TEN WAYS TO SHINE IN YOUR OXBRIDGE INTERVIEW

  Oxford University 

The news that all Oxbridge interviews will be conducted online this year has actually been welcomed by many of this year's applicants, though rumour has it that some elderly dons were less thrilled. Detailed information about the extra tech which students may need for this, especially in STEM subjects, has been put online and can be found here for Oxford and Cambridge. Applicants unable to afford extra IT kit are told to contact  the college interviewing them or the admissions department for practical alternatives or financial help.

 Applicants have also been encouraged to sit the interview not at home but at school, as IT support can be on stand-by there. However, computer-savvy students (preferably without any noisy siblings around) are still free to do so from home.

Should all this work well (and successful  IT mocks have already been carried out), the success chances of a bright, hard-working applicant should be as good, or even better than in a face-to-face situation.  After all, many teachers have been virtually communicating with their students for months. Moreover, sitting in a familiar classroom or at the kitchen table may well prove less stressful than taking a cross-country train to answer questions while sitting on a rickety mahogany chair in a medieval building. 

Even better, the scary practice of having students interviewed by two or sometimes three subject tutors at once does not work well on the small screen, so interviews this year are more likely to be one-to-one.  Even a nervous student, then  should welcome this development, temporary as it might be. 

HOW TO CALM DOWN BY REVISING

What if your heart still starts hammering at the thought that this online encounter could determine your entire future, as some parents claim? Well, these days quite a lot of people manage to  build great careers and a happy life also after attending universities other than Oxbridge or, heaven forbid, none at all.  Do also remember that the interview itself is not a life-or-death matter. Your personal statement, school references and test results, if any, will co-determine whether you are offered a place.

 Googling your prospective interviewers can be calming at this stage too. Not only will they seem less like strangers when you meet online, but a special interest mentioned by them can suggest topics that might come up. Don't, though, spend ages trying to familiarise yourself with it. You need to be fresh and rested at your interview.

So, instead of fretting, just try to raise your game a little further. What this can mean is skimming a book or essay you mentioned in your UCAS statement, but this time focusing on methods rather than findings or facts. How exactly did Gregor Mendel discover the genetic basis of heredity? How might an archaeologist research the lives of illiterate, long dead people?

Smart STEM applicants now revise their GCSE science and maths. A student aiming for MFL, meanwhile, may want to use the time left to expand his knowledge of French poetry beyond a couple of poems by Rimbaud and revise his French grammar.  Many an Economics applicant comes a cropper at the interview because she has forgotten the most relevant bits of algebra, calculus and differentiation. An engineering applicant may want to make sure he remembers enough details about that exciting engineering project he had mentioned in his UCAS statement

Note that while being familiar with the periods covered in your A-level history is obviously essential for History applicants,  it can also enable you to talk more intelligently about a Victorian novel if aiming for English Lit. or about the country whose language you will be studying as part of Oriental Studies at Oxford or Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge. You may even want to think about why some historic events resonate with us far more than others.

An applicant for a course requiring students to solve maths-related problems may also need to practise explaining how they arrived at the solution. It is not enough to just present the interviewer with it on paper or board.  An ability to not merely interpret but also construct a simple data table may also be expected not just in STEM subjects, but also in subjects like Economics and Medicine.

On the verbal front, meanwhile, a wise student will try to make sure that s/he can understand, define, spell and confidently use the main subject terms. You don’t want to muddle up fission with fusion (or allusion with illusion) on that long, stressful day.

     Google-check you are up-to-date on major developments in the subject area you expressed an interest in. Have there been great new discoveries in virology or the causes of hurricanes? What have architects or engineers learnt about cladding?       

                                                   

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

 HOW TO HANDLE THE UNKNOWN

      This problem is most likely to arise when a student is faced with a test based on an unfamiliar scenario at interview. What would have happened if Churchill had died in 1939? Was there ever an economic theory which absolutely did not work in real life? 

