Making an application to the Universities of Oxford & Cambridge 2015

UCAS International Advisor’s Conference

June 11-12, 2015

DAY 1

Session 1:

Making an application to the Universities of Oxford & Cambridge

These uni’s are separate from the others because the application process is different/earlier
Both uni’s are rated top 2 in UK, top 3 in Europe, top 5 in the World
Both uni’s have a LONG history of admitting intl students
NO broad base (i.e. lib arts) on any course; students MUST be absolutely committed to the programme
DON’T apply/come for the:

Brand name
Location
beauty
history
tv shows & movies
employability

DO apply/come for the:

ACADEMICS (tiny classes)
world-class teaching tutorials
facilities
college structure

challenging yet supportive; SUPER individualized
intl populations: Oxford – 17%; Cambridge – 19%  NO quotas, only academics
Medicine: Oxford has 14 places for non-UK/EU students; Cambridge has space for 15
At OxBridge, 5 applicants per place, i.e. 20% success rate would be assumed, BUT because more than 50% of intl applicants apply to only 5 courses, admission ratio is actually 12-13%
Most popular courses for intl applicants: medicine, law, engineering, economics, PPE
- Competition for these is keen and can be as much as 16 applicants per seat!
Oxford’s Econ & Mgmt course is a pure maths course with a bit more practical application
Being an open applicant (for colleges) will NEVER disadvantage your application chances
Oxford admissions: more exams-focused, most taken at test center in November
Cambridge:
- extra paperwork (online)

UK students: SAQ
Intl students: COPA

Marked written work from school curricula  helps to provide content for interview

Interviews:

Oxford – December
Cambridge – Sept to Dec.

Decisions out by end of January to allow for moderation and intercollegiate assignments
Admission criteria (with varying importance at each uni):

Pre-16 academic achievements
Post-16 academic predictions
Personal statement (PS)
References
Interview
Written work and/or adm tests

PS is used as the starting point for the interview…
- Use 80% on ACADEMIC interests! “we love geeks”
  - Interest, excitement, engagement
  - Inspiration from current curriculum
  - Evidence of going over & above  super-curricular
- Remaining 20% is for everything else
Cambridge: about 16,500 applicants for 3,400 offers for 3,300 final seats
Oxford: about 18,000 applicants for 3,500 offers for 3,200 seats
- Stats by country are available online!
Counsellor’s reference:
- 10% about school, include link to profile
- 80% on academic achievement including subject-specific commentary
- final 10% could be final persuasive comments or (as necessary) any mitigating circumstances
Oxford tests: benchmark across the board to help as applicant pool is so diverse in terms of qualifications
- Past papers and mark schemes on the Oxford site
- Encourage students to do exams under timed conditions
Oxford interview: 60% will be interviewed… limited to about 3 per place
Cambridge interview: 80% interviewed
Generally for both universities: aptitude and suitability is the rationale for the conversation
- Asking questions the kids don’t know answers to
- Practice for what you would be doing at the university
- Not about the “right” answer… it IS about the problem-solving style
  - “Can you do the basics before you do the complicated bits?”
    - i.e. examine the test, consider the evidence, etc
- Don’t use the prep agencies  the universities offer help, better & cheaper!
How do advisors guide students to choose between the two universities?
- COURSE choices: names, specifics, modules
- In the humanities: similar names, poss different approaches
- In the social sciences: very different options/names
- In the Sciences
  - at Cambridge, students study sciences together, specialize as you go along, but starting with generalization (both in sciences as well as in engineering)
  - at Oxford, students study within a specific area from day 1
COPA may be changing to limit the redundancies
COPA may also have an earlier deadline (compared to Oct. 15) in the future