Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

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

Course: Chemistry

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

Final outcome: pooled, offer made (Lincoln)

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? N/A

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

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes (9 A*,2 A)

A-levels

AS: Biology (A at AS)

AS: Chemistry (A at AS)

AS: Mathematics (A at AS)

AS: Mathematics (Further) (A at AS)

AS: Physics (A at AS)

Advanced Extension Awards

AEA Chemistry (predicted NA; gained NA)

Cambridge STEP Maths

STEP I (predicted NA; gained 3)

Details about the offer

Type of offer: conditional

Specific conditions: A in Chemistry

Other conditions: AA

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

Obviously accpet the offer from Oxford, and pick another as a back-up. But tbh if you got into Oxford you should have no trouble getting 3 A's, so the back-up is not important.

Have you met the offer? grades pending/unknown

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

Its the best and lots of people I know / family have been there.

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

Cambridge do Nat Sci, which is different to Chemistry since you have to do more subjects. I wanted to do just Chemistry. I was told by several people that if you know that you will want to do chemistry it is better to go for Oxford, rather than Nat Sci and then specilise in Chemistry.

Also Oxford is close to where I love, and easier to get into for Chemistry I think.

Why did you choose this course?

My favourite subject at school, and what I'm good at

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

I choose Merton because I went round it and it looked so nice. I got an offer from Lincoln, which is also lovely.
I dont think it is too important where you apply for Chemistry since you get shuffled round a lot and if your good enough then another college will probably accept you.

Preparation

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

I got 2 practice interviews, but only one was a Chemistry one. (One general)

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

Try and get a practice Chemistry interview, but in the end you will get different Q's, so it is of limited use.

Dont spend lots of time practicing answers to general Q's (like about work experience or stuff), since you will not be asked about it (or if you are it will be for 30 secs at the start).

Definatly revise what you have been doing recently and the basic AS stuff. Shapes of molecule is a good one to look at. Also revise some maths - integration and differentiation. YOU WILL BE ASKED A MATHS Q.

Above all just try to relax and not get to worked up about the whole thing!

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)?

I had 3 at Meton, then 1 the next day at Lincoln.
The maths (physical) interview at Merton went very badly, but the organic and inorganic went well. The interview at Linciln went well.

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

Organic:
talking about nitration of benzene, which I hadn't done, so we did bromination of benzene instead. Numbers of possible geometric isomers. General mechanisms. <-- look at mehcanisms before you go!!

Inorganic:
SHAPES OF MOLECULES
orbital hybridisation

Physical:
The graph of sin(x)/x - I completely mucked this up. Your need to think about it slowly and not rush in like I did. It looks siple but in an interview its much much harder! :D
simple diff / int
estimate the mass of a sugar lump (this is fructose not glucose! - he said everyone got that wrong!)

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

suit. As were all the boys

definatly go smart. A suit is definatly recomended. They say whetever is comfortable, but a suit sends the right signals

Impressions

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

Boths were nice olf dolleges, and my room at Merton was very nice. Would recommend both

How was the food provided by the college?

Food at Merton is very good. 3 hots meals a day.

How did you find the tutors in the college?

All but one were very nice, and don't mind if you go wrong, as long as you corrrect yourself. SMILE AT THEM!

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

veryvery helpful and nice

Final stage

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

nervous

Looking back

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

yes. definatly

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