Oxbridge Decision Outcome 2020

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tabasco
Posts: 473
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:21 am

Re: Oxbridge Decision Outcome 2020

Post by tabasco »

Moon unit wrote:Sure that’s a possibility KCG.
I doubt it myself as some boys who didn’t get offers finished in the top 50 nationally in maths and physics olympiads.
I know the PAT was really hard but they did well enough to get interviews so it wasn’t that...
Oxford applicants usually being interviewed by more than one college unlike Cambridge where applicants are interview by the college they applied or being allocated in the case of an open application. the main purposes of the interview/s is to determine whether a particular applicant is best suit for the small group style teaching at Oxbridge (tutorial/supervision). I have heard candidate with MAT score >80% being rejected post interview for Maths at Oxford. So for Oxbridge a candidate with near perfect credential on paper might still not be enough as that only formed part of the overall application.
test1
Posts: 347
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:17 am

Re: Oxbridge Decision Outcome 2020

Post by test1 »

tabasco wrote:
Moon unit wrote:Sure that’s a possibility KCG.
I doubt it myself as some boys who didn’t get offers finished in the top 50 nationally in maths and physics olympiads.
I know the PAT was really hard but they did well enough to get interviews so it wasn’t that...
Oxford applicants usually being interviewed by more than one college unlike Cambridge where applicants are interview by the college they applied or being allocated in the case of an open application. the main purposes of the interview/s is to determine whether a particular applicant is best suit for the small group style teaching at Oxbridge (tutorial/supervision). I have heard candidate with MAT score >80% being rejected post interview for Maths at Oxford. So for Oxbridge a candidate with near perfect credential on paper might still not be enough as that only formed part of the overall application.
Oxford interviews approx 3 candidates for each place. Therefore, they interview far fewer candidates than Cambridge does per place. Once you are at the interview stage you have approx a 1 in 3 chance of getting an offer. Therefore, being shortlisted for an Oxford interview may be far more challenging than that for a Cambridge interview. Oxford does not over-offer (making more offers than places available) and the typical offer conditions are also less stringent than that of Cambridge.

Cambridge interviews far more candidates. Almost everyone who meets the standard conditions gets interviewed. Conversion from interview to offer is more challenging at Cambridge than at Oxford. They also make relatively more offers than places available and hence, have comparatively stringent conditions than Oxford.

e.g. Oxford economics offers have conditions of AAA (PPE) or A*AA (E&M). Cambridge Econ has the condition of A*A*A for a typical offer, and so does Warwick. Once, an Oxford college makes an offer they very much want you to join them. They make hardly any excess offers. Whereas Cambridge makes excess offers with the expectation that not everyone may be able to meet those. Hence, last year they ended up deferring some candidates because several candidates met the conditions due to Covid grade inflation.

In terms of being interviewed by more than one college, the policy differs by courses at Oxford. Typically borderline candidates are interviewed at 2 or sometimes even 3 colleges. Some 2nd interviews are done as part of standardisation and moderation. It is best to refer to the admissions manual for an individual course.

Interviews are nothing but mock tutorials. They offer both the candidates and the tutors an opportunity to assess suitability of individuals for the style of teaching. It should not be called 'interview' since it is not a typical interview that typically assess one's knowledge and experience. Oxbridge tutorials focus on thinking skills - critical thinking and problem solving.

Some colleges provide admissions feedback back by courses. e.g. https://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/admissions/feedback/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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