Oxbridge FAQ!

This FAQ aims to cover the main areas of confusion about applying to Oxbridge. It won't answer your every question, and it certainly won't get you in, but hopefully it'll make your life a little easier if you're thinking about applying to Oxbridge.

Once you've read this guide, have a read of our articles:

Applying to Oxbridge
Choosing a College: Oxford
Choosing a College: Cambridge
Oxbridge Interviews
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge

To apply or not to apply?

Why should I apply?
Most people really enjoy their time at Oxbridge. The courses are well put together and brilliantly taught, the extra-curricular opportunities are second to none, and the doors opened for later life are numerous. They're popular universities because most students there have a fun and successful time. If you would too, you should apply.
You should not apply to improve your job prospects, because your parents want you to, or because your head-teacher insists you do. If the course, teaching methods or environment at Oxbridge aren't right for you, you'd be happier and better off elsewhere at another university.

Is there any point in me applying?
Almost definitely yes! If you're predicted or already have A*AA/A*A*A at A-level, you have a chance no matter your previous record. Every year people get in with supposedly 'useless' grades. It'll only take up one of your five choices on the UCAS form, and who knows, you might just get in - 7,000 people do each year! What's more, most applicants do enjoy the application process. It's a chance to challenge yourself, show off what you can do and, at Oxford at least, be put up and fed for free for up to a week!
(note for medics: With only four choices and very competitive entry, you'll have to think more carefully about where to apply).

Are my grades good enough?
If you've come near the top of your school at GCSE/AS/A2, your grades are good enough for Oxbridge. Obviously the better the grades the better your chances, but you do not need outstanding exam grades to get in; they're only one part of the application. For the same reason, even amazing grades aren't in themselves enough to ensure you get an offer.
At the same time, Oxbridge students generally have A*s at GCSE and A*/As at A/AS level in subjects related to their course, and possibly across the board; you should aim to do the same, especially at A-level.
If you have done non-English qualifications, you won't be at a disadvantage! Tutors are familiar with the likes of IGCSEs, Highers, the IB, Abitur and SATs, and apply the same standards whatever course you studied at school. If you're doing a very unusual qualification, it may be worthwhile to get in touch with the college you're applying to just to make sure there aren't misunderstandings.

The actual application process

Choosing a Course:
This is probably the most important choice in your application - your course will be a central feature of university life for three years. If you do not enjoy your course, you will not be happy and you will not do well, and though it may be possible to switch course it's best to get it right first time.
Make sure you consider all the options, as there are subtle variations between courses. Look in detail at the course description online, which will explain what sort of papers you'll take, how much flexibility you'll have, what sort of skills will be required and what sort of facilities will be available.

Oxford or Cambridge?
Since you cannot apply to both (unless you're an organ scholar or a graduate), you'll have to choose one of Oxford or Cambridge. Many people decide based on course preference. This is obviously true for PPE or HSPS applicants, but even if you're applying for a subject both universities offer their courses are likely to differ in significant ways.
A lot of people base their decision on more sentimental grounds. The two towns have different atmospheres, because Oxford is a lot bigger and less dominated by the university, so some people just find they prefer one town to the other. It doesn't have to be some massively rational reason - choose the university where you think you'll be happiest.
Finally, again, choose the right university for you, not anyone else! Parents and friends may provide useful advice, but the final choice is yours.

Choosing College:
See the relevant Cambridge
or Oxford
articles for this

Grades:
You must include all your grades (for every examination you’ve sat, including resits). Be truthful - colleges do ask for certificates and if they found out you lied, they can withdraw your offer!

Personal Statement:
This is less important for Oxbridge than for other universities, but it's still a chance to show your commitment to your course and that you've studied it at a bit of depth. Do your best to explain why you're interested in your course, and to give some evidence that you've done some independent study into it. It is usually recommended that you spend three quarters of your PS focusing on your academic interests and motivations, and the remaining quarter on other activities. Note, however, that neither Oxford nor Cambridge care about the other stuff.
Comments from your personal statements may be used to start off conversation at interview, so make sure you know what you've said in it, and that it's true!
Don't forget that there is a PS Help Service available on TSR.

