Applying to Oxbridge for 2023 intake

[riverpebbles]

Not sure if there is already a thread on this? My son is hoping to apply to Cambridge for Computer Science for October 2023 start.

Phew...thanks. We are doing this on our own so I was a bit worried!

Submit button pressed here too. Quite pleased the stress of the personal statement is over. That was definitely a well worked piece of writing!

Just coming on to say - it’s the anniversary of this process for DS & a bunch of others who applied last year. The vast majority of us didn’t get in, but after the initial sting of rejection, have moved forward with offers from just as fabulous alternatives (St A, Durham, Warwick, Bath etc..). DS could not be happier and so, while I know it’s an exciting and stressful ride, don’t fret if it doesn’t go your way. They’ll land somewhere and will be likely brilliant and happy regardless.

Personal statement is done, we're about ready to click submit.

Thank you @Eightytwenty for the reassurance. Whilst encouraging DS to go for it I'm also reminding him that Oxbridge isn't the be all and end all. As you say, there are lots of other excellent universities and he can look forward to a great experience wherever he eventually goes.

Hi, for anyone applying to Cambridge, there will be the SAQ to complete quite soon. It's less characters than the PS. But maybe advise them to read about the actual modules in their chosen courses so they can write very specifically about why the Cambridge course appeals - particularly if the course at Cambridge is different to those applied for at other unis (eg. HSPS as opposed to Anthropology elsewhere). Perhaps also why the tutorial system would suit their learning style, etc. Above all, keep it academic and specific.

Other questionnaires will come later to ask about any disruptions to education, SEN, mitigating circumstances and this kind of thing, so no need to mention anything like that at this point.

@thepaintbrush useful advice, thank you. Can I ask where you found the guidance your refer to about what to include?

Hi juicy. I think (if I remember clearly) there is guidance that comes with the actual SAQ when they send it. There may also be guidance videos on YouTube by tutors etc? But DS' school (last year) said that often, people use the SAQ it to talk about extra curricular etc, when really they want to see if they have bothered to look at what their course actually entails. Just look at the first year modules - maybe something ties in with an EPQ or something they have read, written or done. They probably want people who are going to get the most out of the course. The SAQ is optional, but seems a wasted opportunity to leave it blank.

Things like music grades or LAMDA qualifications or D of E will be self-evident on the UCAS list, so admissions tutors can see this. It's only relevant in so far as it shows tutors that they had energy for other things beyond studies. Some things do carry extra UCAS points (not that offers will be based on UCAS points, but these kind of 'extras' may form part of the wider picture, along with the school reference). For instance, an A star EPQ is worth 28 UCAS points (exactly half of an A star A-level). A grade 8 in music is worth 30 UCAS points. But admissions tutors see all this automatically. Best to keep the SAQ academic / course specific.

DD had a meeting/practice interview with people who help with interviews,from the link college at Cambridge last week.They said not too much weight is attached to the PS as a selection tool because it could be written by anyone and is not checkable., but it may form the basis for discussion

I remember this last year. Tutors saying, "The PS doesn't matter, it's just part of the puzzle... Don't worry about the interviews, it's just one small component... The aptitude tests don't really matter, some are prepped more than others .... Just send us any written work gig hdbe ti hand... We take school references with a large pinch of salt... The SAQ is only optional..."

I remember DS saying "If all these things don't really matter, then why bother doing them at all..."

I think you have to treat everything as if it does matter. Especially if applying from a well-known independent or grammar. They basically have to not give the college a reason to reject them. That's our experience anyway, for what it's worth, and having heard feedback from DS' friends who didn't get in. It's like splitting hairs when they inevitably have to choose between a lot of candidates who would no doubt all thrive there.

We ate submitting the application on Friday, finally the PS is ready and the list of five universities is completed.

Good luck everybody.

The candidate can't get someone else to do the aptitude test or the interview though can they?

Don't believe the stuff about none of these things being critical. Anyone involved in admissions and access want to encourage applications not deter them. The reality is that at Oxford the aptitude tests are critical in terms of getting to interview and once at interview, those are critical too. Cambridge is less focussed on tests and more on grades but interviews are pretty critical there too.

Both my two (O) were questioned closely on the topics raised and books listed in their PSs during interview so while admissions tutors may not use them so much to decide who to interview in my experience (admittedly limited!) they very much use them in the interviews.

So important for applicants to be passionate about the books and concepts discussed in their PS.

