APPLYING TO OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE

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APPLYING TOOXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE
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WHAT DO OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE OFFER?

• Exceptional teaching and academic support
• Extensive financial and other support
• Student life

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TEACHING ANDACADEMIC SUPPORT

• Unparalleled access to leading academics via
• Lectures
• Seminars/classes
• The unique tutorial/supervision system
• Academic guidance
• Libraries, labs and computing
• Subject societies

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FINANCIAL ANDOTHER SUPPORT

• Bursaries up to c. 3000-4000 per year
• Government bursaries up to c. 2835 per year
• Student loans
• College awards e.g. scholarships, book grants
  and travel grants
• Low cost of living
• Pastoral support in College via Director of
  Studies, Tutor and other College staff
• University support services, e.g. disability
  support, careers

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STUDENT LIFE

• High-quality accommodation in College for 2/3
  Years (Oxford) or 3 years (Cambridge)
• Rents competitive and payable only when room
  occupied (c. 30 weeks per year)
• Kitchens/dining hall JCR/bar and other student
  facilities
• Subsidised sports teams, music and drama groups,
  etc
• Busy/lively student cities

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WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN APPLICANTS?

• They are passionate about their chosen subject
  and our course offers it in an appropriate form
• They have a strong record in examinations
• They are very motivated and organised
• They are very strongly backed by school/college
• They have the potential to succeed at the highest
  academic level, by which we mean they have
• Enthusiasm for complex and challenging ideas
• Great clarity of thought and analytical ability
• Real intellectual flexibility
• Vocational commitment (where appropriate)

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SELECTION CRITERIA

• Admissions decisions are based on
• A level (or equivalent) grades and subject
  combinations
• AS grades and (Cambridge) unit marks
• GCSE grades
• UCAS school/college reference
• UCAS personal statement
• Submitted work (where requested)
• Test results (chiefly Oxford)
• Interview performance

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WHY DO WE GO BEYOND THE UCAS FORM?

• Because we have the resources to do so
• Because choosing fairly between applicants on
  paper is very difficult
• Profile of a statistically average Oxbridge
  applicant
• GCSE c. 5-8 As (most successful applicants have
  A in most of their GCSEs)
• AS c. 87-93 across three most relevant, or
  best, subjects
• Interviews, aptitude tests and submitted work
  help us to assess rightness of subject and
  course, and potential

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UCAS REFERENCE

• Most references describe excellent students but
  few describe exceptional ones
• We are especially interested in
• Where an applicant lies in relation to his/her
  peers
• Academic and subject-related issues
• Organisation and focus
• Extra letters

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UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT

• How do we use personal statements?
• To confirm appropriateness of chosen subject and
  course
• As an embarkation-point for discussion at
  interview
• Subject focus
• Reading and other wider exploration
• Work experience
• Personal statements must be both honest and
  personal
• Extra-curricular activities/positions of
  responsibility

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INTERVIEWS

• The vast majority of applicants are called for
  interview
• Interviews usually take place in December, and
  are conducted principally by the preference
  College
• Applicants usually have 2-4 interviews, each
  lasting
• 20-30 minutes
• Interviews are academic, subject-focused
  discussions in which lecturers hope to see
  applicants thinking problems through for
  themselves
• We have no hidden agenda, and applicants are not
  asked trick questions
• 20 of successful applicants receive an offer
  from a College to which they did not directly
  apply

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WHAT TO EXPECT

• Focused and challenging questions, typical of
  teaching and learning at Oxford or Cambridge
• Applicants are usually asked to talk about
• Academic work completed in the last year or two
• Relevant wider reading or work experience
• Subject-related issues that are very readily
  visible in the wider world
• Prompt material
• New approaches to existing knowledge and
  problem-solving questions
• Questions to interviewers
• Prompting from interviewers

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SUBMITTING A STRONG APPLICATION

• Choose the right subject/course
• Maximise public examination grades
• Do some reading and other wider exploration
• Be organised
• In advance of interview, refresh your memory
  about
• The Oxford or Cambridge course for which you have
  applied
• Recent school/college work
• UCAS personal statement
• Submitted work
• Practise discussing academic work and ideas

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UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS

• Every year c. 10,000 unsuccessful Oxbridge
  applicants go on to achieve three or more A
  grades at A level
• We could happily take many more of our applicants
  were places available
• The strength of competition and the difficulty of
  our decision
• The Pool (Cambridge)
• Feedback
• Re-application
• Conditional offers they are conditional

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MORE INFORMATION

• Useful additional information is available in our
• prospectus and on our websites at
• www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/
• www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/
• If you have any remaining questions, do not
  hesitate to
• ask an Admissions Tutor or Schools and Colleges
• Liaison Officer