Oxbridge Guide
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Oxbridge Information
Oxford and Cambridge are the two oldest, wealthiest and most famous universities in the UK. Teaching at Oxford first existed in some form from late in the 11th century, before being recognised formally as a universitas in 1231. After a number of disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, several academics fled from the town to Cambridge, where they later founded the rival university. The universities have since grown to be two of the top-scoring institutions in cross-subject UK university rankings. It is worth noting, however, that they are not always considered the best universities for specific subjects.
What sets Oxbridge apart?
Colleges
The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are both institutions that are arranged in a collegiate structure. Oxford is made up of over 40 colleges, Cambridge of over 30. Applicants will apply for a certain college within their chosen university, though you can also submit an “Open” application where you don’t specify a preferred college.
A college is a collection of individuals and buildings that form a community, including students, staff members, libraries, student accommodation, common rooms, cafes and bars. This is not only the place in which students live (at least for their first year), but it is a social hub and a centre for their academic provision, in tutorials and supervisions; lectures, labs and larger classes tend to be held in central faculty buildings.
Tutorials and Supervisions
Generally, in universities, teaching is done in large groups either in lectures or seminars. At Oxford and Cambridge, there is a greater focus on teaching in smaller groups, and often even on a one-to-one basis. These sessions are referred to as tutorials in Oxford and supervisions in Cambridge.
An undergraduate student would tend to have one or two tutorials/supervisions per week. This way of teaching gives students access to world-leading experts on a regular basis, challenging and supporting each student’s academic pursuits. These sessions, however, require a significant amount of preparation, and so the intensity of workload is often far greater at Oxford and Cambridge than other universities. Nonetheless, this intensity is manageable, with terms lasting only eight or nine weeks each.
Traditions
While all universities have their own traditions, Oxford and Cambridge have some of the most historic and bizarre. For instance, despite uniform not existing at university, Oxford students are required to wear sub fusc for their exams, as well as matriculation (when you officially join the university) and graduation. Sub fusc involves a black (or navy) suit, trousers or skirt, with a white shirt and white or black bowtie or ribbon, along with a gown. Oxford students will also wear a flower pinned to their gowns during exams – a white carnation for their first exam, red for the last, and pink for those in between.
In both Oxford and Cambridge, Latin is often used in ceremonies, including matriculation, graduation, and formal dinners; gowns are often also worn at these events.
Cambridge University Senate-House graduation day
Information for pupils considering Oxbridge
Is Oxbridge right for you?
Firstly, read the above information about what sets Oxford and Cambridge apart from other universities, and consider whether you would enjoy and thrive within the collegiate and tutorial systems. Next, consider the preparation that will be required for a successful application, and familiarise yourself with the application process.
Are you a strong applicant for Oxbridge?
Though there is no blueprint for an Oxbridge student, successful applicants will all be intellectually curious, committed to pursuing knowledge in their chosen field, and willing to be challenged. Aside from these characteristics, there are a number of qualities that admissions tutors look for in an application:
GCSE Grades
The most concrete evidence of an applicant’s academic ability is their GCSE grades. Oxford and Cambridge are committed to widening access, and so they take into account contextual data when analysing these grades. This involves information on the socio-economic characteristics prevalent in the area in which an applicant lives, as well as the typical GCSE performance of pupils at their GCSE school and the typical A level performance of pupils at their A level school. They would expect pupils from a leading independent school, such as Marlborough College, to achieve far better grades than pupils in a struggling state school. Historically, there have been very few Marlburians that have been successful in their applications to Oxbridge with fewer than eight Grade 8s or 9s. Moreover, the more 9s the better.
Predicted Grades
Predicted grades are passed on to Oxford or Cambridge as part of your UCAS application. It is essential that your predicted grades are equal to, or preferably higher than, the standard offer made to pupils in your subject. This means that excelling in your A level subjects is absolutely necessary for a successful application.
The University of Oxford tends to make offers between AAA – A*A*A. The lower offers tend to be for Humanities, while the higher offers tend to be for Sciences and Mathematics. This does not mean that it is any easier to get an offer for Humanities than Sciences – both areas are extremely competitive. Additionally, the majority of pupils who succeed in their application
to Oxford do achieve A*A*A or above, even if their offer is lower. In 2019 over 65% of successful applicants achieved A*A*A or above.
