APPLYING TO OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE

1. APPLYING TOOXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE

2. WHAT DO OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE OFFER? • Exceptional teaching and academic support • Extensive financial and other support • Student life

3. TEACHING ANDACADEMIC SUPPORT • Unparalleled access to leading academics via: • Lectures • Seminars/classes • The unique tutorial/supervision system • Academic guidance • Libraries, labs and computing • Subject societies

4. FINANCIAL ANDOTHER SUPPORT • Bursaries: up to c. £3000-4000 per year • Government bursaries: up to c. £2835 per year • Student loans • College awards: e.g. scholarships, book grants and travel grants • Low cost of living • Pastoral support in College via Director of Studies, Tutor and other College staff • University support services, e.g. disability support, careers

5. STUDENT LIFE • High-quality accommodation in College for 2/3 Years (Oxford) or 3 years (Cambridge) • Rents competitive and payable only when room occupied (c. 30 weeks per year) • Kitchens/dining hall; JCR/bar and other student facilities • Subsidised sports teams, music and drama groups, etc • Busy/lively student cities

6. WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN APPLICANTS? • They are passionate about their chosen subject and our course offers it in an appropriate form • They have a strong record in examinations • They are very motivated and organised • They are very strongly backed by school/college • They have the potential to succeed at the highest academic level, by which we mean they have: • Enthusiasm for complex and challenging ideas • Great clarity of thought and analytical ability • Real intellectual flexibility • Vocational commitment (where appropriate)

7. SELECTION CRITERIA Admissions decisions are based on: • A level (or equivalent) grades and subject combinations • AS grades and (Cambridge) unit marks • GCSE grades • UCAS school/college reference • UCAS personal statement • Submitted work (where requested) • Test results (chiefly Oxford) • Interview performance

8. WHY DO WE GO BEYOND THE UCAS FORM? • Because we have the resources to do so • Because choosing fairly between applicants on paper is very difficult • Profile of a statistically ‘average’ Oxbridge applicant: • GCSE: c. 5-8 A*s (most successful applicants have A* in most of their GCSEs) • AS: c. 87-93% across three most relevant, or best, subjects • Interviews, aptitude tests and submitted work help us to assess rightness of subject and course, and potential

9. UCAS REFERENCE • Most references describe excellent students but few describe exceptional ones • We are especially interested in: • Where an applicant lies in relation to his/her peers • Academic and subject-related issues • Organisation and focus • Extra letters

10. UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT • How do we use personal statements? • To confirm appropriateness of chosen subject and course • As an embarkation-point for discussion at interview • Subject focus • Reading and other wider exploration • Work experience • Personal statements must be both honest and personal • Extra-curricular activities/positions of responsibility

11. INTERVIEWS • The vast majority of applicants are called for interview • Interviews usually take place in December, and are conducted principally by the ‘preference’ College • Applicants usually have 2-4 interviews, each lasting 20-30 minutes • Interviews are academic, subject-focused discussions in which lecturers hope to see applicants thinking problems through for themselves • We have no hidden agenda, and applicants are not asked ‘trick’ questions • 20% of successful applicants receive an offer from a College to which they did not directly apply

12. WHAT TO EXPECT • Focused and challenging questions, typical of teaching and learning at Oxford or Cambridge • Applicants are usually asked to talk about: • Academic work completed in the last year or two • Relevant wider reading or work experience • Subject-related issues that are very readily visible in the wider world • ‘Prompt’ material • New approaches to existing knowledge and problem-solving questions • Questions to interviewers • Prompting from interviewers

13. SUBMITTING A STRONG APPLICATION • Choose the right subject/course • Maximise public examination grades • Do some reading and other wider exploration • Be organised • In advance of interview, refresh your memory about: • The Oxford or Cambridge course for which you have applied • Recent school/college work • UCAS personal statement • Submitted work • Practise discussing academic work and ideas

14. UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS • Every year c. 10,000 unsuccessful Oxbridge applicants go on to achieve three or more A grades at A level • We could happily take many more of our applicants were places available • The strength of competition and the difficulty of our decision • The ‘Pool’ (Cambridge) • Feedback • Re-application • Conditional offers: they are conditional

15. MORE INFORMATION Useful additional information is available in our prospectus and on our websites at: • www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/ • www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/ If you have any remaining questions, do not hesitate to ask an Admissions Tutor or Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer