Oxford Applicants for 2012 Entry

I'm doing three advanced highers, having done five highers last year - although technically I'll have four AHs, as I did maths a year early. No, people only go to college to do technical/vocational courses. There aren't many "sixth form colleges" up here. Oh and also, we don't have reception but begin Primary 1 aged 4.5 - 5.5, so we graduate half a year younger than you do.

Newspaper/souvenier stand.

A tiny newsagent's.

Hey guys,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma here.
I got AAAA for History, Economics, Maths and Physics at AS. Now that it's A2, I've decided to drop Physics, because I found the prospect of being able to 'concentrate' more on the first three subjects very attractive indeed. I've not been going for Physics classes for a month, and it's been such a relief having three subjects.

Thing is, teachers say that having anything less than FOUR A2s would significantly downgrade my application. Like, it would significantly reduce my chances of getting an offer because apparently, having "just" 3.5 gives the admissions tutor in Oxford the impression that I'm not trying hard enough, I'm not hardworking and that I'm not willing to push myself through a bit of a challenge. I mean, I'm not completely unconvinced - even I (now pretending to be an admissions tutor) find the combination Economics, History, Maths and Physics a lot more interesting than if it didn't have Physics. Is that reasonable? :s

I can still take Physics up at this point, except that I'll have to do some serious catching up - which I'm confident I'll be able to do fine.

But give me your opinion guys - does having 4 instead of 3.5 REALLY make a difference on what the admissions tutor will make of me?

I think even in England my area is quite unusual in having "academic" colleges.

So your years still run run September - July (ish) but just on average the age of your year group is half a year younger? Does that mean that for quite a few people, they start university aged 17?

Ah Thanks. Shame it's not the TARDIS...

Yes (well, mid-August to end of June to be pedantic). And yes, about 1/3 - 1/4 of people would be seventeen on starting uni (including me), though quite a few of those may do a gap year. Also, it's possible to go to a Scottish uni without sixth year, having just done Highers. This is rarer these days, but those who do it will also be seventeen. That's actually the reason why Scottish degree courses are four years.

We have TARDISes in Edinburgh.

HI GUYS! Remember me? I forgot about this thread ... School started yesterday! Oh no.

You WHAT?

Who are you and what have you done with Julie?!

We have TARDISes in Edinburgh.

Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice about notifying unis (especially Oxford) about extenuating circumstances? Obviously it needs to be mentioned in my reference, but do I need to send a separate letter to admissions to explain the situation in full? Only really affected my GCSE grades (they're still good, 7 A*s, 4 As and a B) so is it necessary at all? Thanks.

Your GCSEs are about average so I would mention it if you really would have performed better if you hadn't have extenuating circumstances. But there is no seperate letter needed in my opinion. Your referee should be able to put it in the reference which is enough . What subject are you applying for?

I think I would have done, I was predicted 10 A*s and 2 As. Thanks Earth Sciences, you?

Oh well then yea you should definetely have it mentioned in your reference. I'm applying for Economics and Management at Merton College.

That's exciting why Merton? Thinking Worcester myself

Well when I first thought about to what college I should apply to I asked some friends of mine who applied to Oxford last year. And one applied to Merton and she loved it. So I did some research on it and also liked it very much. Also because it is very academical compared to others. It comes up in the top 3 of the norrington table almost every year and the buildings are beautiful. Furthermore I really enjoyed the Open Day at Merton in July . But I wouldn't mind getting pooled of course Worcester is great too! And why is it Worcester for you?

Worcester: Quite a small college with a very small hall and amazing grounds. The JCR was probably my favourite. It's very comfy and they had a giant tv and a Wii as well as the typical board games.

Now, the interviews. I only interviewed at Balliol, so I can't really say how different they are at different colleges. My first interview was for History and was actually quite fun. I was asked a few questions relating to the essay I sent in but most of the questions, whilst related to the my topic, were on issues I hadn't studied directly and required me to speculate and imagine why X might have happened. This, presumably, was to let them see how I reasoned things through and stops candidates from just reciting pre-prepared arguments.

My second interview, for Politics, felt like a nightmare. The tutors were both nice enough, but I had to talk about lessons learned from the Russian Revolution (referenced in my personal statement) to an expert on Marx, which made me nervous,

Apologies if I've rambled on a bit, but, hopefully, this will give people more of an idea of what the interview week is like. If you've got any questions, just ask, and maybe, if I do ok in the HAT, I'll see some of you in December