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Oxbridge FAQ!

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Thanx for the info. I checked online at the site and they gave me all the info i needed.
Just wondering, what are A-Level and GSCE, and are they equivalent to the AP courses in the US?

Reply 321

citizen_bryony

What is the pressure to suceed at oxbridge like, i'm all for doing well but i want to have a nice time too?

Reply 322

Jigglypuff

Solemn Wanderer

Well, if you get a third or below in any exam you are liable to be sent packing.

Seriously? I thought you had to fail in order to be sent down...and if you got a third you'd just get a talking to?

Reply 323

Jonesy_LJ

sarahroxmysox

Thanx for the info. I checked online at the site and they gave me all the info i needed.
Just wondering, what are A-Level and GSCE, and are they equivalent to the AP courses in the US?

A-Levels and AP courses are roughly equivilent, some argue AP is harder, but I don't think there's very much in it.

A-Levels are taken at the end of the final year of schooling, when candidates are usually 17-18, and people usually take between 3 and 5 full A levels.

GCSEs are lower qualifications taken at age of 15-16, and people usually take between 8 and 13.

Reply 324

Taiping

At Cambridge you get put in front of a committee if you get a third and/or underperform. Only if you fail do you get kicked out. That's my understanding of it anyway.

Reply 325

Isaiah Berlin

Solemn Wanderer

Well, if you get a third or below in any exam you are liable to be sent packing.

What an irresponsible post. It is completely misleading.

It is true that if you are performing poorly AND not doing the work required of you, you will be disciplined - but being thrown out will take months of persistent failre. If you skip practicals/skip tutes/don't hand in essays and are failling/almost failing, you will be given a series of warnings to turn things around. If these are unheeded, you will be set penal exams, and if you fail these then you will be kicked out.

I have never heard a case of someone who was doing their working but just finding it hard being disciplined in any way, let alone thrown out. After all what can you throw them out for? They're not breaking any rules, are in fact passing the course.

If you do fail the course, the University may have no choice, but even then there may be redepmtion. Some subjects offer an assissted pass, which means even if you fail some papers, if your average is above a pass (>40%) you won't fail.

Even if you do fail, for your first set of exams, you get to retake. In Medicine, you also get vivas, so you can actually fail three times without being thrown out (exam, viva, resit) if you pass the second set of vivas.

All in all being thrown out is not something people worry about, generally. For the few that do, it's only something that leads on from worrying about knowingly breaking important rules.

Reply 326

Huw Davies

In second-year medicine, you can fail five times. First time, viva, resit, viva, summer resits, pass on viva. At this stage they really don't want to throw you out. This also reflects the high (70%) mark required to pass the short-notes exams relative to most subjects, which means that a relatively large proportion are borderline fails.

It takes quite serious under-performance to get penal collections set, and these may be more to get the wind up you than with a serious threat of chucking out.

If you fail your prelims you are likely to get a resit and have to pass on pain of not coming back. You may get away with failing every single set of collections, depending on your tutors (I have never passed a short-notes part A, I don't think).

Reply 327

ticos

How much to Cambridge care about AS levels?

I have had a really bad year in L6, so I think this summer I might only get AABB/AAAB. I have already got one A at AS and 8.5 A*s at GCSE, and my teachers have all said that they wil predict me As at A2.

If I get AABB this year but then get predicted all As, will this count against me a lot?

Reply 328

priya

Taiping

At Cambridge you get put in front of a committee if you get a third and/or underperform. Only if you fail do you get kicked out. That's my understanding of it anyway.

this can vary from college to college and department. some people just get a good talking-to within their college if they get a third, unless there's overriding departmental policy on it (e.g engineering - get a 3rd in part 1 and part 2 and you can't stay for the MEng)

Also some subjects are marked so that a certain proportion HAVE to get a 3rd, when in reality their mark could have been worthy of a 2.ii. In such a case I would assume the college and department would say very little, and just provide extra help and assistance the following year.

Reply 329

priya

rachels

In the initial application, camb will scale all candidates based on the facts they see on paper - GCSEs, AS levels, predictions, references etc. Personally, I think your GCSEs and predictions will help you a great deal in coming as high as possible on that scale. As for your AS levels, AABB wouldn't be fantastic, but it wouldn't be dire either, especially if there's a good reason as to why you didn't meet your predictions. If this is the case, you have to let camb know when you apply (via references) and they will factor this in too!

