I'll be applying next year. I was leaning towards Oxford rather heavily and then some comments on this thread made me question it, however, basically it comes down to the fact that I can't see much difference in the courses. Cambridge has a better reputation and is probably a bit better, but it isn't by much. Oxford is still absolutely bloody amazing for maths. I even like the city of Oxford better than cambridge, and the university just has a better feel to it for me. And really, i know I'm not one of the very best mathematicians in the county (YET!) and there's not a chance in hell I'd beat off the competition from anyone who even got a sniff of the IMO team so basically Trinity is out of my league. In the end the small difference isn't worth not getting in, so I'm perfectly happy to admit that I am not currently one of probably the top 100 (most likely considerably more) maths applicants in the county, but I do think I'm good enough for oxbridge, I just want to make sure of a place, and the competition is harder at cambridge. Plus I've fallen in love with Magdalen.

Hi - I'm in the exact same position as you now - and I was wondering if you can tell me how the application turned out for you and if you can give me a few tips??

Thanks (:

Reply 125

BJack

Original post by qwertyuiopg

Hi - I'm in the exact same position as you now - and I was wondering if you can tell me how the application turned out for you and if you can give me a few tips??

Thanks (:

That's a really old post you've quoted. For what it's worth, JoMo1 went to Oxford and has since graduated. As he hasn't been on the forums for almost a year, I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a swift reply!

Reply 126

qwertyuiopg

oh - fair enough! Thanks for letting me know

Reply 127

Piddle123

Original post by qwertyuiopg

(Original post by JoMo1) I'll be applying next year. I was leaning towards Oxford rather heavily and then some comments on this thread made me question it, however, basically it comes down to the fact that I can't see much difference in the courses. Cambridge has a better reputation and is probably a bit better, but it isn't by much. Oxford is still absolutely bloody amazing for maths. I even like the city of Oxford better than cambridge, and the university just has a better feel to it for me. And really, i know I'm not one of the very best mathematicians in the county (YET!) and there's not a chance in hell I'd beat off the competition from anyone who even got a sniff of the IMO team so basically Trinity is out of my league. In the end the small difference isn't worth not getting in, so I'm perfectly happy to admit that I am not currently one of probably the top 100 (most likely considerably more) maths applicants in the county, but I do think I'm good enough for oxbridge, I just want to make sure of a place, and the competition is harder at cambridge. Plus I've fallen in love with Magdalen.

Hi - I'm in the exact same position as you now - and I was wondering if you can tell me how the application turned out for you and if you can give me a few tips?? Thanks :smile:

Hi - I'm in the exact same position as you now - and I was wondering if you can tell me how the application turned out for you and if you can give me a few tips?? Thanks :smile:

Reply 128

username3480226

Original post by Piddle123

Hi - I'm in the exact same position as you now - and I was wondering if you can tell me how the application turned out for you and if you can give me a few tips?? Thanks :smile:

I know this thread is old AF but I can give some tips form my experience with friends

1 - Oxford is being kinda weird. I believe they have very heavy state school bias recently (I was rejected with 10A*'S, nobody at my school got an Oxford offer (while 12 got Cambridge) and my top100 under 18 maths friend was rejected)). I don't think it's just anecdotal evidence that it's getting harder to be accepted by Oxford, but I may be wrong/
2 - Examination/Testing is very different. Oxford have the MAT. It's weird, C1/C2 on steroids, but is designed to encourage thinking and be accessible to state school children who have covered the bare minimum at school. Their interviews are longer and slightly more intense than Cambridge. I believe Cambridge give more offers, but they require STEP in the offer, and it's super hard to get a good grade in STEP so many with an offer get rejected.