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Some questions about Oxbridge
JL2003
6 replies1 threads New Member
Hey guys, I'm an incoming junior from the US. My goal is to attend Oxford university for bio, but I have a few questions. First off, for American students the requirement is 5s on 3 related aps. I've already gotten a 5 in calc bc and bio, but got a 4 in chem, so other then physics, what other courses count as related (haven't taken physics yet)? Also, for bio, which school would be easier to get into? I know that you can only apply to one, and recently I learned that cambridge had a much higher acceptance rate. I am however also going to apply to Imperial, UCL, and Edinburgh, so if you have any relevant info, please let me know
12 replies This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Some questions about Oxbridge
Neither is easier really. There is a significant difference between Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford you will be studying just bio, while at Cambridge the course is Natural Sciences, so you would study other sciences as well.
You could probably get in to Edinburgh, but all the others you list will be a challenge with that 4 in a science AP.
Then you should be. They are about finding the smartest people, not about whether you’ve had “exposure to microbio techniques and applications”. The interviewers don’t want to know what you know, they want to know how you think. It is such an intense experience that many candidates can recall their interview years or even decades later.
The reason a 4 on an AP is a red flag is that these exams are easy compared to the rigor of UK A-levels (although they may be a bit more forgiving for an AP taken as a sophomore). And nowadays most candidates get a lot of interview prep too, which puts US students at a big disadvantage. Will your teacher reference say you were their best student in the last 5-10 years?
To stand out in sciences, participation in Math/Bio/Chem/Phys Olympiads is highly valued (probably more so than your internships since that’s not really a thing high school kids would do in the UK). Try doing one or more of those next year. Remember that maybe half a dozen kids per year from CA will go to Oxford across all subjects combined.
Being in the team is irrelevant. Winning the state championship, qualifying for the AMO, etc (as an individual) would provide a significant boost.
The key thing is that what matters in the UK is very different to the US. Read this from the head of Oxford admissions if you haven’t already: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7965715/Universities-uninterested-in-pupils-extra-curricular-activities.html
“It really doesn't matter if you haven't got any friends or hobbies or if you don't do any charitable work ...[Acceptance] is a purely academic judgement."
He said universities were only interested in "enthused, engaged and excellent" candidates, rather than "second-rate historians who happen to play the flute".
I think it would be very unwise to have your (one) UCAS reference be from someone other than a HS teacher. You want the comparisons to be to other HS students, namely that you are better (hopefully significantly so) compared to your classmates in that environment. And you don’t do research as a UK undergrad so how is a reference from a university PI going to be relevant?
The 4 won’t be disqualifying, but you still seem to be thinking about this process as if it is a US college application. It isn’t. So for example it is worse to do 13 APs and get eight 5s and five 4s, than to do 9-10 APs and get all 5s. Doing research won’t be as helpful as being an AIME or AMO qualifier. And above all you will need to excel on the admissions test and interview.
When I did my postgrad, I often used to breakfast with the lecturer at my college who did the undergrad interviews for maths and NatSci. I heard a lot of (anonymized of course) anecdotes during interview season.. I would urge you to take twoin18’s advice about not being complacent about the interview seriously. Again: it is not about knowledge, it is about how you think.