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Oxbridge, the collective term for the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, has a slightly different applications procedure to other UK universities. As well as the compulsory UCAS application, these two elite universities ask for an extra completed form and usually an interview.

Contents 1 Undergraduate - Thinking of Applying? 2 Stage One - Decisions 3 Stage Two - UCAS 4 Stage Three - Extra Forms 5 Stage Four - Application recieved 6 Stage Five - Interviews 7 Stage Six - The Letters 8 Myths 9 See All Articles on "Applying to Oxbridge" 10 Useful Links

Undergraduate - Thinking of Applying?

As with other universities, there are no set "grade requirements" for applying to Oxbridge. However, the fact that Oxford and Cambridge are considered Britain's "elite" universities would suggest that high grades and academic prowess, as well as commitment to your chosen course, is essential. Each year, thousands of students apply for a place at these universities (a total of 26,265 in 2006[1]); competition is understandably intense. However, please be aware that you cannot be offered a place if you do not apply. Every year thousands of students who are very able and would have had a serious chance miss out because they perceive Oxbridge to be "out of their reach". The universities' access schemes work very hard to undo the impression that it's not worth applying if you aren't from the 'right' background.

Remember - Oxbridge applications have an early closing date of 15th October ... make sure you finish your application in time!

Stage One - Decisions

To those wishing to apply to Oxbridge as an undergraduate, your journey will start with a decision. Rules dictate that you may only apply to one of the two universities, and therefore, you need to decide which. You could choose based on the place or even the course, but try to decide at which you would be happiest - a degree takes a long time. Oxford and Cambridge are in some ways very different places to study. Each is equally fulfilling and rewarding academically. Be aware that there are subtle differences in what courses each university offers (e.g. Cambridge offers Natural Science in place of Physics, Chemistry or Biology, Oxford offers Politics, Philosophy and Economics whereas Cambridge offers seperate subjects of Economics or Social and Political Sciences (SPS)).

It is definitely worth visiting your chosen university, as the next stage is to choose a college. As Oxbridge operate on a collegiate system, students belong to a college within the university. Your college is the centre of your academic and social life. Many students will find that they have no particular college preference; however, almost every student, regardless of college, believes their college is the only place for them, feels that they belong and will succeed there. Visting- for example, through the universities' regular open days- can sometimes help.

If you cannot decide, it is possible to make an open application, where the university will place you at a college which is undersubscribed that year. The universities strive to ensure that this in no way disadvantages your application.

Cambridge: Choosing A College
Oxford: Choosing A College
Further Assistance On Choosing A College

Stage Two - UCAS

So you've decided to apply... fantastic. However, the next stage is arguably the hardest. You need to start your UCAS application pretty much as soon as possible, as the closing date for all Oxbridge applications is 15th October. By this time, you will need to have completed stages one, two and three. You should also check whether there are special Oxbridge deadlines for any external tests you are taking, for example the BMAT or LNAT.

UCAS applications for Oxbridge, with regards to the online form itself, will be the same as for every other university. However, when entering the university into your "courses" section, you will need to specify a Campus code. For most universities, this will be "main site", but for collegiate universities like Cambridge and Oxford, you need to choose the college you wish to apply to from the list (or "Open", if you have not decided on a college of preference).

Everyone needs a reference for their UCAS form, but you should inform your referee of your decision to apply to Oxbridge as soon as possible. Many schools and colleges will make extra effort for the references of Oxbridge applicants. If your school has no history of Oxbridge applications, do not worry, in many ways your personal statement and grades count for more than the reference. Also, many referees can be a bit slow about getting references finished, so they need to know that you have the early deadline.

Stage Three - Extra Forms

In addition to early deadlines, UCAS and interviews, Oxford and Cambridge also ask for an extra completed form to be sent to them by 15th October by post. Your school college will be able to get hold of these, or you can obtain one by contacting the Admissions Office of the university. You may also be able to download one from the university website. The forms are slightly different for each university:

Cambridge

Previously, applicants had to fill in a form called the CAF and send it to Cambridge in addition to their UCAS application. As of the application cycle beginning 2008, students do not need to fill in the CAF nor send the associated processing fee.[2]

After sending your UCAS application and before interview you may be asked to complete an SAQ (supplementary application questionnaire) which contains details such as UMS points and specific topics covered within subjects.

