Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

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

Course: Biological Sciences

Year in (not for!) which you applied: 2008

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? home

What is your country of origin? United Kingdom

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

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes (3 A*,6 A,1 C)

A-levels

AS: French (B at AS (221 UMS))

A2: Biology (B at AS (221 UMS); predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Geography (A at AS (242 UMS); predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Mathematics (C at AS; predicted B; gained A 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) no

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

The best universities so you might aswell go for it!

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

I didn't need chemistry to apply for Oxford.

Why did you choose this course?

I like biology best out of all the subjects I do and would rather do it then start a new subject e.g. Law.

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

I like it best when reading throught the prospectus.

Preparation

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

I had extra lessons about biology that goes further than the curriculum and i had a mock interview on biology and one on maths.

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

Read a lot of relevant magazines.

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)?

The first interview was very scary (Worcestor) but my second one wasn't bad at all (St. Annes).

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

Cancer with natural selection. Animal behaviour. Animal adaptations. Trees. Current biological affairs. My personal statement.

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

What do you want to talk about (Worcestor)? Talk about bugs and trees, the current biological affairs and my personal statement (St. Annes).

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

A smart dress for one and a smart top with a skirt for the other because i didn't want to come across as sloppy and i wanted to seem like i cared about the interview.

Impressions

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

It was very pretty with good grounds and the accommadation was very nice (Worcester). St. Annes seemed quite old inside.

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

Big room with en-suite shower, toilet and sink. Big desk, lamps, lots of clothes space, pin-board, bed, mini-fridge, safe. Bad JCR (junior common room). Good bar.

How was the food provided by the college?

Good but you didn't have a choice about what to eat.

How did you find the tutors in the college?

Friendly.

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

Friendly and really helpful as they answered alot of questions and organised good stuff to do at night.

Final stage

Please describe your feelings during the time you waited for the decision.

Not too nervous because i wasn't expecting to get an offer.

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

I read that they didn't offer me a place.

Looking back

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

Yes because it's a once in a lifetime experience that not a lot of people get to do.

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

Just go for it. You have nothing to lose.

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