The Oxbridge Guide

[Mathemagician]

What are the requirements of getting into Oxford for law, and how hard is it?

[Negotiation]

Technical question about applying: does the early deadline apply to all five courses? That is, do you have to send in a complete application in October or do you send in only the Oxbridge one, and then the "normal" one in January?

I'm pretty sure you can apply to just Oxbridge first, and then add the others later free of charge. However, don't take my word for it. I just applied to all my choices at once, and didn't risk the system screwing me up.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Negotiation

[Pinecoe]

What are the requirements of getting into Oxford for law, and how hard is it?

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/law-jurisprudence

 

38 Core, 666 HL, A Level modern language if you wish to apply for the German/Italian/French/Spanish law. And as with all Law courses, you need to do LNAT.

[valaistunut]

Hello guys!

 

I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge aerospace (=aeronautical) engineering course but I'm unsure whether I will get a serious (uncond.) offer because I haven't taken part in any of those Physics/Maths Olympics etc. I received quite good grades this summer (May 2014 Candidate) but I still doubt if they require this sort of activity in order for me to get admitted.

 

To compensate for this lack of subject-related academic extracurriculars, I've been thinking about sitting both the STEP and the TSA tests this fall to exhibit my interest and aptitude in the relevant subjects. The thing I'm worried about is my lack of preparation time for the former as I am currently completing my compulsory conscription (......) and have to literally spend hundreds of hours wandering in a forest, away from my beloved study books. Also, STEP is based on A level maths, not the IBHL Maths... might this hurt me?

 

Some extracurriculars/extra merits I am mentioning in my PS:

 

- Playing and instructing football for many years

- Organising science & maths workshops for primary school pupils

- Winner of an economics competition organised by Nordea Bank PLC, the largest bank in Scandinavia (I'm afraid this is quite irrelevant)

- Participated in a CAD (computer-aided design) course arranged by my local university

- Acting as a contact (support) family for international students at the local uni

- Numerous visits to small engineering companies and unis

- Military transport vehicle (tank-like) driver (hopefully!)

 

Anyone with relevant experience over admissions to engineering? 

 

All responses are appreciated!

[ctrls]

Hello guys!

 

I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge aerospace (=aeronautical) engineering course but I'm unsure whether I will get a serious (uncond.) offer because I haven't taken part in any of those Physics/Maths Olympics etc. I received quite good grades this summer (May 2014 Candidate) but I still doubt if they require this sort of activity in order for me to get admitted.

 

To compensate for this lack of subject-related academic extracurriculars, I've been thinking about sitting both the STEP and the TSA tests this fall to exhibit my interest and aptitude in the relevant subjects. The thing I'm worried about is my lack of preparation time for the former as I am currently completing my compulsory conscription (......) and have to literally spend hundreds of hours wandering in a forest, away from my beloved study books. Also, STEP is based on A level maths, not the IBHL Maths... might this hurt me?

 

Some extracurriculars/extra merits I am mentioning in my PS:

 

-snip-

 

Anyone with relevant experience over admissions to engineering? 

 

All responses are appreciated!

Olympiads aren't necessary to get a place, I've heard of a lot of successful maths/science applicants who never did anything or that sort. I doubt it will be an issue at all, it seems like you have a lot of things you could mention in your PS anyway.

Your IB grades are very good, though your maths grade is on the low side and may put you at a disadvantage. Getting a high grade in STEP will certainly help, but since the exam is sat in June you'll have to hope they ask for it as a conditional offer. Some colleges are asking for STEP now (and hence are giving out more offers to compensate for that) so that might work in your favour - I'm not too sure though. I remember seeing a list of colleges that require STEP, so I'll post it once I find it.

In terms of preparation for STEP, there is a large overlap between IB and A-level maths so you have covered the majority of the pure and stats sections. There are a couple of small topics in those two sections you haven't done, but it's mostly quick to cover anyway. A big thing however will be mechanics - while you don't necessarily need to cover the material since you only can attempt 6 out of 13 questions, it might be useful to cover the material since it will be relevant for your course. You'll find a lot of the content does overlap with physics, though with a more mathematical treatment and some additional topics (notably centre of mass).

