State school Oxbridge applicants..

I achieved 11A*s at GCSE, if I gained decent A levels do you think I would get in to study Medicine, regardless of being from a state school or not?
And what could I do to show that I, being from state school am just as good as these posh boys? Thanks.

I achieved 11A*s at GCSE, if I gained decent A levels do you think I would get in to study Medicine, regardless of being from a state school or not?
And what could I do to show that I, being from state school am just as good as these posh boys? Thanks.

This in particular gave me good lollage because I've had 1st hand experience of it - the careers service at my college is rotten! Why did you apps coordinator take that stance and what happened when you missed your offer??


To both of you, I meant coping with preparing for interviews. I'm assuming you were both applying alone (I mean minus peers)? Didgeridoo, lame question but how did you go about generally getting yourself to a competitive standard for the Oxbridge admissions cycle (over the course of your AS levels)?

for a start stop having that attitude.

they couldn't care less what school you went to. they care about academic ability and your enthusiasm / drive for your subject.

basically get amazing grades at a'level, and try and do extra-curricular stuff to prove to them how much you love medicine

Thanks for the advice, but what 'attitude'? ;o

... regardless of being from a state school or not?
And what could I do to show that I, being from state school am just as good as these posh boys?

Her reasoning was that I didn't have straight As at AS (aaac) and that Oxford wouldn't bother with me. She was particularly focused on that because I was the only one applying without straight As (I think about 6-7 of us tried Oxford and 2 Cambridge, I was just the only one to get an offer). I didn't pay much attention and applied anyway. When she asked whether I'd got a place and I said yes, I said "not bad for 3 As and a C, is it?", she pretended she hadn't heard

So yeah, there were other people applying with me and because there were quite a few of us, my school subsidised for us all to go on some Oxbridge interview course thing that would give us a 50% chance of getting in or some **** like that. Except I didn't hand in the form on time and didn't go. Yet was the only one to get in. I always found that rather amusing too

There was some women doing mock interviews but she was ill for mine. Good thing too: she was absolutely ****e.

My school was under the Oxford Access Scheme, so I went to Oxford and had a mock interview with a then-current Music student. Also went on a personal statement day and had my statement looked at by a then-current student. Plus I went on the Sutton Trust summer school and got advice from there.

Actually now that I think of it, I was the only one from my school to do any of those three activities...

God my school was ****

i'll be applying next year through CSAS, fingers crossed! My new school is massive and they had two to cambridge last year, but for three years before that noone at all.. and my old school has had none in recent enough years (or ever?) to count :L

my school has boards lining the staircase of every pupil's name that ever went to oxbridge. i feel intimidated and depressed everytime i walk down it i really really want to go to cambridge for medicine but have a feeling my UMS may not get up to scratch.

I'm not familiar with CSAS but good luck What are you thinking of applying for?


What makes you say that? How have your exams been so far?

Lol, well done you, its all quite ironic lol. Are you all still in touch then?? The A2s at my school tell me the teachers here begin the UCAS process in December and offer minimal guidance.. I don't think I'll be going back there next September tbh. At which stage in your A levels did you apply for all these things?

Also we have a few teachers with (for example) qualifications in law who are attempting to teach subjects like economics, and quite visibly failing.. badly. I've been told by someone who did phenominally well at A level that teachers aren't necessary to get As. Do you have any advice? I'm at wits end..

I want to study languages at Oxford so badly. No one from my (actually quite rubbish really) state grammar school has got in for five years, and where languages are concerned I don't think anyone ever has, which for a language specialist school is so bad!

So far I have been reading literature, doing lots of hard grammar and trying to arrange a trip to France/Germany in the summer, just so I become more fluent. It's hard, because I really don't know what to expect. The hardest thing is being among other pupils who haven't even thought about university yet and don't even do their homework.

Brilliant idea I'm at a decent Sixth Form where they send a good amount of their students to top Unis but apparently not enough go to Oxbridge.

I'm hoping to apply for Economics & Management at Oxford (2012 entry)

Same here Or maybe PPE. Good luck both of you. Which part of London are you in? And you have the exact subject choice that I wanted to pick but my college doesn't let us take more than three subjects..

With my school or the fellow Oxbridge applicants? I'm in touch with two of my friends from school who applied to Oxford (one of whom really didn't take it well when I got in and she didn't ) but not the rest of them really. I'm still in touch with one of the deputy heads and some of the old Music teachers but that's about it. About 15-20 teachers left when I did and another 10-12 the year after, so I don't really recognise many of the faces in my school anymore... All those careers people have left now too...

Teachers definitely aren't necessary to get As, if it's a subject where it's possible to teach yourself. I pretty much taught myself the whole of my Music AS and A2 (though I daresay they took some credit for my high UMS, urgh) but that was very different to me trying to compensate for my French teachers (that was the one I got a B in. Though I can't really blame them: I shouldn't have trusted their predicted grades and should have worked harder, at the end of the day!).

