Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

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

Course: Chemistry

Year in (not for!) which you applied: 2001

Final outcome: rejected

Applicant

Qualification: A-levels

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

Are you a home/EU/overseas applicant? N/A

What is your country of origin? N/A

What type of school/college do/did you attend? Comprehensive School

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes (10 A*,2 A)

A-levels

AS: German (A at AS)

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

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

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

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

Other universities

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

Have you received offer(s) from them? yes

going too durham....closer to home....and can join all the other oxbridge rejects(only joking)!!!!

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

good reputation

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

attended summer school at oxford....did not know much about cambridge

Why did you choose this college/make an open application?

where the summer school was held....less formal

Preparation

Did your school/college give you any extra tuition or help prior to your interview or application? no

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

The form: leave other info on oxford form blank

The interview: know your stuff

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? no

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

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

had 4 interviews....2 at sommerville...1 for worcester....1 for Christ Church

What questions were you asked during your interview(s)?

general A level stuff.....organic mechanisms came up quite a lot....one hard question was on NMR...which was way beyond A level wrk...but they guided you through it

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

jeans + jumper

Impressions

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

nice....quite big....did not like the vaughn building....looked like a car park

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

large room....huge window...single bed,sink

How was the food provided by the college?

Edible but not great

if it dosent look good dont touch it

How did you find the tutors in the college?

friendly at sommerville,worcester....but the ones at christ church were a bit weird

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

some were fine....some toffs as always

Final stage

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

quite gutted actually....at my school no-body got a place at oxbridge out of 12 applicants....maybe the rumours are true that they do not like newcastle state school children....who knows????

Looking back

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

yes....it was worth a shot

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

try....you have nothing to loose

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