1. Oxbridge (Oxford & Cambridge universities)
Nigel Lloyd
Studied Engineering & Economics at St Catherine’s College, Oxford
Research in School of Architecture, Clare College, Cambridge, and lived in Cambridge for many years
Feel free to ask questions if something is not clear.
There will also be time for questions at the end.
This talk is principally about Oxford & Cambridge universities, but I say a little bit about how to apply to UK universities in general
A talk to students, staff & parents
IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Emilii Sczanieckiej Łódź, Poland

2. Studying at university in UK
British universities differ from Polish ones, typically:
Away from home
Beautiful environment (gardens, architecture, …)
Small group teaching & practical + lectures
Emphasis on individual thought (not just learning facts)
Personal Tutor support
Expense: ~£3,300 fees + ~£6,700 living expenses = £10,000/year (PLN ~50,000/year)
For details on all courses & universities
All UK university applications are through UCAS
Away: 1st year in hostel, single rooms
Environment: beautiful campus, gardens, buildings, art, museums
Teaching: interaction/participation, seminars & workshops, lab work, submission of individual work, as well as lectures & reading
Individual thought: individuality (even eccentricity) is respected
Tutor: help with personal & study problems
Expense: UK students have debt ~£25,000 at end of course

3. UCAS Application
Choose course/university
Complete UCAS Application online: 15/10 Oxbridge, medics, dentists, vets
15/1 all other courses (except 24/3 art & design courses)
30/6 late submission (only those who still have places)
Registration on ‘Apply’ system
Personal details, education, employment
5 choices of course/university
Personal statement
School reference with predicted grades
Pay UCAS fee
Attend interviews, take entry tests
Use ‘Track’ to manage your application:
 receive offers by 31/3: conditional, unconditional, unsuccessful
if no offers, use ‘Extra’ (28/2 – 6/7)
 send decision on all offers by 5/5: firm acceptance, insurance acceptance, decline
 19/8 no successful offers, enter ‘Clearing’
I am not an expert on UCAS. I understand that Barton Raven is
Dates & process may change each year – so check on the website
Huge variety of courses (2 year foundation degree or 3 or 4 year degree) and universities. 54,000 courses and 341 institutions available in the UK
Choose courses: study what you’re really interested in. Consider combined courses
University: reputation (special excellence in a subject, …) or if you have a link (relative, schoolmate studied there), or you like the city/campus (cost of living, Scotland no fees)
Check entry requirements (grades, admission tests, language requirements, etc), course contents & options, teaching methods, assessment, vocational or academic research emphasis
Prospectus & Open days See campus, departments, facilities. Talk to students & professors, ask questions. Show your parents.
Contact any students you know
universities and departments with questions, or to see if visit is possible on other dates
Use all 5 choices, include an ‘insurance course’ which is sure to offer you a place
Personal statement: see advice on UCAS website. They check for copying.
“UCAS requires a reference from a tutor, careers adviser or other professional who knows student well enough to write about them and their suitability for the course. If you're applying through a school or college, this section will be completed by your referee. If you're applying independently, your referee should write the reference and give it to you, so that you can complete the section. If your referee is part of a registered school, college or centre, they can complete it online.”
UCAS application fee: £9 for single course, £19 for up to 5 courses (payment by Mastercard/Visa credit/debit card, cheque, postal order or bank transfer)
Universities decide whether to make you an offer over next few months. They can view your application, but they will not see where else you have applied. They will only see any other choices after you have replied to your offers.
Clearing scheme (after UK A Levels) furious rush to find any remaining places. Tend to be unpopular courses & universities. Probably best to be in UK, so you can dash to interview. Polish students probably won’t bother to go for Clearing, go to Polish university.

