Foreign equivalents of Oxbridge

kizer

One incidence of patronising in a thread may be a misunderstanding, twice seems more worrying.. perhaps he just didn't look at the key written in very small font? Suggesting he can't perform pre-GCSE maths when he said nothing of the sort is either sarcastic or downright insulting.

On another note, I agree UCL could tighten its entry requirements, but in some courses AAA is standard already.

Again, I was not patronising, however if someone does not know how to do pre-GCSE maths then I would be perfectly entitled to patronise them if I wanted to. It was such an obvious thing - anyone can understand how those figures are procured. If I wanted to patronise the poster or deride them, then it would probably be accompanied by far harsher words than 'I'm shocked...' and perhaps an expletive or two. I was just expressing that I was surprised that he/she couldn't figure out how the figures were constructed.

Agreed.

Reply 22

edmundwillis

Angel Inspector: Perhaps he merely was curious because the average point score seems very high to me. For example, at Oxford and Cambridge the *average* student must take at least 4 A Levels and 1 AS Level.

This obviously discounts UCAS points for music grades but still...?

Reply 23

edmundwillis

Angel Inspector: Perhaps he merely was curious because the average point score seems very high to me. For example, at Oxford and Cambridge the *average* student must take at least 4 A Levels and 1 AS Level.

This obviously discounts UCAS points for music grades but still...?

Well, that is the case. Many people do take more than 3 A-Levels, hence the point scores are so high. I can remember when I went for my Cambridge interview, and I found it hardly uncommon to meet people who had done 5, 6, 7 or even 8 A-Levels. It wasn't really that surprising, as when talking to half of these people I understood that they aren't just people who try really hard, but some of them were truly talented, and deserved to go to Cambridge. Anyhows, these days it seems as though everyone is doing at least 4 A-Levels from the people I speak to.

Reply 24

edmundwillis

Perhaps. However, although it might not be uncommon, it is surely by no means common to find someone taking 7 or 8 A Levels. If it is otherwise I think I have possibly bitten off more than I can chew! :eek:

I suppose, however, that the average must work out given that the average minimum required by the two universities is 360 points. :smile:

Reply 25

edmundwillis

Perhaps. However, although it might not be uncommon, it is surely by no means common to find someone taking 7 or 8 A Levels. If it is otherwise I think I have possibly bitten off more than I can chew! :eek:

I suppose, however, that the average must work out given that the average minimum required by the two universities is 360 points. :smile:

Well, I only met one person who was doing 8, and maybe 2-4 who were doing 7. Still, there really were plenty of people taking 5, and as you see by Cambridge and Oxford's admission statistics, the average person going there would be entering with at least 4 A grades.

Reply 26

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

Angel Interceptor

Well, I only met one person who was doing 8, and maybe 2-4 who were doing 7. Still, there really were plenty of people taking 5, and as you see by Cambridge and Oxford's admission statistics, the average person going there would be entering with at least 4 A grades.

I think 4 A-levels and an AS is the norm for most people at Oxbridge. A sizeable number of people take more, but I would say they are still in the minority - usually it is because their school doesn't consider Furthers Maths as an extra subject, or there is a "foreign" language which they can already speak, or they took a doss subject as an extra. General Studies and Critical Thinking are another common way to boost the number of ASes you have.

And while we're on the subject, the UCAS points system is rubbish. The only thing that should matter is whether you have done well in the A-level subjects you've taken, not how many random certificates you have attained (e.g. IT Key Skills).

Reply 27

sbailey

I think 4 A-levels and an AS is the norm for most people at Oxbridge. A sizeable number of people take more, but I would say they are still in the minority - usually it is because their school doesn't consider Furthers Maths as an extra subject, or there is a "foreign" language which they can already speak, or they took a doss subject as an extra. General Studies and Critical Thinking are another common way to boost the number of ASes you have.

And while we're on the subject, the UCAS points system is rubbish. The only thing that should matter is whether you have done well in the A-level subjects you've taken, not how many random certificates you have attained (e.g. IT Key Skills).

IT Key Skills? Surely that isn't worth any UCAS points, is it? If it is, then I'm truly appalled.

Reply 28

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

Angel Interceptor

IT Key Skills? Surely that isn't worth any UCAS points, is it? If it is, then I'm truly appalled.

Prepare to be appalled...

"Success in the key skills qualifications attracts UCAS Tariff points: 10 points for each key skill of Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology at level 2 and 20 points at level 3. So a student who achieves all three key skills at level 3 will obtain 60 points, the same as for a grade A at AS level. Universities take a variety of approaches to recognising these Tariff points for offer purposes."
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/keyskills/faq.shtml

Reply 29

sbailey

Prepare to be appalled...

"Success in the key skills qualifications attracts UCAS Tariff points: 10 points for each key skill of Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology at level 2 and 20 points at level 3. So a student who achieves all three key skills at level 3 will obtain 60 points, the same as for a grade A at AS level. Universities take a variety of approaches to recognising these Tariff points for offer purposes."
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/keyskills/faq.shtml

That's terrible! Still, nowehere apart from TVU will recognise those as valid anyway and won't credit them a mention.

Reply 30

Niccolo

6

Does anyone know if those tables of average entry points include general studies?

Reply 31

110111

8

zed328

So what are they? (especially in Europe)

Here in Australia, our best are:
University of Melbourne.
University of Sydney
University of New South Wales
University of Queensland

Regrettably, they are not as good as Oxford but are probably somewhere between UCL and Durham. I do not include the Australian National University even though it rates highly in most local tables. This is because although it is a social science researchers paradise, it is a bit average for undergraduate education.

Reply 32

bluefuture

I heard in australia certain subjects are given more points than others in terms of difficulty. I think this is a superior system to the ucas points we have in this country. In my view the subjects which should get the most Ucas points are: maths, further maths, english, (3 sciences), history, art (takes a lot of time up), (languages), economics. the rest are too easy. which in your country get the most points.

Reply 33

CamSPSer

bluefuture

I heard in australia certain subjects are given more points than others in terms of difficulty. I think this is a superior system to the ucas points we have in this country. In my view the subjects which should get the most Ucas points are: maths, further maths, english, (3 sciences), history, art (takes a lot of time up), (languages), economics. the rest are too easy. which in your country get the most points.

Why bother with the scaling in this way? For a start individual admissions tutors are more than capable on deciding the relative merits of various subjects of those who have applied. As for your blanket statement that the others are "too easy" - errr right. I happened to history, geography, eco/bus and politics and i found History much easier than Geography or Politics. There are massive individual differences in how people find subjects and to try and start rating them differently on UCAS is misguided

Reply 34

JustaGuy

1

poohbear

Here in Australia, our best are:
University of Melbourne.
University of Sydney
University of New South Wales
University of Queensland

Regrettably, they are not as good as Oxford but are probably somewhere between UCL and Durham. I do not include the Australian National University even though it rates highly in most local tables. This is because although it is a social science researchers paradise, it is a bit average for undergraduate education.

What about University of Monash? I've always thought Melbourne is the top in Australia

Reply 35

JustaGuy

1

zed328

So what are they? (especially in Europe)

There are no equivalents. No other university in the the world has a collegiate system :p:

Reply 36

CamSPSer

JustaGuy

There are no equivalents. No other university in the the world has a collegiate system :p:

Technically Durham, Lancaster and London are collegiate universities

Reply 37

eleri