 T You are not actually invited to just venture a blind guess here. The right strategy now is to try and remember what happened in the year mentioned in the first question, so you can think of the relevant political scenario and deduce the most likely outcome. As for that economic theory, it can be handled by talking about another topic addressed in the History syllabus, the disastrous response of  world leaders to the Great Depression. Both topics will have been covered at school.

Reassuringly, sample questions released by Oxbridge in the recent past suggest that question topics are  steadily broadening to allow for very different backgrounds, class sizes and access to academic support: while interviewers still  expect a familiarity with the structure of organelles (or the definition of an iambic pentameter), the ability to give strong reasons for your views or look at an issue from more than one simple angle now often counts for much. 

What this means is that a Law applicant may have to state why she believes certain traditional practices (let's say  hunting) should or should not be illegal.  A would-be philosopher, meanwhile, could be asked to give ethical reasons for caring about the environment. The idea is to see if the student can apply what s/he has learnt to a different scenario.

STILL WORRIED YOU MIGHT EMBARRASS YOURSELF IN FRONT OF THOSE CLEVER INTERVIEWERS?

Do remember that this is actually not what they’re trying to achieve. They’re just experts looking for yet more good learners keen on the much loved course they teach. Most will try to make you feel welcome, but don’t be put off by an interviewer who seems unfriendly or glum. It doesn't mean that daunting figure hates your accent, school or cutting-edge haircut. The poor soul may simply be exhausted after interviewing a dozen students in one day. Other great minds, however well-meaning, merely lack the social skills to put a stranger at ease. Either way, they will still be taking in everything you say and discuss your answers with fellow interviewers later.

Wise students, though, are aware that interviewers, irrespective of mood, expect fairly detailed answers. Just "yes" or "no" is never what they're looking for.  So try to  cover "what, why and how" in an answer whenever possible. 

TEN WAYS TO DO WELL IN YOUR INTERVIEW

Reassured that online Oxbridge interviews do not pose insurmountable challenges? If so, the next step is to remind yourself of the key skills you need to give good answers.

·    1. Listen carefully. Does your interviewer want you you to discuss what happened in the First or the Second World War? Are you being asked for a fact, an explanation or your opinion? 

·    2. Order your thoughts before replying in a few, reasonably short sentences. Should you realise that you're barking up the wrong tree, don't just ramble on. Say so instead and ask if it's OK to start over again. It usually is.  

     3. Make sure you can understand, define, spell and confidently use the main subject terms. You don't want to muddle up fission with fusion (or allusion with illusion) on that stressful day. 

·    4. Avoid any text-speak and make sure to write in full, grammatically correct sentences in any written test. 

    5.  Know that it's OK to  speculate when faced with an entirely unfamiliar scenario, but try to give a   reason for your guess.  If you really have no idea what your interviewer is talking about, admit it and ask for more information. 

6. If applying for a STEM-related course, make sure you can do quick, basic sums in your head. .

7. Economics and Medicine applicants, as well as STEM ones, should be able to draw a simple numerical table or make sense of one they are shown. 

8. Remember that answering interview questions is not quite the same as trying to win a debating contest. Don't just rush in, since you may also be expected to give a reason for your view or offer a fact supporting it.   

9.  Be aware that giving a good answer often means looking at a problem from more than one single  angle. 

10. Speak in a clear, audible voice. as the sound quality or your interviewer's hearing may be less than perfect. Whispering, mumbling students are the bane of a don's life, and there is no point in giving a brilliant answer that nobody can hear. 

Finally, keep in mind just one more, absolutely key interview skill when laying out your stall:  this is answering the question you were actually asked, rather than the one you would  have liked it to have been. 

Once it's all over, too, don't panic at the thought of possible mistakes. Interview questions are meant to be hard, so there's no need to despair if you got the odd answer wrong.  

So, best of luck and if there's still time left, note that you'll  find lots more detailed advice in the six interview chapters and course-specific sections of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES, still available on next day delivery from Amazon.  Best of luck!

