Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

College (if made an open application, allocated college): Lady Margaret Hall

Course: Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular

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

Final outcome: pooled, offer made (Lady Margaret Hall)

Applicant

Qualification: International Baccalaureate

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? Singapore

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

Indo boy, studied in singapore

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes

International Baccalaureate

HL: Biology ( predicted 7; gained NA)

HL: Chemistry ( predicted 7; gained NA)

HL: Mathematics ( predicted 7; gained NA)

SL: English ( predicted 7; gained NA)

SL: History ( predicted 7; gained NA)

SL: other (B) ( predicted 7; gained NA)

SL: TOK/EE ( predicted 3; gained NA)

Details about the offer

Type of offer: conditional

Specific conditions: 7 in Chemistry

Other conditions: 40 pts

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) yes

Have you received offer(s) from them? no

I applied to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Chicago, upenn, JHU, Northwestern.

Have you met the offer? grades pending/unknown

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

ITS FREAKING OXBRIDGE!

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

I filled out the application form for natural sciences at first. I had this impression that Cam will allow me to take physics, even though I did not offer IB physics. I called them and they said no. So there is no point for me to apply there anymore. The next best alternative is Oxford's biochem program - it is very unique and alot of the modules really interest me. I compared this against doing Chem/Bio at Cam Nat Sci. Nat Sci is fantastic, but no module really stands out. Biochem's 4th year modules and the module on biophysics are really interesting and just jumps out for me. Biochem eventually edged out Nat Sci.

Why did you choose this course?

See above

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

I applied Oriel at first because I really liked their maverick/independent spirit.

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?

READ AND READ AND READ, READ, READ!

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)?

Let's put it this way: If I had not gotten in, I would be terribly disappointed and shocked.

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

It was very mathematical - the guy did derivations of gas laws and eventually produced the van der waals equation. It was not hard, but I must say that my background in Chem Olympiad helped ALOT. The passage was about Sift-MS spectroscopy. Again, Chem Olympiad to the resue

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

Derivations of gas laws, from PV=nRT to the van der waals. Then the applications and principles of Sift-MS spectroscopy. It was from a passage and I made tons of annotations

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

Suit. I thought that it was going to be hell, so I might as well look cool and make an impression

Final stage

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

I was on track 24/7

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

I got rejected by a girl the same day Oxford accepted me. Go figure

Looking back

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

DUH!

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

READ! please READ LIKE MAD DOG

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