[digestives]

(Original post by Ex Death)
Newsflash: Getting in to Oxbridge does not make you clever. To get into Oxbridge you need 3 As or A*s or whatever (it has changed since I was applying) To suggest that someone getting into Oxbridge is an indication of cleverness, is akin to saying A-Levels are an indicator of cleverness. Anyone who thinks A-Levels indicate how clever someone is is an absolute moron.

Getting in to Oxbridge requires far more than 3As or A*s. In fact, A levels are simply a pre-requisite that they assume everyone to have. They use entrance exams, past essays, GCSEs, A levels, everything on the UCAs forms, and most importantly, the interviews to give places.

Are you really suggesting that 'getting into Oxbridge' has no indication whatsoever on one's cleverness? If you can't use exams or universities to determine 'cleverness', how would you define such an abstract term?

[FranticMind]

(Original post by Bubblyjubbly)
I'd bet you're still at school. Get through to the second round of most major graduate schemes and the vast majority happen to be Oxbridge. It obviously didn't occur to you that the Oxbridge graduates may have ended up with jobs better than you elsewhere, assuming that you have a job, which I doubt.

Yes I am at university, I was referring to internships, but the point remains the same. I know two oxbridge graduates who still live with their parents in my hometown.

I don't think you understand that a degree (no matter where its from) will NOT get you an automatic job. You need to stop playing sims so much and get a real life.

Jobs are super competitive, oxbridge will undoubtably give you a small edge, but it will do nothing more than that. I have a very good part time job, so that gives me an edge. So an oxbridge graduate level with me would have a slight edge, but that guarantees nothing.

[Harry S Truman]

(Original post by suggsina)
why all the negs for this??

Presumably because people are stupid and think I'm being serious.

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by CHY872)
My issue with discussing Masters and further degrees in this thread is that the advantages blur massively, because of the resources and supervisors etc. Different universities have different strengths and research groups, so for many subjects you'd be much better off going to a well supported, well researched course at a 'lower' university than the equivalent course at Oxford. For example,

Yes I accept this.

[Lifesaver]

(Original post by Xyrish)
Because, its like saying you went to Harvard, people will be very impressed and will instantly know your smart, whereas if you come from LSE or Imperial people will just say oh ok, or thats a good uni not a "wow"

Oh, that's what you meant by "wow"!

In an average medical school roughly 80% of first-year medicine students will say that they want to become a consultant/specialist. By the time they are fully qualified and out in the workforce roughly 80% of the same group will have become GPs. When you are prescribing for a patient in a country surgery, they are unlikely to care where you qualified. For those that do become specialists/academics/administrators where they have studied will matter, as it will open up avenues of opportunity to them.
An accountant who wants to practice in a small local town will actually find themselves at a huge disadvantage if they have studied at "Oxbridge". Why? Because the accountant who has graduated from the local university will have a ready-made network of contacts in the local community - solicitors, auctioneers, bankers, etc. - who can drive business into their practice. If that accountant wants to become the Principal Partner of a large multi-national firm, then it is probably a huge advantage to have graduated from "Oxbrige".

[Lifesaver]

(Original post by Pride)
alright, don't be a douchebag about it...

Douchebag!! Moi!!

[Physics Enemy]

(Original post by Ex Death)
Newsflash: Getting in to Oxbridge does not make you clever. To get into Oxbridge you need 3 As or A*s or whatever (it has changed since I was applying) To suggest that someone getting into Oxbridge is an indication of cleverness, is akin to saying A-Levels are an indicator of cleverness. Anyone who thinks A-Levels indicate how clever someone is is an absolute moron.

It's all about the interviews and entrance exams though, that's the point.

[moritzplatz]

(Original post by Lifesaver)
I couldn't quite figure out what a "wow" is (World of Warcraft?/Wild Older Woman?) and I definitely didn't get why they particularly needed to orgasm at the dinner table, but I can guarantee you that if this is a sample of what you normally write, then you don't really need to worry about the advantages of the Oxbridge universities over any other university!http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/imag...s/rolleyes.png

right, tsr is always full of stupid neggers!

[james22]

(Original post by Ex Death)
Newsflash: Getting in to Oxbridge does not make you clever. To get into Oxbridge you need 3 As or A*s or whatever (it has changed since I was applying) To suggest that someone getting into Oxbridge is an indication of cleverness, is akin to saying A-Levels are an indicator of cleverness. Anyone who thinks A-Levels indicate how clever someone is is an absolute moron.