In terms of prep time you have more than plenty, even maths applicants who sit papers II and III tend to start after they received an offer in January. Starting early of course isn't too much of a problem though (other than the possibility of running out of past papers), plus it can be useful for interview prep. My recommendation would be either to work through the Siklos booklets, or start with a fairly recent paper and work your way backwards (leaving a few papers for mocks in June). Speaking of Siklos booklets, this thread on TSR has pretty much everything you need for preparation so I suggest you read the first two posts there.

 

Just posting some other resources, but there is an admissions tutor on TSR who is currently answering questions and there is this page which has a lot of information about engineering applications specifically.

[valaistunut]

What do you mean my math grade is on the low side, I got a 7 

 

E: Btw, thank you very much for those links, I'm definitely gonna look deeper into them!

Edited August 24, 2014 by valaistunut

[Sandwich]

What do you mean my math grade is on the low side, I got a 7 

 

E: Btw, thank you very much for those links, I'm definitely gonna look deeper into them!

 

I actually nearly answered with the same thing as ctrls - that your Maths grade was probably too low to qualify for Engineering - until I double checked! For some reason on first glance I took the bracketed grades to be the real ones and the non-bracketed grades as your predictions. I imagine ctrls just got confused as well, your grades are actually really good

[ctrls]

What do you mean my math grade is on the low side, I got a 7 

 

E: Btw, thank you very much for those links, I'm definitely gonna look deeper into them!

My bad, as Sandwich said I got your predicted and actual grades mixed up. In that case, you have a very strong application.

Edited August 24, 2014 by ctrls

[valaistunut]

Thx for the advice and cheer guys! The thing is that only 5 or so colleges require STEP for engineering (out of ~ 20), so apparently I stand a strong chance even without sitting it. Nevertheless, since the next session is not until June 2015 (as I understood), I might as well sit the paper. I was a total idiot and assumed that the next session would be in November 2014, which means that I actually have more than enough time to prepare.

Good luck to other Oxbridge applicants!

[s920497]

Hi, I'm not a native English speaker so my English is not that good. Is it going to affect my result? I am planning to major in nature science or math. I took language A self-taught, English B SL, Math HL, Physics HL, Chemistry HL, ESS SL. Bass on the past, what score has a better chance to achieve this goal? Is ESS a problem for me?

 

Is it required to submit IELTS grades? Is there a basic point for IELTS?

 

Back in my country, I had published a math research paper in a small mathematical seminar with my partner. Is it going to help me? The research paper is not written in English, what should I do?

 

Thank you very much to answer these questions!

Edited October 26, 2014 by s920497

[scepter]

If I'm in Canada, what colleges should I apply for in Cambridge to obtain a interview?

[Sofia.]

If I'm in Canada, what colleges should I apply for in Cambridge to obtain a interview?

 

Ideally, the college you apply to should not affect your chance to obtain an interview. Check what colleges you like, instead.

[Sofia.]

Hi, I'm not a native English speaker so my English is not that good. Is it going to affect my result? I am planning to major in nature science or math. I took language A self-taught, English B SL, Math HL, Physics HL, Chemistry HL, ESS SL. Bass on the past, what score has a better chance to achieve this goal? Is ESS a problem for me?

 

Is it required to submit IELTS grades? Is there a basic point for IELTS?

 

Back in my country, I had published a math research paper in a small mathematical seminar with my partner. Is it going to help me? The research paper is not written in English, what should I do?

 

Thank you very much to answer these questions!

 

Depends on your level of English. For maths and natural science, English is not that important compared to other subjects such as PPE, but you still have to be able to communicate clearly in that language. If you are given an offer, Oxbridge might require you to take a language test such as IELTS - great if you've already done it. On the uni's websites it is listed what is an acceptable IELTS score, if you look under language requirements. 

 

With ESS; as you have both Chem and Physics HL, I don't think it should be a problem, although I'm no expert. 