The University of Cambridge tends to make offers between A*AA – A*A*A, but Cambridge will occasionally alter their offers depending on a pupil’s predicted grades. For instance, a pupil might be offered a place conditional on A*A*A*A. This offer alteration does not occur at Oxford. Similar to Oxford, the majority of successful applicants will achieve A*A*A or better at A level (for example, 78% in 2019).
Once again, lower offers do not mean an easier application – Cambridge might give higher offers, but it is no more competitive than Oxford. If you are going to be a successful applicant, you should be able to achieve excellent grades regardless of the offer.
Subject Knowledge
Your application to Oxford or Cambridge will require evidence of extensive research into the subject on which your chosen course is based. This is expected to not only be an understanding of what the course is, but a self-driven exploration into the areas of the subject in which you are most interested.
In the lead up to an application to Oxford and Cambridge, you will be expected to research your course beyond the confines of your A level or Pre-U syllabus; this research should occur throughout your Lower Sixth year.
Your understanding of your chosen course will be assessed in your Personal Statement, which should evidence a passion and commitment to the subject, and at interview where tutors will examine your aptitude for the subject – more on this in the Oxbridge Application section.
Subject Specific Skills
Depending on your chosen course, you will require certain skills to succeed in your application. For instance, Science-based degrees will require Mathematical skills. These skills will often be tested in an Admissions Test and in interviews (see the Oxbridge Application section). It is also worth including details about these skills in your Personal Statement, where appropriate.
Oxbridge Application
UCAS Application
The first stage of an application to Oxford or Cambridge is submitting an application via UCAS. At this stage it is worth noting that it is not possible to apply for both Oxford and Cambridge. As well as choosing whether to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, you will need to decide on your course and college before applying. This application will include your Personal Statement, as well as an academic reference from your HM.
The Guidance Department offers in depth advice on the UCAS application more generally to pupils at the following points in the cycle:
· Lent Term Higher Education Briefing (EGN)
Summer Term UCAS Application Briefing (EGN)
· Summer Term Personal Statement Briefing (EGN)
House sessions at close of Summer Term and start of U6 Michaelmas Term (Guidance beaks)
· Follow-up Individual Consultations (Guidance beaks)
The application deadline for Oxford and Cambridge courses is earlier than other universities: applications for 2023 entry must be submitted by 15th October. Your application, however, must be put together and submitted to Guidance at the end of September to allow for checking and polishing, and also to give your HM the opportunity to fashion their reference so that it dovetails with your application.
Personal Statement
The Personal Statement is a chance for you to articulate why you would like to study a particular course or subject, and what skills and experience you possess that show your passion for your chosen field. It is a document that can be no longer than 47 lines, or 4000 characters, long – around one side of A4 typed.
There will be further guidance on writing Personal Statements in the Summer Term, but note that for Oxbridge, your Personal Statement must be significantly academic and outline the reasons why you would be an excellent candidate to study your chosen course. See the below advice from Oxford:
“Tutors at Oxford are only interested in your academic ability and potential. They want to see that you are truly committed to the subject or subjects you want to study at university but it’s not enough just to say that you have a
Oriel College Oxford
passion for something: you need to show tutors how you have engaged with your subject, above and beyond whatever you have studied at school or college. This can include any relevant extra-curricular activities.”
From this, it is clear that you must focus on evidence of your passion and aptitude for your subject. You may be interested in your course, but what research have you done beyond the A level/Pre-U syllabus? What did you gain from doing this research? What talks and lectures have you attended? What did you learn from them? What relevant extra-curricular clubs and societies are you involved with? The key for the latter question is the relevancy of your extra-curricular endeavours to your chosen academic field. A Grade 8 trumpet qualification is an outstanding feat, but not directly relevant for an application to read Classics; this, similarly, applies to sporting achievements.
Work on your Personal Statement should be guided by your tutor, an expert beak in your subject, and your Oxbridge mentor; the Head of Oxbridge can also be a point of feedback. A member of the Guidance Department will read over and give advice on each Personal Statement once it’s been submitted, and the Head of Oxbridge will cast a final eye over each Oxbridge Personal Statement before submission to UCAS.
