GOT THE GRADES OXBRIDGE ASKED FOR?

 

Are your A-level results good enough to meet your Oxbridge offer? Congratulations, you’re a star!!! There’s no need to tell the university, as the process is electronic. Confirmation of your place will soon appear on UCAS Track. Only students sent to a different college from the one they applied to may have to go online. After that it is party time, at home or on holiday.

On your return, you are likely to find a welcome letter from your college, followed by piles of bumph. This usually includes accommodation details, as well as what, for some courses, is a scarily long reading list.  Many students instinctively stuff the latter under their bed until the start of term. This is a mistake.

What you are actually expected to do  is to interact with a few of the books listed before you go up. It’s OK to start with the one that seems easiest. A student totally ignoring the list may pass the first term in an ever-deepening fog of incomprehension.

This does not mean you need to rush out and buy big, expensive tomes, as these will be in the college or university library.  Almost everything is. You can also pick up course texts cheaply from students in the year above. The same is true for bicycles, but not computers.

            Next, ask the Jamie Oliver fan in your family how to cook three basic meals. One is a quick, nutritious one with fresh vegetables. The other is a dish to be shared with a group of friends, and the third is a cosy dinner for two. You can eat all your dinners in hall, but most colleges now have student kitchens, enabling you to eat well cheaply. Do, also use the college snack bar (if there is one) in the first weeks. It helps with making friends.

 What about clothes? A delighted parent may suggest an Oxbridge-geared shopping trip, and it’s tempting to go on this right away. Hold your horses. Do buy a few basics like new socks, non-embarrassing pijamas or a great teeshirt, but the rest can wait. University life has its own, however casual, dress code, and you won’t really grasp it until you’ve moved in.

            Oxford and Cambridge have clothing chains, department stores and lots of independent ones, but most students go home on their first weekend. This provides them with an eager audience for their Oxbridge tales, and they now also know what to buy. Lucky ones will be clutching a clothing voucher but, if money is tight, you’ll do fine with just a sharp haircut and a sharp brain.

           Enjoy your Oxbridge years!

N.B. If you missed the right grades by a hair’s breadth, don’t give up yet. Call the college and ask for consideration. If its admissions tutors really liked you, or if there are good reasons for your disappointing results (like a serious illness or family crisis) you might still get in. If you don't but are unwilling to give up on Oxbridge, read chapter 22 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES for the options still open to you.