Oxford

OAF - The Oxford Application form is similar to the former CAF, but slightly shorter. You'll need to enter details mirroring your UCAS form. Most of the extra is with regards to choice of college or PPH (permanent private hall). There is an extra space for any extra information with regard to your application to Oxford and for an extra Oxford related reference. These are generally considered inconsequential.

These are simple to fill out, and need to arrive at your chosen college/admissions office (if an open application) by 15th October.

Individual colleges will send you a letter of acknowledgement for your application, along with a SAQ which you will need to return by the date specified on the letter. This will ask what subjects you have covered in your lessons, and various other things ranging from your class sizes to your participation in summer schools. They differ from college to college, so there is no set question list, although the colleges have agreed a certain 'core' of questions which will always be included.

Stage Four - Application recieved

After the deadline, most colleges will send acknowledgements that they have received your application. Cambridge will do this as they send you the SAQ form. If you made an open application, you will be sent confirmation as to which college you have been allocated.

Now all you can do is wait for Stage Five - the interviews! You should be told if you have been invited to interview, and if so, given details, at some point in October/November.

Stage Five - Interviews

Interviews are an integral part of the Oxbridge admissions proceedure, and are the part that most applicants fear most. This is an unfounded fear. Interviews are not designed to "catch you out" or "trip you up". Ultimately, the person who is interviewing you is a tutor at the college to which you have been allocated. Since this person is most likely going to be personally involved in your tuition throughout your time at Oxford/Cambrige, your interviewer is merely trying to decide the following: "Does this person show outstanding ability?" "Would this person gain academically from my tuition?" "Is this a person I would enjoy teaching?" "Would this person enjoy life at Oxford/Cambridge?"

Cambridge interviews as many applicants as possible, the exact proportion depending on the subject and college. In some cases every applicant will be interviewed, but in most cases a very small proportion (5% ish) will be deselected. Over 90% of applicants will be interviewed in virtually every case. Oxford however will reject an appreciable fraction without inviting them to interview (about 20% overall, but often as large as 50% where there is a pre-interview test, such as the BMAT, LNAT or HAT).

Your interviews will take place at your chosen college, and possibly at additional colleges:

Oxford will ask you to stay for a number of days, as after your interview at your chosen college, it is possible that you will be interviewed at another college too - either automatically (to increase reliability of decisions), or through the pooling system. This makes the Oxford pooling system far quicker, as everything occurs behind the scenes while you are still in Oxford. Being interviewed by another college through the pooling system does not mean that you have been unsuccessful at your first - it simply means that another college may be interested in offering you a place if the first college does not. Accommodation is provided until you are released as "free to leave".

Cambridge will give you (usually 2) interviews at your chosen college. If you are applying for a smaller subject, you may also be interviewed automatically by a second college in order to reduce the likelihood that you would have to return to Cambridge for further interviews in the event that you were pooled. You will rarely have to stay but colleges can provide accommodation if you request it.

The Oxford and Cambridge colleges strive to make the interview as fair a process as is possible. Ultimately, tutors are interested in taking the students with the greatest academic potential in their chosen subject. Extracurricular activites play, at most, a minor role, though they may show time-management ability that will be useful to academic study. This means that 'subject' interviews will be based on problems designed to expose your thinking rather than what you have learned in school or college. During the interview proper, the most important thing a candidate can do is talk through their thought process as they solve the problem posed to them and to not take suggestions or direction as negative criticism. Remaining calm and focused on the academics of the problem and responding positively to direction and suggestion is more likely to impress tutors than having the right answers at the beginning. Ultimately, most tutors will model your interview on a typical tutorial (Oxford) or supervision (Cambridge); even if you get all of the questions wrong and feel it is a disaster (most Oxbridge students will testify that the average tutorial/supervision is often challenging at best), if you learn something from it and the tutor has enjoyed teaching you, you have done your best, which is all you can give.

Mock interviews have been video-taped for some subjects and are available on the Cambridge admissions website.

