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who are the thickest people you know who got into oxbridge? (GCSE/AS GRADES)
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#41
(Original post by Tifa)
But is it fair to assume that average exam level results denote an average person?
But is it fair to assume that average exam level results denote an average person?
I meant in terms of grasp of the subject, passion, aptitude for it.....
What also annoyed me was people in my school who would start off in the summer saying they'd apply for Law, they'd look at the admission statistics and then say "Hmm...I'll apply for SPS!" and when they eventually apply it's "I've taught myself Chinese over the summer....I'm going to apply for Oriental Studies!"
Display your wonderful, place-winning passion and commitment by a summer's worth of cramming and a desire to bask in your own "well-deserved" success...
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#42
(Original post by Stewie)
I meant in terms of grasp of the subject, passion, aptitude for it.....
What also annoyed me was people in my school who would start off in the summer saying they'd apply for Law, they'd look at the admission statistics and then say "Hmm...I'll apply for SPS!" and when they eventually apply it's "I've taught myself Chinese over the summer....I'm going to apply for Oriental Studies!"
Display your wonderful, place-winning passion and commitment by a summer's worth of cramming and a desire to bask in your own "well-deserved" success...
I meant in terms of grasp of the subject, passion, aptitude for it.....
What also annoyed me was people in my school who would start off in the summer saying they'd apply for Law, they'd look at the admission statistics and then say "Hmm...I'll apply for SPS!" and when they eventually apply it's "I've taught myself Chinese over the summer....I'm going to apply for Oriental Studies!"
Display your wonderful, place-winning passion and commitment by a summer's worth of cramming and a desire to bask in your own "well-deserved" success...
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#43
(Original post by Stewie)
I meant in terms of grasp of the subject, passion, aptitude for it.....
What also annoyed me was people in my school who would start off in the summer saying they'd apply for Law, they'd look at the admission statistics and then say "Hmm...I'll apply for SPS!" and when they eventually apply it's "I've taught myself Chinese over the summer....I'm going to apply for Oriental Studies!"
Display your wonderful, place-winning passion and commitment by a summer's worth of cramming and a desire to bask in your own "well-deserved" success...
I meant in terms of grasp of the subject, passion, aptitude for it.....
What also annoyed me was people in my school who would start off in the summer saying they'd apply for Law, they'd look at the admission statistics and then say "Hmm...I'll apply for SPS!" and when they eventually apply it's "I've taught myself Chinese over the summer....I'm going to apply for Oriental Studies!"
Display your wonderful, place-winning passion and commitment by a summer's worth of cramming and a desire to bask in your own "well-deserved" success...
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#44
(Original post by Lord Huntroyde)
Hmmm, you don't need to know Chinese to do Oriental Studies but I understand your point, some people are more obsessed with going to Oxbridge than actually getting a job afterwards.
Hmmm, you don't need to know Chinese to do Oriental Studies but I understand your point, some people are more obsessed with going to Oxbridge than actually getting a job afterwards.
As for learning Chinese, when the year found out I was taking an extra GCSE in Ancient Greek to study the New Testament they thought it would show "passion" for the subject (fat lot of good it did me) and started learning everything from Russian to Arabic and Sanskrit for Oriental Studies/Modern Languages courses.
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#45
(Original post by Lucy)
I don't understand why it should bother you - it has absolutely no relevance to your application. In the end, it's their problem that they'll spend three years studying something they don't enjoy, why waste time and energy getting annoyed by it?
I don't understand why it should bother you - it has absolutely no relevance to your application. In the end, it's their problem that they'll spend three years studying something they don't enjoy, why waste time and energy getting annoyed by it?
Because it's makes a mockery of the whole system; someone else who may have really liked the subject could have been rejected and I also think it's wrong to deceive your interviewers like that; these people live and breathe for the subject and they want people who share that passion, not people who are looking for an easy way into Oxbridge.
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#46
(Original post by Tifa)
I *suck* at Chess
I *suck* at Chess
Just got a late xmas present in the post - literally just opened it and it is...
LCR CHESS - 'Worlds smallest, most sophisticated chess computer fits into the palm of you hand'... complete with Teach Mode
why would my Aunt buy me this?
It has to be a sign
ok - on topic - Stewie, its unfair, it sucks, life sucks ergo it can go suck itself. Reapply, be brilliant, and if you fail... maybe fate's giving you a sign... but till then just work your arse off and be happy you're someone who has a chance of getting 3As anyway...
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#47
(Original post by Stewie)
I also think they are prepared to put up with a subject they don't really find thrilling just to get in and perhaps change. On a Theology Open Day, someone's father asked "How easy is it to change to Law after the first year?"
I also think they are prepared to put up with a subject they don't really find thrilling just to get in and perhaps change. On a Theology Open Day, someone's father asked "How easy is it to change to Law after the first year?"
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#48
(Original post by Lucy)
I know a guy who got rejected from Cambridge but through his utter determination (and realisation that he was good enough) he reapplied and gained a place. In the end, he gained the highest first in his whole year.
I know a guy who got rejected from Cambridge but through his utter determination (and realisation that he was good enough) he reapplied and gained a place. In the end, he gained the highest first in his whole year.
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#49
(Original post by Lord Huntroyde)
What was the answer ot this question? I imagine it would be very difficult indeed, considering the competition for Law.
What was the answer ot this question? I imagine it would be very difficult indeed, considering the competition for Law.
Another question on submitting work was "Can my daughter submit her maths coursework to be considered as part of her application for Theology?"
See, people can display cretin-like qualities by what they say......
