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Oxford Applicants for 2012 Entry

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What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.

At the moment I go to a grammar school, but for the first 5 years of high school I went to a girls Church school which was basically a comprehensive but with about 20 people admitted each year on academic merit. I know it sounds silly but a part of me is still made slightly uncomfortable about the huge proportion of people who go to Oxford that went to independent schools...especially as I'm from the North of England and education is supposed to be a lot better in the South. My current school is very good, but none of the other schools in the city compare to it. I would imagine that in the South of England there would be a few very good schools in each city, as opposed to just one.

So yeah, just wondering what kind of schools you guys go to...if you're still at school, as opposed to going to college.
Original post by such_a_lady
Fair point actually. I just really like where it is, actually, everything around it is very pretty. The whole of the Oxford uni area is, though. On that note, I had such a tough time explaining colleges to my dad. He kept asking me what the campus was like. :rolleyes:


I had an Oxford-related meeting today, where I basically explained to the teacher what was in the course, why I wanted to do it, when I started wanting to do languages, my EC stuff...I have to bring in a draft PS next week :s-smilie:


You should do what I'm gonna do and make all 5 of your choices non-campus universities :colone:

Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.


State grammar in the north lol
Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.

At the moment I go to a grammar school, but for the first 5 years of high school I went to a girls Church school which was basically a comprehensive but with about 20 people admitted each year on academic merit. I know it sounds silly but a part of me is still made slightly uncomfortable about the huge proportion of people who go to Oxford that went to independent schools...especially as I'm from the North of England and education is supposed to be a lot better in the South. My current school is very good, but none of the other schools in the city compare to it. I would imagine that in the South of England there would be a few very good schools in each city, as opposed to just one.

So yeah, just wondering what kind of schools you guys go to...if you're still at school, as opposed to going to college.



I go to a "normal" school, failed the 11+ :tongue: so couldn't go to Grammar school, and no way could my family afford a private school, we live on about £16,000 a year :rolleyes: so I really wouldn't worry about private school students if I were you, I genuinely believe the most academic and well-suited-to-their-course applicants get it, in fact I'm convinced of it :smile:

BTW, technically I go to a "church" (Catholic) school but I'm not Catholic (long story) but there are no entry requirements or fees or anything...
Original post by such_a_lady
Well, if I get in, I certainly know which JCR I'll be hanging out in :wink: vllt wirds viele gutaussehenden deutschen da geben :wink:


Well, I if I get in, dann sind gutaussehende Mädels immer willkommen :wink: :biggrin:
Original post by cambio wechsel
Make no mistake, even after the 'adjustment' E&M is a very very competitive course, and perhaps even more so than PPE, yes. The whole of what I wanted to say is that it perhaps isn't quite as hugely competitive as the data might seem to suggest.

Good luck with it, by the way, whichever of the two you choose.


Thank you! May I ask what course you are applying to? :smile:
Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.

At the moment I go to a grammar school, but for the first 5 years of high school I went to a girls Church school which was basically a comprehensive but with about 20 people admitted each year on academic merit. I know it sounds silly but a part of me is still made slightly uncomfortable about the huge proportion of people who go to Oxford that went to independent schools...especially as I'm from the North of England and education is supposed to be a lot better in the South. My current school is very good, but none of the other schools in the city compare to it. I would imagine that in the South of England there would be a few very good schools in each city, as opposed to just one.

So yeah, just wondering what kind of schools you guys go to...if you're still at school, as opposed to going to college.


If you're asking just of interest, fair enough. But if you're worried that this kind of factor might either affect your chances of admission or your competitiveness once accepted, then I think your worries are groundless.

Oxford admits candidates from the private and maintained sectors at broadly the rate at which they apply. If 45% of the intake is from private schools, it's because 45% (or so) of the applicants are. You've got to buy a ticket to win the lottery. The figures actually suggest private school candidates as having a slightly better chance, but this is due in large part to the fact that they dominate applications for what are less-favoured courses (classics, oriental studies, history of art) while the state school kids cut each others throats in applying for the popular/mainstream courses.

If there's a seeming bias toward students from the south, the same bias exists at Sussex and Bristol and the reverse at Sheffield and Lancaster. At Oxford, as in those cases, it is chiefly a function of geography and the anticipating of long car journeys, and so is again about rates of application.

And, my loose understanding is that state school students slightly outperform private school students once in university. Once accepted, they might even be seen as advantaged by the fact that they're already more autonomous learners than their private school counterparts have had to be.
Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.

Was at a comprehensive (pretty bad results, but being the brightest there gave me opportunities such as doing A level maths three years early...)

