Oxbridge Admissions - Profiles

Application

University: Oxford

College (if made an open application, allocated college): Merton (open application, allocated college)

Course: Medicine

Year in (not for!) which you applied: 2001

Final outcome: rejected

Applicant

Qualification: A-levels

When did you apply in terms of your qualification? pre-qualification

Are you a home/EU/overseas applicant? N/A

What is your country of origin? N/A

What type of school/college do/did you attend? Comprehensive School

GCSE or a similar equivalent taken: yes (4 A*,7 A,1 B)

A-levels

A2: Biology (NA at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Chemistry (NA at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: English Literature (NA at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: General Studies (NA at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

A2: Mathematics (NA at AS; predicted A; gained NA at A2)

Other universities

Have you applied to other universities you consider very close, 'on par' or even better than oxbridge? (Ivies, Sorbonne, LSE..others for different subjects) yes

Have you received offer(s) from them? N/A

Decisions about the application

For what reasons did you apply to Oxbridge?

The reputation and stigma attached to Oxbridge, Oxford is obvioulsly an excellent uni and i would have liked to have studied there.

How did you decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

Oxford is a much nicer city. Also, I am more familiar with Oxford than Cambridge.

Why did you choose this college/make an open application?

-It looked nice
-Always performs well academically in comparison with other colleges

Preparation

Did your school/college give you any extra tuition or help prior to your interview or application? yes

A few after school sessions, but it was very general, nothing really to do with medicine.

Interview

Did you have to sit any pre-interview exams (LNAT/BMAT/..)? no

Did you have to submit any written work prior to the interview? no

Did you have to take any exams as part of your interview(s)? yes

Yes, 1 exam. I didn't prepare because I couldn't - we had no idea what would be on it.

How was/were in general your interview(s)?

I had three, each with two interviewers. They were all very mixed, asking lots of Q's from lots of areas. The first went ok, the second was horrible and the third, well i don't know how that went.

Please comment further on any particular aspects/topics of your interview(s).

I was asked a lot of ethical Q's and also questions about medicine in general. There were no purely academic questions from my A-level studies though, which i though was strange.

What did you wear to your interview(s), and why?

A suit, I thought it would make a good impression

Impressions

What was your general impression of the college that you applied to/any others you visited?

Merton was very nice. All the students were friendly. Also, it wasn't too big.

If seen, please describe the college accommodation eg. size of rooms, facilities.

My room was huge. It had a sink, fridge, kettle and all the other stuff that you would expect (bed, desk etc).

How was the food provided by the college?

Excellent - It was better than expected, and people took your plates when u had finished - that was cool.

How did you find the tutors in the college?

Some of the tutors were friendly, others were not.

Generally, what were the college students like (from what you saw of them)?

They were very welcoming and friendly.

Final stage

Please describe what happened when you received the letter/the call telling you whether you had a place or not.

I was expecting a rejection and that is what I got. However, I feel that I never really got a chance to prove myself - when I was ready to branch out on a topic, the tutors changed the subject to something that I had no idea about. Also, I feel that the whole interviewing system is biased towards applicants from private schools ie white and middle class. As I am neither of these, I came to Oxford feeling that I had very little chance of actually getting in.

Looking back

If you were to re-live that year of your life again, would you still apply?

Probably, because I would still like to study medicine at Oxford.

What advice do you have for potential applicants based on your experiences?

In interview: Be confident and if you need to take time to think about what you are going to say - the interviewers don't mind waiting for a few secs while you think. Be prepared to be challenged mentally.
In general: Don't have your heart set on Oxbridge, because if you don't get in it will be a huge disappointment.

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