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Should I apply to Oxford during gap year (physics)?

In Y13 and applied to study cs got offers from some decent unis (St Andrews, KCL, Exter + shortlisted UCL need to do another admissions test, waiting to hear back from Imperial). Decided pursuing physics will be more fulfilling and rewarding.

Grades r fine: 10 9s at GCSE. Should be able to get A*A*AA - A*A*A*A physics,maths,econ,fm.

My only worry is that my school, which is fab at Oxbridge prep, won't be able to help me prepare for interviews and admissions tests as I won't be a student there anymore. They do offer help to gap year students but I don't think my teachers think I can acc get into Oxford. They probably think I'm delusional / crazy as my mocks didn't go so well. I know that I'm capable of doing incredibly well and can achieve the grades. That's only 1/3 of the work needed to be done though.

I'm also going to apply to Imperial, St Andrews, and a few others if I take the gap year. I got accepted into two small american colleges as well but don't know if I'll go due to financial reasons.

It would also be great to hear any suggestions you have about how I can help myself prepare for physics at uni. I plan to work through undergrad texts and courses during my year off.

Reply 1

AnonOxE

So you’ve not applied to Oxford this year, but are thinking of having a crack in your gap year, while holding deferred offers to St A etc…?

Reply 2

AnonOxE

Oh i see, you’ve gone for Computing this year but want to swap to Physics. Is that the reason you’re thinking of a gap year, purely to re-apply? Or were you gap year-ing anyway..?

Reply 3

tiffmaths

Original post by AnonOxE

Oh i see, you’ve gone for Computing this year but want to swap to Physics. Is that the reason you’re thinking of a gap year, purely to re-apply? Or were you gap year-ing anyway..?

Hi, my main reason for taking a gap year will be to apply for physics. I’m going to keep St Andrews as my insurance in case things don’t go to plan on results day. But provided I do well enough I will be applying again in September. My plan is to work through PAT questions, BPHO papers and take some uni credits or courses (online) in physics over the summer / leading up to Autumn. I’ll pretty much be dedicating most of my free time to studying physics and maths - revising what I know and working through a first year textbook/ preparatory materials.

(I will also have to get a part time job haha - but I should be able to dedicate sufficient time studying per week)

Reply 4

AnonOxE

Sounds good to me, you’re dedicating £thousands and 3 years of your life to it, best get it right.
I am no UCAS expert so apologies if what I’m thinking can’t be done.
Couple of questions I’d want answered or at least pursue:

Can you email the offering Uni admissions departments and find out if they’re amenable to swapping you from CS onto Physics? If they are, that’s options.

Have you discussed with your academic or form tutor in your current school on this. While they might not be able to give you a full Oxbridge work up as if you were attending they may be able to provide some support, and I’m sure they’d want to if they’re able. Even if only materials and helping with an academic reference. It’s possible, if they were minded, they could cram some Oxbridge help in at the end of this year while you’re still on their books as a full time student.

I do know my daughter’s school can offer some assistance to re-applicants which is I guess how they may treat you.

If you’ve the grades ‘in hand’ later in August you’ll know whether you’re in a position to get an Oxford application through.

Also last of all, have you visited these Universities? In particular St Andrews, I’d strongly recommend going to see it (and the others). It is a little further away than most, and a very small town. Check you’re happy with the Physics dept in comparison to the other Unis you are looking at.

My background, I went to St Andrews 1992-96 for Physics. My daughter is an offer holder for a humanities subject for Oxford this year.

Bearing in mind the elements of an Oxbridge application are:

Personal statement
GCSE grades and either A Level predicted of achieved
Aptitude test score
And most importantly:
Interview performance.

Looking at those the school if minded could help you with the personal statement now, and possibly interview prep or at least materials for the PAT.

You’ll definitely, if you get that far, want to get some form of interview familiarisation or practise - even if it’s getting a friend or family member (or a tutor?) to run something with some typical questions you might get. It’s all about ‘how’ you approach the question, not getting the correct answer.