Admissions Tests
For the majority of courses at Oxford, and many at Cambridge, an Admissions Test is a required element of the application. You can check whether the course in which you are interested requires an Admissions Test in the ‘Entry Requirements’ section of the course website for Cambridge courses, and the ‘Admissions Requirements’ section of the course website for Oxford courses. For applications to Cambridge, whether you need to sit an Admissions Test or not, as well as its content, may depend on the college to which you apply.
Admissions Tests give the universities another piece of data to identify the strongest candidates by testing subject relevant skills. Preparation for this is, therefore, just as important as preparation for other areas of the application, such as your Personal Statement and interviews. This preparation will be significantly guided by expert beaks.
This year, Admissions Tests continue to play a vital role. Consistently, our successful applicants have high marks in their Admissions Tests, and those who are not invited to interview often receive low scores
King’s College Chapel Cambridge
Many Admissions Tests will take place in early November, but you must register to take the test before 15th October. Guidance will be in touch about this in due course. Some Cambridge Admissions Tests will take place at interview – you will hear about this from the college to which you apply.
Written Work
A number of courses also require the submission of written work as part of an application. You can check whether the course in which you are interested requires any written work in the ‘Admissions Requirements’ section of the course website for Oxford courses. The deadline for the submission of written work to Oxford is 10th November – this should be submitted to your chosen college. If you are applying to Cambridge, whether or not you will need to submit written work is dependent not only on the course, but also the college. The college to which you apply will be in touch once you have submitted your UCAS application if you need to submit any written work.
This written work is generally required to be written as part of your A level or Pre-U course, not specifically for this application, and should be marked by your teacher. This should be the best possible piece of written work that you have completed that is relevant to your course. It should demonstrate your analytical, reasoning, language and writing skills, as appropriate for your chosen degree course. It may be that this piece of work is used at interview to springboard a discussion.
Interviews
As mentioned previously, one of the aspects of Oxbridge that distinguishes these universities from others in the UK is the tutorial system. Interviews are a valuable way of discerning whether an applicant will suit this system of teaching, and so the interviews really are very much like a tutorial or supervision – a discussion about your chosen subject.
Given the above, interviews are not about answering questions correctly, and the preparation that you will carry out in the lead up to these is not intended to give you the ‘right answers’. Interviewers will challenge you to think independently by asking questions about areas of your subject that you may have never considered before. The mark of a successful interview is for the discussion to progress, and for you to learn something; this will evidence your academic potential, which is really what tutors are aiming to uncover in an interview. They will want to see
some conviction in the justification of your opinions, but if you realise that your position is untenable, they will also appreciate some intellectual flexibility. Think carefully and spontaneously.
See below a couple of quotes from Admissions tutors:
“Interviews give us the chance to see whether an applicant has the intellectual capacity to learn and be stretched by our teaching system; fundamentally the question is this: can we teach this person in a tutorial situation and will they thrive in this environment?” (Italian tutor, Oxford)
“Interviews tell us important things about a candidate which are not captured by grades or test scores. We can see candidates think, not merely parrot information.” (Medicine tutor, Oxford)
Interviews are held at the beginning of December, and you should hear about whether you have been invited or not by early December, though usually closer to the end of November. Usually, the interviews are held in Oxford and Cambridge at the college to which you applied. Last year, however, interviews were held online due to COVID. You should expect to have at least two interviews, and you may be interviewed at another college, particularly at Oxford.
If the tutors at your chosen college see you as a candidate who is strong enough to deserve a place at the university, but are unable to offer a place at their college, due to a number of other more impressive candidates, you may be pooled. Pooling offers other colleges the chance to consider your application and give you an offer, and they will often interview you if this is the case – at Oxford this will tend to happen while you are there for interview, but at Cambridge you may be interviewed by another college in January.
See the below website links for more information on interviews, from Oxford and Cambridge themselves:
Oxford Interview Guidance
Cambridge Interview Guidance
Decisions
Decisions will come in January, with either a place being offered or not, but getting to interview alone is a significant achievement and something of which you should be proud.
