Preparing for an Oxbridge application

Consider what the academics are looking for in the application Oxford and Cambridge suit students who are absorbed by the subject for which they are applying and who are prepared to question and challenge issues around it. This level of study suits thinkers - those with opinions. Students who stick up for themselves and their opinions will stand out, if they are also adaptable. Can you address issues in a logical fashion, reasoning from premise to conclusion? Consider your subject’s place in the wider world in order to understand and value its importance, which will allow you to understand why we study it. Discuss it with others. Thrash out opposing points of view as often as possible. If you absolutely love the subject and can’t get enough of it, you’re already halfway there! You will now need to show them evidence of this love through focusing on super-curricular activities rather than extracurricular ones.

Focus your super-curricular reading on your own interests in the subject

Whatever you do, don’t read a book on a reading list just because you think it’s what you should be reading. It’s not that helpful to you or your application if you are not particularly interested in it. Remember that you’re making an application to read a subject for the next three or more years of your life. In order to convince yourself to do it and to go some way to convince the university to let you, it’s important that you investigate areas which excite you and which you can discuss with knowledge and enthusiasm in your statement and, if asked, at an interview. You won’t convince anyone of your passion and potential by referencing a topic which you find dull. And don’t forget that there is more than just reading to be done. Look at online lectures, online courses, work experience placements (real or virtual), podcasts, documentaries, essay competitions, professional journals, magazines and research papers (you can find the latter in JSTOR and Google Scholar). When you are writing about your interests in your statement, you need to reference evidence of those interests with a good variety of research.

Starting your personal statement

Students often try to answer the question: “Why do you want to study this subject?” as an opener for the personal statement and, indeed, that can be a great way to start. For some, however, that can be tough to answer succinctly. If you are struggling to get things started, an alternate and often interesting way to open the statement is by explaining how your initial interest started. Was it a book, a Year 9 lesson, a work placement, a conversation, a journey? Because the answer is entirely personal to you, this ought to give you a unique set of opening lines. I have seen things from memories of a grandfather in France swearing at the French election results on TV, to preparing the accounts for Hogwarts, to an obsession with an eccentric cartoon inventor! You don’t need to make it into a grand narrative and you should certainly move on quickly to the present day, but when you’re stuck for an opening, this can be a good way to launch.

There is, of course, no magic formula for a successful statement, but a good plan is to aim for three to four paragraphs, being sure to have a good structure within each of them. This should make the statement logical and easier to read. Each paragraph could cover one or two topics of interest, referencing evidence of your research into them. There might be links between the topics, showing a sort of academic journey. For example, how you went from an A Level Economics lesson to a book on the economic role of government during downturns, to a lecture on behavioural economics through to an essay competition, explaining how each linked to the next and what you took from them, agreed with, disagreed with and so on. Don’t write too much about what you did (they’re not looking for a shopping list); focus more on what you thought about what you were researching.

Some of the degrees offered by Cambridge and Oxford are unusual or unique to them, such as Land Economy or Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Or you may be applying to the Philosophy, Politics and Economics course at Oxford, but just Economics elsewhere. The universities are aware that this can cause you some consternation, but try not to worry. I recommend that you focus the statement on the subject for which you are applying at the majority of universities and, in the case of Cambridge, you use the supplementary application form to discuss further your research specific to their degree subject.

There is plenty of advice on the Oxford and Cambridge websites. You can also find similar advice and information curated in the latest Trotman edition of Getting into Oxford and Cambridge.

SARAH ALAKIJA Educational Consultant/ University expert

www.charterseducationsupport.co.uk

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