Successful Cambridge Applicants Chat - 2006

Dragon Girl

Yeah, well done Myrna! :biggrin:

I half wish I knew my results, and half wish I didn't but a month is still too long to wait!

OK, crazynutter, you win on the earliness of your awakening, but how often is yours? Mine is pretty regular. Anyway, hope your sister gets sorted out with the whole toilet thing soon. :smile:

Also, a moan - someone gave me bad rep cos I asked what an Oxbridge Admissions tutor was. I was being sarcastic - it's pretty obvious what one is. The point I was making was how come some people have tutors dedicated to sorting out their application, whereas I was left almost completely on my own, and could never find anyone when I had a question???

Becuase they pay for it. Take note - you got an offer without having to use oxbridge admissions. So did I. I'm guessing most people with offers did. So if people want to pay for it, let them, but I doubt it transfers as much of an advantage as the company likes to pretend.

Reply 3881

yusufu

16

wanderer

Becuase they pay for it. Take note - you got an offer without having to use oxbridge admissions. So did I. I'm guessing most people with offers did. So if people want to pay for it, let them, but I doubt it transfers as much of an advantage as the company likes to pretend.

lol. I think she meant a teacher at your school/college who is in charge of sorting out oxbridge applicants, rather than the Oxbridge Admissions people.

Reply 3882

wanderer

2

Muffin Man

lol. I think she meant a teacher at your school/college who is in charge of sorting out oxbridge applicants, rather than the Oxbridge Admissions people.

Oh, I thought all schools had them in some form. Although when I think about it thats really silly.

*Feels like an over-priviledged twit for the very first time*

Reply 3883

Dragon Girl

wanderer

Oh, I thought all schools had them in some form. Although when I think about it thats really silly.

*Feels like an over-priviledged twit for the very first time*

Don't worry - I think more stupid things than that all the time! Although I think it's someone at their school. They're probably private-schooled - I guess the private schools can afford extra staff for stuff like that, whereas ours had to ask parents for money to rebuild when it got burnt down. How ridiculous!

Anyway, our Head of Sixth is the only person at our school who sorts out uni stuff, so it's all his responsibility. Respect to him though - it's a pretty big Sixth Form.

Out of interest, did anyone here go to a private school, or are we mainly state-schooled? I'm guessing maybe wanderer was private?

And thanks everyone who gave me rep. Love you guys! :biggrin:

I hated feeling like I'd done something wrong!

Reply 3884

Apagg

13

Grammar, which lots of people seem to think means private, but it's far from it

Reply 3885

Dragon Girl

Apagg

Grammar, which lots of people seem to think means private, but it's far from it

So what's the difference? I never really understood where grammar schools stand. Please enlighten me! :smile:

Reply 3886

Apagg

13

They're free, and select on the basis of academic ability by means of an entrance examination.

Reply 3887

JohnStuartMill

8

Dragon Girl

Out of interest, did anyone here go to a private school, or are we mainly state-schooled? I'm guessing maybe wanderer was private?

I went to a private school but if we had a teacher in charge of Oxbridge Applications then I was unaware of them. Our head of sixth form (former now) gave a talk on applying to Oxbridge but that was within his wider talk on university applications.

Reply 3888

Dragon Girl

Apagg

They're free, and select on the basis of academic ability by means of an entrance examination.

The 11+? They still have that?

Reply 3889

**noooni**

3

I just went to the same teacher for everything including applying to Cambridge- she didnt know much about it either so we just read through the website together. Our school will probably employ an Oxbridge admissions tutor in the coming years but it doesnt have one now.

Reply 3890

**noooni**

3

Dragon Girl

The 11+? They still have that?

Yep grammer schools still make you sit the 11+

Reply 3891

Apagg

13

Dragon Girl

The 11+? They still have that?

That still exists, but isn't always the exam taken. My grammar had three or four (long time ago) separate papers. I was 2000 miles way at the time, and didn't take the 11+, only the grammar school's own papers.

Reply 3892

Dragon Girl

JohnStuartMill

I went to a private school but if we had a teacher in charge of Oxbridge Applications then I was unaware of them. Our head of sixth form (former now) gave a talk on applying to Oxbridge but that was within his wider talk on university applications.

Everyone kept telling me that all the private schools really pushed Oxbridge and gave them loads of interview practice and stuff to help them get in. Whereas at my school, a few who considered themselves good enough applied, and I was convinced by the Head of Sixth as I was a little unwilling to even apply there(!). Otherwise I never would have considered it.

Reply 3893

Dragon Girl

I now consider myself educated on the subject of grammar schools! :smile:

Thanks.

And respect to all the people who applied and got in without the help of special tutors etc!

Reply 3894

leannemarie

11

I went to a private school, but I didn't pay any of the fees because I was on a couple of scholarships and the remainder of the fees were paid by bursaries so even though I went to a private school, my background was emphasised (on my reference) as neither of my parents went to university properly (apart from my mum who finished a degree at our local, crap, uni a few years ago) and we have a low income. We have a Director of Studies who overlooks all of the school's results and teaches Physics and he does all the Oxbridge forms (the extra ones) and explained the application process to us and asked us how my interviews went when I saw him. I think it varies a lot though because some private schools offer loads of coaching and push people a lot

Reply 3895

wanderer

2

Dragon Girl

Don't worry - I think more stupid things than that all the time! Although I think it's someone at their school. They're probably private-schooled - I guess the private schools can afford extra staff for stuff like that, whereas ours had to ask parents for money to rebuild when it got burnt down. How ridiculous!

Anyway, our Head of Sixth is the only person at our school who sorts out uni stuff, so it's all his responsibility. Respect to him though - it's a pretty big Sixth Form.

Out of interest, did anyone here go to a private school, or are we mainly state-schooled? I'm guessing maybe wanderer was private?

And thanks everyone who gave me rep. Love you guys! :biggrin:

I hated feeling like I'd done something wrong!

Hehe, not a chance - my parents are former members of the British Communist Party! I went to the local state comp, but its a good one that gets people into Oxbridge every year. The guy who sorted all the Oxbridge apps was the former head of sixth who became an assistant head this year - he doesn't have it as a specific job or anything, but he knows about the process, and they get in a retired head of sixth who pupils won't know to do mock interviews, run a trip down to the open day in year 12, stuff like that.