Try and look at past papers and the examiners' reports to see the common mistakes that crop up in exams and coursework. Look at the assessment objectives for your subject and figure out which ones (if any) are double-weighted for each paper. Play to those strengths. That works wonders in English Lit at least (though I had amazing teachers for that, albeit at a different school). Use trusted revision guides and do as many past papers as possible.

I think I did most of the Access scheme stuff in Year 12 or at the very start of Year 13. My school was sent info about the Sutton Trust but never told us about it It was my sister who found out the dates and stuff and made me apply. Then my Music dept asked me not to go coz it clashed with the school musical and I felt like saying "hello?! This could potentially affect my whole life and you're asking me not to go for your poxy musical!?!??! [It was Calamity Jane and def wouldn't have been worth it ]"

Would getting a private tutor be an option? A fair chunk of my EMA went on past papers and tuition for AS Physics. Though they've scrapped EMA now or something?

There is an unforgivable discrepancy in the prep between the independent/state grammars and the state comprehensive sixth forms/FE colleges. I was interviewed last week and was in the JCR waiting room whilst we all waited to go in for our separate interviews (for a mix of subject choices)... no one else had come from (or at least admitted to coming from) a state comp. sixth form/FE college, instead there was quite a big contingent from the East Coast's most affluent areas (Edinburgh, Harrogate, rural parts of North, South and West Yorkshire, Durham and Lincolnshire), so there was definitely no common features shared between me and them, considering I'm from inner city Manchester! I'm not particularly saying that this is necessarily representative of the composition of the body of students in the college but it did reveal to me quite a surprising turnaround of events considering the lengths to which Oxbridge stress their 'state composition' credentials, when this clearly must be exaggerated when the 'state pool' of applicants they're choosing from is so interminably small. It also turned out that these independents had paid for their applicants to undergo extensive interview prep (something I consider useless but, all the same, it really did bring home to me the extent to which the control their applicants' applications) and had paid for past papers + model answers (something I hadn't even known existed). I guess my 5 minute check-in with a mock interviewer in a room no bigger than 6 foot wide and long really doesn't compare.

Nevertheless, try your hardest, don't be consumed by the pressure that you'll invariably put on yourself and work towards your degree outside of college time... you learn more in life than you do a classroom

Lool, Calamity Jane, very worthwile. Its Economics I'm trying to teach myself. I do have past papers but I don't think private tutors are much of an option at the mo. EMA's being scrapped next (academic) year so I might apply to receive it for the rest of this year and put it towards a private tutor. Good idea, ta

Nice to hear you still see some of them, there has to be a degree of admiration for you amongst them now? Also god bless your big sis , I'm gona hound my college to press on with this Sutton Trust stuff (if it's still happening)!

Im planning or more like hoping to go Cambridge for Maths. Im doing Further maths, Maths, Physics and History. Im getting 100%s in pretty much all of my maths test, and Im hoping that it will be the same in the exams. I have heard that a few people in my school went to Oxbridge, but very few. So, it seems like im going to be on my own too

Medicine, hopefully! I meet almost all the critera for the scheme, fingers crossed they'll take it into account One of my best friends managed to make it into Cam for medicine this year from an even worse school, so he's filled me with hope thankyou, good luck in your application too

it really did bring home to me the extent to which the control their applicants' applications) and had paid for past papers + model answers (something I hadn't even known existed). I guess my 5 minute check-in with a mock interviewer in a room no bigger than 6 foot wide and long really doesn't compare.

I'm in year 12 at a state school! Although ours likes to pretend it's a grammar school really. We do get maybe two or three students into Oxbridge per year though, I think.
I want to apply to Cambridge for English lit (touch wood).
I did some stuff for lit with Brasenose College at Oxford last year, and I'm going on a trip to Oxford for lit in Febuary I think. I'm going to apply for Oxford UNIQ as well. Although I'd really rather go to Cambridge hah..
I'm just terrified really, I really feel like I'm not working hard enough, I ought to pull my socks up. it's difficult when you have an exam in january and your teachers will lose all the practice essays you've done and never get them back to you aha..

I really really really really REALLY want to do MML (Languages) at Cambridge. My French teacher has told me I should apply, but it's so scary... apparently they want over 92% in all AS modules! (source: head of sixth form went on a course about Oxbridge)

This support network thing sounds really good. For me, thinking about going to Cambridge isn't something I want to share with a lot of people I know in case I fail (sounds stupid I know).

Persevere, and try and get advice from anyone with experience of the universities or application process, use the student room! and ask for help - keep on asking until you get it. And you're already helping yourself by preparing early