Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

College (if made an open application, allocated college): NA (open application, allocated college)

Course: Archaeology and Anthropology

Year in (not for!) which you applied: 2002

Final outcome: offer made

Applicant

Qualification: A-levels

When did you apply in terms of your qualification? pre-qualification

Are you a home/EU/overseas applicant? overseas

What is your country of origin? N/A

What type of school/college do/did you attend? Independent - selective

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes (2 A*,5 A,1 B)

A-levels

A2: Archaeology (A at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Biology (A at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Chemistry (A at AS; predicted B; gained NA at A2)

Details about the offer

Type of offer: conditional

Other conditions: AAB

Have you accepted the offer? yes

Have you applied to other universities you consider very close, 'on par' or even better than oxbridge? (Ivies, Sorbonne, LSE..others for different subjects) N/A

Have you met the offer? offer met

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

Collegiate and 1 to 1 tutoring system

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

Oxford appeared to be more student friendly, it is also in a very nice city, Cambridge is nice, but quite small

Preparation

Did your school/college give you any extra tuition or help prior to your interview or application? yes

I was given a mock interview and guidance on how to apply

Do you have any advice for future applicants in terms of preparation?

The form: Do it neatly!

The interview: Read some relevant books so you can talk about them. It also shows enthusiasm and maturity. If you're going to ask them any questions, make sure that it is something you can find out no other way e.g. asking the specific modules in the course would not be suitable as they would would expect you to have found this out anyway.

Interview

Did you have to sit any pre-interview exams (LNAT/BMAT/..)? no

Did you have to submit any written work prior to the interview? yes

The essays I submitted were on subjects that I knew plenty about so I would feel confident speaking about them in the interview.

Did you have to take any exams as part of your interview(s)? no

How was/were in general your interview(s)?

I was offered coffee and biscuits but was too nervous to accept!

Please comment further on any particular aspects/topics of your interview(s).

The first interview was largely about my previous Steiner school education. I was asked how I might approach a situation in both an Archaeological and Anthropological way. Th second interview comprised of three main parts. First I had to speak about something relevant to the degree that interested me, then I was basically tested on my comprehension by speaking about an anthropological source I had been given 15 minutes befor the interview. In the last part I was asked to determine the possible uses of two different artefacts I was given to examine.

What did you wear to your interview(s), and why?

A shirt, no tie and some not particularly smart trousers! I felt that wearing a suit was a little pretentious as I am sure that students would not have to attend tutorials in suits so it would be more representative of me and my personality. I felt it was necessary to show some kind of effort which is why I wore an shirt.

Impressions

What was your general impression of the college that you applied to/any others you visited?

It was very comfortable and informal this was partly due to the small size of the college. The atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was very friendly. The food was nothing spectacular.

If seen, please describe the college accommodation eg. size of rooms, facilities.

Fairly small room, cheap furniture. Had to walk down a few passageways to get to the tiolet and showers. Fridge in room but the lighting comprised of waht appeared to be desklamps screwed to the wall. Bear in mind though, it wasn't much worse than any other student accomodation I've seen in the country, it was just poor by Oxford standards. This accomodation was also the worst in the college and there were only about 15 rooms similar to it.

How was the food provided by the college?

Edible but not great

How did you find the tutors in the college?

Friendly but strict and obviously not the sort of people to mess aroud with!

Generally, what were the college students like (from what you saw of them)?

Generally very welcoming and friendly. One or two more mature students seemed a bit stuck-up

Final stage

Please describe what happened when you received the letter/the call telling you whether you had a place or not.

Happy

Looking back

If you were to re-live that year of your life again, would you still apply?

Yes. I lost nothing doing so and gained a conditional offer.

What advice do you have for potential applicants based on your experiences?

Go for it, you get to spend a couple of days in Oxford and even if you don't get an offer you'll (probably) have a good time.

Feedback

We are sorry, but the owner of this profile has not given us his/her consent to provide the feedback service.