Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

What are some things that u did to get accepted into Oxbridge

Roxibox123

Or any uni

Reply 1

Twittwoooo

Shitload of extracurriculars

Reply 2

booklover1313

I don’t think there is any one thing that people do, it’s all a combination of lots of different factors. Your best bet of getting into Oxbridge, or any uni, is to study hard and put lots of hours in. Getting top grades makes your application really competitive. The other thing is to be interested in your subject! Read around, watch lectures, go to museums. Oxbridge do interviews and they are also looking for a genuine passion for the subject - the tutors are thinking ‘do I want to teach this person next year. Do they want to study here’.
There is no way of guaranteeing a place, but those two things are probably the most important (in my opinion).

Reply 3

McGinger

How to Avoid 5 Rejections - read it all - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/how-to-avoid-getting-five-university-rejections

Reply 4

username5319484

Original post by Twittwoooo

Shitload of extracurriculars

Only for the US. Extracurriculars don't mean anything in the UK; supercurriculars do.

Reply 5

McGinger

Supercurriculars =
Oxford - https://www.worc.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/page/supercurricular_guide.pdf
Cambridge - https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf

Reply 6

dellam8

Original post by Roxibox123

Or any uni

(Just fyi I didn't get in, just got to interview stage and got other Russel Group offers.) Make sure you have a good enough idea of what you want to do in Year 12/by the end. Try and do super-curriculars - activities related to your subject. Extra advice on this is to choose one area that really interest you and focus on doing several MOOCs/read several books on this area to really show passion. Try and create a personal statement that flows well - mention a variety of areas within your subject but they love when you can make connections between things. E.g: You're part of your school's debate club. You debated assisted suicide. You went on to read about the law of assisted suicide, you did an EPQ on it, etc. Extracurriculars are cool - but for Oxbridge it should only really make up 20 ish % (they don't really care unless it's relevant to the course.) If you still don't know what you want to do or don't have a specific interest within a subject, I recommend making a word document. Create a table for the type of thing you do (MOOC/book/lecture/work experience/etc.), what it was about, what you learnt and what skills (potentially) you gained. Later, when you come to write your PS you'll be thankful you have it all in one place. Good luck!

Reply 7

Quackerz

In your personal statement you need to show you are human, and most importantly, love the subject you are applying for, this can be by writing about it, writing about things you found difficult (and how you overcame the difficulties) or overtly interested. If you were to do a PhD in your subject, what would you want to study? Is it a science where the knowledge learnable is neverending? Is it a humanities where the knowledge is neverending? Is it art where the knowledge is neverending?
When applying to oxbridge, most people will have A*/A s and atleast 3 of them, you need to set yourself apart in both your personal statement and interview/s. If your grades are weak, then you know where to improve, if your grades are good, you need to decide how you're going to distinguish your application with the 5 others who don't get an offer.

Reply 8

Twittwoooo

Original post by hungrysalamander

Only for the US. Extracurriculars don't mean anything in the UK; supercurriculars do.

I’m in the uk what’s the diff between extracurricular and supercurricular?

Reply 9

username5319484

Original post by Twittwoooo

I’m in the uk what’s the diff between extracurricular and supercurricular?

Extracurriculars are things like being in a sports team or playing an instrument
Supercurriculars are related to the course you want to study like further reading, work experience, competitions etc