Reply 330

priya

citizen_bryony

What is the pressure to suceed at oxbridge like, i'm all for doing well but i want to have a nice time too?

being honest, you will find there is a fair amount, from college,your department, and probably even from your peers. What you will realise if you come here though, is that everyone needs to set their own limits- we all take a different amount of time to do something to a certain standard, and the worst you can do is constantly comnpare yourself against others. Almost everybody does a couple of extra-currics, whether it's something simple like working the bar, playing hockey on saturdays, or even playing in university orchestras and sport teams. DoSs won't (or shouldn't) tell you to not do anything extra-curricular, but they will probably suggest you don't do something very time-consuming.

Reply 331

Alexia89

i heard oxbridge are going to make their conditional offers harder by requiring A grades in all modules rather than just overall As, when exactly will that come into effect?

Reply 332

snowy!

Just curious (and sorry if this has already been answered) but as Oxford do not take module scores and my school does not release AS results, what will they have to interview me on? My GCSE's weren't great (one B, rest A*s-As, A* in chosen subject), and neither are my ECs...

Will they purely bank on my predicted results?

Reply 333

Chewwy

your grades will most likely be included in your reference.

Reply 334

cloud*

Oxford digs deeper to seek out the best students

University applicants will be judged on their schools as well as grades

Anushka Asthana, education correspondent
Sunday July 22, 2007

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2132069,00.html

Reply 335

CathyLou

Hi.

I was just wondering, do all colleges make an effort to find you a place if they think that you should go to Oxford but do not have room for you in their college?

It is just that some explicity specify this in the prospectus and others do not.

Cathy

Reply 336

henryt

Well, quite often an Open Offer (i.e. where the college is undecided until results day) will be made, or candidates will be 'pooled' to other colleges upon recommendation. There's no good reason why they wouldn't make an effort to get you pooled. The department may also get a say - for instance, I think because Oriental Studies and History of Art have such small intakes, the applications are handled pretty much centrally (correct me if I'm wrong!). Which subject are you applying for? Hope that helps, and good luck with your application!

Reply 337

CathyLou

henryt

Thank you for your help.

henryt

Which subject are you applying for? Hope that helps, and good luck with your application!

I am applying for History.

Thanks very much.

Cathy

Reply 338

RadiantJewel

I must submit a marked essay. what exactly is an essay? Is it a paper based on (subjective) arguements to defend an point of view or can it be any paper you had to do for school? I dunno if i have an marked essay. I think the dutch papers differ a lot from the english essays. Any ideas on how long the essay should be?

Reply 339

Jaswarbrick

Hi everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but i need help urgently.

I am going to apply for Maths at university, and am not sure whether to apply for Oxford or Cambridge. Basically, the head of maths thinks that i shouldn't apply for Cambridge as she thinks the STEP papers would be too much stress for me, but i said i would be willing to put the hard work into preparing for STEP if it meant i could get into Cambridge, so she strongly suggests i apply for Oxford and Warwick instead of Cambridge.

On the other hand, my mum does not want me to apply for Oxford, as i 'haven't mentioned' it before as being a good place for Mathematics. (This is absurd of course, it's just i have always mentioned Cambridge as the best place for maths, but i have considered Oxford to be 2nd/3rd).

So right now i am basically stuck between the two, or to not even apply for one of them. My AS level results:

A-level Maths: A (this is 6 units and i have done 2 more units.) All pure units in the 90s and upwards.
AS level Physics: B (Guttered as i was i think 6 marks UMS off an A, my fault really.)
AS level Computing: C (I basically think this will be the factor towards me not getting a successful application to either of them, but i still would like to apply for one of the Oxbridge unis.)

My teacher thinks i would be able to impress Oxford in a written Maths test here at my sixth form (state) college on the October 31st, which she said the test alone wipes out 1/4 of the applicants. So if i could do well in this test, it would give me a chance.

Basically i have until Friday to get my personal statement/UCAS done and i haven't even started those! :eek:

I have been so stressed about this Oxbridge stuff i've been sick with confusion/panic/worry etc. about it all.

If any advice could be offered on this please provide it as i will be eternally grateful, this is my future after all.

Thank you, and sorry if this is the wrong forum, please direct me to the right forum if it is in the wrong place.