 

In general, to have a chance at getting into Oxbridge you'll need a total score of approximately above 38. The higher the better  

 

Finally, showing passion - such as by writing an article - is great! Definitely put that on your PS. It's not really a problem if it's in another language, as the admissions tutors probably won't read it (you don't have to send it with your application to UCAS)

[scepter]

I was wondering... oxbridge applications are due in October but my ib predictions come out on december ish at the earliest.

how would i be able to submit an application?

also, if i was to take an SAT in November, can i say that i predict my sats are going to be high or something?

[Sofia.]

I was wondering... oxbridge applications are due in October but my ib predictions come out on december ish at the earliest.

how would i be able to submit an application?

also, if i was to take an SAT in November, can i say that i predict my sats are going to be high or something?

 

You would have to ask your teachers to give you earlier predictions, so that they can be submitted by the October deadline. 

 

For your last question, I don't know ^^"

[scepter]

 

I was wondering... oxbridge applications are due in October but my ib predictions come out on december ish at the earliest.

how would i be able to submit an application?

also, if i was to take an SAT in November, can i say that i predict my sats are going to be high or something?

 

You would have to ask your teachers to give you earlier predictions, so that they can be submitted by the October deadline. 

 

For your last question, I don't know ^^"

 

But...how could they possibly make a prediction for me if they only known me for a month?

[s920497]

 

If I'm in Canada, what colleges should I apply for in Cambridge to obtain a interview?

 

Ideally, the college you apply to should not affect your chance to obtain an interview. Check what colleges you like, instead.

 

 

Even if I apply for a college which is very popular? (Like trinity, king's)

[Sofia.]

 

 

I was wondering... oxbridge applications are due in October but my ib predictions come out on december ish at the earliest.

how would i be able to submit an application?

also, if i was to take an SAT in November, can i say that i predict my sats are going to be high or something?

 

You would have to ask your teachers to give you earlier predictions, so that they can be submitted by the October deadline. 

 

For your last question, I don't know ^^"

 

But...how could they possibly make a prediction for me if they only known me for a month?

 

 

Have you transfered to another school or something? Otherwise, they should have known you for a year from IB1, shouldn't they? O.o Anyways, they would have to do that, yes, by taking their best guess I suppose. 

 

 

 

 

If I'm in Canada, what colleges should I apply for in Cambridge to obtain a interview?

 

Ideally, the college you apply to should not affect your chance to obtain an interview. Check what colleges you like, instead.

 

 

Even if I apply for a college which is very popular? (Like trinity, king's)

 

 

According to Cambridge, it shouldn't matter. If it actually does, I don't really know, so I wouldn't worry about it and choose whichever you want to go to

 

EDIT: not sure why that was all turned into one post, was supposed to be two.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Sofia.

[yii yann]

 

 

If I'm in Canada, what colleges should I apply for in Cambridge to obtain a interview?

 

Ideally, the college you apply to should not affect your chance to obtain an interview. Check what colleges you like, instead.

 

 

Even if I apply for a college which is very popular? (Like trinity, king's)

 

 

Hi there,

 

I asked a few people I know in camb, and this is what they got back to me with: 

 

1. Cambridge colleges are a bit more autonomous than Oxford colleges. That is, their criteria for selection tends to be a bit more "college-specific" that Oxford's. In other words, there is more room for college choice to affect your chances. 
2. Different colleges have different interview procedures - for the same course, some colleges might require written work, some may want a standardized test (eg TSA), etc. Check this out on their page, and play to your strengths. 
3. A much higher percentage of camb applicants than oxford applicants get interviewed. That's just their policy. This is more of an FYI. 
4. Most important bit of advice - be aware that while applying to a supremely oversubscribed college may not directly affect your chances of getting in, it means you are more likely to get a college that you don't want (through pooling). 

[zuzelle]

Hey guys,

 

I'm doing May session 2016- my dream uni is Oxford, PPE, however I am not very strong at maths (I'm doing SL) and I've been wondering is it possible to get an offer with predicted 5? Do you know anyone who had a 5 predicted/ or happened to you? I am wondering, because I know that Oxford doesn't really consider applications for PPE with math studies, but well, if it doesn't give offers to people with 5s, I might switch to studies and do better and apply to other decent uni. Can anyone help me from their experience? 

 

Thanks a lot in advance