UCL or oxbridge!?

17

kaykay

hey people...

okay, i gotta make a choice out of UCL and oxbridge...

everyones scaring me about the fact that i wont even get an interview let alone an offer..

so does anyone know whether there is a higher chance of gettin an interview in UCL and oxbridge..

because it seems that UCL get more applications than oxford/cambridge?

Cambridge interview about 95% of all aplicants. Oxford call people for an interview based on BMAT scores.

You also have to remember that UCL might make more offers and have more applicants, but some of the offer holders would be holding it as an insurance place. Although the same could be said about Oxbridge, I feel that this would be less likely.

Reply 3

OP

i forgot to mention this is for medicine! if that makes any difference!?

Reply 4

OP

i thought the BMAT applied to both cambridge and oxford..

my careers advisor said that u need 290/300 for them to consider you..

ive got As but they are medish As...

do cambridge not look at the scores? i thought they both did..?

Reply 5

BazTheMoney

kaykay

i forgot to mention this is for medicine! if that makes any difference!?

Oxford only interview 30% of applicants for medicine.

Reply 6

17

kaykay

i thought the BMAT applied to both cambridge and oxford..

my careers advisor said that u need 290/300 for them to consider you..

ive got As but they are medish As...

do cambridge not look at the scores? i thought they both did..?

Yes, the BMAT is required for both, but Oxford uses it to elimate candidates earlier on in the application procedure.

You don't need stunning As to be considered, I had 244/300 in Biology and still got an offer. Oxford wont know your UMS scores, as AFAIK, only Cambridge (and only some colleges) ask for your UMS marks.

Reply 7

OP

so visesh, i take it u go to oxford/cambridge?

30% of applicants get interviews! wo

so do i have a higher chance of gettin an interview in UCL?

Reply 8

17

kaykay

so visesh, i take it u go to oxford/cambridge?

30% of applicants get interviews! wo

so do i have a higher chance of gettin an interview in UCL?

I am currently on a gap year, and am going to read medicine at King's college, Cambridge from 2005.

Reply 9

1

You could apply to both? Or are you leaving your three other medicine slots for less competitive unis?

Reply 10

17

Hellsbells

You could apply to both? Or are you leaving your three other medicine slots for less competitive unis?

kaykay has another thread in the Medicine subforum :smile:

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Reply 11

1

visesh

kaykay has another thread in the Medicine subforum :smile:

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Ah ha, insider information!! :tongue:

Reply 12

17

kaykay

so visesh, i take it u go to oxford/cambridge?

30% of applicants get interviews! wo

so do i have a higher chance of gettin an interview in UCL?

You are more likely to get an interview call from UCL than from Oxford, but you are almost certain to be interviewed by Cambridge.

Reply 13

OP

i do reli like UCL, but its either out of oxbridge and UCL..caus they both reli on BMAT

and if i do reli crap in BMAT, 2 of them are stuffed down the drain!

my 3 choices would probably kings, imperial and brighton? would that be taking to much of a risk?

so cambridge is more reliable choice than oxford caus theres a higher chance of interview? i havent seen the place, but i heard its beautiful..cambridge is so far away but its like 'wow' factor whereas UCL is nearby and my parents would be happy!!

and well done visesh i am in the medical forum bit too! thats how desperate i am for answers! only one week to decide!!

Reply 14

1

kaykay

so cambridge is more reliable choice than oxford caus theres a higher chance of interview? i havent seen the place, but i heard its beautiful..cambridge is so far away but its like 'wow' factor whereas UCL is nearby and my parents would be happy!!

Surely the fact that Cambridge interview most applicants means that you really have to impress them in the interview? If you think you will come across really well, then go for it. But Oxford is a beautiful city too (biased, me? :rolleyes:

) and if you get offered an interview you know you have a really good chance of an offer, which might take off a bit of pressure :smile:

Reply 15

17

kaykay

i do reli like UCL, but its either out of oxbridge and UCL..caus they both reli on BMAT

and if i do reli crap in BMAT, 2 of them are stuffed down the drain!

my 3 choices would probably kings, imperial and brighton? would that be taking to much of a risk?

so cambridge is more reliable choice than oxford caus theres a higher chance of interview? i havent seen the place, but i heard its beautiful..cambridge is so far away but its like 'wow' factor whereas UCL is nearby and my parents would be happy!!

and well done visesh i am in the medical forum bit too! thats how desperate i am for answers! only one week to decide!!

Without sounding terribly arrogant, I would like to point out that a relatively poor performance in the BMAT does not immediately rule you out of both. I met people at my Cambridge interview who had 3.0s and 4.0s. My friend at school applied only to UCL and got 4.5s and at his interivew, the people said that they were incredibly happy with his scores and that he was amongst the top few candidates that had applied to UCL.

That is, the proportion of Oxbridge applicants in the top 10 or so percent is possibly greater than the proportion of UCL applicants within the same group (if that makes sense.)

Reply 16

OP

i have 6 a*s and 5 as for gcse, and 4 As at AS...

do u think i should apply to UCL/OXFORD/CAMBRIDGE? what wud u do if u were me!

or should i apply for both ucl and oxbridge...

thats screws up the rest of my choices!

Reply 17

17

kaykay

i have 6 a*s and 5 as for gcse, and 4 As at AS...

do u think i should apply to UCL/OXFORD/CAMBRIDGE? what wud u do if u were me!

or should i apply for both ucl and oxbridge...

thats screws up the rest of my choices!

Your grades seem brilliant :smile:

(GCSEs better than me), so you are fine on that front. Have you looked at the oxbridge courses closely? They are quite different from most of the other universities. If you like the more old-fashioned system that oxbridge uses, then by all means go for it. As for applying to both, I cannot really tell you anything apart from apply to Cambridge and UCL if you do apply to both. That way, a bad day on November 3rd wont mean that you've stuffed your chances at half of your choices...

Reply 18

1

kaykay

do u think i should apply to UCL/OXFORD/CAMBRIDGE? what wud u do if u were me!

I would apply to the uni that I wanted to go to the most. You have other choices as a safety net, so why not use the 4th slot just to go for the one you *really* want to go to?

Reply 19