Oxbridge query/advice

apeZ

apeZ

apeZ

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Joined
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Kent, England
Evening OCUK

I made quite a big decision earlier, after being influenced by my teacher - rather than going for a generic Uni, I want to go the whole hog and try and get into Cambridge/Oxford, on a Computer Science degree.

I am currently in my first year of 6th form, doing the International Baccalaureate, which is going quite well. The websites say that they require 38/45 points minimum, so I going to work hard to achieve that.

Anyway, what I wanted to ask, was what else can I do in the meantime that would contribute towards my University application - what will 'boost' it when it comes to picking applications for them.

Any advice at all would be appreciated :)
 
Hi, although i cannot give much advice it might be worth having a look over on http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk lots of students hoping to make it into oxbridge and lots of advice to take in and make use of it. Good luck with it though, you will be well rewarded if you get a place!
 
Minstadave said:
Take up some sports/extra curricular activities that you could continue at Uni. Anything that makes you stand out from the crowd.
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This, do as much in the way of extra curricular activities that you can.

Do something related to what you intend to study but not solely!

I had 3 friends who applied, 2 got in, but the strongest academic didn't because he didn't have anything else about him other than his work.

Take up another hobby too, it will show you can manage your time and diversify rather than just be a bookworm.
 
As everyone else has said - differentiate yourself and don't waste your time going to Oxford, Cambridge is where it's at.

Cambridge want "special" people. Sport may or may not be good, depending on who interviews you. Some interviewers may feel that interest in a sport will distract from your studies, some will feel that it makes you a broader individual - especially if you are interested in the same sport as they are/were.

Really know your subject and have a genuine interest in it. You will be questioned by one or more people who really know their stuff, they will not expect you to be able to answer all their questions but they will expect you to be able to show that you can think for yourself.

Whatever anyone says, you probably can't prepare for an a Cambridge interview or reliably predict how it will run. They don't want to "catch you out" but they are looking for individuals with the very highest potential and a determination to succeed.

As a final point, if you do get to Cambridge, you have to be prepared to work INCREDIBLY hard. Whatever anyone may say, or films may suggest, you will have to study very hard for many hours, often stuck in a lonely room - unless you row or play rugby at international level ;)
 
Take up a hobby or two but don't expect to pick up a sport now and get to a university level in a year and a half. Universities like Oxford/Cambridge will be looking for sporting people who can represent them, not people who happen to play for their school on wednesday afternoons.
 
Even more than extra curricular stuff, make sure you show an active interest in your subject outside of school.

You'll want to be able to talk about the programs you've written, the languages you're competent in, the computers you've taken apart and rebuilt, and all the geeky stuff you like to do in your spare time. This'll look good on your personal statement and in your interview. Sports are a distant second to a strong love for the discipline. That's until you get in of course, then you can do what the hell you want. :)
 
As stockhausen said, sport can be a good and a bad thing depending on who interviews you. I certainly wouldn't say it contributes much for the most part and don't go heavily on it in your personal statement.

The key is just to make yourself stand out. For me, work experience was key in this, and I'd encourage anyone applying to either to get as much as they can. Make sure it's decent, though. But don't just work, you've got to be interesting.

I was considering doing computing at university (I decided against it at the end) and I think the courses can be split into two groups - practical and theoretical. Oxford is massively theoretical - as far as I'm aware, it's algorithm design by the bucket load - though I can't speak for Cambridge. Make sure you're happy with the course before you decide where you're going.

If you've got any questions about Oxford, send me a mail (in trust) and I'll see if I can forward it to a CompSci in my year.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice and help so far - I am going to get into a bit more volunteering, and also sending out a few emails regarding work experience.

Thanks again! :)
 
apeZ said:
I am currently in my first year of 6th form, doing the International Baccalaureate, which is going quite well. The websites say that they require 38/45 points minimum, so I going to work hard to achieve that.
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I applied to Oxford in a similar position, back when I was in lower 6th and doing the IB. (I went to school in France) I found Oxford to be quite patronising about the diploma (like when they asked me in the interview "do you do differentiation in maths IB?" :rolleyes:) - I hope the attitude has changed.