5. What makes Oxbridge different?
In top 10 world universities
Exceptional students, staff, facilities, environment
Highly selective entry
College system
Individual teaching
Traditional and beautiful environment
Facilities for students
3 terms/year of only 8 weeks
Financial support
Personal support
Top: ARWU (Cam 5, Ox 10), QS (Cam 2, Ox 5), international elite, but it’s an opportunity not a right
Exceptional: learn from students too, privileged to have use of these facilities & opportunities, alumni network,
Selective: applicants/place 5 (Ox), 4.5 (Cam)
IB minimum score of 38 points including core points, with 6s and 7s in subjects taken at the Higher level. 
Polish Matura / Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci with 85-90% in all subjects with the relevant subjects taken at the higher (extended) level.
College system: colleges are older and dominate university.
College is autonomous, ‘owned’ by its professors (fellows), 300 – 500 undergrad students typically belong to a college (for the rest of their life!).
Students live there, study there, do sport there, socialise there (college drama society, film society, …). You know all your year group.
Colleges offer all subjects in general, though some may omit a few small subjects, and have greater numbers in some others
Many students live all 3 years in college
College has: dining hall, chapel, library, rooms for professors & students to live, Common Rooms (with bar), gardens, playing fields, boat club, …
University holds exams, awards degrees and ‘owns’ departments. It has: ‘copyright library’, some sports facilities (athletics track, sports pitches for university teams)
Departments have: lecture theatres, laboratories, library, offices for teaching staff & research students
Individual teaching: supervisions/tutorials
Traditional & beautiful environment
Facilities: rooms, food, libraries, music (esp choral), 600 clubs/societies, drama (Footlights), sports, culture, leisure, 1 hour from London
Financial: Oxbridge cheaper: shorter terms, more libraries, colleges subsidise, no transport costs, hardship funds,
colleges try to ensure student does not withdraw for money reasons
Support: personal tutor, 1% dropout rate
Oxford: 106 Polish students, 37 academics, 235 alumni
Oxbridge Society of Poland, Oxford Alumni Society Warsaw branch, Cambridge Alumni Society Warsaw & Gdansk-Oliwa branches

6. Oxford versus Cambridge
Foundation year
1209
Undergraduates
11,765
11,607
Undergrad colleges 30
29 (3 only women)
Course structure
3 year course
Some combined courses
Part 1(1 year),
Part 2 (2 years)
Nobel laureates 57 67
City population
165,000
130,000
Prime ministers
25 (including Cameron, Blair, Thatcher, Heath, Wilson) 15
Famous students
Schrodinger, TS Eliot, Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Bill Clinton, Radosław Sikorski, Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Oscar Wilde, Rupert Murdoch
Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Baron-Cohen, Crick & Watson, David Attenborough, Stephen Hawking, AA Milne, Paul Dirac, Cambridge spies, Joe Stiglitz, Monty Python team, Keynes
Living costs
£6,800 – 8,000
£6,000 - £7,500
Oxford evolved, no fixed date.
Cam started after riot in Oxford, students fled to Cam (remote, edge of marshes of Fen), celebrated 800 years.
Some 4 year courses. Cambridge you can change subject after part 1. Broad courses with specialisation in 2nd & 3rd years. Oxford has several combined subjects PPE, Eng & econ
32 Nobels from Trinity College
Oxford is more important city, car factories
Both cities have 2nd university: Oxford Brookes, Anglia Ruskin
PMs: out of 54, 11 no university, 3 to other universities

7. Oxford versus Cambridge
Most things the same, few differences
Different courses: choose the course you like
Oxford maybe slightly more political & frivolous, Cambridge maybe slightly more scientific & serious
Cambridge bursary scheme open to EU students (up to £3,400/year)
Bursary depends on parents’ financial situation. Oxford Bursary is restricted to UK residents.

