Interview performance

ha, i don't think i'm going to apply - more because i'm resitting lots of modules and since my gcse's are fairly mediocre for oxbridge i think either would be just dying to reject me!

mediocre or below average would be anyone without straight As at AS/A2 and less than about 3A* at GCSE. i should make the distinction that grades below this are obviously great but i'm just comparing them to the oxbridge standard.

ha, i don't think i'm going to apply - more because i'm resitting lots of modules and since my gcse's are fairly mediocre for oxbridge i think either would be just dying to reject me!

mediocre or below average would be anyone without straight As at AS/A2 and less than about 3A* at GCSE. i should make the distinction that grades below this are obviously great but i'm just comparing them to the oxbridge standard.

i got ABBC at AS and A*A*AAAABB at GCSE. hopefully i'll get straight a's at a level but i really believe that a combination of poor GCSEs and resat modules'll weigh too greatly against me. i ask more out of curioisity, since this year oxbridge admissions seems to be slightly strange in our college.

those who have very mediocre GCSEs have gotten in and those with far higher ones have been rejected. in these cases where they all have straight A's and are of similar personality, i assumed that the interview must've played a crucial role (they all had interviews). thanks for all your concern though.

*shrugs*

Your GCSE results aren't "poor", and your AS results are the same as mine. If you actually had your heart set on Oxbridge, I'd actually suggest that you apply after you get your A2 results (which is what I did), because obviously AAA is more substantial than predicted AAA.

I have yet to met an Oxbridge applicant this year from my college who doesn't take themselves too seriously. The vast majority of those who gain interviews (sensibly) prepare vigorously, revising for it as though it were a test through background reading, rehearsed questions etc. Especially in the case of Cambridge who interview a high figure like 95% of applicants, what exactly are they looking to accept/reject you for, anything out of the obvious?

I can't help but Cambridge's interviewing system is a bit silly if they're inviting people they pretty much sure they're planning to reject anyway (due to grades/PS below the average applicant), wouldn't it save them time just to be as reject-happy as Oxford?

thanks for the vote of confidence, i'll think about it - i'm doing four A2s. if all go's to plan i may. are you applying to oxbridge?

I agree... most people who got into Oxbridge from my school spend AGES preparing for their interview, are obsessed with getting in and think it's the only place in the world worth going to. it's a bit annoying.

lol i had NO interview preperations, went for my interview with baggy jeans and converses etc. (don't even think i brushed my teeth that morning), turned up 15 minutes late (but luckily the interviewers came 30 minutes late lol), didn't even post on the website that i'll be arriving for interview (which they told me to do so in the letter) etc. etc. and still got in (lol?)

i didn't take myself too seriously, but you hadn't met me . of course, the only reason i didn't bother with the interviews is because i had a "you're not getting in anyway" mind state at the time. at one point during the interview, i was even trying to decide if i should have a chicken burger or a kebab for lunch while the guy was talking to me.

I have an offer from Oxford.

Good luck if you do apply!

The vast majority of those who gain interviews (sensibly) prepare vigorously, revising for it as though it were a test through background reading, rehearsed questions etc.

HAHA you legend! (right i dont know if it's 'legend' or ledgend' - sorry if it's horribey wrong - i do lit as well!)

what did you apply to do? yeah well if i did apply i'd try not to take myself too seriously - i'd do some prep, read up on things etc. all the usual things so i didn't start sweating profusely in the interview. i just really don't like the kind of people of tell themselves they're going to oxbridge in like year 8 and take everything too seriously from then on after in the worries the slightest little thing will jeopardise their chances. nobody i've met on the TSR from oxbridge seems uptight though

congrats on your offer though! your natural intelligence must have just shone through haha. wearing converse for an oxford interview is also pretty damn cool!

and there was me thinking you were just another 'applicant'

well done on your offer!

Ha ha, hopefully that might lend a bit more clout to what I was saying earlier - you do have a chance!

Thanks for the "well done", heh.

Oxford boasts some of the worst dressed interviewers in the world. Bad fashion sense is unlikely to ruin your chances.

I would be lying if I said I didn't do any preperation, but since all I did was work through some questions in a maths lesson the day before I certainly didn't prepare vigorously. I still got an offer, while several people from my school who did loads of preperation didn't. If you're not good enough, working hard for a few weeks won't make the difference. I bet interviewers could spot rehearsed answers anyway.

yes but i can imagine for maths there's very little preperation you can do...surely you can't get significantly 'better' at maths in a fortnight? i'd think it was different for something like medicine, law, english etc. where you can do a lot of background reading beforehand.