Welcome to College Confidential!
The leading college-bound community on the web
Sign Up For Free
Join for FREE, and start talking with other members, weighing in on community discussions, and more.
Also, by registering and logging in you'll see fewer ads and pesky welcome messages (like this one!)
As a CC member, you can:
- Reply to threads, and start your own.
- Post reviews of your campus visits.
- Find hundreds of pages of informative articles.
- Search from over 3 million scholarships.
Quick Links
Find A College
Articles: Expert Advice
Top Forums
Featured Threads
Oxford University...do you know anyone who's been accepted there?
Yaziinyz
Registered User Posts: 106 Junior Member
I understand that it's the #1 school in the world, followed by Campbridge and Harvard. Has anyone gotten accepted there?
Post edited by Yaziinyz on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Oxford University...do you know anyone who's been accepted there?
I'm more of a Cambridge person myself.
There is no big difference between the two, anyway. The towns differ, but not the universities; they have the same structure, which is unique (colleges, supervisions), same academic environment, same feeling.
You won't have much hope going from senior year to Cambridge, actually. They recommend you to take a year of undergrad first, lol. Must be difficult.
Funny, since 3 5's on relevant APs to your subject will count as the same.
2100 SAT/32ACT
700 (750: be safe...)+ on 3 SATIIs, hopefully relevant to your subject
But most importantly, a solid interview on your topic (you have to know it well, especially fundamentally, speaking from experience - applied chem).
The interview will really make or break you if you have the above prerequisites (found on Oxford site).
I'd imagine they don't care much for the recommendation or essay. I wrote about pen spinning and still made the interviewee list. They don't care about your grades either. They explicitly say not to send a transcript. So, it's all on your interview and standardized test scores.
Some of the courses ( there are no majors and minors - you apply for a course/subject and thats what you will study for your degree) also have a pre admission exam to help Oxford decide if they want to interview you. These are more numerous nowadays because too many students are achieving top marks in A levels and it makes differentiation harder. HAT History, PAT Phyiscs, BMAT Medicine etc - check out the Oxford university website for more examples and google for past papers. The university set a mark for each years test and those achieving it will be invited for interview, those who don't - won't. But not all courses have these tests.
If you are borderline on the test result they may then scrutinise your personal statement (personal statement here is like your 'essay' except you only write one and it gets sent to all 5 of the universities you apply for - so no sucking up to one uni saying - its been my dream to attend - LSE etc) a little more keenly or your school rec. It's at this point that your school background may help a little. They will look more kindly on a borderline score from a student at a state school than a student from a private school where the class sizes and teaching should really have given them the edge on the test. I doubt they make any adjustments for overseas students however.
The interview if you get one is an experience in itself - you can be interviewed by skype if you are an international candidate but if you can afford it go! You will be expected to stay 3 days at the college (free they pick up the tab) and may have several interviews with the academics who would actually be teaching you if you get in. They're designed to test your ability to think on your feet around the subject of your choice. You will not be expected to know all the technical stuff but be able to show that with help you can find solutions. If you get an interview they already think you are strong enough academically - they use the interview to chose those they want to work with for 3 years.
Finally the grades - the UK system means this selection process is happening over the winter before your course starts and most kids will not have their results (grades) until the following August - just a few weeks before term starts. If they have asked you to get A*AA and you get A*AB do not assume your place is safe. My S had 2 friends who missed grades - one by 3 marks and their Oxford offer was withdrawn.
Good luck OP if you are still considering applying - Oxford ( and Cambridge) are very special places to study at.
The entrance exams (for the subjects that set them) are taken at your school and sent off for marking in Oxford, all candidates are then ranked and the top 500 or so (depending on how many places are available in your subject) are invited for interview.
If you can attend the interview in person in would be in your advantage to do this, since it's easier to communicate in person especially for technical subjects like maths, physics etc. It also gives you the opportunity to live, sleep and eat in Oxford for a few days (for free apart from your flight) and get a feel for the place.
I think the selection for Oxford and Cambridge may differ slightly from US universities. The selection committee aren't interested in how much you know about the university, or how keen you are about the place, they're not even particularly interested in your extra curricular activities. They are mainly interested in your academic potential. You should show a keen interest in your subject, and be able to demonstrate this with extra reading. However the interviewers are mainly trying to find out how you handle new information and ideas rather than what you already know.
In a technical subject (e.g. maths) you will usually be given either one or two fairly tricky problems to solve in each interview. Most candidates (even successful ones) won't be able to fully solve the problem without help from the interviewer so you shouldn't be put off if this happens. What you should do is take your time and talk through your ideas with your interviewer even if they may not be right. You will be given two or three interviews and your marks from each one are averaged.
Almost all applicants come with glowing references and so it's difficult to make any distinction based on these. Likewise everybody comes off quite well in their personal statements (I think in the US these are called essays), but make sure you stick mainly to the subject area you are applying to, and include any additional factual information that sounds impressive -awards you've won, special skills you may have. Oxford also attempt to take into account any disadvantages you may have - so if you come from an underachieving school make sure that is clear on your application.
---
Sent from my iPod touch using CC