Oxford Chemistry Students and Applicants

Reply 1340

chignesh10

15

P

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Reply 1341

applestrudle

1

hey, what happens if we don't go to labs? do you get in trouble or do they wait till the end of the year to tell you you can' sit prelims?

i'm a first year btw

Reply 1342

BJack

19

Original post by applestrudle

hey, what happens if we don't go to labs? do you get in trouble or do they wait till the end of the year to tell you you can' sit prelims?

If you miss a lab, you have to do it later in the year. I would imagine that if you persistently miss labs, your senior tutor would get an email from the relevant head(s) of labs. It's much easier to just get all the labs done at the time you're meant to do them, unless you're really too ill to go in.

Reply 1343

BJack

19

Original post by geor

What GCSEs did you oxford chemists get? My school are telling me that 8A*s and 2As may not be enough....

Ridiculous — of course that's good enough!

Reply 1344

Utku008

Anyone got an invitation from chosen college ?

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Reply 1345

gfaust

2

Original post by Utku008

Anyone got an invitation from chosen college ?

I just received an email from the Trinity Admissions Officer. It seems I've made the first cut for Chemistry, although the department interviews over 90% of applicants. I'm an American, so they want to interview me via Skype.

Reply 1346

gfaust

2

And I know a few other Trinity applicants have interviews. At least that's my impression from this thread.

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1347

holliebass

5

I got an email today from St Catz inviting me to interview :smile:

Problem is the interviews clash with rehearsals going on at my school and my school want me to ask if I can miss the first day of interviews :|

Reply 1348

Lizzy12

1

Original post by holliebass

I got an email today from St Catz inviting me to interview :smile:

Problem is the interviews clash with rehearsals going on at my school and my school want me to ask if I can miss the first day of interviews :|

NO!!

Tell your school you phoned up to ask and the answer is no.

Reply 1349

gfaust

2

Original post by Lizzy12

NO!!

Tell your school you phoned up to ask and the answer is no.

I sooo agree! There is really no way the college is going to be sympathetic, seeing as how they tell applicants not to schedule anything during the interview "season." Your school will have to understand.

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Reply 1350

auggie

Original post by gfaust

I just received an email from the Trinity Admissions Officer. It seems I've made the first cut for Chemistry, although the department interviews over 90% of applicants. I'm an American, so they want to interview me via Skype.

Congrats!

I'm an American too. I've just gotten an invitation to interview for chemistry at University College. I'm not particularly thrilled at the thought of a Skype interview, but I guess I'll have to deal.
What are you doing to prepare for your interview?

Reply 1351

gfaust

2

Original post by auggie

Congrats!

I'm an American too. I've just gotten an invitation to interview for chemistry at University College. I'm not particularly thrilled at the thought of a Skype interview, but I guess I'll have to deal.
What are you doing to prepare for your interview?

Congrats to you, too! The Skype interview terrifies me also, especially since we only get ONE chance to prove ourselves. :vroam:

I'm glad I don't have the added stress of transoceanic travel to deal with though.

To prepare I'm brushing up on my math, because my referee apparently really talked up my math skills. I'm a mature applicant, and she said that Oxford is really worried that mature applicants have forgotten all their math since school. Hopefully I can leap over any mathematical traps the interviewers lay down! :wink:

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1352

InadequateJusticex

18

Yeah, I have an interview at Wadham :woo:

How is everyone preparing?

Reply 1353

InadequateJusticex

18

Hey guys, I was just wondering what preparations I could do for the chemistry interview at oxford? It starts next monday and I feel severely underprepared (but excited!)..

Reply 1354

auggie

Original post by gfaust

Congrats to you, too! The Skype interview terrifies me also, especially since we only get ONE chance to prove ourselves. :vroam:

I'm glad I don't have the added stress of transoceanic travel to deal with though.

To prepare I'm brushing up on my math, because my referee apparently really talked up my math skills. I'm a mature applicant, and she said that Oxford is really worried that mature applicants have forgotten all their math since school. Hopefully I can leap over any mathematical traps the interviewers lay down! :wink:

Posted from TSR Mobile

That's a good point—jet lag would not make for a fun interview!

That makes a lot of sense. I'm mostly worried about remembering some of the more obscure bits of the chemistry curriculum. I'm not taking a Chem class this year, so I'll be going off of memories from last year! Plus the curriculum here is fairly different from theirs, so who knows what they might ask that I never covered. I foresee a lot of cramming in the next week or so.

Good luck with your math!

Reply 1355

auggie

Original post by InadequateJusticex

Yeah, I have an interview at Wadham :woo:

How is everyone preparing?

I'm just looking over the curriculum again to make sure I haven't forgotten anything major. I can't do mock interviews (no one I know really has any idea what an Oxford interview should be like), so I'm just hoping I don't get too nervous and say something stupid.

Reply 1356

Fan Jingyue 7

Mine is this Sunday~~ It is via Skype,btw, I am in Singapore ( : ~
I am also clueless about what to prepare. Are you in the UK?

Reply 1357

shengoc

12

the interview experiences, no matter how good or bad they turn out on the day, the tutors would try to make the best decisions. it varies between colleges, tutors and the candidates what sort of interview it would be. in any case, i'd advise simply giving it your all, take a step back and think calmly when told you have answered wrongly, ask for hints if you are really clueless, always willing to try intellectually, always reason out how you come to a conclusion in difficult cases, and be confident and not arrogant; cant say attitude doesnt have a role in selection, i mean they are going to be stuck with you( or maybe not in small cases) if you do get in.

all the best to all applicants. hope you would find your time in oxford enjoyable.

Reply 1358

Clarification

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while since the last post, but would just like to put forward a question regarding Oxford and gap years. I'll probably be taking a gap year next year and reapplying for chemistry. I have had a serious rethink about the course I originally applied for this year, I have genuinely lost enthusiasm for it and do not believe the academic stimulation post-degree would be the same as that a career following a chemistry degree could offer - particularly interested in going into research.
To cut a long story short, would I be at a disadvantage when making an application to Oxford? Which colleges would you recommend (it is difficult to choose simply from looking at the prospectus)? Hopefully I'll get the grades I'm predicted come summertime exam results (4 A*s, fingers crossed).
Also, how would you recommend I keep up with my maths (suggested textbooks, websites, etc.)? Lastly, does anyone know how universities feel about gap year students asking for work experience/placements in their chemistry departments?

Reply 1359

BJack

19

Original post by Clarification

x

I was in the same position as you a few years ago and I'm now studying chemistry at Oxford, so it's definitely doable! I don't think you'd be at any disadvantage by applying during a gap year, as the tutors are really looking for your ability to take on new information and apply it to problems. If anything, the extra maturity you'll have from already having finished your A levels might give you a slight edge.

What advice are you looking for in terms of college choice? If you already have an idea of what sort of things you might be interested in doing for the Part II year (that would be quite forward thinking!), you could do worse than to apply to a college with a tutor who's researching that topic. Otherwise, the usual considerations of size, location, accommodation, etc. should guide you.

The maths you need at interview isn't particularly difficult and the maths for chemists paper is taught from scratch once you get here, so I don't think there's any particular need to worry about your maths going rusty. Certainly I didn't find it to be a problem.

I think you might struggle to find experience in a university research group, as you probably lack the lab skills and theoretical knowledge that they'd be looking for. I ended up working in a school lab, which wasn't particularly exciting but it did mean I got to try a few interesting experiments now and then, and also just kept me thinking about chemistry. But really, it doesn't matter what you do with your gap year.

I hope your exams go well in the summer. If you have any questions or want me to elaborate on anything, I'll try my best to help! :smile:

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