In the Oxbridge admissions process, I can say from experiance that the A-level grades are the easyist bit.

[suicidaloverbusiness]

(Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
Of course it depends on the nature of the people you encounter. It could be that I just got extremely lucky - I don't know. I did have a numpty tutor or two who said un-PC things or wasn't very helpful... but then on the other hand I had the most amazing welfare tutors completely *******ing anyone who upset me

I had two incredible welfare tutors look after me when I entered into a major psychotic episode. At my very worst points, I'd be at their door every other day. I could phone them up and ask to see them and they'd always somehow find the time to squeeze me in at the last minute. They spent a lot of time and energy on me and I'll never forget their kindness. I seriously doubt that that level of close pastoral care could be achieved at non-collegiate unis, simply because welfare staff at those unis will have a greater number of people to take care of. Also you wouldn't necessarily know (of) the welfare staff before you approached them because most of them wouldn't live within the uni and you're not in a small community where everyone has a sense of everyone else.

Of course, Oxford wasn't perfect. Mistakes were made and things overlooked. For example, no one suggested DSA for me when I was at Oxford. I'd never even heard of DSA, aside from on this forum. Whereas when I went to Goldsmiths, that was one of the first things they said to me

I see. Then again, perhaps they hadn't come across a student with such a disorder. When I was at my previous sixth form - a prestigious grammar school - they were rather ignorant to my academic struggles, but were adept when it came to aiding me with the more minor mental health side of things...to an extent.

I started to self harm from as far back as year 8 and conjured up the courage to confide in a teacher in year 10 when i'd tried to commit suicide. They were completely and utterly useless. They did nothing but inform my parents without telling me first, so I went home and received an interrogation from them.

Things started to reach their peak when I started the grammar school sixth form, which resulted in hospital admission. It turned out I had Aspergers Syndrome, which explained the academic issues. However, the grammar school sixth form were just as useless, as they more or less kicked me out after realising the extent of my mental health problems. Needless to say, I was gutted and it further deteriorated my mental state whilst still in hospital.

Anywho! I'm now in a good comprehensive sixth form who provide astonishly supportive pastoral care. I'm happy where I am even though i've had to settle with somewhere that i'd never have considered previously. I suppose I just don't want a repeat of the grammar school's reaction towards my illness. It's reassuring that your welfare team were so supportive during your psychotic episodes because i've had to deal with some obscure reactions to my psychosis which just makes things worse.

[Lifesaver]

(Original post by moritzplatz)

right, tsr is always full of stupid neggers!

Hope you spelt that right! The PC Brigade seem to be in full flight in this chatroom!

[isitinyet?]

(Original post by Lifesaver)
I couldn't quite figure out what a "wow" is (World of Warcraft?/Wild Older Woman?) and I definitely didn't get why they particularly needed to orgasm at the dinner table, but I can guarantee you that if this is a sample of what you normally write, then you don't really need to worry about the advantages of the Oxbridge universities over any other university!http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/imag...s/rolleyes.png

what a ****.

[overtherainbow]

(Original post by t0ffee)
Yeah but it would not be advisable for the average state school educated guy to go to Cambridge for Zoology with the intention of working in an investment bank.

Those who do tend to be public school kids who want the Cambridge education and have the contacts to make the subject of their degree meaningless.

you forget its not like that- they will have applied to cambridge bio natsci and then picked zoology just for their third year. this means they will have a very strong scientific and mathematical background to go into banking from. im doing zoology (as a third year vet) and most of the natscis i have met arent public school kids by a long way

[Lifesaver]

(Original post by isitinyet?)
what a ****.

Shucks!

I'm going to cry now!

It's so long since someone called me a "star". lol

[The_Lonely_Goatherd]

(Original post by suicidaloverbusiness)
I see. Then again, perhaps they hadn't come across a student with such a disorder. When I was at my previous sixth form - a prestigious grammar school - they were rather ignorant to my academic struggles, but were adept when it came to aiding me with the more minor mental health side of things...to an extent.

I started to self harm from as far back as year 8 and conjured up the courage to confide in a teacher in year 10 when i'd tried to commit suicide. They were completely and utterly useless. They did nothing but inform my parents without telling me first, so I went home and received an interrogation from them.

