SHOULD YOU AIM FOR OXFORD?

Students unsure whether to try for Oxford may be helped by its latest admissions data. These tell us that in 2012 state school students were again in a majority amongst its new intake: they made up 57.5 per cent of its UK freshers, while independent school students made up 42 per cent (just as in 2011).  Cambridge, which had a state school intake of 63 per cent in 2012, has not yet posted full admissions data.

What the Oxford data further reveal is that applicants’ chances could also be affected by the kind of state school they were attending. In 2012, students from FE colleges had a success rate of 11 per cent and those from state sixth form colleges of 17 per cent. The figure for students from comprehensives was 20.9 per cent (up from 19 per cent in the year before). As in 2011, students from state grammars and from independent schools had exactly the same success rate, 25 per cent.

We also learn that state school applicants were about as likely to get into Geography, History, PPE, Human Sciences, Computer Science, Earth Sciences and Materials Science as were independent school students. However, they were proportionately less likely to succeed when applying for Law, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Experimental Psychology, English, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or Medicine.

Prospective applicants looking at these course lists should not panic, however, as they indeed reflect proportions, not absolute figures: around a hundred state school students, for instance, still got into English last year, and slightly more into Chemistry. Also, many state schools, including some sixth form colleges and comprehensives, get several students into their chosen course each year.

Still, the gap in success rates remains worrying. Unequal maths skills have been mentioned by admissions tutors as one cause. So have unsuitable A-level subjects, often due to state school students making their course choice very late. Yet another factor, though, may be the aptitude tests introduced by Oxford a few years ago, as students at some Oxbridge-oriented schools appear to be successfully crammed for those.

Careful, focused preparation definitely remains important, this suggests, and potential applicants should check out the detailed advice in OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.
 

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TEACHERS: 

Does your school rarely send a student to Oxbridge,

or has it perhaps not yet tried?

How about a staff teach-in on Oxbridge entrance, held at your school,

on ways to maximise able students’ chances?
Teach-ins are led by Elfi Pallis, veteran Oxbridge mentor and
author of tried and trusted guide   

OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.

Details at http://www.tellbooks.com/teach-in.htm

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