Oxbridge

These universities are different from other universities in Britain:

They are collegiate. There are other collegiate universities – Durham, for example – but in Oxford and Cambridge the colleges are independent institutions but also part of the university. You, as a student, are really a member of a college first, and the university second. The courses that you follow, however, are all set by the university and are the same which ever college you attend.

The system for application and selection is peculiar to these universities.

 

• Applicants must apply through UCAS, though by an earlier closing date – the 15th October – and also on the universities own application forms. Because of the early closing date, applicants should really have made many of their decisions about which course, college and other universities to apply to during the L6.
  

• The selection procedure is also different, in that, for many courses and colleges you are expected to supply examples of your school work for them to consider, and there may be additional exams and tests for you to sit, either before the interviews or while you are there for interview.
  
• Most applicants are interviewed, though some are not invited either because their academic record or their reference is not strong enough. Many admissions tutors will ignore the applicant’s GCSE record if the reference is outstanding, but this year (2003/4) applicants for medicine were not invited to interview unless their GCSE record and their performance in the BMAT exam was very strong. We asked about this and were told that the average applicant had between 10 and 12 A* at GCSE. There were 11 applicants per place and only 3 of these, on average, were interviewed.
  
• Interviews are held in December and are intense. Most universities do not interview much these days, and when they do the interviews are short – 10 to 15 minutes on average. But Oxbridge interviews can last 30 minutes and there will probably be a least two. (One applicant had five).
  
• The style of interview is also very different; it is much more of an intellectual debate between you and the tutor. The object is not so much to find out what you know but to find out if you are intellectually curious enough to have read around the subject (and other subjects) quite widely and can think for yourself, using the knowledge you have got to resolve problems about which you may know nothing and that you can communicate your ideas clearly. This is not for everyone.
  
• Offers, if any, are usually AAA, some AAB.

 

The system by which you are taught is unique to these universities. You will be allocated a tutor (or supervisor in Cambridge) who will oversee your education. You will meet with your supervisor, on your own or perhaps with another student, weekly or fortnightly, and the purpose is to discuss your work and progress and to agree tasks for the future. These meeting are lengthy and intense. You will not enjoy this system unless you have been self motivated enough to do the preparatory work and you enjoy serious academic and intellectual debate – again, this not for everyone!

 

In the sciences, there will be a considerable amount of other lectures, seminars and practicals, but in arts and humanities much less is on offer and is not compulsory. In essence, you are expected to take responsibility for your own learning and progress. The staff of the universities are there mainly to carry out academic research, not to teach you. Again, this will not suit everyone, only the most intellectually curious and self motivated.

 

The terms are very short – only eight weeks – but are very intense. You may not have many lectures but you are expected to work very hard. Tutorials can be very embarrassing for those who have done little work; there are few, if any other student there and there is nowhere to hide! Successful students also tend to be the most organised.

 

Most universities have or are moving to modular degree courses, with tests during each year – but not Oxbridge, who still rely on end of year exams, usually in years two and three.

 

Choosing a college

For Oxford, we have a piece of software called The Oxford University Challenge that has been produced by students currently at Oxford. This can be very useful in finding out the ‘Oxford insiders’ view of the colleges. Look in the Careers section of the school intranet.

 

There is a similar one for Cambridge – The Cambridge Admissions Guide and the Cambridge Admissions Guide.

 

The first point to make is that you don’t have to choose a college - you can make an OPEN application. Using this system, you apply to the university and their computer will allocate you to a college that has had fewer applicants in that year. Every admissions tutor I have talked to insists that open applicants have just as much chance of a successful application as do those who apply direct to a college – and my experience is that this is the case. But you must be prepared to accept whatever college you are allocated, and for girls this may be an all-girls college, which always have fewer applicants.

