might be able to help me

GCSEs, 9 A*s, 1 A. Irrelevant though I believe?

AS Levels, took English Literature, English Language, History, Economics and Maths, awaiting results, and dropping Maths for A2. Hoping for A* in Economics (100 UMS on the first paper), A in Eng Lit/Eng Lang/History, and a B in my Maths AS Level.

I am hoping to read history at Oxford or Cambridge, and I'm thinking about Sheffield, Edinburgh and Kent as possible back-ups.

Just wondering if anyone knows which uni has the better history faculty, or if anyone has studied history at Oxford/Cambridge? I'd be really interested to find out which is my best bet. Also, which are the best colleges for history at these universities? Apparently Magdalen is good at Oxford, but I'm not entirely sure.

Also, I run a website (www.richlandf1.com) supplying F1 news, and managing a team of 20 people. Do you think this would be of interest to them (i.e. give me an edge over other candidates)?

Thanks in advance, really would appreciate the help

[IvyTiger]

Which university is more concerned about your grades, Oxford or Cambridge?
Does any of them automatically reject without an interview because your grades barely or just meet the standard?
(I'm applying for Literature or History)