i'm 15 and im not sure how to stand out amongst others at oxford

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Yeah, but they seem to prefer British applicants since 9% of British applicants to Harvard are accepted, compared to the average rate of 6.9%. Just make sure you're a good, nice person with many interests (AKA lots of extracurriculars, especially charity), with lots of As and A*s and open-minded about different cultures. You'll have a higher chance of being accepted than American applicants; our education system is better.

what type of extracurricular things are they looking for ?? harvard might actually be an option now thanks ! :smile:

Reply 21

DrSocSciences

Lesson one: drop the exclamation marks. Impress others with your critical thinking, rather than trying to generate an emotional effect.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 22

username1530463

Original post by sanban786

what type of extracurricular things are they looking for ?? harvard might actually be an option now thanks ! :smile:

Well, they're looking for diversity in their class of 2018, 2019, 2020, etc. So, being a non-White person can help, a little bit. But they're looking for someone who can add to their diversity in terms of personality and achievement. They seem to really like people with particular interests, something like particle physics or wake-boarding. Spending a lot of time, whilst not neglecting academic studies, on this interest helps a lot. For example, opening an after-school club or doing a research project on it. They particularly like people who do well for 3 years consistently academically-speaking. So constantly getting As will help a lot.

I know someone in Year 13 who applied to Yale and she got consistent As and A*s since Year 9 and had a weird interest in goldfish, she even published a research paper about it, and she said she talked for a long time about it in her interview and well, she got accepted to Yale! It seems to help having an unusual interest and constant As and A*s.

Reply 23

RayApparently

It's always difficult to stand out.

Reply 24

sanban786

Original post by DrSocSciences

Lesson one: drop the exclamation marks. Impress others with your critical thinking, rather than trying to generate an emotional effect.

you really are mature aren't you !!!!!!

Reply 25

Hannahk999

Original post by sanban786

i am a 15 year old studying at gcse level but i really really want to do law at oxford university.
i know i am among thousands of others who want the same but im not sure what i should do stand out.
i do further maths and i am predicted all As for my gcse's!

Do lots of work experience got to do with law and do lots of volunteeringfor charity and stuff so it looks like ur very out there. Try to get lots of certificates as proof also.
Hope it helps and good luck!

Reply 26

DrSocSciences

Original post by sanban786

you really are mature aren't you !!!!!!

Relatively, yes. I'm over 30 years older than you.

Reply 27

Copperknickers

Original post by sanban786

i just think it might be slightly impossible getting in ..... :confused:

No more difficult than getting into Oxford. Oxford is one of the world's top 5 unis. If anything Harvard likes foreigners better than Americans, they increase its global profile and pay higher fees.

Reply 28

KomradeKorbyn

Original post by Lemuelc14

NCS is £50 but this is relatively cheap considering its subsidized by the government from around £1000

wider reading is free

the UNIQ summer schools are free i think?

Open days are free except travelling costs

Work experience is free

The EPQ is free but you have to pay for any materials you use

How good does NCS actually look to universities/employers? I'm 16 and interested in doing either medicine or astronomy. I'm predicted 4 A*'s at GCSE in maths and triple science, but I'm also likely gonna get like 4 A's 3 B's and a C, so I'm looking for stuff to give me a bit if an edge as I'm likely gonna be competing for uni places against people with much better GCSE results.

Is NCS actually enjoyable and does it look good to uni's? I was considering just going on the first week when you so all the good activities like rock climbing and stuff as my friends said that's probably all they'll do and the second week sounds like it might be a wee bit **** (the leaflet mentioned "inspirational seminars"). However i was wanting to do some sort of volunteering anyway and weeks 3 and 4 seem to invlove that sort of thing, so i might just go for all of it anyway, it sounds like it could be a good opportunity, in just not sure about spending ages away from home, especially if my friends aren't there so i don't know anyone. Also there seems to be a weird lack of information available about NCS on tsr, this is the first mention of it I've seen. Is it limited to specific regions?

Thanks.

Reply 29

goldenshades

Original post by KomradeKorbyn

. However i was wanting to do some sort of volunteering anyway and weeks 3 and 4 seem to invlove that sort of thing, so i might just go for all of it anyway, it sounds like it could be a good opportunity, in just not sure about spending ages away from home, especially if my friends aren't there so i don't know anyone. Also there seems to be a weird lack of information available about NCS on tsr, this is the first mention of it I've seen. Is it limited to specific regions?

Thanks.

NCS will really strengthen your application especially if you go for Medicine; it demonstrates multiple skills which unis look for in a medical applicant e.g. teamwork, compassion. Don't take the opportunity for granted!

Reply 30

Lemuelc14

Original post by KomradeKorbyn

NCS is a lot more helpful now as with the new A-Levels you don't get AS grades anymore so the only grades you have to show unis are your GCSEs and if they aren't exceptional then NCS becomes a big help in your applications

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Reply 31

colourtheory

Original post by SYYAAM97

Oxford is trash m8. Harvard or gtfo.

You can't do undergraduate law in the states, and at undergrad level Oxford's tutorial system wins out over Harvard's lecture led teaching. At postgraduate the states probably takes the lead.

Reply 32

emihopkins14

Original post by SYYAAM97

Thats what a weakling would say.

or it's just really expensive to study abroad

why do you say so?

NCS makes you look like a great person since you went out and did something so yes for medicine it's impressive and it shows you went out and helped people and are a great citizen - pretty important for law, medicine etc

But seriously focus on getting the marks at GCSE otherwise you can kiss Oxford goodbye. Remember you got predictions, not the actual grades

Reply 35

auburnstar

I love how most of this thread is not actually advice (which is kind of fair really, I doubt this is a serious thread and smells of attention-seeking). xD

Honestly OP you know the answer here already: 1. get brilliant GCSEs, as brilliant as you possibly can. Depends on your school but aim to get between 4 A*-8A* (not sure what the average number of GCSEs is but I guess 9-10). 2. stop making attention-seeking posts, particularly of the doubting yourself variety. have a healthy bit of humble confidence. 3. do activities related to your subject and demonstrate your absolute passion for it - doesn't have to be quirky but having an intense passion for a particular part of the course reflects well on you and shows you are keen to discover outside your syllabus.

But hell, it's law so... good luck haha.

Reply 36

Potato456

First things first OP - start using I instead of i when refering to yourself, and use capital letters for place names....if you can't use capital letters when you're supposed to, I'm not convinced that Oxford will be impressed with you

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Reply 37

nexttime

Original post by Potato456

I love it when grammar Nazis make an obvious spelling mistake.

And OP hasn't been around for more than a year.

Reply 38

auburnstar

Original post by nexttime

I love it when grammar Nazis make an obvious spelling mistake.

And OP hasn't been around for more than a year.

Little do they know that argument > grammar, eh? :tongue:

Reply 39

Idku

Why is everyone so rude on this thread tf chill out

The most important thing is aiming for all A*s at Alevel (even though you only need like 1A* at least but aim high)
-wider reading around the course you want to study
-get work experience related to your course if possible
-have a good personal statement which makes you stand out