Admissions tests are also important for O though admissions tutors do know that some schools coach for these and others do not. So if you are a flagged / contextual candidate from a poorly performing school that will be accounted for. There have been quite a few FOI requests that give the scores in admissions tests and success in getting an offer for different subjects... so you can google those.

Agree Juja. Five of my DC were questioned closely about things mentioned in their personal statements and it was evident even for the others that the tutors had read their personal statements and absorbed them, simply because of a passing comment or by briefly introducing something from the personal statement into the set format of the particular interview. One tutor said that DD2's was probably the most interesting that he had read, then talked about it in detail (History). Another DD (Law) was apparently the only applicant where the tutors used her personal statement as the basis for one of the two interviews rather than the format used for the other applicants. Yet another DD (Classics) was told by her tutor that while her college doesn't use the personal statement directly for purposes of selection or interview, hers had been fairly eye catching (or words to that effect, can't completely remember). In Keble's published feedback on one of the relatively recent interview rounds the English tutors said that they terminated the interview as soon as an interviewee had to admit that she hadn't actually read a book that she'd claimed to have read. Ouch. Also worth remembering (as all of mine did) that you might conceivably not get an offer, so it's worth thinking about what the other unis on their list might want from a personal statement.

DD (state school, STEM) was definitely asked about theories of hers that she'd submitted on her PS. Her O department released the application stats almost as soon as offers were made. The average admissions test score of successful candidates was, unsurprisingly, significantly higher than unsuccessful ones, eg 50/100 vs 75/100. (I'm approximating here.)
I don't know how these were contextualised. There were certainly a few candidates with higher marks than DD on the admissions test who didn't secure an offer, but everyone over a certain point was interviewed. I was left with the impression that it all matters.

My dd didn't complete her SAQ. I think she thought it would be more relevant if she were applying to a course that was very different from the other 4 (eg HSPS at C and Politics elsewhere) because then get PS would not really reflect the course at C. But as she was applying to the same course everywhere she didn't think it was very important.
She was definitely asked about elements of her PS (but in a way she didn't expect - it was a roundabout way of questioning) at interview.
Not completing the SAQ didn't appear to affect things negatively as she did get an offer.

In Keble's published feedback on one of the relatively recent interview rounds the English tutors said that they terminated the interview as soon as an interviewee had to admit that she hadn't actually read a book that she'd claimed to have read. Ouch.

One of mine was asked at interview what she was reading at the moment. She answered (truthfully) about a book she happened to be partway through, and the interviewer said, ‘Ah, I’ll be lecturing on that to my second years - what did you think of the concept of X?’

DD came out of the room a bit ashen but at least it wasn’t something obscure she’d read two years earlier.

DD submitting hers today. One of the most subscribed courses so not very hopeful but she has excellent grades, so worth a punt. I didn’t help with the PS other than a proofread, I think too many online have obviously been written by an adult and I’d be surprised if the colleges don’t spot that. She’s also quite late to the game but to be honest with success so low probably best not to be over invested.

I think too many online have obviously been written by an adult and I’d be surprised if the colleges don’t spot that.

Two of my kids have been pulled up at school in the past on their 'obviously adult' phrasing. They are widely read, autistic and pedantic. They probably sound more adult than I do!

Not all Oxford interviews are equal.

A mate of DS's, while sitting in the waiting room for his English interview back in Dec '19, was asked to list 15 books that weren't mentioned in his personal statement that he'd be happy to talk about in his interview.

He happily obliged, and got in.

Another one in today (DS comp sci).

Good luck to all! 🤞🤞🤞

DD (O) wasn't asked anything related to her PS at her Biology interviews. However, at the end of year departmental dinner, a tutor read out a line from each student's PS and everyone had to guess whose it was. Not quite how DD expected her PS to be used but it was apparently a lot of fun.

As Oxford Biology applicants will know, there isn't an admissions test but various skills are tested at interview. Each college sets its own questions based around graphs, biological specimens and photographs.

DS completed the Cambridge SAQ because he applied for a course not widely offered elsewhere. His PS was used as a basis for discussion in both general and subject interviews.

Yes, but many more have had a lot of ‘adult interference’. You can see it on this thread and others, where parents are overly invested and micromanaging the whole process. There are even online places to send the PS to for a redraft.

IheartNiles the kids who accede to that kind of interference from their parent are very likely to be those who don't get an offer.