HOW TO STAND OUT WHEN APPLYING FOR A MUCH CONTESTED COURSE

 

Having chosen a very popular course, even a high-achieving applicant may find so much competition rather daunting. A thoughtful, detailed and well-written statement, though, can give you an edge. To write it, you need to know that admissions tutors like students who are both curious and persistent. So, is there a book, journal, website or academic's YouTube talk which has broadened your understanding or changed your mind? Or do you keep up with a course-relevant journal, radio or TV programme?  Are you finding  the new research methods emerging in response to new challenges really exciting?

The advice to mention personal interests can also be worrying. Football, clubbing, clothes shopping or finding a boyfriend/girlfriend obviously won’t do. Even a Computer Sciences expert is looking  for someone  able to name more than World  of  Warcraft. While an unusual hobby like rearing pygmy hedgehogs may help you stand out,  this is not what an admissions tutor is quite looking for either, unless she is a  zoologist.

Still, the fact that you have a life outside school may actually give you an advantage. With just a bit of effort, some hobbies  can be made to suggest that you are suited to a demanding course, being the kind of student who is curious and keen on challenges, as well as persistent. So, it's fine to mention in your statement that scuba diving, for instance,  is your main hobby,  but if you're a prospective science student, do  make sure to also mention that you've explored the physics behind your diving kit.

While travel, plays, films and exhibitions  may also develop the academic mind (if you can afford them), they are certainly not the only way to impress. Helping out at a food bank, working in a car wash or being active in election campaigns can also offer you valuable insights  into anything from Economics to Psychology. So might your family's experience of migration, poverty or ill-health. Topped up by some background research now the libraries have reopened, it may also suggest university-loved qualities like resilience and a  keen desire to find answers.

So, while strong grades and test results still matter,  having suitable extra-curricular interests or activities can help you get into lots of courses except perhaps Maths. University staff will privately admit that what often marks out successful applicants is not just natural brightness but also  a willingness to  explore an extra-curricular topic (or to read around an A-level one) while still at school. Doing so makes the transition to a challenging course much easier for student and staff.

This does not mean that you need to have a full grasp of your future degree subject yet, of course, but a student who has shown an active interest in the methods leading to scientific innovation or literary  success is probably an eager reader and thus a promising applicant. So is someone keeping up with great course-related discoveries in anything from Archaeology to Space Science and interested in the future challenges they may pose.  

COVID-19 has also had a impact well beyond the field of medical treatment: quite a few UK universities are currently doing key research into virus features, vaccines, protection methods or post-recovery problems. Methods, progress and set-backs are regularly covered on their websites. 

Already got an  academic interest of your own? Great, but it should now be deepening. A history fan will already have graduated from historic novels  to a historian's view of a key period or issue (think Communist Russia, The Highland Clearances  or Imperialism). A budding social scientist may want to look for features reassessing the British housing or voting system.

While liking 19th century writing is always a good thing, developing a personal interest in a more specific field, for instance women in Victorian novels (or 20^th century French poetry) is even better.  Pieces on interesting new ideas or findings can often be found on a university's Science or Arts News page.

What, though, if you have not quite finally settled on a course  yet?  There is still time, as long as you are  willing to  devote the first part of your Christmas holidays to reading through the most promising course pages. Not only will those spell out the formal entry requirements in terms of A-level subjects and grades, but also a graduate's career options. As some course names  (think Land Economy or Earth Sciences) will mean very little to parents, this could reassure them that you are making a sound choice.

Now go for it!

 

 

 

HOW TO AVOID MISTAKES WHEN APPLYING TO A HIGHLY RANKED UNIVERSITY

 

Very few sixth formers have ever filled in a job-application form as yet. So, having to create a personal statement which may appeal to one or more of the highly ranked universities usually part of the Russell Group can be especially scary. The best way to calm down now is to just start writing a first, very   rough draft without worrying about either its length or the impression the document will make. 

What, though, should it contain? Your past reading or other course-related activities, plus some personal information about your interests, achievements  and/or obstacles overcome should take up most space. However, as you finetune your statement, keep in mind that there are also some key things you must  avoid. These  are listed below.

   Not checking which A-level subjects are essential for your chosen course(s):  there are rigid subject rules when it comes to some degree courses, while others, including Law, often accept quite a wide range. Unless you read the entry requirements found in the university prospectus with care, you may be throwing away one of your UCAS choices       .   

