Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

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

Course: Chemistry

Year in (not for!) which you applied: 2009

Final outcome: pooled, offer made (St Hugh's)

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 (8 A*,2 A,2 B)

A-levels

AS: Chemistry (A at AS)

AS: History (B at AS)

AS: Mathematics (A at AS)

AS: Physics (A at AS)

Details about the offer

Type of offer: conditional

Specific conditions: A in Chemistry, A in Mathematics, A in Physics

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? yes

Have you met the offer? grades pending/unknown

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

Liked the tutorial system
Liked the course
Liked the city

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

Oxford bigger, i'm more of a larger city person
Oxford offered single honours chemistry- i didnt want to take NatSci

Why did you choose this course?

Had the History of science option as a choice
I really liked balance between the areas
Research facilities for 4th year

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

Small
Central
Heard it had a great social life

Preparation

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

yes- but did some extra away from school

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

Make sure you read round the subject, not just generic books everyone reads, try and branch out and find ones which also fit into other interests.

Interview

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

No

Did you have to submit any written work prior to the interview? no

No

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

No

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

Ok, weren't a disastor but could have gone a lot better

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

Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry (particular A2 syllabus, but off the topics slightly)
St Hugh's- had inorganic and organic!

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

Acid (organic)
Put a block of metal in front of me and asked what it was
Van Der Waals forces, why things stayed together, etc

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

Black trousers, shirt, jumper- wanted to be comfortable and smartish, but heard some rooms could be really cold so made allowances!

Impressions

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

Oriel was lovely, but really central, almost to central, it could probably get really crowded and claustrophobic if everyone was there!
St Hughs was really big in comparison, but can't really compare as only there for like 1/2 hr for interview. It was a massive walk!

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

Varied massively, mine was quite small, but some were huge!

How was the food provided by the college?

Good, but the students said that it was normally better!

How did you find the tutors in the college?

Nice, but daunting

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

Welcoming and really helpful, seemed like a lovely community!

Final stage

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

Worried, but it was a relatively short wait (i knew the saturday after my interview, i knew I couldn't do anything now!

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

I was at work, and my mum phoned and said I had a big letter from Hugh's and a small on from oriel, thought then I must have bee rejected from both, but got home and found I was accepted by Hugh's.

Looking back

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

YES!!!!

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

Don't stress about the interviews, if you think it went badly, it may have gone well, its imposible to tell!

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