 

• Many, then, prefer to apply to a college. So how do you choose one.
• Firstly, they are more similar then they are different, so don’t get to hung up on this.
• Does it offer the course that you want? Look at the prospectus and the college guide.
• How big is it? There are no great extremes – the smallest at Oxford is about 200 and the largest 450. Cambridge colleges are a little bigger on average.
• How old is the college? At Oxford, University College is the oldest and St Catherine’s the newest, built in the 1960’s.
• Location. Some are near the city centre, others a little further out.
• The accommodation – some offer students accommodation for the whole course, others only for the first and final years. Some are cheaper than others.
• How competitive is application to the college? This does vary and the information is available in the prospectus. But it is best to talk to an Oxbridge ‘insider’ – someone who knows the colleges well and might be able to steer you away from those that are especially difficult to get in to.
• What is the atmosphere like in the college? Some are more sporting, others more musical. Some are more academic, others known for their social life, or lack of it. The best people to ask about this are current or recent students.

 

BUT, while you may apply to a college, there is no guarantee that this is where you will end up if your application is successful. 20% of applicants are accepted by a college that is different to the one to which they originally applied. This is because the college may recognise their intellectual potential but cannot offer them a place for this year, so they are offered to other colleges.

 

It is possible that you may be offered a place for the following year.

 

The best advice that I can offer is to visit. There are open days – go and look around, talk to admissions staff and to current students. I usually organise a visit to Oxford in late June, early July, when there are Science department and most college open days. If you want to go it is up to you to contact the college(s) of your choice to book open day visits and overnight accommodation; I merely provide the transport.

 

What should you do now? (assuming you are in the L6)

If you are serious about making an application – and all our experience suggests that you are much less likely to succeed if you are not serious – you should :

• Read the prospectus and visit the university websites – www.ox.ac.uk and www.cam.ac.uk
• Contact the university to get the course brochures that interest you and read them. Ask yourself if this course really meets your requirements.
• Look at The Oxford University Challenge and the Cambridge Admissions Guide on the school intranet.
• Contact the colleges to get the prospectuses for the colleges that interest you. Start to make a short list of the ones that look good to you.
• Discuss your potential application with your teachers; you need to find out what you should be doing to improve your current performance and grades in all of your subjects.
• Discuss your potential application with relevant teachers and Head of Department to see what else you should do to broaden your knowledge of your chosen subject.
• Try to contact students who currently attend one of the universities and those who have recently left. Can they offer you any advice?
• Arrange to visit the university. We usually arrange to visit Oxford during the Science and College open days held at the end of June. You will have to arrange your own visit to Cambridge.

 

Oxbridge Statistics

Be wary of any statistics. The information is useful, but you should not base decisions solely on "which is the best college?" or "which takes the most independent school applicants?" Such statistics hide the fact that "the best course" may not actually be the one that suits you, or that "the best college" could be the hardest to get into. Your research, whilst taking these statistics into account, should range much wider.

 

The Oxford Norrington Table and Cambridge Tompkins Table

These tables are produced unofficially to attempt to rank Oxford and Cambridge colleges according to the quality of their degree results. Those colleges that appear at the top of the tables are those that have the highest proportion high quality degrees. The implication is that the colleges at the top are the ones that are most concerned to preserve their academic reputation and are therefore the most competitive.

This paragraph from the Oxford University Students' Union website puts the tables into context:

 

"The Norrington Table lists all the Oxford colleges according to the performance in Finals of their students. Published every summer, it receives disproportionate media interest, given that the difference between the first and 30th-ranked colleges is little more than a few firsts here and there. All the same, colleges seem to put great store by the Norrington, and have been known to try various schemes to raise their position in the Table - Catz tried to limit bar opening hours, Trinity turned up the pressure on Finalists, and many colleges in the past have rusticated or sent down students as a deterrent to slackers."

 

Oxford have recently produced their own academic league table. .

To link to a site that has an up-to-date Norrington table as well as Oxfords official tables, go to http://www.fantasyfacup.com/matthew/fun/norrington

To view the Cambridge Tompkins table, go to http://www.fantasyfacup.com/matthew/fun/tompkins/