N Not bothering to read the full course description in the university prospectus: before mentioning a course aspect you are particularly keen on (such as medieval history), make sure it is actually offered in conjunction with the course you picked. Getting this wrong may count as laziness.

    Failing to show that you are by now independently exploring a degree subject beyond school requirements: what students do at university, above all, is read, so strong applicants are avid readers (or maths whizzes if aiming for related courses,  including computer science). The statement of an applicant who has only ever engaged with set school texts is unlikely to impress admissions tutors. So, including a brief list of subject- relevant books, articles or projects engaged with and what they have taught you can be important. There is still time to do a little more of this! 

T Thinking about your degree subject only in the context of your future career: far too many Economics applicants write that they chose this course because they are "hoping for a career in finance”. What admissions tutors want to know is which subject areas are of interest to you and how you are already exploring them.

     Giving too much space to extra-curriculars: you just want to show that you are organised enough to keep up with a couple of activities alongside your studies. It would be nice if one of these was also vaguely relevant to your course, has offered you some great insight or given you useful skills. Merely listing five different activities is pointless.

    Being too impersonal in your UCAS statement: admissions tutors want to know about you as an individual. By mentioning personal strengths, concerns, achievements or obstacles overcome you may become more memorable, as well as more convincing. 

    Sloppy writing: there is no need for formal language, but applicants are expected to use proper subject terms. Also, your statement should be grammatically correct and without spelling mistakes.

    Asking a well-educated relative or family friend to write your statement for you:  any admissions tutor can tell the writings of a middle-aged graduate from those of a sixth former. Also, the type of student universities seeks has much changed over the years.

     Copying a UCAS statement found online: admissions tutors have for several years had the software to identify such statements. Do you want to be marked down as a plagiarist?

     Starting too late: Writing a good UCAS statement is a major job. If you leave it to the last minute, the end result could be not just typos but a confused narrative and damaging  omissions.

    Dropping the whole idea due to money worries: fearing that the annual £9,250 tuition fees are well beyond your family's means can make you want to drop the whole idea of higher education. While UK university fees are now indeed the highest in Europe, UK students don't need to pay those upfront. Instead, the entire fee sum is loaned to them by government-backed agencies. It only needs to be repaid (in very small chunks) after university and once the borrower is earning £27,000 a year. There is also a government-backed maintenance loan designed to cover rents and food. Some of the wealthiest UK universities even offer quite generous non-repayable maintenance grants of their own. 

      So, start writing!

HOW TO CUT YOUR STATEMENT TO THE RIGHT LENGTH

                                            

St. John's College, Oxford: student residences

Although the horrors of  this year's  A-level results are  still in  the news,   students hoping for an Oxbridge place next year must now take a deep breath and move on with their UCAS   statement.Not only may teachers want to see a draft at the very start of term, but there may still be several rewrites ahead. Merging personal history  with  your academic interests and   achievements to create a profile likely to  appeal  to both Oxbridge and  other  admissions tutors  takes  time and reflection. If you start now, though, you  may even  be able  to still  do an extra bit of course-related research worth mentioning.

Applicants trying to live up to the high  expectations of  top  universities often find  that   their main problem is not a lack of academic  record  or  suitable  character  traits  but the  47 line word limit. How  do you cram in all you have achieved and still want to learn  about? Producing a factual yet  lively  account  of  the  academic  journey  one   has  so far undertaken and seeking to continue on without any rambling is often the most challenging task encountered by a sixth  former. The good news is  that it can be done by following the advice below:

        1. Don't repeat  yourself. Once you’ve said that you found helping pensioners expand their  computer skills or showing Year 5s  how to write a good story, you don’t need to add that you acquired valuable team-working skills and like working with people. However, mentioning that this has taught you something course-related, be it about programming quirks or child psychology, can be worthwhile.

           2. Do say what drew you to the course. Was it a lesson, a book, a school research project, an excursion, a talk or some TV programme?  How are you trying to find out more? Is there a science book, poetry collection or article on the latest stone age finds you have particularly enjoyed and can explain why? What you want to show here is that you are capable of intellectual activity beyond or  independent of what you're doing for school.