Applicants to Oxford and Cambridge will receive news of an offer, or a rejection, in January, though exact dates are yet to be confirmed
Radcliffe Camera Oxford
Oxbridge Preparation at Marlborough
As you will have noted from the description of an Oxbridge application and what Admissions tutors are looking for, a commitment and passion for your subject, an ability to address and verbalise areas of your chosen subject beyond the A level/Pre-U syllabus, and subject specific skills are all necessary for a successful application. Each of these key areas will be a focus in the preparation cycle moving towards an application.
The Oxbridge Commitment
The successful Oxbridge applicant will be bright, indeed, but far more than this. They will take the initiative, they will seek out opportunities, they will be independent, passionate and determined. With this in mind, the preparation offered at Marlborough is not a spoon-feeding process. If pupils want to apply to Oxbridge, they will be expected to drive their own progress through independent research, being proactive and, importantly, prioritising academic matters over other commitments. With the decision to apply comes a commitment to prioritise this preparation, to fully prepare for department sessions, Admissions test workshops and mock interviews, and to be the creator of your own success.
Oxbridge Mentors
Although the motivational and organisational onus remains on the pupil, each Oxbridge hopeful is assigned an Oxbridge Mentor at the beginning of their Lower Sixth year to guide their preparation, monitor their progress and answer any questions that the pupil may have. Meetings between mentor and pupil will occur twice termly, focusing on the keys to a successful application, how the pupil is working towards a successful application and what else they can do to further enhance their preparation.
Independent Research
Quite simply, researching around your chosen subject or course is the most essential form of preparation for an Oxbridge application. Indeed, plenty of preparation will be offered by your beaks, but if you are not reading around your subject extensively in your own time, this preparation will be futile.
When considering the key aspects of a successful application, researching beyond the syllabus shows an obvious passion and commitment to your subject. This should become evident in a Personal Statement that will centre around the research you have done. Additionally, exposing yourself to concepts and ideas beyond the syllabus with wider research will better prepare you to deal with challenging topics covered in an interview.
Whilst Marlborough can be a busy place, with a number of commitments in sport, music, and even prep, independent research must be prioritised if you are to be successful in an application to Oxbridge. Do not think that you can leave this to the last minute – you will need to finalise your Personal Statement by September of your Upper Sixth year, so you must engage with this extensively in your Lower Sixth year.
Your reading should be driven by your interests within your chosen subject, but your beaks will be more than happy to guide you in your research. In fact, most departments will have a recommended reading list for relevant courses, and Oxford also publish recommended reading for many subjects, which is also applicable for Cambridge courses. The link below will take you to these recommended reading lists, but these are by no means exhaustive or necessary. As mentioned above, your reading should be driven by your own passion and interests, which may lead you to books in the Memorial Library, articles online, magazines (many of which are subscribed to by the Memorial Library for you – see the e-Library page on Firefly), or even lectures and TED Talks online.
Oxford Course Reading Lists
Make sure that you keep a record of the things that you read, along with your notes on the key ideas, questions and thoughts you have when researching. Your research will be pointless if you cannot remember what you read about when it comes to writing your Personal Statement or attending an interview.
Another way to expand and exhibit your research is by entering an essay competition, completing a relevant online course, or any work experience that directly relates to your course.
Departmental Sessions
To supplement this independent research, departments offer a weekly enrichment session where there is interest. The form of these sessions will vary depending on department, but they will centre around the pursuit of topics beyond the syllabus and, often, discussion of these topics. If you are applying for a Joint Honours course, the suggestion is to make as many of the sessions for each subject as you can, though there may be occasional clashes.
As should be clear by now, these sessions will be valuable, but not sufficient preparation – they are very much supplemental to your own independent research.
A successful Oxbridge applicant will be self-driven, and so the onus is on you to seek out the departmental session that is relevant to your chosen course. You will find a list of go-to beaks in each department in the Appendix, if you are unsure who to be in touch with.
Oxbridge Advisory Events
Along with individual guidance from Oxbridge mentors, a number of events are put on to offer more general advice for Oxbridge hopefuls over the course of the Lower Sixth year.
Firstly, there is an annual visit from an Oxbridge don, traditionally in the Lent Term, but delayed this year due to COVID. The talk centres around the elements of the Oxbridge application and key skills for a successful application, and offers an opportunity for pupils to ask questions of an Oxbridge tutor; all interested Lower Sixth are invited to this.