Things started to reach their peak when I started the grammar school sixth form, which resulted in hospital admission. It turned out I had Aspergers Syndrome, which explained the academic issues. However, the grammar school sixth form were just as useless, as they more or less kicked me out after realising the extent of my mental health problems. Needless to say, I was gutted and it further deteriorated my mental state whilst still in hospital.

Anywho! I'm now in a good comprehensive sixth form who provide astonishly supportive pastoral care. I'm happy where I am even though i've had to settle with somewhere that i'd never have considered previously. I suppose I just don't want a repeat of the grammar school's reaction towards my illness. It's reassuring that your welfare team were so supportive during your psychotic episodes because i've had to deal with some obscure reactions to my psychosis which just makes things worse.

Well in my case it didn't help that the Warneford (the psychiatric hospital that end) decided that I wasn't psychotic at all and just "very troubled". So I was discharged and had very scant medical care, which all came from occasional visits to the GP. So to be fair, my college didn't have much to go on, even though it was clear something was very wrong indeed I'm sorry to read of everything you've been through I'm glad you're getting proper attention and support now Try not to let other people's reactions get you down, hard as that can be. One of my best friends from Oxford couldn't deal with my schizoaffective diagnosis and we kinda don't talk anymore. It's a shame but you can't hang onto/pay attention to people who are gonna drag you down

[bmqib]

you have proof that you are academically very able. other than that not much.

[vedderfan94]

(Original post by Manitude)
Why would I want to leave RAE out of it when research makes up a significant part of a physics degree? A poor research department is not useful to a masters student.

Because universities only enter certain researchers for the RAE. If every university assessed entered all their research, the RAE tables would be quite different. It would be better to see how many researchers are at places like CERN, and for reputation, how employers in the science/engineering industry view graduates of different universities.

[t0ffee]

(Original post by overtherainbow)
you forget its not like that- they will have applied to cambridge bio natsci and then picked zoology just for their third year. this means they will have a very strong scientific and mathematical background to go into banking from. im doing zoology (as a third year vet) and most of the natscis i have met arent public school kids by a long way

I stand corrected lol, just assumed Zoology was a straight 3 year undergrad course like it is at many other unis.

[rainbow_kisses]

(Original post by Bubblyjubbly)
Because degrees aren't remotely comparable. Getting a first from a poly just puts you at the top end of thick, nothing more. Are you really claiming that those with the best results prior to entry, who are chosen to be amongst the top 2% of the ability range wouldn't have got a first elsewhere ?

Even you must know the answer to that.

Jesus christ, someone's insecure!

[suicidaloverbusiness]

(Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
Well in my case it didn't help that the Warneford (the psychiatric hospital that end) decided that I wasn't psychotic at all and just "very troubled". So I was discharged and had very scant medical care, which all came from occasional visits to the GP. So to be fair, my college didn't have much to go on, even though it was clear something was very wrong indeed I'm sorry to read of everything you've been through I'm glad you're getting proper attention and support now Try not to let other people's reactions get you down, hard as that can be. One of my best friends from Oxford couldn't deal with my schizoaffective diagnosis and we kinda don't talk anymore. It's a shame but you can't hang onto/pay attention to people who are gonna drag you down

Woah, seriously. This is why none of my 'friends' know about my illness or my past. When I disappeared for 10 months last year, hardly anyone asked where I was or if I was ok. Just goes to show, they were never really my friends in the first place, just superficial friendships. I have trouble making friends anyway and when I do, I just keep everything to myself. It's hard though, because you want that someone to talk to, when you're having an off day.

My experience is probably better than yours because mental health services have really changed over the past decade or so. Plus, I just escaped CAHMS and the adult services, i'm with the youth support clinical team who only pay for beds at private hospitals, so i'm glad I dodged those NHS hospitals. I've heard some horrific stories!

I hate it when so called 'doctors' just think you're an attention seeking teenager. My GP is just like this, I approached him once concerning my weight, trying to hint that I wanted help regarding my eating habits, which clearly presented as someone with anorexia. He just shunned me away and the next time I spoke to him was over the phone 5 years later after the crisis team called him to inform him that I was in hospital following an overdose. Even after everything, he's still a prick.