              3. Try to make sure the (few) extra-curricular activities you chose to list work in your favour. Have they taught you any skills useful for your course? Do they suggest particular strengths or character traits?  Also, are there any prizes you have won or  disadvantages overcome?

              4. Avoid space-filling generalisations such as “politics is a truly fascinating subject”. Just tell the reader what fascinates you personally about it. By briefly mentioning personal concerns or life experiences you may become more convincing, as well as more memorable.

          5 As said in my previous blog, don't  mainly focus on your degree subject in terms of your future career. If you are aiming for Economics, for instance, what tutors reading through your statement may well want know is which course-related financial, social or mathematical problems are of interest to you and how you are already exploring them.

          6. When mentioning a relevant book, don't try to summarise the contents. Instead, say what surprised, inspired or perhaps even shocked you when reading it.

            7. In terms of style, go for short and concise. Write in clear, non overly long sentences, using correct subject terms. As strong writing skills are prized by most  admissions tutors, it's alright, though, to mention a well received essay or research report (which the school may subsequently be asked to send in).

                  8. Now re-read, and re-read again, and not just for spelling errors.  Have you still said too much about the future you are aiming  for, but too little about what you bring to the course? Are your extracurriculars  taking up more space than your academic interests? Did you correctly name  any book or article mentioned and its author?  Do all this in good time, not when you're in a rush.

Still unsure how to create the kind of strong, memorable application which does you justice? For more detailed and   course-specific advice read OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES, available from major bookshops and Amazon.

 

STRUGGLING TO DRAFT A STRONG, OXBRIDGE-GEARED UCAS STATEMENT?

Clare Bridge, Cambridge

Ever tried to persuade an eminent stranger to invite you into their grand old home? Very few sixth formers have, so the mere thought of creating a UCAS statement persuasive enough to get you asked up by (not just!) Oxford or Cambridge can indeed be terrifying. Once you accept that it may take three or four drafts, though, writing the first one will be a lot less stressful. Here to help you along is a list of the top mistakes to avoid, plus some financial information.

     Not checking which A-level subjects are essential for your chosen course:  there are rigid subject rules when it comes to some Oxbridge courses while others, including Law, accept quite a wide range. Unless you read the entry requirements found in the University prospectus with care, you may be throwing away one of your UCAS choices. 

   Merely skimming the prospectus page of your chosen Oxbridge course: before mentioning a course aspect you are particularly keen on (such as medieval history), make sure it is actually offered by Oxbridge in conjunction with the course you picked. Getting this wrong may count as laziness.

    Failing to show that you are already independently exploring your chosen degree subject by reading around it: good applicants are avid readers: a student who has only ever read set school texts is unlikely to impress admissions tutors. So, try to mention a couple of course-relevant books, poems  or lab activities you enjoyed and say why. Maths applicants may instead want to mention a few intriguing maths problems they have engaged with or one day hope to.

   Thinking about your degree subject only in the context of your  future career: far too many Oxbridge applicants write that they chose Economics because they are "hoping for a career in finance”. What admissions tutors want to know is which subject areas are of interest to you and how you are already exploring them.

  Giving too much space to extra-curriculars: having a wide range of interests can be a good thing, but don't overdo it. You just want to show that you are   organised enough to keep up with two or three of those alongside your studies. It would help if one of those was  at least vaguely relevant to your course, has offered you some great insight or given you useful skills. Merely listing five different activities is pointless.

 Being too impersonal in your UCAS statement: admissions tutors want to find out about you as an individual. By mentioning personal strengths, concerns, achievements or obstacles overcome you may become more memorable, as well as more convincing. 

    Sloppy writing: there is no need for formal language, but applicants are expected to use proper subject terms, and to get authors' names and book titles right  Also, your statement must be grammatically correct and without spelling mistakes.

  Asking a well-educated relative or family friend to write your statement for you:  any admissions tutor can tell the writings of a middle-aged graduate from those of a sixth former. Also, the type of student Oxbridge seeks has somewhat changed over the years.