Additionally, in the Summer Term, the Guidance Department hosts an evening for Oxbridge hopefuls to glean advice from those in the Upper Sixth who were successful in their Oxbridge applications.
Admissions Test Preparation
As mentioned earlier, Admissions Tests are becoming an increasingly important aspect of a successful Oxbridge application, and so these must be a significant focus in your preparation.
Admissions Test preparation will begin in the Summer Term, and will involve workshops, past papers, feedback sessions, and an Admissions Test mock. Despite the importance of your end-of-year exams, and other pressures of College life, you will only be successful in an application to Oxbridge if you can achieve a good mark in your
Admissions Test, so this must remain a priority from the Summer Term of your Lower Sixth through to the actual Admissions Test in November of your Upper Sixth year.
Many excellent candidates in the past have not been offered a place, with feedback outlining that it was their Admissions Test mark that had let them down.
Check on the course website whether your course requires an Admissions Test and check with your Oxbridge mentor as to which beak will be leading the Admissions Test preparation for your subject area.
Interview Preparation
Another element of the Oxbridge application that may be novel to our pupils is being interviewed about their chosen subject. As mentioned above, departmental sessions will often involve a discursive element to nurture the verbal capabilities of our Oxbridge hopefuls, but pupils who are applying to Oxbridge should also aim to be consistent and enthusiastic contributors to discussion in class. In these areas, confidence and skill in answering questions, defending one’s view and analysing another’s will be developed – these are absolutely essential skills for an Oxbridge application and, in fact, to enjoy and make the most of the tutorial system at Oxford and Cambridge if successful. You will not be surprised to hear that many pupils struggle at interview, even if they are very capable, so make sure that developing these skills is a priority of yours throughout your A level study.
On top of this, you will have a number of mock interviews before the real thing. You will be interviewed not only by beaks, but also by experienced tutors external to the College. The experience of being interviewed by someone that you are not familiar with is vital to preparing for being faced with this at your actual interview. Taking on feedback after mock interviews will be vital to your success.
Cambridge King’s College Chapel
Choosing Course, University and College
The decisions of which course, university and college to which you apply will all make a significant impact on your life, should your application be successful. You will be studying your course for at least 3 or 4 years and, unlike school, where you may dislike a couple of subjects, but at least enjoy others, you will be studying (predominantly) one subject. The university to which you apply will determine your location for the next few years. The college to which you apply will determine where you live and a lot of the friends that you will make. It is essential, therefore, that you are happy with these decisions, and they are worth considerable thought.
However, it is also worth considering how these decisions may affect your chances of a successful application. Some courses are far more competitive than others, occasionally a certain course will be less competitive at one university as opposed to the other, and some colleges have far lower offer rates than others. Unless you are completely certain about these decisions, being tactical about your application may greatly increase the chances of success.
Course
Given that this is what you will be studying and spending the majority of your time pursuing while at Oxford and Cambridge, this is the most important decision of the three. It is worth considering, indeed, what you are best at, but also what you enjoy most and are most passionate about; a half-hearted application that lacks real enthusiasm will not be successful.
Some courses are only available at one university and not the other
Cambridge courses that are not offered at Oxford include:
· Architecture
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
· Economics (as a single honours course)
· Education
Human, Social and Political Science
· Land Economy
· Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
Management Studies (as a single honours course)
Natural Sciences
Philosophy (as a single honours course)
Veterinary Medicine
Oxford courses that are not offered at Cambridge include:
· Archaeology and Anthropology
· Czech with Slovak
· Human Sciences
· Oriental Studies
· PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics)
· PPL (Philosophy, Psychology and Linguistics)
· Separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, as single honours)
Sanskrit
· Single Languages
University
If the course in which you are interested is offered at both universities, you should research the course outlines of each on the respective course websites. The two courses will often cover differing topics and modules, or offer more or less flexibility.
You might also consider the differences in competitiveness of each course, or consider slightly different courses that will offer largely the same course with some different modules, but are significantly less competitive. For instance, Economics and Management at Oxford sees a success rate of only 6% (3-year average 2018-20), but Land Economy at Cambridge sees a success rate of 20%. You can find much of this information in the Appendix.
