Oxbridge 2024 Entry Part 2

[Lightsabre]

Continuation thread (when old one is full) for those supporting dc through Oxbridge applications. All welcome as we enter the next phase.

@singingstones goodbyestranger raises a very valid point ref EPQ being discussed at interview. How can she if she hasn’t even started it? In fact how can they even add an EPQ to her UCAS application as she won’t have a predicted grade for it! And if it’s not being added to the application then what is the point in doing it?

This tutor sounds like a total idiot. Your DD is doing her Oxford application now so how is starting an EPQ in January going to support her application?

Yes it’s entirely possible singingstones, even with the EPQ simply listed.

That's a good point actually, about the predicted grade, they don't even know what her title would be yet so not sure how they can predict a grade. I'll add that to the list of predicted grades we have no idea about 🤬

It's definitely on the application - she left it off at first because she didn't think she'd have time to do it, but was told it was not optional and she had to put it back on.

I completely agree that whatever it might add to an Oxford application is completely nixed if you don't even start it until after the interviews.

@singingstones wow too much bad advice from college; i don think she can remove it from the form after submission unless possibly asks UCAS too? I could be wrong though

@singingstones all of that with your DD is appalling, it's nonsensical that anyone should apply for any course without knowing their predicted grades. They could be wasting applications on courses they have no chance of an offer because their grades aren't good enough. What a joke.

I hope it's not a fee paying college.

What a very weird post (that was to lovewillfindit). What was the subject about which I was 100% wrong? Are you able to specify, because it seems unlikely that I would have 'banged on' unless I was clear I was correct/ knew for sure what I was talking about. Obviously very keen to be put right about whatever it was I was so wrong about.

I suppose I tend to be right about the things I post on these threads on the grounds that I don't post about things I'm not clear about. If I'm not clear, I would put in a caveat. That's a fairly normal approach isn't it? I wouldn't bother wasting my time typing out something which I didn't have a clue about.

The subject had nothing to do with Oxbridge, and you did bang on, even though you were 100% incorrect. Going to leave this thread right now, you made me leave it before because I simply couldn’t bear your tone. Good luck everyone else! :)

But you did waste your time and you were very heated indeed. Bye!

Even more mysterious. Why would I be on an Oxbridge application thread and be banging on about something unrelated? Seems unlikely. Even more unlikely that I got heated, since I just don't, so that bit at least is wrong.

Possibly leave off me now?

From what I can see, you can fill out a form and UCAS will delete a qualification for you, as long as you haven't received a grade for it. (So you can't get them to delete your worst GCSE grades for example.)

Yes, it is frankly ridiculous to keep being condescending towards the EPQ. No, of course it should not be compulsory for any student and is not essential for entry to any university, but it is entirely up to the student whether they treat it purely as a box ticking exercise or actually choose an area of research or an artefact of genuine interest to them. Of course Oxford is interested in the latter and will ask questions about it (if it sounds interesting enough), but not interested in the EPQs of students whose schools get the entire cohort to churn them out for no good educational reason and allow dull and silly projects to go ahead, which imvho is a mark of a bad school… 😘 If you have produced a high quality EPQ and talked about it in your personal statement, it will attract positive interest and attention, will improve your chances of an offer (because you have demonstrated its value in your application) and will attract lower offers from a considerable number of universities. It makes no sense for any university to offer lower grades for good EPQ scores if the qualification has no educational merit.

In conclusion, the EPQ could be open to abuse and should not be used for box ticking purposes, but it is a valuable qualification if completed in good faith.

Btw, good administrative competence is exceptionally valuable alongside academic ability if you want to demonstrate the ability to cope with heavy workloads. Low administrative competence is seldom valued 😉.

(Previous post was, of course, referencing this comment).

It's certainly fair to say that a large number of marks do come from the admin side of the task though Walkaround. You can do as original an essay/ artefact as you like and do it to PhD standard but you'll still only scratch a B if you slip up on admin.

DD has managed to transform her PS from something pretty dire to something pretty decent! Phew! Nothing like cutting it fine!

There's a lot she can't fit into the word limit like relevant extracurricular stuff but she seems to have the important things in there.

And the opposite is true also: you can do a seriously workaday essay/ artefact and score A* provided you tick the admin boxes.

So I'm not clear what in my comment was wrong. That's just how the mark scheme works.

@goodbyestranger - nothing particularly wrong with your content, just your tone on this particular subject. Surely you can see how condescending it sounds to claim an A* in the EPQ is “utterly unremarkable.” The fact is, very few people actually are particularly administratively competent, as demonstrated on a daily basis in the UK; A-levels fail to test or develop the skills the EPQ tests; and if someone’s EPQ actually does have academic merit, a university can easily identify that if it is referenced appropriately in the personal statement.

*incredibly unremarkable.

Besides, a lot of A-level subjects are more about knowing the mark scheme and memorising taught content than being able conclusively to prove your genuine academic merit. That would be why Oxford and Cambridge utilise their own tests in addition. At least the EPQ actually does allow you to demonstrate true academic merit if you really want to.

I think the problem is maybe that it tries to be too many things to too many people - so there's a lot of stuff that's not particularly relevant if you want experience of doing an extended piece of academic writing. But then for those people who do value the project management type stuff like resourcing, recording changes and minuting meetings, the academic writing probably isn't that much fun either.

Or maybe its strength is it tests a range of vital skills, given the problems caused to society by highly intelligent people who lack any organisational ability working with administrators who lack comprehension of the material they are being asked to organise. How much better it would be if more people respected and possessed skills in both areas.

Well..... there's one thing @goodbyestranger said which - whatever direction we lean towards - is demonstrably true:

Others on MN disagree about the value of the EPQ, I'm aware of that

And we're probably all agreed @singingstones DD's tutor is an unhelpful arse.