Oxford Applicants for 2012 Entry

That's just madness... obviously exam results are only one indicator of academic performance, hence the interviews, aptitude tests etc. but isn't there any f**king difference between 82% and 97%? I bet some of the mathematicians here could have self-taught A2 maths in a couple of months while they sat GCSEs and got an A*. So why the hell should they look the same on the application as some toffs from Eton who got tutored so they could scrape 80%, get the interview technique and get in... got no motivation for exams now

Is putting UMS scores in the personal statement unadvised?

Oxford focus more on your GCSE grades (I guess because they are an indicator of how well-rounded or consistent a candidate is) whereas Cambridge go for UMS marks (although the majority of their successful applicants are still in the 8+ A*s range)

Got my first exam tomorrow. These ones matter so much! I'm terrified that I'll mess up really badly and not be able to apply here/anywhere that I want to go for that matter.

French?

I'm frantically learning a chunk on cigarettes. (la cigarette donne mauvaise haleine et jaunit les dents, la cigarette rend la peau grise et la fait vieillir prematurement, la cigarette can get to ****...)

Didn't realize that health might come up until my friend told me today.

Good luck anyhow.

French, yes. Je pense que ça m'est égal que les gens fument, tant qu'ils me dérangent pas avec leur fumée. Isn't it great that we get to write about such interesting topics? I mean, the town and the countryside?! My current attitude to the short essays is that they aren't great, but even if I end up making one up on the spot I should get 8/10, which would be fine. I just can't memorise 10 essays, I'm trying for my favourite phrases from all of them. French should be OK, though - the one I'm really worrying about is maths the day after.

Good luck to you too!

I try to pepper mine with lines to raise a smile. Laughter is the only thing that can save us from the bone-crushing ennui that is Higher French and the Scottish Qualifications Authority-man that does the listening:

"J'avais envie aller au Moulin Rouge, mais, ma mere m'a pas permis!" =(

Bonne chance at maths too btw. If I remember from earlier this thread you're the AHgenius person.

Ah, quelle dommage!

I used to try to do this. In a future plans essay I said I was going to become prime minister. The teacher didn't get it and corrected it to 'secretary' or something. I then realised that French teachers have no humour.

Apparently they've replaced the listening-man! The Int 2 people said that it was a woman this year, without such a fantabulous accent.

I am the 'AHgenius person', but not feeling all that geniusy.

Dommage! < for some weird reason, its my favourite French 'exclamation,' even more than Zut! and Beuf!

Hmm, damn feminists at sqa...

Sorry I hope I didn't sound rude, I'm sure you'll do great, a bit of nerves is healthy, keeps you on your toes - overconfident people are the kind of people who forget to convert to radians or add +c after they integrate. (ah my hubris!)

i want to apply for medicine....do you think sport is considered (i play at county level)

To the people talking about UMS scores; you know there is a section to put them in in the UCAS form? And they can be added to your reference if they're high enough and you speak to your subject teachers. Sorry if you all already know this, I was lurking on the 2011 entry thread and got distracted

Subject: Music
College: Not sure, probably Merton or Magdalen
A-level equivalent: French Baccalauréat

You didn't sound rude . My current favourite expression/word is pomme de pin, which means pinecone, which for some reason my friend and I found hilarious.

I had to disown my second maths prelim (to be fair, I did have the date confused in my head, so it was unexpected). Also, we don't get given any formulae at AH

And now we'd both better try and sleep, considering the (mildly) evil exam tomorrow. Good night!