Advice please about Oxford application

[orchardlime]

Dd wants to study History and Modern Languages (Spanish) at university.

She fell in love with Oxford and is considering applying there - the deadline for the application is 15 October.

Any advice on what she can do to improve her chances? History is her best subject, she's bilingual in English and Welsh already and loves the connections she's found between History and Spanish e.g part of the A'level course in Spanish is around the Spanish Civil War.

tia

Well firstly, is she good enough? What are her GCSE and AS results like? And what sort of school is she at? If she is from a comp then a couple of Bs won't dent her chances but if she is at Westminster then forget it.

Secondly she really needs to have read fairly widely around her subjects in order to hold her own at interview. The problem with a dual degree is that she has to impress two sets of tutors, so whilst the crossover may interest her and is certainly worth exploring, you may wish to check how much of the Spanish Civil War is covered in the syllabus. I'm not a historian, but I'll be stunned if the Oxford course covers much after the 1st World War to be honest.

Finally, she needs to consider the exam load of double subjects. No idea as to how other unis approach it, but she could be taking up to 16 exams at the end of her 3 years which entirely determine her degree.

Thanks for your advice ladymuck - her exam results are excellent - not all straight As, but high marks in the two subjects she wants to study (she's at a comp).

She knows she needs to achieve excellent A'level results, so it's the other stuff like reading around the subject that she needs to think about - and obviously putting in a great application - so I guess I'm looking for top tips for the application and interview if she gets one.

She will have to pass a special History Aptitude Test to be accepted at Oxford. Here

Is there any way you can get someone who has been to Oxford or Cambridge to coach her for interview? Private schools tend to be very good at this coaching and organise a lot for potential Oxbridgers (also more of the teachers tend to be Oxbridge educated). So it might be an advantage. But it's not essential because Oxford realise that if she has been at a state school she will have had less opportunities like this.

I mainly know about Cambridge not Oxford. But if it were Cambridge she needs to get minimum of A's and preferably A*s in her A levels. Also she needs to chose the subject she is most interested in, which hopefully is the one she genuinely is best about. Reading round the subject is crucial as it will help her to think about what she will say at interview but also help her to think on her feet and think through her ideas. Usually being able to show that you can go from one idea to another even when questioned is crucial. You say she loves the connections she has found between Spanish and History. If she puts that on her application I would expect her to be asked what they are and seriously questioned about them (for example does the Spanish course cover literature, if so why do Spanish books help her understand the hisorical context etc) and explain how you get from A to B to C espcially if the interviewere says well D and E and F may mean B is not relevant

I will add that neither History nor languages are subjects I particularly know about but I hope you get the idea

Has she or is she doing an Extended Project Qualification? This is a 5000 word essay designed to stretch the most able students.

This would definately help her to read widely round her subjects.

Has she got mostly A grades in her AS levels?

You used to be able to do special subjects in Spanish as part of the History course at Oxford. Not sure whether you still can but I had a friend who did that. I seem to remember they were studied in the 3rd year and were optional. My information is 20 years out of date though.

Read widely around her subject (away from the A level syllabus) and make sure that she demonstrates that she has read widely (i.e. make sure she's not shy in showing her extra reading off).

Has she been to Spain? Can she organise a trip/internship/plan to spend time there the summer after Alevels?

Has she considered this before I'd have said yo get her to spend time there this summer, preferably working or on a cultural exchange with a host family.

Oxbridge are obviously looking for clever people but everyone who applies is bright. To stand out you need to be articulate, sharp, logical yet creative, able to reason, mature and able to engage in academic conversation, passionate about your subject and prepared to demonstrate how you've gone the extra mile.

She also needs solid GCSE results in all her core subjects - Eng, maths, science etc because that shows all-round academic ability rather than a narrow focus.

My DD is doing languages at Cambridge. Your DC will definitely need to show she's read more widely than her A level courses demand, and the be ready to discuss her academic interests and also respond well to the interview questions. At Cambridge they also have to do 2 or 3 tests on the interview day.

I agree that a supportive teacher can be a great help.

But my main advice is not to set your heart on only Oxbridge - its not the right place for everyone and of course lots of candidates are turned down. Try to help DD choose other places she really likes, as further choices.

Many thanks everyone, this is all great advice.

Sandripples - does your DD have examples of questions she was asked?

Yes, she will have to do some tests (if she gets that far), and is fully aware of how much a lottery Oxbridge entrance can be - she'd be very happy with her other choices too.

Can she argue? If someone in authority says something she disagrees with can she answer back?

Does she want one specific college or is she interested in Oxford in general?

Good luck to your DD - am I too late to help here?

At my DD's school they have told us that girls need 8 A* at GCSE, 4 As at AS level, all with UMS at 90% or more to stand a realistic chance of getting an interview. (Although as you dont have to declare your UMS for Oxford I'm not sure how relevant that really is - for Cambridge, you do have to declare, I believe)

My DS's school said pretty much the same thing 2 years ago, although my son's ASs had one at less than 90% and he did still get an interview- so there is some room for movement if they like what they see in the personal statement.

And although picking the college carefully is good advice, when my son applied he was bumped along even before interview and ended up with two interveiws at colleges he didnt apply for - so they do try to make sure everyone has a chance to interview somewhere, if you make the first cut.

Sorry I haven't looked at this thread for a while so failed to answer your question about interview questions. It was 4 years ago now so I doubt DD would remember the q's, but I do recall that a poem was left on a chair outside the room and she had to read it quickly and answer questions on it. (They hadn't told her this in advance and she rushed to the room after a slightly late breakfast! Anyway she must have answered OK as she got the offer!)

Ok, lots of great advice here; I am an Oxford don and admissions tutor. She will need excellent GCSEs as well as predicted 3 As or better. She should probably put some work into other questions of Spanish history - maybe the Hapsburgs or the conquistadores. The interviewers will ask very precise questions and she will need to know the answers and speak up in defence of them and prepare both to argue and also to change direction deftly. Are her A-levels in traditional subjects? They/we don't tend to rate media studies or law or psychology...

I would love some advice a well. DS is very keen to do history at oxford - currently lower 6th, got 3A*'s and 7A's at GCSE. He also has asd - high functioning / aspergers.

I am not sure whether to encourage him towards Oxford or away from Oxford -

any suggestions??

Does he like the sound of the Oxford history course?

Sorry, I haven't returned to this topic for a while - too busy trying to support her through a hectic few weeks. Thanks for the replies.

Her application has gone in now, so it'll be interesting to see if she receives a call to interview.

She's currently swotting up for the History Aptitude test.

The kidsmom (or anyone else) - what is an UMS?

Sieglinda - many thanks for your advice - I'll make sure she sees it. And sandripples, I'll warn her about the poem too.

Yes, her GCSEs are all in traditional subjects - although that's no thanks to her school who seem to be pushing kids to do things like meeja studies in place of traditional subjects, even when they're clearly potential academic high achievers - although that's another thread altogether!

Hi Orchardlime

UMS are the raw score marks for their AS papers. It stands for something - can't remember what! - could be uniform marking sheme. For all of my kids' results the totals seem to be out of 200 for AS levels then they are added together for A2 level to be out of 400.

Individual modules have different totals - so some out of 60, some out of 80, some out of 100 or 120.

In their UCAS applications there are sections where you can put the grades for each paper but I think (someone else will know) that for Cambridge you have to tell them the UMS scores for each paper. I know you don't for Oxford.

At my daughter's school they put their UMS scores as part of the school's reference for the tutors to see.