Cambridge seemed a lot more forgiving. 5 of us applied to Oxford (all with >40 predicted) and only I got an interview - of the 4 that applied to Cambridge, 3 got in and one got turned down post-interview.

Incidentally I passed the interview but ended up turning Oxford down because of the experience, I'm very happy at Sheffield. I got 42 on my IB (back in 2006!) with 4 HL subjects - best of luck with it all! Once you do the IB you'll never work that hard again in your life :p
 
I'm in my 3rd year at Oxford, Hertford College. Still have vivid memories of my interview :)

p4radox said:
Even more than extra curricular stuff, make sure you show an active interest in your subject outside of school.
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That's the most important thing. Some tutors will be concerned about extra-curricular activities and some really won't, where any tutor who interviews you will want to see examples of your commitment to your subject beyond the school syllabus. In terms of importance, knowledge is a distant second to being able to think on your feet and having a wide-ranging enthusiasm for your subject. The applicaiton procedure doesn't exist to find candidates who know a lot - it's to find candidates who will be good to teach because they show an intellectual curiosity and are able to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations.

If you're going to apply, I really recommend that you visit some colleges before you decide which one to apply to. Academically the colleges are similar but socially they're very different, and there's nothing worse than getting into a college you end up despising, as some people I know will attest to. :)
 
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Woah go you! Oxbridge requires a lot of effort to get towards (id make sure you deffinatally want to commit to going there before going the whole way for the application). Best thing to do it get involved as much as possible in things in and out of school, even in things that might me lame (year books/formal organisation) so you can show your good in all situations....

Otherwise come see Belfast and apply to somehwere thats trying to encorage more english students :D (easy in...)
 
Dave said:
I applied to Oxford in a similar position, back when I was in lower 6th and doing the IB. (I went to school in France) I found Oxford to be quite patronising about the diploma (like when they asked me in the interview "do you do differentiation in maths IB?" :rolleyes:) - I hope the attitude has changed.
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Because they are more used to the UK system of A levels and whatnot so you can't blame them for not knowing about IBs. Equally, they have been confused whether you did IB or the French version because they are differen from what I remember - afterall IB use within the UK education system is far more recent.

And yes Oxford CompSci is more maths and theory than "programming" as I know someone who's done the degree, learning Zed and so on did not look like fun to me and made my head hurt when I looked over his notes (and I like programming).
 
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rypt said:
And yes Oxford CompSci is more maths and theory than "programming" as I know someone who's done the degree, learning Zed and so on did not look like fun to me and made my head hurt when I looked over his notes (and I like programming).
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Z you mean?

Dull as **** tbh... and chances are a large portion of comp sci students will never have a requirement for formal specification ever again, but I'm glad that perhaps the guys designing say air traffic control systems get exposed to it.
 
Mattus said:
If you're going to apply, I really recommend that you visit some colleges before you decide which one to apply to. Academically the colleges are similar but socially they're very different, and there's nothing worse than getting into a college you end up despising, as some people I know will attest to. :)
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There's can be a big difference in the level of competition for places at different colleges too.
 
rypt said:
And yes Oxford CompSci is more maths and theory than "programming" as I know someone who's done the degree, learning Zed and so on did not look like fun to me and made my head hurt when I looked over his notes (and I like programming).
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Actually it's just 'Z'. I did three years of this, along with converting into ADA and then later combining not only Z proofing but also value-passing concurrent systems proofing too.

Have I ever used it since - no not specifically but the idea, set theory and logic around it I still use daily.
 
make sure you get the top top mark you can, then its probably worth goign that extra mile and dipping into some year one compsci stuff.

practice your interviewing skills, and be prepared to spend an hour getting grilled on questions you probably just don not know the answer to.
 
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