9. Oxbridge Application process
Visit: Open Days (end June, September) or guided tours or contact:
Brief your teachers on requirements
Choose a course, check entrance requirements
Choose a college (or open application)
[Choral/organ scholarship? Oxford by 1/9, Cambridge by 4/9]
Complete UCAS application form online 1/9 – 15/10
[Cambridge: complete SAQ online by 22/10]
Submit any special requirements (essays, tests, …)
Interviews by college 5-17/12
Offers by college ?/1
Exam results & college confirms place 19/8
Start as a ‘fresher’ 1/10
Dates & process may change each year
Open days – stay in a college! See colleges, departments, facilities. Talk to students & professors, ask questions. Show your parents.
Contact any students you know
colleges and departments with questions, or to see if visit is possible on other dates
Choose course: study what you’re really interested in
College: if you have a link (relative, schoolmate studied there) or it has a facility (choir, special excellence in a sport or subject, …)
Open application: computer program allocates each open application to a College. Applicants from the UK/EU are allocated to Colleges which happen in that year to have had fewer applications per place in the subject than the Colleges generally. Once allocated to a College, your application will be treated exactly the same as any other application to that College.
UCAS application fee: £9 for single course, £19 for up to 5 courses (payment by Mastercard/Visa credit/debit card, cheque, postal order or bank transfer)
SAQ = Supplementary Application Questionnaire. On-line, link sent as soon as application received, with 1 week deadline
80% of Oxford candidates take pre-admission test 3/11
Interviews: Oxford 70% (those shortlisted) are invited to interview. Cambridge interviews 90% of applicants. Interviews are not like traditional ones: they want to see whether they want to teach you. Looking for evidence of self-motivation, commitment and passion. No right or wrong answers, they are looking to see how you think. There is a lot about interviews on the website, including videos. You may have to do a test too
Geography Q: If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in?
Modern languages Q: What is [the concept of] language?
Offers: unconditional, conditional on exam grades, unsuccessful
Clearing scheme (Christmas after interviews & August after results) to make sure good candidates are not lost to university

10. Finances
~£3,300/year tuition fees (UK government loan for EU students)
living costs £6,800 – 8,000/year Oxford,
£6, ,500/year Cambridge
no loan for living costs for EU students
but Cambridge bursary up to £3,400/year
Extra income: family, company sponsorships, organ & choral scholarships, holiday jobs (26 weeks), part-time jobs, college prizes
New Government may change things
Living costs can be much higher, but not lower!
Accommodation £3,000 - £4,500 (Oxford), £2,500 - £3,500 (Cambridge)
Food £1,600 minimum
Other (books, clothes, entertainment) £1,900
Cambridge bursary depends on family income
Little opportunity for part-time jobs in term-time: academic & social life is too intensive in 8 week terms
Colleges will try hard not to lose a student due to change in financial situation

11. Dziękuję za uwagę
Czy są jakieś pytania?

12. Action by teachers
Students can apply directly through UCAS using online ‘Apply’ system.
Or school can become a Centre and students can apply through Centre. Ask There is workshop 15/10/10 for ‘international agents’
UCAS needs Teacher Reference (up to 47 lines or 4,000 characters + Predicted grades) in English
Predicted grades are the main basis for university offers
Provide an informed academic assessment of suitability for further study:
their academic performance in post-16 education
their potential for academic success in higher education
why the course they have chosen is suited to them
personal qualities which will benefit them at university: skills, aptitude, enthusiasm
what they bring to the university: extra-curricular activities & interests.
comment on their ability to write /speak in English, say if they were taught in English.
give details & describe how they compare with others in their class.
Read student’s application to understand intended career direction, chosen courses & universities. Do not repeat any of the student’s information, unless you want to comment on it.
Do not name any particular university, because at this stage UCAS does not allow them to see the identity of the other institutions to which an applicant has applied - they will all read your reference.
brief details about the school (size, type of school, number of students in student's year group and/or class sizes, proportion typically progressing to HE, typical qualifications achieved by students, school policy on predicted grades, school ‘catchment area’). “Reference should focus mainly on the student”
All UK university applications through UCAS
May be useful to register as a Centre if you send several students to UK universities each year
Lots of helpful advice on UCAS website
Centre can use UCAS online ‘Adviser Track’ system to
monitor student’s application progress
create Reference for student
check, approve, submit application
If student is applying independently, referee should write the reference and give it to student (to paste into application)
Predicted grades are probably most important item in whole UCAS application. Universities make longlists and decide offer grades on basis of prediction. They compare all predictions on same basis, no allowance can be made for exaggeration/conservatism (they cannot know how to interpret each school’s predictions). Therefore needs to be objective – your best estimate.
Reference is really important for deciding shortlist and whether to make an offer