     Copying a UCAS statement you found online: admissions tutors have for several years had the software to identify such statements. Do you want to be marked down as a plagiarist?

     Starting too late: Writing a good UCAS statement is a major job. If you leave it to the last minute, the end result could be not just typos but a confused narrative and damaging  omissions.

    Dropping the whole idea due to money worries: fearing that Oxbridge fees and living costs, are well beyond your family's means can make a student want to give up altogether. In fact, the same tuition fees, currently £9,250 per annum, are charged by all but two UK universities. The fees are also not paid for upfront: they are covered by a student loan, to be repaid in manageable instalments to Student Finance England once a student has graduated and is earning a reasonable amount. 

     

    Even more importantly, Oxford and Cambridge have each created a multi-million Pound financial support fund to be spent on substantial, non-repayable grants to students with modest (or no) family incomes. In addition to this central fund, many individual Oxbridge colleges offer financial help with rents, books and sometimes even travel.

Need yet more help with your statement? Unsure whether you are doing yourself justice,  or perhaps sounding too arrogant? Are your worries about whether you'll be coping and happy at Oxbridge (if you do get in) keeping you awake at night? You'll find the best advice on how to handle all aspects of the application stage, including tests and interviews,  in my uniquely detailed guide, OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.

    

HOW TO BE A PROMISING OXBRIDGE APPLICANT

University of Oxford

If your virtual Oxbridge Open Day was a success by inspiringly showcasing your chosen course and its official entry requirements,  a strong UCAS statement is the way to built on this. You now want to show  that you are not just getting high grades for the work you do at school, but also developing  your own interests and skills (some but not all course-related)  by drawing on  external sources. Is there a book, journal, website or academic's YouTube talk which has broadened your understanding or given you new insights? Do you find the new research methods emerging in response to new challenges really exciting?

 In order to get to know you a little further, many admissions tutors would at this point also appreciate an answer to the unspoken question: "And what are your personal interests?“ Football, clubbing, clothes or finding a girlfriend/boyfriend obviously won’t do. Even a computer sciences don is looking  for someone  able to name more than World  of  Warcraft. While an unusual hobby like rearing tarantulas may help you stand out,  this is not what an admissions tutor is quite looking for here either, unless she is a  biologist.

Still, the fact that you have a life outside school may actually be turned to your advantage. With a bit of effort, some hobbies  can actively suggest that   you are suited to a demanding course, being the kind of student who is curious and keen on challenges, as well as persistent. It's fine to mention in your statement that scuba diving, for instance,  is what you love most in the world,  but if you're a prospective science student, do  make sure to also mention that you've explored the physics behind your diving kit!

While travel, plays, films and exhibitions  may also develop the academic mind if you can afford them, they are certainly not the only way to impress. Helping out at a food bank, working at a car wash or belonging to some kind of organisation  can also offer you valuable insights  into anything from Economics to Medicine. So might your family's experience of migration, poverty or ill-health. Topped up by some background research now the libraries have reopened, it may also suggest university-loved qualities like resilience and a  keen desire to find answers.

Being able to mention suitable extra-curricular interests or activities is certainly helpful with very many Oxbridge courses except perhaps Maths. While strong grades and test results are still crucial, Oxbridge dons will privately admit that what often marks out successful applicants is not just natural brightness but also  a willingness to  explore an extra-curricular topic (or to read around an A-level one) while still at school. Doing so makes the transition to a challenging Oxbridge course much less painful for both tutor and tutee.

This does not mean that you need to have a full grasp of your future degree subject yet, of course, but a student who has shown an active interest in the methods leading to scientific innovation or literary  success is probably an eager reader and thus a promising applicant. So is someone keeping up with great course-related discoveries in anything from Archaeology to Space Science and interested in the future challenges they may pose.  

COVID-19 has also had a impact well beyond the medical field, and both universities are doing key research into effective cures or vaccines. Methods, progress and set-backs are regularly covered on their home pages.  Oxford, which is conducting a major science project designed to produce the first coronavirus vaccine,  lists other projects on its frequently updated SCIENCE BLOG.

