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A plan on how to get into Oxford or Cambridge?

I am 16, nearly completed my GCSE's...going to college soon then uni..Hopefully one of the big two. Any ideas on a plan to get into Oxbridge or what type of people they want? Also any courses, experiences, skills and types of 'WOW' factors that will really catch you apart from other students applying? (What type of unique things, examples of any etc) Thanks!
This is based on our experience.

Most important, you must know what you want to study, i.e. your major - the 3-year course combines curriculum from undergraduate and graduate levels. That means you should demonstrate, through focused experience and effort, that you have been pursuing your interests. Some disciplines are easier to get into than others, e.g. Classics v. medicine. After that, there are many hurdles and requirements. My d was interested in archaeology, so we financed 2 internships in Israel, early Christian. She also read a lot of early Christian history on her own. This work was crucial to her having something real and original to say in her essays and she was asked about it in great detail in her interviews. SHe is also a serious singer and had been on TV and recorded dvd's, so was interested in Cam choruses.

First, to apply, you have to meet strict grade requirements. If you are a foreign applicant, from a different system, this adds a bit of flexibility, but not much. In fact, standards from admission from abroad are MORE stringent.

Second, if they are interested in you, they may ask for very personal essays that require research and an expression of the applicant's own thoughts. Parents are instructed to let it be a pure product of the applicant, with no writing help. I was very impressed with this, as it was a growth experience for my daughter.

Third, they can invite you for an interview on campus. Beyond probing what you know until they stump you, this is to check if you have the "right attitude", that you "shine" yet know your limits. It was an exercise in humility for my D.

Fourth, they can ask you to take tests in your topic, though this was not required of my daughter.

Fifth, if they make you an offer, it is conditional. They set precise overall grade requirements (or class ranking) - my daughter had to get very high grades on her BAC exams (in her French high school), in some cases for specific disciplines; my daughter had to get A+ in honors math.

For this final hurdle, we formulated a strategy. We looked at her strengths and got a tutor to prepare for her BAC exams (they demand a specific style of answer, which was what we prepared for - not content, but style), in a sense knowing what she could ace and how it was weighted to affect the overall score. We avoided emphasis on subjectively graded subjects, such as philosophy, and concentrated on those over which we had more "control".

As one can imagine, it was a long and stressful process right up to last July, when her BAC results were posted at school. We were focused on the process for the last 2 years, though from age 12, my D had expressed interest in going to Oxford and had read a book about how to get into Oxbridge. As it turned out, she visited Oxford at 17 and didn't like as much as Cambridge.

I hope this helps.

(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by alcibiade
This is based on our experience.

Most important, you must know what you want to study, i.e. your major - the 3-year course combines curriculum from undergraduate and graduate levels. That means you should demonstrate, through focused experience and effort, that you have been pursuing your interests. Some disciplines are easier to get into than others, e.g. Classics v. medicine. After that, there are many hurdles and requirements. My d was interested in archaeology, so we financed 2 internships in Israel, early Christian. She also read a lot of early Christian history on her own. This work was crucial to her having something real and original to say in her essays and she was asked about it in great detail in her interviews. SHe is also a serious singer and had been on TV and recorded dvd's, so was interested in Cam choruses.

First, to apply, you have to meet strict grade requirements. If you are a foreign applicant, from a different system, this adds a bit of flexibility, but not much. In fact, standards from admission from abroad are MORE stringent.

Second, if they are interested in you, they may ask for very personal essays that require research and an expression of the applicant's own thoughts. Parents are instructed to let it be a pure product of the applicant, with no writing help. I was very impressed with this, as it was a growth experience for my daughter.

Third, they can invite you for an interview on campus. Beyond probing what you know until they stump you, this is to check if you have the "right attitude", that you "shine" yet know your limits. It was an exercise in humility for my D.

Fourth, they can ask you to take tests in your topic, though this was not required of my daughter.

Fifth, if they make you an offer, it is conditional. They set precise overall grade requirements (or class ranking) - my daughter had to get very high grades on her BAC exams (in her French high school), in some cases for specific disciplines; my daughter had to get A+ in honors math.

For this final hurdle, we formulated a strategy. We looked at her strengths and got a tutor to prepare for her BAC exams (they demand a specific style of answer, which was what we prepared for - not content, but style), in a sense knowing what she could ace and how it was weighted to affect the overall score. We avoided emphasis on subjectively graded subjects, such as philosophy, and concentrated on those over which we had more "control".

As one can imagine, it was a long and stressful process right up to last July, when her BAC results were posted at school. We were focused on the process for the last 2 years, though from age 12, my D had expressed interest in going to Oxford and had read a book about how to get into Oxbridge. As it turned out, she visited Oxford at 17 and didn't like as much as Cambridge.

I hope this helps.



Thankyou, will definitely take this in! Btw, if I may ask, do you work at either Oxford or Cambridge?
I would say at this stage focus in acing your GCSEs, although they're not the be all and end all to the application, having good solid A*s and As will be a great starting point.
Another must is do four AS levels, people from my school who applied to Oxbridge with just three AS levels didn't even get through to interview stage. It's not vital to keep these four on but at least 4 at AS it pretty much vital.
Cambridge aren't really interested in all the extra-curricular things you may think like sports and piano etc. I attended a taster day last year and one of the tutors said, "we don't care what else you do, we want nerds." So all the extra things you may wish to do should really be centred around the course/subject you wish to pursue. For example, in interview the only things they discuss are relevant to your subject, not anything about general activities. Also I would suggest that you read books on your subject and lots of them!! It shows you have a genuine interest in what you want to study and will also provide good starting points for interview.
Hope those few pointers helped! :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by Sam54321
I am 16, nearly completed my GCSE's...going to college soon then uni..Hopefully one of the big two. Any ideas on a plan to get into Oxbridge or what type of people they want? Also any courses, experiences, skills and types of 'WOW' factors that will really catch you apart from other students applying? (What type of unique things, examples of any etc) Thanks!


What subject do you want to study? Make sure you pick as far as possible both the essential and the "highly desirable" subjects. In other words do FM for sciences & Economics and avoid "soft subjects". But be aware that you need to be confident of an A grade as it is high UMS they are looking for.
Consider subjects other than the standard Law, Medicine and be aware that Economics & Architecture are the most competitive of the lot.

Read journals & books for your subject, go to public lectures if they exist, travel & do language/art courses abroad if relevant. But don't be alarmed if this isn't possible-Cambridge will assess you in the light of your background.
Original post by Sam54321
Thankyou, will definitely take this in! Btw, if I may ask, do you work at either Oxford or Cambridge?


I do not work at either. But I went to and worked at Harvard.
Reply 6
Hi everybody,
I am not sure whether this thread is the right place to ask this, I hope not to bother anyone!

Anyway, last October I applied to Cambridge, but after the Interview I was refused (and I haven’t received my feedback yet, btw). I am planning to re-apply on October 2015. The point is that I managed to get into a good “excellence school” apart from medicine university in my country. So I am not going to volunteer or anything the following year, but I will study the first year of medicine. Do you believe I should apply for the second year? Is it possible? Or should I apply to the first year but saying that
I will arrive -hopefully- very well prepared?

Thanks a lot in advance!
LFFF

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