WHAT TO READ NOW

This is indeed the height of the holiday season, but also an ideal time to read around your chosen degree subject. A few weeks from now, you may well be swamped by A-level work. Meanwhile, OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES will take you on a tour of new study methods and materials that can turn you into the smart, impressive student all top universities seek. Chapters 2 and 11 will guide you towards subject-specific books.

Paying for these books should also become easier, for the most disadvantaged students at least. The government has just announced that it will be allocating schools an extra £250 this year for each student defined as Gifted & Talented who is also on free school meals.


July 2009

WILL TUITION FEES RISE?

Worried about the cost of an Oxford or Cambridge education? While current tuition fees at both universities are £3,225 a year, much the same as at almost all other universities, this might change in the future. Oxford sources told The Guardian this month that since the actual cost of educating a student at their university was around £10,000, a rise in fees was “almost inevitable”.

However, this will not happen quite yet and students will almost certainly be paying a lesser amount. The earliest possible date for amending tuition fees (a move which needs to be approved by Parliament) is autumn 2011, and it is more likely to be 2012. The new figure talked about is in the region of £5,000. If that still sounds awful to you, keep in mind that Oxbridge is planning to set up a large new fund for student bursaries. Poor but academically able applicants will get substantial support and may not need to pay anything at all. (this changed in 2011, but for the monetary value of an Oxford or Cambridge course, see OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.


June 2009

COLLEGE SECRETS

There is no magic formula for picking the right college. However, students planning to apply to Cambridge may appreciate some recent statistics. Following a freedom-of-information request, Cambridge revealed that the success rate of comprehensive school applicants at some of its colleges is almost 30 per cent higher than at others. Rejects sometimes get in nevertheless by being put into a “pool” of candidates and fished out by another college, but it is better to choose well in the first place. The 2009 edition of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES offers more guidance on this.


May 2009

DO PERSONAL STATEMENTS MATTER?

Becoming nervous about what to put into your UCAS personal statement? Calm down, for there is good news. Cambridge admissions head Geoff Parks has just announced that since this piece of writing is too often produced with help from well-educated parents or teachers, it will no longer count towards a student’s assessment. This does not mean it is now of no interest at all: you just won’t get academic brownie points for style or content. However, Cambridge admissions tutors will still carefully read each statement and may well base interview questions on it.

Oxford is taking a different position. Its admissions head, Mike Nicholson has said that he regards the personal statement as "a good way to distinguish the truly gifted, original and inspired.” As a result, it will continue to form part of an Oxford candidate’s assessment. So, keep adding to your pre-university achievements and honing your writing skills. You can find out how in Chapter 8 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.


April 2009

NEW CAMBRIDGE LAW TEST

Students considering one of the Oxbridge law courses often try to sweat up on the LNAT, a written law test introduced a few years ago by five top universities. However, Cambridge has just announced that it is dropping the test. Apparently, the university became concerned that the intensive LNAT training offered by some schools was distorting test scores. Their students did very well, over-taking more able but less well prepared candidates. While Oxford will continue to use the LNAT, Cambridge has now adopted a simpler subject test, based on a single, essay-type question.


March 2009

A-LEVELS: THE NEW A* GRADE

Cambridge has just announced that it will expect all A-level students to obtain one of the new A* grades if they are hoping for a place there. Students already working hard to get AAA grades therefore need to adjust their perspective: A* grades are obtained by approaching your A-level subject in a broader, more analytical way than before. Chapter 3 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES explains what this might involve.


January 2009

OXFORD OR CAMBRIDGE?

Unsure whether your chances would be better at Oxford or Cambridge? There is some new information that might help you decide. Student intake statistics used to be almost identical for the two universities, but the ones just released show a change. State school students admitted by Cambridge in 2008 made up 59 per cent of its total undergraduate intake (up from 57 per cent the year before). This figure takes the university almost up to its own target of 60 per cent. At Oxford, on the other hand, state school students made up just 55 per cent of the university’s 2008 intake (up from 53 per cent in the year before).

This does not, of course, mean, that all state school applicants should now pile into Cambridge. The difference, in actual student numbers, remains small, and some Oxford colleges have an excellent record in admitting state school students. Find out more by reading Chapter 6 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.


November 2008

SIT IN ON A LECTURE

Would you like to find out how your favourite degree subject is explored at Oxford or Cambridge? You can now do so without leaving your desk. Oxford has just put over 150 hours of free audio and video podcasts online, among them lectures by its most famous academics.

In the spirit of competition, Cambridge almost simultaneously posted 300 podcasts. The university’s offerings include interviews conducted by the historian David Starkey with some of the university’s very own Nobel Prize winners. Starkey also investigates the Cambridge contribution to military code-breaking in WW2. Good stuff to listen to before you embark on your interview!

Still nervous about how to answer interview questions, though? Read chapters 10 to 14 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.


October 2008

INTERVIEWS ARE IMPROVING

One of the criticism often levied at the Oxbridge admissions process is that student interviews vary quite so much. Some interviewers are friendly and subject-focused, others gruff and determined to take applicants “out of their comfort zone”. In response, Oxford has announced that all its dons will now undergo training in order to ensure they interview fairly and competently. Exemplary interviewers will be filmed to set an example to others and especially to new lecturers.

Students will be able to watch mock interviews online, but still need to develop their own interview skills. Unsure what this means? Chapters 9 to 13 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES will tell you all there is to know.