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I don't really understand the HAT and sending in written work - I'm applying for History (Ancient and Modern).

From my understanding you ask your school about your application and they sign you up, and you sit it on November 4 this year. Does the school then send them off?

And written work is easy enough, but WHEN and WHERE do I send it? Or does my school send it as well?

And do I need to send anything else with it?
Original post by SkyRees
I don't really understand the HAT and sending in written work - I'm applying for History (Ancient and Modern).

From my understanding you ask your school about your application and they sign you up, and you sit it on November 4 this year. Does the school then send them off?

And written work is easy enough, but WHEN and WHERE do I send it? Or does my school send it as well?

And do I need to send anything else with it?


For submitted work:
After you have submitted you application you will get an email from your college with directions. It can be a short turnaround (application deadline is 15 October, though you can apply earlier) and the deadline for submitted work to *arrive* is 10 November, so if you are an international applicant you may need to use a courier service. Each piece of work requires a specific cover page available here.

For the HAT:
If you take it at your school, they have to register as a HAT test center, and they administer the test & send it in. It is a bit of a pain, and takes time so get them on it fast. If I remember right, you are in France- there are 3 test sites there (Paris, Lyon, Cote d'Azur). More info here
Original post by DCDude
For submitted work:
After you have submitted you application you will get an email from your college with directions. It can be a short turnaround (application deadline is 15 October, though you can apply earlier) and the deadline for submitted work to *arrive* is 10 November, so if you are an international applicant you may need to use a courier service. Each piece of work requires a specific cover page available here.

For the HAT:
If you take it at your school, they have to register as a HAT test center, and they administer the test & send it in. It is a bit of a pain, and takes time so get them on it fast. If I remember right, you are in France- there are 3 test sites there (Paris, Lyon, Cote d'Azur). More info here


I mean, my application is more or less all ready to go (asides from extenuating circumstances stuff.) So then between Oct 15 and Nov 10 I'll know which college to send my work to (in the mail?) and then they will have that ready. November 4th is the HAT which my school (which is a centre) will send my thing off and if it's good enough they'll invite me to interview (my course has 64% interview rate so hopefully that's alright...

And no, I'm Welsh, you must be thinking of someone else :laugh:
Original post by Tweald
Wondering what the interview for chemistry is like and if there is anything I can do to prepare for it.


Candidates have two interviews for Chemistry. We've sat in on some. The interviews we witnessed lasted about 30 minutes and kicked off with some Maths functions, which candidates had to draw on a wipe board. The interviewer then moved on to discuss a couple of topics that developed different aspects of the A-level Chemistry syllabus. It was very teaching-oriented and the students being interviewed all seemed to learn something from interacting with the Tutor. Without exception, every candidate needed a prompt at some point which the interviewer provided by re-phrasing the question or giving hints or asking the candidate to think about the problem in a certain way. Before introducing a subject, the interviewer asked if the candidate had covered it yet in A-level - if not, he moved on to something else - this made no difference to the eventual offers.

The advice our Outreach Officer has given to applicants based on this (and other observations) is to practice thinking aloud - explaining a Chemical idea to a friend or family member patient enough to listen to you is good practice. Our students also say don't be afraid to make a mistake - if you say something that is wrong, the interviewer will suggest an alternative or ask you to elaborate. The interview is very much a learning exercise so keep the lines of communication open.
Original post by 333-morgan
Hi! Is it worth applying for PPE with these grades?

6A* 3As IGCSE (one of the top grades at my school in Ghana)
AAAB at AS-level (but the B is in math so kind of worried, only a few UMS off an A though..)
However, I had 2 papers with full UMS and 1 with 99 UMS :smile:
Thoughts ?


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Yes do apply :biggrin:
Original post by lucyx
How lenient would Oxford be if I were lucky enough to be given an interview but then tried to mess with the given dates? Basically, for my course the days are all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but I have school-related commitments on the Thursday and Friday afternoons which I would not be able to get out of (and which I wouldn't want to get out of anyway.) If I had a letter signed by my headmistress and parents would they consider doing all my interviews on the Wednesday (and even early Thursday morning?) Or on different days?
If not I have no idea what I'd do: go to the interviews and forget my commitments, forget about Oxford, or apply again next year...
PS I am not assuming I will get an interview, far from it. Just planning ahead in case :biggrin:


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I'd be slightly more positive than others have been - if you got an interview, it would be well worth asking whether this is possible. It's quite likely they'll say no, but equally I suspect most colleges will try to accommodate people where possible. But of course it is a very busy period, and they obviously can't keep moving things around for everybody.
Original post by SkyRees
Old comment, but does that mean that for a course like History (Ancient and Modern) that interviews 64% of people, my chances are better where my GCSEs were lower than the average Oxford candidate?


I don't really understand what you're trying to ask?

History decides who to interview primarily based on the HAT (70%) and partially based on A* grades at GCSE (30%).

It doesn't really make sense to compare your chances of getting an interview between different courses, because you're probably a much better candidate for History than you are for Maths or Medicine.
Original post by fluteflute
I don't really understand what you're trying to ask?

History decides who to interview primarily based on the HAT (70%) and partially based on A* grades at GCSE (30%).

It doesn't really make sense to compare your chances of getting an interview between different courses, because you're probably a much better candidate for History than you are for Maths or Medicine.


