Year 12 resits aiming for Oxbridge
I’m resitting year 12 and a lot of the widening participation programmes and supercurriculars like oxnet, stem smart etc that are for year 12 only actually require you to be 16-17 (the actual age for year 12) whereas I’m a year older.
Do you think if I contacted Oxbridge and explained my situation, that they would let me participate in these programmes despite my age?
I feel like I’m at such a disadvantage at being successful at Oxbridge now because of this.
If I cant end up applying to these programmes, what other programmes/ things could I do which are equally as impressive to Oxbridge? I want to do unique, different things to other applicants to help me stand out.
Do you think if I contacted Oxbridge and explained my situation, that they would let me participate in these programmes despite my age?
I feel like I’m at such a disadvantage at being successful at Oxbridge now because of this.
If I cant end up applying to these programmes, what other programmes/ things could I do which are equally as impressive to Oxbridge? I want to do unique, different things to other applicants to help me stand out.
Reply 1
I'm in the exact situation as you, so let me know if you've found anything out about the programmes because I haven't 🥲😭
Besides that though, a lot of personal statements seem to be more focused on books, MOOCS, lectures, work experience, research projects, etc, so I don't think you're at a disadvantage when writing your personal statement as long as you can show your interest for your subject. There are a few examples of personal statements here: https://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate/outreach/students/personal-statements-bank/
You could also do competitions. I'm pretty sure UKMT isn't age restricted, and there are tons of essay competitions later on in the year like John Locke.
Besides that though, a lot of personal statements seem to be more focused on books, MOOCS, lectures, work experience, research projects, etc, so I don't think you're at a disadvantage when writing your personal statement as long as you can show your interest for your subject. There are a few examples of personal statements here: https://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate/outreach/students/personal-statements-bank/
You could also do competitions. I'm pretty sure UKMT isn't age restricted, and there are tons of essay competitions later on in the year like John Locke.
Reply 2
Original post
by AnonymousI’m resitting year 12 and a lot of the widening participation programmes and supercurriculars like oxnet, stem smart etc that are for year 12 only actually require you to be 16-17 (the actual age for year 12) whereas I’m a year older.
Do you think if I contacted Oxbridge and explained my situation, that they would let me participate in these programmes despite my age?
I feel like I’m at such a disadvantage at being successful at Oxbridge now because of this.
If I cant end up applying to these programmes, what other programmes/ things could I do which are equally as impressive to Oxbridge? I want to do unique, different things to other applicants to help me stand out.
Do you think if I contacted Oxbridge and explained my situation, that they would let me participate in these programmes despite my age?
I feel like I’m at such a disadvantage at being successful at Oxbridge now because of this.
If I cant end up applying to these programmes, what other programmes/ things could I do which are equally as impressive to Oxbridge? I want to do unique, different things to other applicants to help me stand out.
Hey, I was just wondering what programmes you've seen other than oxnet and stem smart because i dont really know where to search for them
Reply 3
The point of widening participation programmes is to encourage people to feel they can apply to Oxbridge who otherwise might not have done so. They are not meant to give people a competitive edge in the admissions process and not doing them won’t disadvantage you at all.
What Oxbridge is looking for is academic excellence and potential and real motivation for the subject, and you can demonstrate those in many different ways. There is not a list of activities that you have to tick off to be competitive. And in all honesty the personal statement is less important than your GCSE grades (contextualised), test performance (if relevant), written work (if relevant) and interview performance (if you get to that stage).
What Oxbridge is looking for is academic excellence and potential and real motivation for the subject, and you can demonstrate those in many different ways. There is not a list of activities that you have to tick off to be competitive. And in all honesty the personal statement is less important than your GCSE grades (contextualised), test performance (if relevant), written work (if relevant) and interview performance (if you get to that stage).
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