What makes an oxbridge candidate

Students need more than just good A Level grades in order to be successful. Cambridge and Oxford require students to sit extra admissions tests and academic interviews; thorough preparation for these stages of the application process is therefore essential.

To give Abbey College Cambridge students the best possible chance of success we have partnered with the Oxbridge application experts at Leading Education to deliver an enhanced Oxbridge application programme that we call the Oxbridge Candidate Programme.

View Abbey College Cambridge Oxbridge student success from recent years. The Oxbridge Candidate Programme will be available to A Level students who have expressed a desire to apply to Oxbridge colleges. As this is a challenging and rigorous preparation programme, students will need to successfully complete an application and selection process to gain a place.

Students who are accepted onto the programme will be able to participate at no extra cost. The Programme covers every aspect of the Oxbridge application process through a combination of online, subject-specific training delivered by Oxbridge tutors and in-college seminars and progress meetings delivered by Abbey College Cambridge tutors and experienced admissions consultants from Leading Education. We will help students to develop:. Mock Oxbridge Interviews Up to 7 hours We provide mock interviews as well as training on approach to questions and body language delivered by subject expert Oxbridge tutors.

Admissions Test Training Up to 12 hours Top universities and competitive courses set extra admissions tests. The tests are difficult and in order to win a place students must score highly. We provide regular practice via online tuition from Oxbridge tutors to improve exam technique. The key is to engage in prolonged independent study and exploration.

Which brings us nicely on to:. Independent research and study of topics outside the curriculum. If there is anything to take away from this article, it is this. Admissions tutors do not want to interview students who are carbon copies of each other, thousands of students applying for a particular course will be taking the same examination board for their A Level or IB and therefore covering the same material.

To stand out, you will need to attempt to acquire or develop expertise and skills relevant to your interests within your course of application. By engaging with topics of interest through reading, critical debate and research projects, you will hone independent research skills and experience putting them into practice and hopefully develop a passion for your subject that can translate in your personal statement and at interview.

A few of our offerings:. Oxbridge degrees in most subjects less so in maths and some sciences , are largely essay-based. You will be expected to write 1 or 2 essays a week and discuss them with subject experts in tutorial sessions of one or two students. It is for this reason that demonstrating essay writing ability is central to your Oxbridge application and a key tenet of the admissions procedure. Oxbridge not only require personal statements, but frequently assess your interpretative, comprehension and essay writing skills through admissions tests and submitted work.

To practise your essay writing skills, why not take part in an essay competition? For example, a number of Oxford and Cambridge colleges host their own essay competitions for students in Year 12, the Financial Times and Royal Society of Economics run an essay prize for the Young Economist of Year and the BBC offers short story competitions for young adults.

These provide a great opportunity to delve deep into a topic of interest outside of school, develop research skills and you can mention them in personal statements to demonstrate your academic ability. Interpretative skills and creativity. A common pitfall for Oxbridge candidates at interview, is sticking too closely to their personal statement or material they have revised and rehearsed.

The reason Oxford and Cambridge are notorious for asking abstract and unfamiliar questions is to ensure they spot the students who have the most aptitude for the course, not those who have been overly coached to answer set questions on set topics.

Yet, students can prepare for the unexpected by developing skills in analytical and creative thinking and honing their ability to interpret material on a range of cross-cutting topics. In most cases they are not interested in the answer.

Students who can talk through their logical thinking will display that they can learn on the spot, a crucial component of application as this is how most learning happens at Oxbridge in tutorials and supervisions. Tip: To demonstrate your interpretative skills, ensure every time you include a theory, book or author in your personal statement, you give your opinion on it. There is no point name-dropping books without giving your interpretation. Similarly, be prepared to expand on any concepts included at interview and present an original opinion.

Interdisciplinary study is central to a large number of Oxbridge degrees. Geography, for instance, transcends politics, economics, sociology, anthropology, the list goes on. Recognising interdisciplinarity and the ability to make connections between different topics, and to appreciate similarities and differences, is an invaluable skill.

When writing your personal statement, ensure you link between paragraphs and topics discussed and think about the wider ramifications across related subjects. A common trait of successful Oxbridge candidates is the ability to engage in independent study and be resourceful in approach. There can be the temptation to apply for courses that offer the most favourable odds for winning a place.

For example, of those applying to study PPE Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford in there was a ratio of seven unsuccessful candidates to every one that gained a place, while the equivalent ratio for modern languages was three to one. The best advice we can give is to choose the subject that really interests you, rather than the one that you think will help you get in.

How important is your choice of college? Your college Director of Studies oversees your academic progress, and many of your tutorials at Oxford and supervisions at Cambridge will take place on college grounds. Not every college at Oxford and Cambridge is open to all applicants.

Three of the colleges at Cambridge Newnham, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish are women-only, while a number of colleges at both universities, such as Hughes Hall at Cambridge and Harris Manchester at Oxford, only cater to mature students.

Nor does every college offer places for all subjects. Some of the smaller colleges will only offer a limited selection of subjects, so check you can actually study at the college before you apply! Choosing a college is very much to do with priorities.

Would you rather be close to the hustle and bustle of town, or quietly surrounded by rolling countryside? Is it more important for you to be able to be close to your lecture theatre than it is to get to be close to a supermarket?

For example, an English undergraduate at Selwyn College, Cambridge is about a five minute walk from the centre of college to lectures on the neighbouring Sidgwick site, and a ten minute walk into town. Meanwhile It will take twenty minutes by bike to get from Homerton College in the south of Cambridge to the Sidgwick site.

Homerton makes up for it though with huge grounds, an on-site gym and modern accommodation with en-suite bathrooms. What you choose, then, depends on your priorities. When you visit the colleges try to get an idea of what is nearby, and ask a current student about how long it would take to get to lectures for your particular subject from the college grounds.

Your choice of college is also inextricably bound up with your own sense of personal identity. On the other hand you might find that kind of place a little intimidating and would be more at home in a smaller, more intimate college such as Sidney Sussex, Cambridge or Oriel, Oxford.

Likewise you need to try and imagine what it would be like to live and work there. Do you like the library? What is the accommodation like?

The more you can speak with current students or alumni the better. This might seem like a bit of a strange one, but it can be a factor, especially for students who come from less privileged backgrounds.