However I well remember the end of this academic year when I did it in 92. It can feel hard to keep everything on track for the actual exams- that’s got to be the No. 1 priority. All these offers need the grades, distractions should be carefully managed. If the Mocks were not quite the outcome you wanted, keep studying and it’ll come good.

Good luck. And, I am no expert. I did not get into Oxford and I can’t say I did very well in my Physics degree either!

Definitely, get a meeting with your form/academic tutor in your school. They’re best places to advise you. However always remember, if you get a clean sheet of great grades it’s your choice come August, not the schools!

Good luck. 👍

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 5

AnonOxE

Just asked my daughter on this.

She says her school would definitely do the academic reference and any other admin needed to support an application. Any other support, maybe not.

Also her other comment was “CS at Imperial, isn’t that like top of the tree?” Fair point, if they make an offer..

Reply 6

tiffmaths

Original post by AnonOxE

Sounds good to me, you’re dedicating £thousands and 3 years of your life to it, best get it right.
I am no UCAS expert so apologies if what I’m thinking can’t be done.
Couple of questions I’d want answered or at least pursue:
Can you email the offering Uni admissions departments and find out if they’re amenable to swapping you from CS onto Physics? If they are, that’s options.
Have you discussed with your academic or form tutor in your current school on this. While they might not be able to give you a full Oxbridge work up as if you were attending they may be able to provide some support, and I’m sure they’d want to if they’re able. Even if only materials and helping with an academic reference. It’s possible, if they were minded, they could cram some Oxbridge help in at the end of this year while you’re still on their books as a full time student.
I do know my daughter’s school can offer some assistance to re-applicants which is I guess how they may treat you.
If you’ve the grades ‘in hand’ later in August you’ll know whether you’re in a position to get an Oxford application through.
Also last of all, have you visited these Universities? In particular St Andrews, I’d strongly recommend going to see it (and the others). It is a little further away than most, and a very small town. Check you’re happy with the Physics dept in comparison to the other Unis you are looking at.
My background, I went to St Andrews 1992-96 for Physics. My daughter is an offer holder for a humanities subject for Oxford this year.
Bearing in mind the elements of an Oxbridge application are:
Personal statement
GCSE grades and either A Level predicted of achieved
Aptitude test score
And most importantly:
Interview performance.
Looking at those the school if minded could help you with the personal statement now, and possibly interview prep or at least materials for the PAT.
You’ll definitely, if you get that far, want to get some form of interview familiarisation or practise - even if it’s getting a friend or family member (or a tutor?) to run something with some typical questions you might get. It’s all about ‘how’ you approach the question, not getting the correct answer.
However I well remember the end of this academic year when I did it in 92. It can feel hard to keep everything on track for the actual exams- that’s got to be the No. 1 priority. All these offers need the grades, distractions should be carefully managed. If the Mocks were not quite the outcome you wanted, keep studying and it’ll come good.
Good luck. And, I am no expert. I did not get into Oxford and I can’t say I did very well in my Physics degree either!
Definitely, get a meeting with your form/academic tutor in your school. They’re best places to advise you. However always remember, if you get a clean sheet of great grades it’s your choice come August, not the schools!
Good luck. 👍

Thank you so much for this - incredibly helpful!

Which us unis?

Original post by lanky_giraffe

Which us unis?

I haven't heard back from all of them yet (waiting for Harvard and Yale)

Best offer from US so far is Amherst College - it's a small liberal arts college but many students from physics dept go on to some of the top grad schools in America. Very small class sizes

Reply 9

tiffmaths

Original post by lanky_giraffe

Which us unis?

I'm skeptical about going though because I'll likely end up at a better uni if I reapply. Alternatively, St Andrews might let me transfer... not sure how good it is for physics though.

Reply 10

lanky_giraffe

Original post by tiffmaths

I'm skeptical about going though because I'll likely end up at a better uni if I reapply. Alternatively, St Andrews might let me transfer... not sure how good it is for physics though.

isn’t imperial like the best in the uk for CS?