School reference:
Obviously you won't write this, so there's not too much you can do about it. If there's something you think is important to mention in it, for example if your AS grades were affected by serious illness, ask whoever's in charge of writing it and hopefully they'll include it.

Subject tests:
A lot of subjects now have additional tests, either right before interview or in November. They're very different to A-levels, so it's important to use the online resources (past papers, specifications etc) to familiarise yourself with the format – Oxford's done research and it found marks do go up if you spend 5-10 hours doing this.
Because they're so different to A-levels, tests can be a bit unnerving. The important thing to remember is that just about everyone finds them weird and hard! That's the point of setting them - they test you in ways you've not experienced before. So you just have to do your best.

Submitted written work:
Many subjects now ask for submitted work, although sciences usually don’t. What you send in doesn't particularly matter (if the college has specific requirements, they'll tell you), so long as it shows ability; sending a history essay when you're applying for PPE or a politics essay when you're applying for history are both fine, so long as they're good!
Essays are usually discussed at interview. Make sure you know the topic well, because you're very likely to be asked to explain why you said certain things and have your reasoning challenged. It doesn't matter what position you assume - you can change your mind, say you now realise what you wrote was wrong, or stick to your guns; the important thing is to argue your position properly.

Interviews:
Interviews are a test of whether you can be taught in a tutorial or supervision - no more, no less. They're a mini tutorial, basically. A quick rundown of events in my average tutorial will show why interviews should not be daunting. Typically, I will: drop my pen 12 times; mishear my tutor 4 times; get something completely wrong 5 times; get something partly wrong, 10 times; hesitate or pause to think 20 times. What I'm getting at is that all you have to worry about at interview is learning. Your interviewer will try to get as quickly as possible to an area you don't know much, if anything, about. They may give you a problem you can't do, present a point of view you haven't previously thought about, or just give you information you'd never seen before. Your job is to try to apply this new material. How might you go about solving this problem? How can you change your argument to incorporate the new evidence? The point isn't to get it right, or to be really smooth, or anything like that. It's to finish the tutorial having learned to do something you couldn't do at its start.

If you're nervous about interviews, one way to make yourself more comfortable is getting some experience of the interview atmosphere. Find an adult you don't know too well and get them to ask you some questions, and if possible challenge a few things you say. In terms of environment, that's what the interviews will be like.

Preparing academically for interviews is more complicated. In the immediate run up, make sure your basics are solid. Know the things you've said you know (A-level topics, books in your PS etc) - the risk of messing up simple things like standard integrals or key dates can be minimised by a little revision.

In the long run, you just have to get good at your subject! Anything which makes you think harder about the topics you've studied is good. For maths, I think it's easier, with all those maths challenges/Olympiads books out there. For everyone else, it's a bit more difficult. If you can find some old exam papers (Oxbridge, STEP papers, S-level etc) with questions which are relevant to you, try those. Otherwise, you'll have to stick to books. Try to do reading which makes you look at things differently: either through a whole different approach, or just a different viewpoint to something you've already studied. Either way, get practice at assimilating new information and adapting your viewpoint to it.

To give you an idea of what the interviews are like, Churchill College Cambridge have produced some videos of mock interviews here. If your subject isn’t on there, just search for them as many other colleges have done the same.

The SAQ:
Cambridge requires you to complete a Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ) online immediately after applying, which is meant to ensure that they have a full picture of who you are as an applicant, what topics you've studied at A level and your UMS marks (if your A levels were modular). More details about the form can be found here. Oxford doesn’t have this.

Maximising your chance of getting in:

AS/A2 choices:
All A levels are viewed equally, but try to make sure you take subjects relevant to your course where available. The subject requirements for each course can be found here for Cambridge and here for Oxford. Mathematicians are expected to take Further Maths, and it is a benefit for related subjects like Engineering and Physics. Otherwise, taking 4 A levels is unlikely to benefit your application and only 3 are Required – remember, A*A*A* is better than A*AAA, especially if you replace the fourth subject with relevant wider reading or a related EPQ.

