The Student Room Group

Is aiming for Oxbridge too optimistic?

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Original post by Troytheboy
I am oblivious to what Pbs is.


http://www.pbs.tripos.cam.ac.uk/prospective

You're right that Psychology as a career is hugely competitive. So is getting into Cambridge.

You ought as well to consider that a 2.2 from Cambridge, where the competition is stiffer and the workload heavier, will leave you less well-placed than might a first from Surrey or wherever.

I dunno. I think the only way to at least allow yourself the possibility is to take a year out and at least one more A-level. But, and as I say, this provides no kind of guarantee even of an interview for Cambridge.

So you need to do some hard thinking.
Original post by cambio wechsel
http://www.pbs.tripos.cam.ac.uk/prospective

You're right that Psychology as a career is hugely competitive. So is getting into Cambridge.

You ought as well to consider that a 2.2 from Cambridge, where the competition is stiffer and the workload heavier, will leave you less well-placed than might a first from Surrey or wherever.

I dunno. I think the only way to at least allow yourself the possibility is to take a year out and at least one more A-level. But, and as I say, this provides no kind of guarantee even of an interview for Cambridge.

So you need to do some hard thinking.


I guess I'll just settle for the Mental Health Nursing and progress to a Specialist, I suppose the pay is good, and the foundation is still helping people. It is just a disheartening feeling that I will not be a Psychologist, especially when I am going to be working with one within that field of work haha.
Original post by whipper_snapper1


Firstly, the numbers you cited in your previous post are a barefaced lie. I can only reason that your purpose in spreading such misinformation and trying to put people off is that you are a bigot yourself.

But just in case your misinformation is the result of stupidity rather than racism: a) The Guardian may be independent but they are not without motive b) there is no 'analysis in that article - its just reporting on what some woman said c) that woman has a substantial motive to accuse Oxbridge of racism - the reason she is in this article is because she's been invited to talk about inequality at the Cambridge student union and Oxford Union d) the figures she is using are grossly out of date - the 'no Oxford college in 5 years' line wasn't true when it was published - in 2010 e) the article includes a very revealing rebuttal by the university.

And finally - why don't you just make your own analysis rather than citing non-articles from the Guardian? The raw statistics are published in detail by Oxford and Cambridge each year. If that does not satisfy you, view one of the many Freedom of Information requests that are available online, or even make your own FOI. Analyse away.
Original post by Colmans
In 2009: 29,000 white students got the requisite grades for Oxford (AAA excluding General Studies) compared to just 452 black students.
315 black students per year secure A*AA
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/admissions/behindtheheadlines/ethnicrepresentation.html
For 2009 entry 15.0% of students admitted to University of Cambridge were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) backgrounds. According to Office for National Statistics 11.3% of the population of England and Wales in mid-2007 were from BAME backgrounds.

Encouraging students to apply, and to courses other than the most competitive such as Medicine and Law will increase the number attending. You made the leap from the number of black students at Oxford to a series of sweeping statements saying that the problem was that Cambridge are prejudiced against non upper middle class students or that people hold Darwinist views about race & IQ.. It is this sort of ignorant comment that puts people off. So if you care about the problem don't make it worse.


The link below answers all the questions raised from race and class debate:
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/University_Guide/
Original post by Chlorophile
It's so frustrating when people ask this same question over and over again without bothering to find out the facts. Neither Oxford or Cambridge have GCSE entrance requirements and especially for Cambridge, your GCSE results are only a small factor in the application process. The main thing that matters are your AS results and (if you get an interview) your interview performance. You'll know if you're in the position to apply to Oxbridge in Year 12. There's no point worrying about it now.


Sorry to cause you frustration. Which uni are you at now?

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