1. ‘Oxbridge’ = Oxford + Cambridge
You can only apply to either Oxford OR Cambridge university – not both

2. Oxbridge – why and how?
Each university is split into colleges – you belong to the university, but also to a college within the university. You can apply to a particular college, or make an ‘open’ application, where a computer assigns you to a college. Neither route gives you a better or worse chance of getting an offer
Research university – globally respected
High quality teaching, 1:1 (or 1:2) tutorials
Short, 8 week terms – very intense
Strong competition for places – rejection does not equal failure!

3. Choosing a college:
Cambridge has 29 colleges. College-owned accommodation is available for all 3 years of a standard undergraduate course.
Oxford has 35 colleges. College-owned accommodation is available for the first year and then varies from college to college.
All colleges provide a library and computing facilities.
Sports, music and other social facilities will vary from college to college.
Colleges vary in size: e.g Merton, Oxford has 291 undergraduates, Queens, Cambridge has 490.

4. What do I need? What kind of person do I need to be?
- Strong academic background: mostly A or A* at GCSE and at least AAA at AS level
Potential to achieve AAA or A*AA at A2 (but check individual subjects carefully – e.g. science subjects at Cambridge for 2017 usually carried a conditional offer of A*A*A)
Passion for your subject: they want to meet people whose chosen subject has effectively become their hobby!
Ability to think independently and to ask questions – some of your teaching will be 1:1 or 1:2 so you need to be prepared to discuss / offer ideas!
You don’t need to be posh or rich!

5. What will the admissions tutors be looking at?
GCSE results (or equivalent). If these are not as strong as they might be, are there mitigating circumstances? Information about a school’s poor performance generally, for instance, can be included in the reference
Predicted results. This is why it is important to work hard from day one at Bilborough so that teachers who don’t know you from school predict you outstanding grades
Personal statement
Tutor reference
For Cambridge: Supplementary Application Questionnaire
Performance in additional exams (e.g. HAT, MLAT, STEP, PAT…)
Performance at interview
For some subjects, a portfolio of work (e.g. recent essays)

6. How do I go about applying?
Research options carefully and decide on which course you want to apply for before the end of the summer holidays.
Open application or specific college? Check your chosen college offers your chosen course!
Check AS results if applicable
Write personal statement – this should be 90% academic based: Extra-curricular stuff should be mentioned briefly and, if possible, be connected to the course. If relevant, include subject rankings in your application – e.g. In the AS Physics cohort James was 1st out of 95 students. Your subject teachers / personal tutors will be able to help you with this and the details should go in the reference.
Check entrance exam / test requirements and apply via the exams office in good time.
Ensure that you apply in time – Oxbridge have an earlier deadline than the general UCAS cut-off date.

7. Personal statement
This is where you show how much you LOVE your subject. You need to read around the subject, keep up (where relevant) with developments in the news, subscribe to a journal, write a blog, contribute to forums, attend lectures / masterclasses etc. If relevant, get involved in Olympiads, enter essay competitions etc.
Reference
DISCUSS this with your tutor (your referee) and decide between you what they are going to include and what you are going to include. Remember that most of them have done this many times before.

8. After applying:
Take any necessary additional exams / tests. These are generally scheduled for early November and will usually take place at Bilborough College. Check carefully whether you need to sit additional tests / exams or send a portfolio of work.
Invitations for interview are usually sent out towards the end of November / early December. Interviews may take place over 2 or 3 days. Re-read your personal statement and remind yourself of what you claim to have read!
Offers / rejections are generally sent out late December / early January.

9. Finding out more: what can I do?
Visit the official websites:
Visit in person – general university Open Days, college / subject Open Days / taster days etc.
Get prospectuses – university and college, and ‘alternative’ prospectuses
Attend summer schools
Look on Moodle in the ‘Tutorial’ section – lots of info, feedback from students from Bilborough who have been through the process etc.
Ensure you’re on my distribution list
Enter essay competitions!

10. Interviews
If you’re lucky enough to get an interview, well done. Key things to remember:
“We’re not looking for right answers, just minds working.”
Usually at least 2 interviews
The interviewers want to see an ability to think, the confidence to disagree, the confidence to see an argument through and the confidence to admit that you don’t know something
No one is trying to catch you out / make you look stupid… but interviewers may be deliberately argumentative / provocative to see if you can argue your side.
There is interview feedback from previous years’ students on Moodle. You will see from this that interviews vary enormously in content / approach.

11. Genuine examples of interview questions (various subjects)
- Tell me about the last time you were confused
- To what extent would you describe yourself as a pragmatic individual?
- If I were to come to your house and look out of your bedroom window, what would I see?
- Look at the painting in front of you (a remote farmyard) – don’t tell me what's there, tell me what’s not there.
How would you introduce a class of year 7 pupils to the concept of ‘globalising processes’?
What is a novel?

12. A rejection letter is not the end of the world….
- Every year, hundreds of bright students (as bright, or brighter, than you yourself) get rejected by Oxbridge
The mere fact you applied puts you pretty high up the tree of academic ability
There are plenty more great universities out there, be it in the UK, Europe or the rest of the world
When one door closes….
….. several more open

13. Keep in touch: emma.walkers@bilborough.ac.uk
If you need to find me, I’m up in A.2.1 (MFL / Computing office)
I’m only in college on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I’m pretty good at responding to s
Peterhouse College, Cambridge reps will be in on March 23rd from If you haven’t yet signed up for this, do so: it’s an excellent chance to quiz genuine Cambridge undergrads, and a lot of the information about applications is relevant even if you’re not applying to Cambridge. See me to sign up!