Oxford Applicants 2016 Entry &amp; Interview chat

Original post by Edminzodo

I used to want to do that! I'm doing all of the same A-Levels as you except for Maths! :awesome:

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Sorry for the long reply, been super busy with a levels :frown:

Haha, so what do you want to do now and how are you finding our shared a levels? :tongue:

Reply 442

LoveToArgue

8

GCSE Grades: 11 A*, 1A (damn you Drama written exam)
A-Levels: Maths, History, French, English Language, Biology (predicted AS AAAAA and aiming for A*A*A*A* at A2- will be dropping Biology ASAP)
Course: Law
College: no idea, open application? perhaps Univ (I love Shelley) /Brasenose...?

Anyone else considering Law?

Reply 443

The Warsmith

Anyone else considering Law?

I thought about Jurisprudence with Law Studies in Europe(German).
Initially I thought it was a joint course, but turns out, you learn mostly about German law, and very little of the language and culture, except for the year abroad. Law is not a thing for me I guess - I'm not the most outspoken or extroverted of people, but I do like the idea of justice, hence the statue of Themis on my shelf (I don't worship her btw).

Reply 444

The Warsmith

Talking about greek gods and worship, I was walking to the barbers on Friday, when I noticed looking through the basement window of an office terrace, a classical statue of Aphrodite with no arms, dyed pink, with two huge candles on either side. Initially I thought cult, and I dread to imagine what goes on in there

Reply 445

Original post by Edminzodo

I honestly don't think I'm going to get good enough AS grades for Oxford. Sigh. I'm working as hard as I can but I have an awful memory and get really stressed. Good luck, everyone.

If it adds any reassurance, I think I got AABBB at AS and still got an offer. Don't get me wrong, doing well at AS is obviously important and helps, but there is an appreciation that AS grades do not always show people's full ability. They are just one part of your application.

I have a friend who actually missed her AAA offer for law (she got AAB) and was let in anyway- she went on to get the top result in her year and win the academic prize. So despite the fact she got probably the worst Alevel results out of everyone, she still did better than the rest. If our tutor had taken the view that Alevel results are the only thing that matters he'd have lost out on the best student he probably had in 5 years.

(Plus on a personal note I would say I think the jump from GCSE to AS is the hardest academic jump I ever experience on my way through the education system. I found AS quite difficult, but by the end of A2 I was cruising through it. If you keep up your hard work, it will honestly pay dividends)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 446

Original post by LoveToArgue

GCSE Grades: 11 A*, 1A (damn you Drama written exam)
A-Levels: Maths, History, French, English Language, Biology (predicted AS AAAAA and aiming for A*A*A*A* at A2- will be dropping Biology ASAP)
Course: Law
College: no idea, open application? perhaps Univ (I love Shelley) /Brasenose...?

Anyone else considering Law?

General advise if you're picking a college for law: pick a College with a good law library/law holdings in their library. It will save you so much time/stress being able to wander down at any point and just grab/consult a book rather than having to track to the law bod (main uni law library) and contend with their opening hours.

With that in mind I'd suggest:

Brasenose, Worcester, St Johns, St Peter's, Pembroke, St Catz or New.

Brasenose and Worcester are probably considered the strongest law Colleges traditionally and continue to do disproportionately well when it comes to results, but they are all good choices I think.

Reply 447

username1119082

Anyone else considering applying for History and English? :smile:

Reply 448

Lucilou101

Original post by jenkinsear

General advise if you're picking a college for law: pick a College with a good law library/law holdings in their library. It will save you so much time/stress being able to wander down at any point and just grab/consult a book rather than having to track to the law bod (main uni law library) and contend with their opening hours.

With that in mind I'd suggest:

Brasenose, Worcester, St Johns, St Peter's, Pembroke, St Catz or New.

Brasenose and Worcester are probably considered the strongest law Colleges traditionally and continue to do disproportionately well when it comes to results, but they are all good choices I think.

