Oxbridge Applicants 2019

[evenstrangerthings]

The 2018 Oxbridge Applicants Thread was started at the end of August last year, but with many students now sitting internal school exams rather than public AS exams, many will have Year 12 results in hand and some will be starting to prepare for applications to Oxford or Cambridge University.

Let's support each other in supporting our kids through this process, which may involve extra exams, multi-day interviews and extra application statements.

Do feel free to join the thread, even if your DC is on the fence about making an Oxbridge application. It would also be great to hear from those who have been through the Oxbridge process before!

Next year though for DD not this.

ds is applying (big sigh).

He might get an interview due to school background and high predicted grades. He will already have Maths A Level in the bag. His chances of success will be low as he is applying for maths, which sounds to me like a bloodbath on results day. However he is thoroughly happy doing STEP (via the internet) so will find the process enjoyable even if it it doesn't succeed.

@goodbyestranger there is a youtuber called ViolaHelen who is at New who is doing Classics ab initio .It may be worth your dd checking out her channel.

goodbyestranger compared to a medical degree I don’t think your dd will have anything to worry about. My friend who did it for Greek just had a log

*lot of language classes each day, a bit like a scientist with all day labs (though again, not as horrific). It’s a bit like those people who do all their driving lessons in one week - it’s hard core, but gets you up to speed nice and quickly.

PebblesOnTheTable great news about your dc, always excited to hear about future classicists!

Hi evenstranger DS2 is a current maths undergrad at Oxford, so we can offer his experiences of applying (last year) if that's of any interest?

Signing in....

DS1 did Maths at Cambridge a few years ago. STEP was a beast and the course was rock hard too, but absolutely worth it. He's had two jobs so far, both well paid and the Cambridge degree certainly helped get him interviews.

DS2 is planning to apply for Classics with Oriental Studies at Oxford.

Hi @reasonsforwaiting - Yes! I'd love to hear any tips based on your experience of the Oxford Maths application process.

DS has started some MAT prep. Did your DC use just MAT past papers to prep or did they use STEP I and STEP 2 as well? Any other resources?

Classics without language A levels is very different at Oxford and Cambridge. Cambridge do what is basically a foundation year, and then you join the normal degree course - don't know if there are any restrictions etc.

Oxford do a summer school before they start (this is very new), extra language classes up to mods (Easter of second year) - dd had daily classes for the first two terms, then it calmed down a bit - and then after mods you are basically the same as the course 1 people, with slightly different specs for your Greats papers. From this point it seems to be very much up to your college how much language support you get.

sorry if I am gatecrashing but have a slightly different query. DD is going to a selective independent school next year having worked very very hard to get a mainly assisted place. From the POV of Oxbridge does this put her at a disadvantage. I am thinking about their attempts to get children from poorer backgrounds.

No.

Hth 😉

They may be trying to encourage applications from disadvantaged pupils, but checking the stats will show you that she'll be at worst on a level playing field, at best (for her!) on the slopey-up end of that playing field.

Eldest DD just graduated Oxford BioMedical Sciences at Magdelan College. Happy to answer any questions.

evenstranger ds2 says that he did a lot of MAT practice using past papers, and had a teacher at school who marked most of them. He was getting average 90%s in practice and got 82% on the actual MAT.

He also sat STEP for his insurance offer (Warwick - wanted a high mark in either step 1 or 2). By the time he got his step result he had already fulfilled the oxford offer and doesn't know what he got.

He was relaxed for the MAT exam..... Very nervous for the interviews though!

He's here at the moment, so these answers are directly from him :)

To be clear, ds2 was getting 70s when he started MAT practice papers, and improved to 90s by the time he sat the real paper.

Frogletmamma. I am guessing that if the school she is attending has a good track record of students getting into Oxbridge it would stand to reason that attendance there would not be a disadvantage.
I am sure I have read somewhere that they do look at GCSE results in comparison to others from her school they will also get a sense of her ability from that.

Has anyone done Human Sciences degree at Oxford? I would be very grateful for any information you can give me? My DD wanted to do Biology, but is now possibly changing her mind about it. She is in the process of researching the subject at the moment, so any tips on extra reading, interviews, course information will be invaluable.

GfordMum101 - that's the course my daughter is wanting to apply for. Her predicted grades are good but she is worried about the interview process as she can be initially quite shy and gets v nervous. Is fine once she gets warmed up though. Also, how did she choose Magdelan? My brain shuts down when it gets to the College selection bit. Any advice, insights into the admission procedure and course in general v gratefully received.

Atreus, if you like your own deer park, Magdalen is the college for you!

The best thing to do is research which colleges offer the course, and, where possible, visit Oxford and have a look round them, as they’re all going to have a different feel. Oxford has an Open Day on the 14th September (a Friday), but if you can’t go then, colleges have other days specifically for visiting. Alternatively you can just visit the city anytime and have a mooch about.

One of my DDs chose Magdalen (finished a couple of years ago - Law) simply because it was spacious and very beautiful.

Thanks Pease, Hingle and Atia.

That's really helpful @reasonsforwaiting I'm not sure if my DS has tried any full MAT papers yet, so I'll suggest that to him.

A tip in terms of visiting Oxbridge over the summer is that you can stay overnight at some of the colleges. We spent a night at Keble, Oxford and a night at Jesus, Cambridge a few years back in the summer. Our Keble stay included breakfast in their huge gorgeous dining hall. We booked through University Rooms www.universityrooms.com

I think they're used to nerves, Atreus.

Ds said he was answering a question and looked down and his hands were visibly shaking. They still gave him a place!