For-profit university entrance coaching has arrived in Britain...Oxbridge that is

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>[Bloomberg.com:</a> U.K. & Ireland](<a href=“Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg”>Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg)</p>

<p>Michele Hernadez, move over…</p>

<p>intro

James Uffindell, wearing a pinstriped suit and walkie-talkie headset, races along the corridors of an 18th-century manor outside Oxford, England, as he presides over an October weekend retreat for 175 ambitious teenagers. </p>

<p>He’s selling an alluring possibility: that each student can win admission to either the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, the twin pillars of the U.K. educational establishment, known collectively as Oxbridge. Parents are buying in; the weekend price tag is 850 pounds ($1,750).

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He’s blazing a trail already firmly in place in the U.S. To the dismay of some U.K. admissions officials, for-profit university entrance coaching has arrived in Britain. More students are achieving top scores on national tests, and they’re applying in record numbers to Cambridge and Oxford. At the same time, the universities are under pressure from the Labour government to shake off their reputation as a club for privately educated teenagers with rich parents. </p>

<p>The jockeying for admission is intense now that a quarter of teens are scoring at least one top grade on their so-called A-levels, the U.K.'s national exams taken mostly by university- bound students. A decade ago, the figure was about 16 percent. That means more students are within shooting distance of Oxford and Cambridge. Applications to Oxford alone have jumped 33 percent during the past 10 years.

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Uffindell opened up shop in 1999 and now has a 500-person network of part-time tutors – most of whom are recent Oxford or Cambridge graduates. In 2006, his company advised almost 10 percent of all applicants to Oxbridge. Uffindell puts his success rate at 46 percent. If his numbers are correct, he helped almost a sixth of all students admitted to Oxford and Cambridge in 2007.

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Still, making the grade isn’t simple. In 2006, Oxford accepted about 25 percent of 12,614 applicants. Cambridge took in 24 percent of the 14,094 who applied. By comparison, Harvard admitted 8.9 percent of 22,955 students seeking to join the class of 2011. Oxbridge admission is tougher than it may appear: Students can’t apply to both Oxford and Cambridge to hedge their bets. The universities make that stipulation to hold down application volume and avoid having admission offers turned down.

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To improve their odds of joining this select club, thousands of students are turning almost exclusively to Uffindell’s Oxbridge Applications. About two-thirds of his clients come from state schools. The company’s tutors and consultants will do everything from helping students decide what they want to study to editing personal statements and suggesting books to read. About 60 students signed up in 2007 for Uffindell’s premier service, up from about 40 last year; he turns away those whose grades aren’t strong enough. </p>

<p>De Taranto, the applicant from Germany, started with an hour’s chat with Uffindell at Oxbridge Applications’ office on New Bond Street. They debated whether he would aim for Oxford or Cambridge and batted around ideas about a course of study: History? Law? English? The choice is crucial because Oxbridge students focus on a chosen field exclusively during their three years.

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Companies such as Oxbridge Applications run the risk of polishing candidates who aren’t up to scratch, says Alan Ryan, the warden, or head, of New College, Oxford, which was founded in 1379. <code>What we are trying to do when we interview people here is pick up a real enthusiasm for the subject,‘’ Ryan says.</code>If what people are being taught is how to fake it, then it’s going to do nobody any good once they get here.‘’ </p>

<p>Misguided or not, Uffindell’s approach is breaking new ground in the U.K., where the notion of admissions consulting is in its infancy. In the U.S., more than 4,000 independent college counselors peddle advice. High-priced coaches, such as Michele Hernandez, a former Dartmouth College admissions officer, charge as much as $40,000 to help get kids into Ivy League schools such as Harvard. </p>

<p>Uffindell isn’t an admissions expert. He was raised just north of Oxford by his mother after his parents divorced when he was 3; neither parent attended university. He went to Warwick School, a private school in southwest England, and didn’t feel he was clever enough to get into Oxford until an Oxford-educated history teacher joined his school when he was 16. The teacher advised him on picking a college and suggested extra reading.

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<p>…much more in the linked article…</p>

[mathmom]

<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t many public school (i.e. private school) kids in Britain spend an extra term preparing for the Oxbridge exam? (see The History Boys) It sounds to me like this just levels the playing field.</p>

[Laylah]

<p>^^^ No. They used to, when Oxford and Cambridge had their own admissions tests examining specific knowledge. But now, this is NOT the case. The tests they use now cannot be prepped for; they are designed to test aptitude rather than existing knowledge. </p>

<p>Frankly, I think this whole thing stinks. The whole point of Oxbridge interviews is for the admissions tutors to get the feel of the ‘real’ candidate - especially if it’s someone who doesn’t look so great on paper. If people are now coached for interviews, given practice questions, told which books to read, how on earth are tutors going to get through all that to the person underneath? If people are given stock answers, how can their genuine passion for their subject be measured? </p>

<p>I know that some people will say that what this company is doing is just what private and public schools have been doing all along. But I disagree - private schools have more resources to offer students, certainly, but universities know this, and they take it into account - the secondary school one attended has to be included on the application form. But there is no requirement to divulge the fact that you’ve been on this course - so how are admissions tutors supposed to differentiate between those who have genuine talent and those who have been coached for it? </p>

<p>All that will happen is that those who don’t have the money to go to either a private school or on this course will be squeezed out. And given the terrible reputation Oxbridge already has for being snobbish and elitest, this is not a good thing.</p>

[Laylah]

<p>And another thing… (I’m on a rant now ;))… this guy is charging people for help and advice that he received for free as an applicant. There is a world of difference between advising a particular student on how to make their personal statement better, and charging them an extortionate amount for the privilege!</p>

<p>If Uffindell genuinely wanted to level the playing field for state school applicants, he should be running courses for comprehensive school teachers on how to identify and motivate gifted students.</p>