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Original post by BrasenoseAdm
Bradenose Adm is on vacation this week - we will get back to you after monday 10th.


Enjoy! :redface:

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Avatar for lucyx
lucyx
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What will be the main factor for you personally in choosing a college? My (highly intelligent) friend is doing it according to meal provision, but I'm not sure... (My subject is offered at all colleges so that doesn't narrow it down.)
Oxford scrubz...
Original post by lucyx
What will be the main factor for you personally in choosing a college? My (highly intelligent) friend is doing it according to meal provision, but I'm not sure... (My subject is offered at all colleges so that doesn't narrow it down.)


Some things you could consider:

Location,
Accommodation cost,
Food cost,
How many years of accommodation on site,
Number of people for your course,
Size of college in terms of grounds,
Size of college in terms of numbers,
Age of college,
How formal it is (eg. are gowns worn to formal hall)

Hope this helps :smile:
Does anyone have written work advice for foreign languages? I'm applying for French and was wondering how long the essay should be and what would be a good topic.
Heya I'm also applying for French (and Spanish) so I'm not really sure either but when I went to the modlang open day they said just an essay that has been marked by your teacher...but to anyone who actually knows, I am also curious 😄
Original post by gabrielabernal
Does anyone have written work advice for foreign languages? I'm applying for French and was wondering how long the essay should be and what would be a good topic.
Original post by PerlaDeSabiduría
Heya I'm also applying for French (and Spanish) so I'm not really sure either but when I went to the modlang open day they said just an essay that has been marked by your teacher...but to anyone who actually knows, I am also curious 😄


Yes, the important part is that it has been marked. Obviously you want to send something that you did well on, and don't send anything too long or short (at least a page, not more than 2-3 imo). With all this stuff, remember what they want it for- to see what standard you are at, to see some work that is probably actually your own, and to see how you are being evaluated. They don't really care about the actual content or topic.
Original post by DCDude
Yes, the important part is that it has been marked. Obviously you want to send something that you did well on, and don't send anything too long or short (at least a page, not more than 2-3 imo). With all this stuff, remember what they want it for- to see what standard you are at, to see some work that is probably actually your own, and to see how you are being evaluated. They don't really care about the actual content or topic.

Thank you!!😘
If I'm looking at a degree in languages and I want to say something like I'm interested in the media both creative (e.g. TV) and marketing side, which part of the personal statement would I include that in? also, if I have work experience in these areas would this link it strong enough to languages?
Hi!

So I'm looking to apply for PPE at University College (I think), and I've been advised by other prospective students to apply strategically (applying to a college where generally less people apply to etc), is this a good idea? Or is strategy in the admissions process a total myth? (if not can anyone advise me on which college is a 'more strategic' one to apply to?)

GCSEs: 13A*s & 2As
A-Levels: Maths, History, Gov & Politics, English Lit & Lang, French
(also doing EPQ)
Course: PPE
College: Univ (maybe)

Final question, obviously AAAA is ideal at AS level, but what is say the lowest AS levels I could get while still standing a 'realistic' chance, I do understand that grades need to be contextualised - school standard, attendance, and extenuating circumstances etc.. I'm just looking for a general answer.

Many thanks!
Original post by sianazilis
Hi!

So I'm looking to apply for PPE at University College (I think), and I've been advised by other prospective students to apply strategically (applying to a college where generally less people apply to etc), is this a good idea? Or is strategy in the admissions process a total myth? (if not can anyone advise me on which college is a 'more strategic' one to apply to?)

GCSEs: 13A*s & 2As
A-Levels: Maths, History, Gov & Politics, English Lit & Lang, French
(also doing EPQ)
Course: PPE
College: Univ (maybe)

Final question, obviously AAAA is ideal at AS level, but what is say the lowest AS levels I could get while still standing a 'realistic' chance, I do understand that grades need to be contextualised - school standard, attendance, and extenuating circumstances etc.. I'm just looking for a general answer.

Many thanks!


Just apply to the college you like the look of the most. Your chances of getting into the university don't change depending on what college you apply to, but if you don't apply to a certain college then your chances of getting in there are reduced significantly.

There are no minimum AS levels you need as AS grades aren't considered holistically when deciding who to invite to interview. For PPE you're better off focusing your attention on the TSA as that will be a very important part of the application :smile:
Original post by Lucilou101
Just apply to the college you like the look of the most. Your chances of getting into the university don't change depending on what college you apply to, but if you don't apply to a certain college then your chances of getting in there are reduced significantly.

There are no minimum AS levels you need as AS grades aren't considered holistically when deciding who to invite to interview. For PPE you're better off focusing your attention on the TSA as that will be a very important part of the application :smile:


Thanks so much for your helpful response. I've researched TSA scores for PPE and realise that they tend to be in the high 60s, I was wondering if you know whether or not this includes the essay?

Additionally, I was wondering if you knew anything about TSA preparation and if it was the kind of test one becomes much better at with practice?

Thanks again!!!
Original post by sianazilis
Thanks so much for your helpful response. I've researched TSA scores for PPE and realise that they tend to be in the high 60s, I was wondering if you know whether or not this includes the essay?

Additionally, I was wondering if you knew anything about TSA preparation and if it was the kind of test one becomes much better at with practice?