Another important aspect to consider is the location itself. Which city do you prefer? Cambridge is slightly smaller than Oxford with less of a city-feel, but a more rural and quieter atmosphere.
As mentioned previously, thinking tactically and flexibly can be an advantage, but ultimately you must be happy about the idea of living and studying in the university and city to which you apply.
College
Once you have decided on a course at a specific university, you should begin thinking about which college you will apply to. Firstly, check which colleges offer your course, as not all colleges offer every course.
There are a number of reasons why you might choose a certain college, and with such a large quantity of colleges in both universities, this can often be a difficult decision. Some things you might consider are the location of the college, its facilities, its accommodation, its aesthetic, and how many students study your course at the college. Frankly, all of the colleges are academically excellent, beautiful, and welcoming, so there is no wrong decision.
Again, however, your chances of success can be significantly influenced by the college to which you apply. You might consider the academic standing of the college, which can be seen in Norrington and Tompkins tables in the Appendix. The higher the college is in the table, the higher the academic standing of its students within the university and, likely, the higher the quality of applicants (competition). Additionally, the ratio of offers given, compared to the number of applicants, is worth consulting which is also available in the Appendix. If you have no preference, you might consider an Open application –this is not advised when applying to Cambridge.
Many pupils who apply to Oxford, in particular, will end up being offered a place at a different college to the one to which they applied, due to the pooling system. This is due to the Oxford application being a more centralised application, while Cambridge’s system is handled more directly by each college. Pooling is still possible, nonetheless, when applying to Cambridge.
If you are applying to Cambridge, you can check the offer rate for your specific course at each college at the following link:
Cambridge Course / College Offer Rates
Application Strategy
In the Summer Term, each Oxbridge hopeful will meet with the Head of Oxbridge about these decisions. The Head of Oxbridge will use a bank of past admissions statistics to elucidate statistical points of note, and suggest certain strategic options for application; he will be able to answer any questions that the pupil or parents might have at this point.
All Souls College, Oxford
Appendix
Norrington Table (2019)
The Norrington Table is a league table of the Oxford colleges that ranks the Finals Examination results of each college from most successful to least. This is an interesting piece of data to use in considering how strong applicants to each respective college might be, though colleges can change positions drastically from year to year. Contextual information from past years can be found at the following link:
Norrington Table
Tompkins Table (2019)
Similar to the Norrington table, the Tompkins table ranks the Cambridge colleges with reference to students’ results in all exams. As above, a helpful tool, but college positions will fluctuate from year to year. Contextual information from past years can be found at the following link:
Tompkins Table
28 St
Oxford Admissions Statistics (2019-21)
Per course:
Oxford Admissions Statistics
(2019-21)
Per college:
Cambridge Admissions Statistics (2021)
Per course:
Subject Total Apps
Cambridge Admissions Statistics (2021)
Per college:
Go-to Beaks by subject
Biology
N J L Moore BSc MA/ Dr L J Richards BSc PhD
Chemistry
Dr G A Doyle BSc MSc PhD DIC CChem MRSC (Head of Science)
Classics
J F Lloyd BA MPhil (Head of Department)
Computer Science
T J Dolan BA MSc (Head of Department)
Economics
D I Andrew MSc MA (Head of Department)
English
N O P Gordon MA (Head of Department)
Geography
R G D De Rosa MA (Head of Department)
History
C A F Moule MA (Head of Department)/
M B Blossom MA
History of Art
Dr F S Mc Keown BA PhD FRNS (Head of Department)
Mathematics
MrsELPlayfairMA (Head of Department)
Medicine/Biomedical Sciences/Dentistry/ Veterinary Sciences
N J L Moore BSc MA
Modern Languages
Mrs A T Woodford BA (Head of Modern Languages Department)
Music
AOJMeehan-StainesBAMPhilFRSMFRSA (Deputy Director of Music)
Philosophy and Theology
A G Oxburgh BA
Physics
B R Allen MA / C J Wheatland MPhys (Head of Department)
Politics
MrsKHeaton BA (Head of Department)
Psychology and Social Sciences
Mrs J L Luker Bsc (Head of Department)
Marlborough College, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1PA
Email: ago@marlboroughcollege.org www.marlboroughcollege.org @MarlboroughCol
