What advantages does going to Oxbridge actually bring?

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.

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.

why all the negs for this??

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,

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"

alright, don't be a douchebag about it...

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.

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/images/smilies/rolleyes.png

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.

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

right, tsr is always full of stupid neggers!

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/images/smilies/rolleyes.png

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.

what a ****.

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.

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.

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

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.

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