Thanks again!!!


As far as I'm aware the TSA score is just for section 1 which is the multiple choice, and the essay in section 2 is sent to the college and reviewed by the admissions tutors there :smile:

I think you can prepare for it, but only to a certain extent. You can get the last 6 years papers + a specimen here - http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/thinking-skills-assessment/tsa-oxford/preparing-for-tsa-oxford/

I would spread out practice of the multiple choice so you have some to do closer to the test in November, and do some practice for the essay. You don't actually have to write loads of essays - but thinking through what you would write, and what points you would make is useful. There are some books you can buy to help but I'm not sure how useful they are. There are lots of threads on TSR about preparing for the TSA so it's worth having a search :smile:
Original post by sianazilis
Thanks so much for your helpful response. I've researched TSA scores for PPE and realise that they tend to be in the high 60s, I was wondering if you know whether or not this includes the essay?

Additionally, I was wondering if you knew anything about TSA preparation and if it was the kind of test one becomes much better at with practice?

Thanks again!!!


Hi, TSA scores don't include the essay. The essay is sent separately to tutors to see your ability to construct and articulate an argument. It can be used for discussion at interview, but this is rarely the case. The multiple choice part of the TSA is the most important.

I didn't really leave any stone unturned with my preparation. I got a couple of books which helped with technique (I was the only one at my school sitting) and did all the past papers. Closer to the date I did papers under exam conditions. I'd say you'd definitely improve at selecting relevant parts of the question and knowing what else to look for.

FWIW, my overall TSA score was 68.6 (or thereabouts) and I have a PPE offer.

Edit: just noticed your username and I believe we've chatted before, apologies for any repetition!

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(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by gabrielabernal
Does anyone have written work advice for foreign languages? I'm applying for French and was wondering how long the essay should be and what would be a good topic.


Original post by PerlaDeSabiduría
Heya I'm also applying for French (and Spanish) so I'm not really sure either but when I went to the modlang open day they said just an essay that has been marked by your teacher...but to anyone who actually knows, I am also curious 😄


I applied for French and Philosophy last year, and my French written work was about 800-900 words long. My favourite topic from class had been 'Wealth and Poverty' (AQA), so for my essay I chose to answer the question "Quelle est la solution à la pauvreté", and asked my teacher to mark it. I was initially concerned about not having written an essay on, say, a literature-based topic, but noticed that (somewhere) on the Oxford website MFL applicants are meant to send in a piece of written work that is linked to what they are studying (if they are still doing their A-Levels), which makes sense since realistically any literature essay I would have written would not have been great considering how little experience I had of writing them whilst I was applying! (We didn't start our cultural topic until December). :smile:
Original post by Lucilou101
As far as I'm aware the TSA score is just for section 1 which is the multiple choice, and the essay in section 2 is sent to the college and reviewed by the admissions tutors there :smile:


Original post by aasvogel
Hi, TSA scores don't include the essay. The essay is sent separately to tutors to see your ability to construct and articulate an argument. It can be used for discussion at interview, but this is rarely the case. The multiple choice part of the TSA is the most important.


Interestingly, one of my friends was talking to our tutor about this last year, and they said that they don't actually get the essays - someone else marks it and they just get a score. (This came up because my friend was saying she was curious about what they thought of her essay).

Of course, I may have completely misremembered, or she might have misunderstood...
Original post by Lucilou101
Just apply to the college you like the look of the most. Your chances of getting into the university don't change depending on what college you apply to, but if you don't apply to a certain college then your chances of getting in there are reduced significantly.

There are no minimum AS levels you need as AS grades aren't considered holistically when deciding who to invite to interview. For PPE you're better off focusing your attention on the TSA as that will be a very important part of the application :smile:


So in shortlisting is TSA most important followed by GCSE?

If you could put a figure on how important the TSA is relative to other aspects of the application what would you guess?


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Original post by iBall
So in shortlisting is TSA most important followed by GCSE?

If you could put a figure on how important the TSA is relative to other aspects of the application what would you guess?


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Pretty much yes. Obviously you need to have good GCSEs also, a great TSA score wouldn't outweigh all Cs at GCSE.

I would say - TSA, GCSEs, Personal Statement, A2 predictions, AS grades. But then within that - your A2 predictions and AS grades need to show you're capable of meeting the AAA offer, they're just not used any further in the decision to invite to interview. After the interview then that becomes the most important factor :smile:
(edited 8 years ago)
[QUOTE[So I'm looking to apply for PPE at University College (I think), and I've been advised by other prospective students to apply strategically (applying to a college where generally less people apply to etc), is this a good idea? Or is strategy in the admissions process a total myth?

Myth, especially for a joint subject where the tutors have to agree on you and subjects where they look at applications across the university (eg, history). Pick what looks good to you, knowing that in any given year as many as 30% of applicants end up pooled to a different college than they applied to, and all colleges have to take a certain number of "open" applications. .
Im such a rookie at this stuff, do we use the same personal statement for application to Oxford as we would to our other unis we are applying to? I only say this as I would be studying Law at Oxford but a politics related course at the others I am applying to and I would like to express a sole interest in Law in my Oxford application.

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