Now at a large sixth form college (seventh largest in the country...) with a lot more bright pupils and a lot more support for applying to University.
Reply 1147
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MeeMee
Original post by such_a_lady
Well, if I get in, I certainly know which JCR I'll be hanging out in :wink: vllt wirds viele gutaussehenden deutschen da geben :wink:



The British guys tend to be SO much hotter though :wink:
Original post by MeeMee
The British guys tend to be SO much hotter though :wink:


Depends where you've been! In Oxford everyone was SO HOT, I was just like ...! In my area, there's almost no one. And I did meet beautiful French man in Oxford. My future husband must speak more than one language; I've decided.
Reply 1149
Avatar for MeeMee
MeeMee
Original post by such_a_lady
Depends where you've been! In Oxford everyone was SO HOT, I was just like ...! In my area, there's almost no one. And I did meet beautiful French man in Oxford. My future husband must speak more than one language; I've decided.


My future husband must be fluent in at least three languages because I am fluent in three languages and have basic knowledge of two more.
I've been to London and Cambridge and really, almost everybody was ridiculously attractive...
Original post by MeeMee
My future husband must be fluent in at least three languages because I am fluent in three languages and have basic knowledge of two more.
I've been to London and Cambridge and really, almost everybody was ridiculously attractive...


Wow, I feel inadequate now. I learn German and Spanish and am teaching myself French, you?

Ohh, in London, we were sure we saw a Calvin Klein advert (i.e. three male model-type guys with the quiffs and sunglasses and the suits) walking down the street, it was crazy!
Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.

So yeah, just wondering what kind of schools you guys go to...if you're still at school, as opposed to going to college.


I've been at the same comprehensive since Year 7. It's like a specialist language school, with tons of international opportunities, everyone has to do a language GCSE etc. That's the only reason I'm able to do A Level German, since in normal schools a class of 4 would not be permitted to run. Although it's a massive comprehensive (1600+ students), we just got rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted, so it's not a disadvantaged-type school. We are in one of the richest areas of the South East, though, and I'm very lucky to be there, especially as it's specialised in my favourite academic area, rather than maths or something.

Original post by dnumberwang
You should do what I'm gonna do and make all 5 of your choices non-campus universities :colone:


State grammar in the north lol


Ooh, what are your choices?


Original post by nightmare91
Well, I if I get in, dann sind gutaussehende Mädels immer willkommen :wink: :biggrin:


Ich kanns kaum erwarten :wink:
Also: I really love this thread! Applying would be so boring without it! I really hope everyone here gets a place :smile:
Original post by such_a_lady
Ooh, what are your choices?


Imperial, Manchester, and 2 from Bristol, Edinburgh, UCL, King's.

Maybe some of them are campus unis but they're all in cities anyway :dontknow:
Original post by such_a_lady
Also: I really love this thread! Applying would be so boring without it! I really hope everyone here gets a place :smile:


Yes, I like it too and also hope everyone gets a place or at least an interview, I think that would be already quite an achievement :smile:
Reply 1155
Avatar for loz876
loz876
7
Original post by Unconventional.
What kind of schools do you all go to, i.e. grammar school/private school/comp etc? I'm just really interested in what kind of educational environment you're all used to.


I go to a regular state sixth form, nothing special, so I wouldn't worry about that :smile: though my mother works at a private school and I always wanted her to get me in for free :colondollar: sadly this was not possible!!:dry::lol:
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by irina793
what did you ask and what did they tell you? :biggrin:

About scottish qualifications and interviews as well as general application and visiting things. She was so kind and gave me loads of information and said Oxford totally recognise Advanced highers are significantly harder than A Levels and don't expect us to take 3, and it sounds like I have a competitive application already. :biggrin: I just feel a bit more encouraged now. :smile:
Original post by Albertine
About scottish qualifications and interviews as well as general application and visiting things. She was so kind and gave me loads of information and said Oxford totally recognise Advanced highers are significantly harder than A Levels and don't expect us to take 3, and it sounds like I have a competitive application already. :biggrin: I just feel a bit more encouraged now. :smile:



Out of interest, what are AHs like? What makes them so hard?
Reply 1158
Avatar for MeeMee
MeeMee
Original post by such_a_lady
Wow, I feel inadequate now. I learn German and Spanish and am teaching myself French, you?

Ohh, in London, we were sure we saw a Calvin Klein advert (i.e. three male model-type guys with the quiffs and sunglasses and the suits) walking down the street, it was crazy!


I'm fluent in German, English and French and I speak a little bit of Arabic and also learned Latin at school. Latin was always one of my favorites, it' SO helpful when studying other romanistic languages.
Original post by MeeMee
I'm fluent in German, English and French and I speak a little bit of Arabic and also learned Latin at school. Latin was always one of my favorites, it' SO helpful when studying other romanistic languages.


Ohh nice, in English they're "Romance" languages, not romanistic, which is quite interesting. I wish I were fluent in another language! How did you become fluent in those? What's your definition of fluent?

I also learnt Latin and did very well in it too :wink:

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