Already got an  academic interest of your own? Great , but it should now be deepening. A history fan will already have graduated from historic novels  to a historian's view of a key period or issue (think Communist Russia, The HIghland Clearances  or Imperialism). A budding social scientist may want to look for features reassessing the British electoral system or the welfare state.

While liking 19th century writing is always a good thing, developing a personal interest in a more specific field, for instance women in Victorian novels (or 20^th century Spanish poetry) is even better.  Interesting new arts projects are showcased by Oxford on its ARTS BLOG. Cambridge, meanwhile, lists its most interesting science science and  arts research together on its RESEARCH pages..

What, though, if you have not quite finally settled on a course  yet?  There is still time -  as long as you are  willing to  devote some of your holiday to reading the most promising course pages in the Oxford or Cambridge prospectus  again, but now with a tooth comb. Not only does this colourful online document   spell out the formal entry requirements in terms of A-level subjects and grades, as well as the degree contents, thus showing a student's real options, but it also lists the wide range of careers a course may lead to. As some course names  (think Land Economy or Materials Science) will mean very little to parents, this could reassure them that you are making a sound choice.

All done then? Well, not quite yet. Having settled on your perfect course, it's also worth keeping up-to-date  by periodically checking out the links to relevant media stories found in my Twitter posts @oxbridgentrance.

Need further advice? You'll find all there is to know about Oxbridge and its  admissions process  in my best-selling guide, OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES, available on one-day delivery from Amazon.

   

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WHAT IS HAPPENING ABOUT THE OXBRIDGE OPEN DAYS?

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford

Eager to attend an Oxford or Cambridge Open Day? While these lively and very useful events tend to be   oversubscribed, teachers have  reported that their reformatting into virtual visits due to Covid-19 has put off some students. Others, though, are likely to welcome the change as creating a more familiar and less scary version of the student-don encounter.

What this year's virtual visitors need to know is that all the key Open Day elements have been retained. This means that staff will still offer detailed advice on  costs, grants, applications, courses, entry requirements and student life. Cambridge says it will cover owevthese topics now mainly through webinars, mini-docs, data sheets or talks. Academics will also still offer some individual advice at O&As. The Oxford Open Days programme is yet to be finalised but is fairly certain to run along similar lines.

As for colleges, each university will offer you a virtual tour of some quite stunning buildings.  Students keen to know about the key role colleges play in student selection, though, should also read the College chapter in OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES, which explains the two universities' admission process in helpful detail. 

Meanwhile, though, the most crucial thing Oxbridge hopefuls can do is register right away to  make sure they don't miss out, as even some online events seem to have limited places. Cambridge will send you a virtual access ticket once you are on its list. Its Open Day programme is limited to Year 12s,  mature (aged 21+) students and teacher-led school groups An interested parent or carer can also virtually tag along.

Oxford is still finalising the dates and formats in which it will introduce prospective applicants to what it has to offer and what will be expected of them. Meanwhile, it asks anyone interested to subscribe to its free newsletter, so  they can be kept informed about its emerging programme of events. These are fairly certain to cover topics similar to the Cambridge ones but likely to be spread out over a longer period.

Can't wait? Eager applicants may now want to go (or go back) to this year's online Oxford or Cambridge prospectus, so they can firm up their choices before seeking further advice during Q&As. Asking which areas of Maths are worth focusing on for an Economics course or whether you can do Post-Colonial Studies as part of your English course is absolutely fine. You can even ask a subject expert how to choose between her course and another appealing one. On the other hand, asking an academic whether you will have your own bathroom at her college will just make you look spoilt.

Virtual events are not perfect. There are a  couple of things this year's applicants will miss out on: the chance to meet students from other schools at talks or just pottering around town is one. Picking the brains of the Open Day Volunteers, current Oxbridge students who often have great off-the-record advice on their own course or college, is another. On the other hand, a Virtual Open Day spares you that expensive train or coach journey, or that tense drive up with a parent who keeps reminding you of the event's importance. So, enjoy your inspiring, colourful virtual day out...