Some subjects/colleges may require you to take a written test whilst you are at the university. This depends on the subject and college. They will let you know on the letter offering you an interview or when you arrive. Usually you can find out in advance from the Oxford or Cambridge websites. Oxford tests are standardised across the colleges (like the university-wide PPE test, for instance), whereas Cambridge written tests are usually college-specific.

Usually, Cambridge interviews take place in early to mid-December, whilst Oxford inteviews take place in late the first two weeks of December. For Oxford, the dates you will be in Oxford for a particular subject are specified in advance and are the same whatever college you apply to - but you will not know the time of your interviews until you arrive. For Cambridge, the date you are asked to attend on is specific to you, and your interview times (along with the names of interviewers) will be included on the invitation letter. International students may have different interview times or sometimes no interview at all (Colleges strive to ensure that this does not prejudice your application - often they will arrange interviews over the telephone instead).

No interviewer expects you to be perfect - most strive to find a problem which you cannot immediately solve without help, in order to see how you react to tutorial/supervision-style tuition. In most cases where an application is unsuccessful, it is just that in the interviewers' own judgement other candidates had slightly greater academic potential, and suitability for the tutorial/supervision style of learning. This does not mean you are not as capable of succeeding at university. Oxbridge tutors are quick to say that they are forced to reject thousands of applicants each year who would have done well at Oxbridge, only there was not enough space. Many unsuccessful Oxbridge applicants go on to do far better in their chosen course than many Oxford and Cambridge students.

In addition to one or more subject-based interviews, you may (depending on the college) have a 'general' or 'tutorial' interview. This will be conducted by a non-specialist interviewer, so is likely to involve questions testing your enthusiasm for the subject and on your personal statement, rather than questions based on the content of the subject itself.

Ultimately, if you feel that your interviews went particularly badly and were not representative of you or your ability, you can always re-apply next year. A significant number of successful Oxford and Cambridge applicants are unsuccesful applicants from the previous year.

You can find more information on doing well at interview here.

Stage Six - The Letters

The interviews are the last part of the admissions proceedure. Few people now expect to hear back from the universities until their decisions have been made.

Oxford decisions are sent before Christmas, and conditional offers are nearly always AAA or (rarely) AAB at A level or the equivalent in another exam system.

Cambridge decisions will be posted (most likely first class) on 2 January 2007 for those interviewed in 2006. Conditional offers are nearly always AAA at A level or the equivalent in another exam system (unless you have applied through the Cambridge Special Access Scheme because you have been subject to a particular disadvantage). Occassionally offers of AAAB or AAAA may be made where an applicant is taking four relevant A Levels (and even five subject offers, e.g. AAAAB, are not unheard of). For Mathematics applicants, almost all conditional offers will include grades in two STEP Papers - three-hour maths exams taken at the end of the A Level exam period, which test advanced problem solving and mathematical ingenuity rather than basic knowledge and technique. Some colleges will make conditional offers of EE at A Level to exceptionally good applicants; on the other hand, grades in Advanced Extension Awards (or STEP even for non-Maths applicants) may be included in certain circumstances. Christ's College in particular like to make extremely easy and extremely hard offers, and may include a grade in an AEA as part of a conditional offer for any subject.

Now comes the complicated part of Cambridge's admissions. Some people will not get a straight rejection/acceptance. Some will be pooled. Pooled applicants have been deemed a strong applicant by their chosen college, but have not been selected for study there, and have been placed in a college-wide pool. About 20% (approximately 600 out of around 3000) of pooled applicants are subsequently awarded a place at Cambridge. Applicants are pooled for a variety of reasons, and are categorised by the pooling college as A (strongly recommended), B (probably worth an offer), P (outstanding on paper but less impressive at interview), or S (applicant in need of reassessment). For applicants interviewed in 2006, a college is required to pool an applicant, under category P at least, if they have 7 or more A*s at GCSE and 90% or more in their three best or three most relevant AS subjects.

Sometimes a college wishes to see other applicants from the pool before it fills all of its places with direct applicants - this results in several applicants being pooled and subsequently being awarded places at their original college of choice. Some are subsequently invited for interview at other colleges; if this happens the college concerned will contact you to ask you to come for an interview early in January. If another college wishes to offer you a place following the Pool, you should hear from them at the start or middle of January. Otherwise, your original college will write back to you by the end of January informing you that you have been unsuccessful.