Sorry, I was asking if a 64% interview rate meant I had a decent chance assuming I did well in the HAT and had good enough grades.
Original post by SkyRees
I mean, my application is more or less all ready to go (asides from extenuating circumstances stuff.) So then between Oct 15 and Nov 10 I'll know which college to send my work to (in the mail?) and then they will have that ready. November 4th is the HAT which my school (which is a centre) will send my thing off and if it's good enough they'll invite me to interview (my course has 64% interview rate so hopefully that's alright...

And no, I'm Welsh, you must be thinking of someone else :laugh:


oops- sorry about that...

So then your school handles all of the HAT- you just make sure that you register, show up & sit the exam.

You post your writing to your college, which is usually the one you apply to directly. Download and print off the cover sheet(s), complete them and post the samples in. You don't have to, but it is nice to have the comfort of sending them registered, so that you *know* they got there!
Original post by ombtom
I have done AS-level physics, maths (teaching myself), media, music technology, and geography. I'm planning to drop geography (and probably music technology), and do all of further maths in a year.

I'm definitely making progress with the PAT. It's nice to be forced to think rather than regurgitate facts, as in A-levels. :smile:


Good luck with FM, are you going to try to do the whole A-level or only the AS?
Yes, it is nice to think and its really awesome when you finally find out how to answer a question after being at it for a long time!
Thats the thing I dont like about the spanish system you have to memorise EVERYTHING even the Periodic table (in the equivalent of yr10)..which I find completely useless...
Original post by DCDude

You post your writing to your college, which is usually the one you apply to directly. Download and print off the cover sheet(s), complete them and post the samples in. You don't have to, but it is nice to have the comfort of sending them registered, so that you *know* they got there!

What if I make an open application, where do I send it then? :smile:
And aye, that sounds good, thank you ^^
Original post by fluteflute
I'd be slightly more positive than others have been - if you got an interview, it would be well worth asking whether this is possible. It's quite likely they'll say no, but equally I suspect most colleges will try to accommodate people where possible. But of course it is a very busy period, and they obviously can't keep moving things around for everybody.


We were discussing cases like this in the office this morning, by coincidence.
Not every applicant is 17 or 18 years old and at school, the home locations and distances from Oxford vary, and in some cases candidates fall ill. Our advice is to communicate as early as possible with the relevant college admissions officer if issues arise - we give two weeks' notice of interview dates. As far as is possible, we will try to make reasonable adjustments - but there are a large number of interviews to arrange and there are limits to what is practical.
Original post by imsomeone
Good luck with FM, are you going to try to do the whole A-level or only the AS?
Yes, it is nice to think and its really awesome when you finally find out how to answer a question after being at it for a long time!
Thats the thing I dont like about the spanish system you have to memorise EVERYTHING even the Periodic table (in the equivalent of yr10)..which I find completely useless...


The whole A-level.

Learning the whole periodic table sounds tedious, but it must be nice once you know it all? :tongue:
Reply 1833
Original post by BrasenoseAdm
Candidates have two interviews for Chemistry. We've sat in on some. The interviews we witnessed lasted about 30 minutes and kicked off with some Maths functions, which candidates had to draw on a wipe board. The interviewer then moved on to discuss a couple of topics that developed different aspects of the A-level Chemistry syllabus. It was very teaching-oriented and the students being interviewed all seemed to learn something from interacting with the Tutor. Without exception, every candidate needed a prompt at some point which the interviewer provided by re-phrasing the question or giving hints or asking the candidate to think about the problem in a certain way. Before introducing a subject, the interviewer asked if the candidate had covered it yet in A-level - if not, he moved on to something else - this made no difference to the eventual offers.

The advice our Outreach Officer has given to applicants based on this (and other observations) is to practice thinking aloud - explaining a Chemical idea to a friend or family member patient enough to listen to you is good practice. Our students also say don't be afraid to make a mistake - if you say something that is wrong, the interviewer will suggest an alternative or ask you to elaborate. The interview is very much a learning exercise so keep the lines of communication open.


Thank you very much, are you applying to do chemistry also?
Original post by Tweald
x

Hi are you applying for Chemistry at Brasenose too?


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Reply 1835
Original post by Azzer11
Hi are you applying for Chemistry at Brasenose too?


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Yeah, either Brasenose or Keble I think
Original post by SkyRees
What if I make an open application, where do I send it then? :smile:
And aye, that sounds good, thank you ^^


You'll be told which college you've been allocated to; as many as 30% of students in any given year are pooled to another college for interviews as well- that's why you don't send it in until you know the college.

Don't worry *too* much about this part- it generally works out as long as you keep track of the deadlines.
Can anyone tell me whether referees for international students have to mention the country the student is from/lives in? I'm wondering because my grades obviously aren't in the same format as in the UK. As unis don't want you to 'convert' grades into A-levels, I was wondering whether a referee should just write the student's predicted grades in their home country's format and trust the college will know which country the student is applying from, or whether they should explicitly state the country in their reference as well.
Original post by ombtom
The whole A-level.

Learning the whole periodic table sounds tedious, but it must be nice once you know it all? :tongue:


I suppose, ive just started..
I'm wondering if anyone knows, because my reference is from the Director of Language studies from OU, it is purely academic, they have stated in my reference that they cannot give predicted grades (presumably because the module won't have started being assessed until passed the application deadline). Is this going to disadvantage me?

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