Extra-Curricular and Super-Curricular activities:
In general, neither Oxford nor Cambridge care about Extracurriculars activities, unless they’re relevant to your course (e.g. volunteering in a Hospital for Medics). Super-curriculars can be beneficial though, so take part in as many essay competitions, maths challenges and science Olympiads as possible.

Exceptional circumstances:
Tutors take these seriously. If your application has been affected by serious illness, family grievance, school/exam board **** ups etc, that will be taken account of so long as the college is made aware of it. Having your school mention it in your reference is the best way to do this, although Cambridge also has an ECF form. If you’ve already sent your application in, contact the admissions office ASAP and the information can be added to your application.

Useful links:

Oxford Admissions - http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/
Oxford Alternative Prospectus - http://www.ousu.org/prospective-students/ap
Cambridge Admissions - http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions
Cambridge Alternative Prospectus - http://www.applytocambridge.com

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 40

A0307

7

Acaila

There were 169 in my year at the start of 5th year. I think there were 182 when I was in S1. And we were the smallest year for a while :biggrin:

(Current 3rd year is about 225 I think)

Theres 350 in my whole (former) school!

Reply 41

Acaila

17

There's about 1100-1200 in my school I think.

Reply 42

InterCity125

1

deianra

I was just curious as to why St John's (Oxford) gets so many state school applications? Anyone?

Not a problem :smile:

I've read it enough times to know more of less exactly where it was. Ahem *coughs*

You're so lucky, going off to Merton...*sigh* :frown:

Felicitations on your offer by the way, though doubtless you're sick of hearing that by now :tongue:

But ho hum, evil post count number?

Thanks. The only down side of an offer is that I have to make it now. More revision is the order of the day, sadly.
Btw, where are you off to then?

Reply 43

BazTheMoney

deianra

Can you believe that St John's only has one place for it? Pah! ... 2nd, actually :tongue:

E+M is a very small course; they only offer 100 places a year, so lots of colleges may only have 2/3 places.

And St John's is very strong for PPE, which mean it's going to be strong for E+M. From what's I've heard it's very good for Management too.

Reply 44

DC_1234

Acaila

Hear hear! x a big number

Nobody does 3 AHs at my school. I'm the only person I know of in my entire year. I also know somebody who got conditional entry into second year at Aberdeen on getting AB at advanced higher (and she practically had the A already in geography).

Most people that did the maths AH got to skip parts of their first year maths courses ( the three-subject system meant that everyone who taking engineering, physics, electronics, economics or... unsurprisingly... maths would fall into this category ) and in fact that tends to be the main selling point of Advanced Highers; that because they are regarded as the equivalent of first year uni work you should be able to lessen your work load in your first year by taking them in your sixth ( hmmmm... on re-reading this, that wouldn't make sense to anyone that isn't Scottish. Oh well! ).

Some schools DO treat advanced highers like A-Levels but they are by far the minority, At the end of the day the oxbridge admissions tutors need evidence of good to excellent academic performance and drive; saying Standard Grades = GCSEs, AS Levels = Highers, A-Levels = Advanced Highers is largely uninformative as it doesn't really take into account HOW these different examinations are treated by the different educational bodies.

Reply 45

DC_1234

calumc

Theres 350 in my whole (former) school!

Youch!

I think we were sitting at 1300 which should be about average for a city school simply because of the way the education board tries to make things work. In my year there was registry classes of thirty or so up to the letter J so there should have been around 330 when we first started ( which would make sense with the school total ).

Going from my yearbook when we left sixth year there was around 80 people in sixth year. Of them I'd say thirty to at most forty were taking at least one advanced higher and three were taking three.

Reply 46

Acaila

17

Faboba

Most people that did the maths AH got to skip parts of their first year maths courses ( the three-subject system meant that everyone who taking engineering, physics, electronics, economics or... unsurprisingly... maths would fall into this category ) and in fact that tends to be the main selling point of Advanced Highers; that because they are regarded as the equivalent of first year uni work you should be able to lessen your work load in your first year by taking them in your sixth ( hmmmm... on re-reading this, that wouldn't make sense to anyone that isn't Scottish. Oh well! ).