That's the end of the Oxbridge admissions procedure - it seems long and arduous, but don't let that put you off. Thousands of students each year go through it, and many are offered places. Good Luck :)

Myths

There are a ridiculous number of myths surrounding Oxbridge applications, often refuted with gusto on TSR. Here are a few examples:

You cannot apply without perfect grades. Incorrect - a wide range of factors are considered and a strong interview performance can result in an offer being made to an applicant who looks relatively poor on paper. However, strong achievement at GCSE and (for Cambridge) good AS/A level module scores will strengthen your application, and may reduce the level of interview/test performance needed to secure an offer. Being realistic, it is unlikely that an offer would be made to an applicant not expecting or offering AAA at A Level or equivalent (unless applying through one of the Access Schemes), but beyond this starting point, excellent grades are an advantage but not a requirement.

If you're pooled (by Cambridge) it means that you'll definitely get accepted. Wrong - being pooled only enables other colleges to consider your file. One in five applicants is awarded a place from the pool. You may be awarded a place at your original choice of college, awarded a place at another college, invited for further interviews at one or more colleges, or be unsuccessful in the pool (in which case your original college will write back to you by the end of January).

Inteviews are the only important part. Not exactly - whilst Oxbridge places a great deal of emphasis on the interview process, due to the large number of people attaining at least AAA at A Level, it is not the be all and end all. Your chances do not depend entirely on interview performance. All information is carefully considered: personal statements, references, exam results, tests (where taken) and written work (where submitted). A good performance at interview will not necessarily get you a place, and a bad performance will not necessarily get you rejected if there is another factor present (e.g. admissions tests, written work) which allows you to stand out against the competition. Being realistic, though, it is unlikely that you would receive an offer in the case of poor interview performance where the interview was the only additional assessment on top of the application form.

Applying to a less popular college will give better chances of acceptance. Many believe that by applying to a smaller college or one which is out of the way (such as Girton at Cambridge) or has few applicants per place offered (such as St. Hilda's at Oxford) will give them a higher chance of a place. Despite the fact that St. Hilda's often receives less than one applicant per place offered (check the Oxford admissions website), it does not mean that every direct applicant is offered a place, merely that many of their successful applicants come from the pooling system. Both Oxford and Cambridge put a lot of effort into inter-college 'moderation' to ensure that your chances do not depend on which college you applied to. You might be the only applicant to your chosen college for your chosen course and still not be offered a place. Choose your first preference based on where you think you might be happy, rather than where you think you have the 'best' chance.

Private School applicants have a far greater chance of getting a place. Oxford and Cambridge both accept a very substantial minority of privately-educated candidates. Compared to national proportions they accept significantly more privately educated applicants (about 45% of Oxbridge offers typically go to privately educated applicants, compared to less than 9% of students privately educated across the country). However, this is unlikely to be because of favouritism; overwhelmingly it is merely that privately educated students are more likely to apply to Oxbridge in the first place (much more than 9% of applications are from privately educated students) and that privately educated students are more likely to get better grades compared to the national average. For those who have applied, state school people are statistically about as likely to receive a place as a privately educated student. Oxbridge has endeavoured to widen access and participation in the selection.

State School applicants have an automatic advantage. Where someone comes from a poorly-performing school or has experienced educational problems, this will be taken account of, because this may mean that a person's record on paper does not do justice to their potential. But, despite efforts to encourage state-school pupils to apply, all are assessed equally once they submit their application. There is no system of 'positive discrimination' or quotas.

See All Articles on "Applying to Oxbridge"

• Applications To Oxbridge
• Cambridge Choosing a College
• Choosing an Oxford College
• English at Cambridge
• Oxbridge Interviews
• Oxford Access Scheme
• Target Schools
• University of Cambridge
• University of Oxford

Useful Links

Oxford Admissions

Cambridge Applications

"Interviews in Action: a short film regarding interviews at Cambridge

TSR Choosing a College FAQ