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#50
(Original post by Stewie)
Because it's makes a mockery of the whole system; someone else who may have really liked the subject could have been rejected and I also think it's wrong to deceive your interviewers like that; these people live and breathe for the subject and they want people who share that passion, not people who are looking for an easy way into Oxbridge.
Because it's makes a mockery of the whole system; someone else who may have really liked the subject could have been rejected and I also think it's wrong to deceive your interviewers like that; these people live and breathe for the subject and they want people who share that passion, not people who are looking for an easy way into Oxbridge.
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#51
My friend is currently at Oxford (at the same college i applied to), she initially applied to Pembroke, Cambridge--she was rejected with 10 A*s and 4As at A/S's. She took a gap-year and reapplied the next year to Pembroke college, Oxford and was offered a place!
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#52
(Original post by Lucy)
I don't know but personally a student who makes the effort to learn "everything from Russian to Arabic and Sanskrit" shows a lot of determination which would be admirable to interviewers. From where/who they got the idea to do so I feel is irrelevant. And if they have done this whereas the applicants who "live and breathe for the subject" haven't, why shouldn't they be as deserving for a place? It's not like they outright lied to the interviewers and although I don't know these people you speak of I would think you have to like your subject to be able to put so much effort into background reading/extra learning.
I don't know but personally a student who makes the effort to learn "everything from Russian to Arabic and Sanskrit" shows a lot of determination which would be admirable to interviewers. From where/who they got the idea to do so I feel is irrelevant. And if they have done this whereas the applicants who "live and breathe for the subject" haven't, why shouldn't they be as deserving for a place? It's not like they outright lied to the interviewers and although I don't know these people you speak of I would think you have to like your subject to be able to put so much effort into background reading/extra learning.
They did the reading to get a place after realising that the courses they really wanted to do (Law/SPS/etc.) were really competitive; I started learning Greek at the beginning of my AS levels and by the summer term once everyone knew I was doing an extra GCSE they all thought it was a good idea to learn a language. I had a friend doing Russian at Oxford who said they got less and less applicants every year....people in my school thought that by reading Anna Karenina and learning the alphabet they'd show a "true passion" for the course and could get in rather than do something they really wanted to apply for. It is a determination to get a place at Oxbridge and to stand out from the competition, not a real love of the subject that makes them work so hard. Applicants who live and breathe the subject may have also taught themeselves a language or not, but they've loved the subject long enough to know loads about recently developments/research in their subject and to read around and understand it a lot better than someone who picked what to apply for a few weeks before October 15th.
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#54
(Original post by Tek)
(not that you're bitter or anything)
(not that you're bitter or anything)
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#55
(Original post by Stewie)
You would be too after 3 years of hard work and study, and I noticed all this well before I applied
You would be too after 3 years of hard work and study, and I noticed all this well before I applied
In the end, I personally was ecstatic to get into any medical school because I realised the important thing was that I had the opportunity to study what I wanted - I hope you adopt a similar attitude or reapply. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
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#56
(Original post by Stewie)
You would be too after 3 years of hard work and study, and I noticed all this well before I applied
You would be too after 3 years of hard work and study, and I noticed all this well before I applied
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#57
I was offered AAB but my results were AAC, but I was still accpeted by my first choice college. Obviously, everything depends on the interview. I am so pleased I'm here and I'm loving every second. Good luck to anyone who has applied this year - but don't be complacent if you get an offer!
I do think that DD offers don't exist although they insist in the prospectus that they do.....
I do think that DD offers don't exist although they insist in the prospectus that they do.....
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#58
Don't Cambridge herald the fact you can change subject - isnt that the idea of the tripos system?
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#59
No offence, but it seems slightly stupid to base a candidate's future solely on their exam grades. Surely, Stewie, if you had quite bad GCSE and 'A' Level grades, you would want to think that you were still being given a chance to prove that you have what it takes to undertake an Oxbridge degree?
I don't think you can really comprehend the fact that people who don't do exceptionally in their 'A' Levels can still be really intelligent and worthy of a place at Oxford.
Oxbridge tutors are very intelligent people themselves: they can tell which candidates are most suitable and which aren't. Also tests at interview give them a much better idea of how a student will perform at uni, because the tests are far more aimed at being "pre-university" standard/format, than 'A' Level style.
And yes, tutors do take into account someone's character. They have to, especially with the tutorial/supervision systems that are in place: a tutor has to be able to get along with the prospective fresher, for both the benefit of the student and the tutor. Some students get refused year after year just because tutors realise the tutorial system wouldn't suit them.
It's not all about grades.
I got AAB, incidentally.
Jess
x
I don't think you can really comprehend the fact that people who don't do exceptionally in their 'A' Levels can still be really intelligent and worthy of a place at Oxford.
Oxbridge tutors are very intelligent people themselves: they can tell which candidates are most suitable and which aren't. Also tests at interview give them a much better idea of how a student will perform at uni, because the tests are far more aimed at being "pre-university" standard/format, than 'A' Level style.
And yes, tutors do take into account someone's character. They have to, especially with the tutorial/supervision systems that are in place: a tutor has to be able to get along with the prospective fresher, for both the benefit of the student and the tutor. Some students get refused year after year just because tutors realise the tutorial system wouldn't suit them.
It's not all about grades.
I got AAB, incidentally.
Jess
x
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#60
(Original post by DamianHolt)
believe me, there are a surprising number of THICK people at Oxford. Surprisingly enough, nearly all of them happen to be stunningly beautiful girls, who end up retaking their first year or changing to an easy subject.
believe me, there are a surprising number of THICK people at Oxford. Surprisingly enough, nearly all of them happen to be stunningly beautiful girls, who end up retaking their first year or changing to an easy subject.
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