Some schools DO treat advanced highers like A-Levels but they are by far the minority, At the end of the day the oxbridge admissions tutors need evidence of good to excellent academic performance and drive; saying Standard Grades = GCSEs, AS Levels = Highers, A-Levels = Advanced Highers is largely uninformative as it doesn't really take into account HOW these different examinations are treated by the different educational bodies.

You get UCAS points for standard grades and not for GCSEs :biggrin:

yay!
Faboba, you really do talk sense sometimes you know that?

Reply 47

BazTheMoney

deianra

Rather 2/3 places than merely one. Who do you cry out to when you get stuck?

I can ramble on for quite a long time about how great every part of St John's is (at least the impression I got upon visiting), but truth is, I'm frightened off by the statistics (mostly).

Thus, happy with decision of Merton. I like Merton, it's pretty :smile:

Management at Merton is meant to be strong too, no? Or at least I've been told.

Oh and just out of interest Baz, what stereotypical type of Economist (another thread some time ago - slacker, workaholic, humanitarian) do the ones at Merton fit into? They can't all be workaholics.

The application ratio is very high, I wouldn't be suprised if they introduce more places soon.

Management is run by the SBS (Business School, miles and miles away over by the station), so it isn't that important how good the individual colleges are. But from what I've heard, Merton's pretty good for Mangagment. The Economics tutors are outstanding - even if a little scary.

They work very hard, but they still have fun. Dedicated is probable the correct term - I haven't came upon to many slackers though.

Reply 48

pedy1986

13

Could some people pass opinion on this for me please!

I will be applying for PPE next year...I didn't do AS Maths, although I got an A at GCSE, is it really going to benefit my application to a huge extent if I did AS Maths next year in addition to my other A levels, I do like having free periods...

Reply 49

DC_1234

Acaila

You get UCAS points for standard grades and not for GCSEs :biggrin:

yay!
Faboba, you really do talk sense sometimes you know that?

I learned all I know from Polonius.

You do, but only for grade 1s and 2s. Proof, as if 'twere needed that standard grades are better! :biggrin:

On a more interesting note, while Advanced Highers cancel out Highers as A-Levels do for AS, there is no cancellation effect for standard grades. This means that all those prats you hear about in the papers "I got five As at Higher and 5 As at Advanced Highers and Oxbridge rejected me because I have the charisma of an eyeless fish" have lower UCAS points than freaks like me that did far too many subjects for their own good at Higher :biggrin:

Mawahahaha!

Reply 50

BazTheMoney

corey

Could some people pass opinion on this for me please!

I will be applying for PPE next year...I didn't do AS Maths, although I got an A at GCSE, is it really going to benefit my application to a huge extent if I did AS Maths next year in addition to my other A levels, I do like having free periods...

In a word... YES

Reply 51

pedy1986

13

BazTheMoney

In a word... YES

Ok thank you.

Reply 52

Kalypso

1

corey

Could some people pass opinion on this for me please!

I will be applying for PPE next year...I didn't do AS Maths, although I got an A at GCSE, is it really going to benefit my application to a huge extent if I did AS Maths next year in addition to my other A levels, I do like having free periods...

I'd imagine it would benefit your application, and even if they would consider you without it, it would be of enormous benefit to your sanity in the first few terms as otherwise you will only have to catch up on probably the entire of maths and futher maths a level in 8 weeks or so.

Reply 53

BazTheMoney

corey

Ok thank you.

Sorry, I should expand.

A at GCSE is really the absolute minimum needed/required. You don't need A-Level or AS to apply, and people have got in without doing it; but if you have any intension of carrying Economics on after the first year, it's vital that you have A-Level. Even in the first year you will have a Maths question in your exam, study Maths and Stats for Economics, and possible have a Maths tutorial and class. In short, Maths is more than "helpful" for PPE.

Reply 54

pedy1986

13

BazTheMoney

Sorry, I should expand.

