Oxford and Cambridge students and graduates

Hi,

I’m currently in Year 11 and aspiring to study medicine at Oxford or Cambridge. I want to ensure I maximize my chances of success and avoid any mistakes that could harm my application.
1. Are there specific pitfalls or common mistakes that could lower my chances during the application process, interview, or preparation in Years 11–13?
2. Are certain extracurricular activities more valuable than others, or are some simply not worth the effort?
3. What are the biggest red flags that could weaken my application or performance?

I’d appreciate any advice on making the strongest possible application.

Thanks!

Reply 1

thegeek888

18

Gain as many 9s and 8s as possible in your GCSEs.

Study Maths, Chemistry and Biology for Cambridge University, since they prefer 3 Maths/Science A-Levels.

"Think out aloud" during the interviews. 😉

Extracurriculars don't matter much for Oxford or Cambridge but Supercurriculars do matter.

Look here: super-curricular_suggestions.pdf

Turn to the Medicine page and go through the list of supercurriculars. 😉

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

all of the above, and most important: dont expect to get in. my friend wanted to do meds at oxford and dedicated his whole life to studying for it and applied during college, and was rejected. he did bad in his a levels after the rejection because he was depressed and didnt see the point anymore. now he is into acting and living his best life. but it took him a while to realise thats what he wanted to do all along, because he forced himself to lock in for medicine at oxford, which requires dedication, and didnt expect to fail.
so prepare for the course, and prepare for failure

Reply 3

bumba123

12

Original post

by Anonymous

all of the above, and most important: dont expect to get in. my friend wanted to do meds at oxford and dedicated his whole life to studying for it and applied during college, and was rejected. he did bad in his a levels after the rejection because he was depressed and didnt see the point anymore. now he is into acting and living his best life. but it took him a while to realise thats what he wanted to do all along, because he forced himself to lock in for medicine at oxford, which requires dedication, and didnt expect to fail.
so prepare for the course, and prepare for failure

Great advice. No matter how good a candidate you are, failure is the most likely option - to a certain extent there's a lot of randomness involved

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