<p>For the UK universities, especially Oxbridge, it asks for referees. Are those just teacher recommendations or are they something else.</p>
<p>Also, are there any differences between applying to oxbridge than U.S. universities?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Yes, refeeres are the same as teacher recommendations in this context.</p>
<p>Your second question is kind of broad. 
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<p>I guess there are two main differences between applying to Oxford/Cambridge (you can only apply to one as an undergraduate) and applying to US universities. </p>
<p>The first difference is the personal statement. UK universities do not care about your interests, hobbies, lifetime plans, when you experienced hardship etc. etc. <em>unless they are directly relevant to the course you are applying for</em>. They don’t care that you are a national-ranked violinist if you’re applying for, say, a biology degree. I mean, sure, hobbies are nice. But if you really loved biology, shouldn’t you have been spending your free time reading the latest issue of Nature? Well-rounded is not what they are looking for. (By the way, this doesn’t mean people at Oxbridge don’t have hobbies. We do, and we’re passionate about them. But the application is not the place to mention them.)</p>
<p>The second difference is the interview. At Oxford, Cambridge and some other UK universities, the interview is the most important part of the application process. They want to assess your thinking skills, and will throw questions at you to see how you handle them. The point of the interview is to examine how you can assimilate new information, draw logical conclusions and defend your argument. There’s no way to prepare for it (because you don’t know what they’ll ask), and it mimics the tutorial style at Oxford and Cambridge. If you hate your interview experience, chances are you won’t like the teaching style at Oxbridge.</p>
<p>One other difference I forgot to mention is that you apply for a specific degree at UK universities. It’s very hard to change if you find you don’t like your subject. At Oxford, at least, if you want to change you have to re-interview, and they can and do reject people who want to switch courses.</p>