Oxbridge applicants 2018 part 2

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Hopefully this is in time!

DD's friend can bullshit about history for hours. He knew that if he was selected for an interview that he would be successful. He reads around his subject all the time, and devours history books the way I devour crime novels.

I think he will find his degree very easy.

Not aimed at you Atia. I think it was Hingle above who referred to 2 essays a week as "pretty gentle". I frequently averaged 8 hrs a day study and I think I'm a fairly efficient worker.

Lonicera With all due respect I don't believe he will find his degree very easy. The streets of Oxford are littered with the souls of clever kids who cruised through school and into Oxford having never met an exam or an academic challenge that they couldn't ace; who have been used to being at the top or their peer group, then wham! ....they find that there are lots of other very clever people, in fact many who are cleverer than them and it can be a profound shock.
The reason Oxford has a separate admissions system is because the demands on students can be intense. The level of intellectual analysis and argument and the standard of written work expected is very quickly light years ahead of A levels.
I wish your DD's friend well and hope they enjoy history at Oxford as much as I did, but from the way you write about him he sounds a bit cock sure. These are the people who often come down to earth with a massive bump in their first term.

Thanks for clarifying that mateysmum. I admit that I am a teeny weeny bit jealous that he has achieved his dream, while DD is still in the process of applying to medical school. I know that DD will find her studies much harder than he will find his.

It's really not as black and white as you make it sound LJ. I am in a good position to compare and comment I think - ds1 is at Cambridge reading medicine - he works very hard but his time is very structured and if you are clever, hard working and efficient it is easy to do well - the structure of what is expected of you and the framework for success are pretty clear. Ds2 is in his first year reading History and a Modern Language at Oxford - he is enjoying it but working just as hard as his brother - he has to make more grown up decisions and use his judgment about his work when the parameters are much less clear and he has to organise himself. he messaged me a few days ago - saying he has to write 4 essays in the next 10 days. I don't think that's a doss.

Thank you for clarifying it NoCure. Obviously, as I don't know anyone currently at Oxbridge I can only go by what I have read on TSR and the impressions I hear from DD's friend. I think he is under the illusion that he is in for an easy ride (and wants to spend his time at Oxford shagging as many girls as he can )

I'm sure your DS's friend will have time for whatever recreation he chooses but your pen portrait of him isn't very flattering at all.

I'm in the same position as NoCureForLove and I would say that my DC have felt pressure of work at Oxford according to their particular personality rather than the subject itself (even though one of the subjects has been Medicine which has a reputation all of its own).

Let's hope this friend of your DD's doesn't come a cropper.

Sorry - I mean your DD's friend.

From what I can gather it's a different kind of work rather than less work that's the difference between stem and arts subjects. And I agree with Goodbye, it probably depends as much on the person as it does on the subject.

I'll be warning DD to steer clear of boys doing History!

Lonicera you might want to consider saying less rather than more about this friend of your DD's and possibly even getting some posts deleted. The intake at individual colleges for each subject is limited and you've narrowed this boy down to one of probably only three or four boys doing straight History at that particular college. It's possibly a little unfair on him for you to be quite so free. (Perhaps he deserves it though :)).

How many contact hours did you have Atia? cambridge seems to be 14 hours now.

A few hours of (optional) lectures plus one hour tutorial. But that was only half a maths degree ofc I've no idea what it's like now. But it was definitely less effort for me than reading and writing

My DC is studying a joint honours degree (one part MFL) and I have been surprised by how much contact time he has. Lectures, language classes and tutorials come to 12 hours per week. He has language work, one literature essay per week and also 6-8 essays per term in his other subject. He is in his first year and it seems quite intense. It may be that with other subjects (? Single honours degrees perhaps) it is easier to coast in the first year, but definitely not the case for him.

I think with the humanities subjects it is misleading to relate the amount of work required to the amount of contact time. Arguably it is possible to produce an essay while not having attended any lectures and only having skim read the required texts. But even skim-reading a number of books and articles takes time. And while at A-level, somebody who is quick may be able to deliver the sorts of essays which are limited in scope - they have right answers - degree level work requires much more reflection and exploration because the questions are not going to have single 'right' responses.

It is possible to do very well at A-level if you're quick and bright and well taught - without putting in that many hours. My own experience some years back, and that of my daughter now, would suggest that studying for an Oxbridge degree is significantly different.

Had just suggested DS to resume his study of German in Uni Year 1 and Year 2 as It’s said on Oxford website that there are optional language courses that they can take! Being able to become a materials scientist who masters English, Chinese and German seems to be giving him much advantage in the STEM field (think Germany, UK, US and China are all into the forefront?). He appreciates the idea and said he would resume from this summer before going Uni starts! Hope it’s not too demanding in terms of workload though!

I have another question. Do all students remain in their colleges for the duration of their degree? Do they not go out into house shares like they do at other universities? If they stay in college how does this prepare them for the real world of not living at home?

Cambridge is smaller than many university cities and the cost of private renting is very high. For this reason most colleges have halls/lodgings near the original college buildings so that all students who want to can be in collegiate accommodation.

Many/most students will cook for themselves - the formal dinners with a lot of courses are not an everyday experience. While in some ways they are more looked after than students who have to deal with private landlords, the very high workload and more individual contact with supervisors, mean that they need to acquire organisational skills very quickly.

Lonicera It depends on the college, but most Oxford colleges can offer college accommodation for all 3 years. Some can offer all 3 years on site, but many offer off site for 1 or 2 years as the ancient city centre colleges cannot physically expand on their main site. The out of college accommodation tends to be self catering with the option to eat in college whenever you want (pay with a pre loaded card).
It is not the role of the university to teach people how to grow up and most people manage just fine. What it does do is remove a big source of angst and poor living conditions. College rooms are mostly fairly basic, but maintenance etc should be good.
Students are not prisoners - you can opt out of college rooms if you want - very few on 3 year courses do so. Colleges are real communities and the majority I think enjoy the experience.

There are plenty of private house shares in Oxford. DD1 and DD2 and DS2 all had to live out for a year (the girls in second year, DS2 in his third year). All of them lived in Cowley in streets peopled almost exclusively by other students.

I don't know what the proportions of colleges which do and don't offer 3+ years college accommodation, but it's not compulsory anyway. Dd has lived in college for a year, and will live out for 3. She could have gone back in for her final year but chose not to. Having to empty her room at the end of each term was her main objection, plus not having anywhere to stay if she wanted to work/study during the vacations.

I think dd will probably live in college for the whole of her time. It seems to be quite typical for her college. The terms are so short and intense that I don't see an issue with them not having the hassle of landlords and general living. The delayed growing up worries me slightly, but its only a short term disadvantage.

It seems that practically as soon as we wave them off we'll be dusting their rooms and changing their beds ready for their return each holiday.

I googled about it and came across Clare college rules about it.

Wow. Those rules are pretty strict.

They are really strict. I'm quite flabbergasted.

Gosh! Haven't heard of anything like that before, but haven't looked into it either!

Of course the other con of living in college the whole time is not being able to throw house parties