What's wrong with the Univ Law library? :P

Reply 449

Original post by Lucilou101

What's wrong with the Univ Law library? :P

It is pretty terrible for its law holdings- we're talking basic textbooks I'd expect to be everywhere not in there, minimal law report/journal coverage compared to the Colleges I mentioned before. Having a quick look on Solo earlier confirmed to me that nothing has changed- they don't have a single one of the useful current edition criminal law textbooks.

(Not that this is a general comment on Univ's libraries, just law!)

Reply 450

sr111

5

Hello!

GCSE grades: 7A*s 3As (Bio, Chem, Physics) 1B (english lit)
A-Levels:Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Psychology ( Predicted AS: AAAA)
Course: Biomedical Science (or maybe experimental psych?)
College: No idea! I'll wait until the open day so I can get a real feel for all the colleges.

So I'm in a bit of a pickle. I really enjoy science (especially biology) and the aspect of helping people through science is what drew me to biomed. However, I am kicking myself over the fact that my 3 As at GCSE are in the sciences and I believe this is because of the way it was spread over units and I definitely could have done better. Question is, would I have a good enough chance if I applied and would they look harshly at those As?

Sorry if I sound silly >.<

Reply 451

Lucilou101

Original post by jenkinsear

It is pretty terrible for its law holdings- we're talking basic textbooks I'd expect to be everywhere not in there, minimal law report/journal coverage compared to the Colleges I mentioned before. Having a quick look on Solo earlier confirmed to me that nothing has changed- they don't have a single one of the useful current edition criminal law textbooks.

(Not that this is a general comment on Univ's libraries, just law!)

Univ isn't on Solo so you wouldn't be able to find anything on there?

Reply 452

Original post by Lucilou101

Univ isn't on Solo so you wouldn't be able to find anything on there?

That would explain that aspect then. How are they not on Solo in this day and age?!

I alter my statement to Univ's law holdings used to be crap, who knows about now :wink:

Reply 453

Lucilou101

Original post by jenkinsear

That would explain that aspect then. How are they not on Solo in this day and age?!

I alter my statement to Univ's law holdings used to be crap, who knows about now :wink:

We have our own library system which Univ members can access anywhere. Means I can use Solo to go to other colleges (not that I do) but nobody ever comes to Univ and takes books :P

I'm pretty sure none of the lawyers I know ever have to go for books elsewhere, but I've only been in the law lib once and didn't stay for long!

Reply 454

Original post by Lucilou101

We have our own library system which Univ members can access anywhere. Means I can use Solo to go to other colleges (not that I do) but nobody ever comes to Univ and takes books :P

I'm pretty sure none of the lawyers I know ever have to go for books elsewhere, but I've only been in the law lib once and didn't stay for long!

Interesting, thanks for that. I rather blindly assumed every College was on SOLO these days.

We you scared off by all the law chat on your visit? :wink:

Reply 455

Melanie Leconte

Original post by Pars12

GCSEs are accurate evidence of academic achievement. The problem is that everybody's situation is slightly different - school attended, home environment, illnesses, etc - so they are not necessarily a foolproof measure of academic ability. In most cases the results need to be "interpreted".

Both Oxford and Cambridge run interviews. There is a reason for that. Both Oxford and Cambridge also run extra (but different) tests.

Astro has pointed out that it it is a myth that Cambridge does not look at GCSEs. Nulli tertius has pointed out that it is a competition and the sheer numbers of bright people will make it a lottery.

They look at as many as they have time for - about 3 interviewees per place. That's the first hurdle. If you don't make that one there is a problem with your application - they didn't notice you.

It has also been said many times that the colleges are more similar than they are different. It would be far better for you to investigate the tutors, because they are the ones who will really make a difference in a tutorial system. Not sure if they have a league table ...

I also wonder, Edminzodo, if it's a bit early to have set your heart on Oxbridge before your GCSE results are in. My son has results due in August and anything related to GCSEs is off-limits for discussion.

I don't see why not!!??
I visited Both Universities ''Oxbridge'' when I was in year 9.
I am preparing for my GCSEs exams at the moment and I am going next week as well.

Reply 456

Melanie Leconte