A at GCSE is really the absolute minimum needed/required. You don't need A-Level or AS to apply, and people have got in without doing it; but if you have any intension of carrying Economics on after the first year, it's vital that you have A-Level. Even in the first year you will have a Maths question in your exam, study Maths and Stats for Economics, and possible have a Maths tutorial and class. In short, Maths is more than "helpful" for PPE.

Ok, much appericated. I think I will do the AS in Maths (will have to do it independently though), and hopefully in my gap year manage to improve my maths also prior to getting to whatever university to save my sanity as grey faerie said!

Reply 55

BazTheMoney

corey

Ok, much appericated. I think I will do the AS in Maths (will have to do it independently though), and hopefully in my gap year manage to improve my maths also prior to getting to whatever university to save my sanity as grey faerie said!

She's right. PPE is work hard anyway, without Maths it's even more. The advantage of having a sound knowledge of Maths prior to going to Oxford is massive - if you can do P1, P2 and S1 for the AS; keep away from mechanics. And even with that, when you get here you'll be behind most people.

Reply 56

leda swanson

i think you need to include the fact that if you are applying from a crap state comprehensive in the middle of nowhere, then you have a much reduced chance of getting in compared to a person of equal intelligence from a good school, and so if you don't get in it doesn't necessarily mean that you are not up to standard, just that you haven't been educated as well as other people, and have failed to educate yourself as other people who do get in in your situation have.

Reply 57

Acaila

17

From general forum opinion that's not true. If two people have the same grades, one from a state school one from a public school, it seems the state school pupil is more likely to get in as they have achieved their grades against the odds and haven't been nurtured to the same extent and haven't had the same opportunities. Plus Cambridge, not sure about Oxford, have an access scheme for people who come from poorer schools and backgrounds to encourage them to apply and as a result they often give out lower offers to such people.

Reply 58

H&E

OP

3

leda swanson

i think you need to include the fact that if you are applying from a crap state comprehensive in the middle of nowhere, then you have a much reduced chance of getting in compared to a person of equal intelligence from a good school, and so if you don't get in it doesn't necessarily mean that you are not up to standard, just that you haven't been educated as well as other people, and have failed to educate yourself as other people who do get in in your situation have.

I don't think we need to include it, because it's not true. You'll be pleased to discover public schools actually think that if you're from a famous school, it's considerably harder to get in. Basically, it's very hard to get in any you can't be complacent. School is irrelevant.

And Acaila, Oxford has an access scheme. In fact, I think the are several. I believe Babyballerina participated in one of them in some capacity.

Reply 59

leda swanson

H&E

I don't think we need to include it, because it's not true. You'll be pleased to discover public schools actually think that if you're from a famous school, it's considerably harder to get in. Basically, it's very hard to get in any you can't be complacent. School is irrelevant.

And Acaila, Oxford has an access scheme. In fact, I think the are several. I believe Babyballerina participated in one of them in some capacity.

!!!!

i assume you didn't go to a crap school? or maybe you did, that would explain your naive argument.

school is obviously not irrelevant. obviously if you go to a good school and are surrounded by other people who are intelligent and hard-working, then you have a much higher chance of getting into oxbridge, because you will be more confident, well-read and will come accross better at interview.

if on the other hand you have gone to a crap school, and unfortunately most schools in this country are crap, then you will have badly-educated teachers, unmotivated classmates, completely unchallenging work, no extra-curriculars, no money for tutoring / music classes etc., and no person telling you you are capable of getting into oxbridge because eg in my school very few people have gone to oxbridge before so nobody knows what the standard is, so how can people advise you to apply? the overall effect of going to a crap school will therefore be being extremely underconfident, gauche, and you won't communicate your 'innate' abilities very well at interview.

i for example only got into cambridge because my parents are rich (well, actually poor, but rich in comparison with most of the people in my class) and were able to afford music lessons and tutoring.

i didn't say anything in my interview that i had learnt at school, everything i learnt i had taught myself, and most people in crap schools don't bother to educate themselves.

you can't deny this. wake up and smell the coffee. most people are idiots. wake up and smell the UKIP

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