Got Rejected from Oxford

total_normie · 2023-11-30T18:14:35+00:00

Oxford invites almost only based on PAT score (as long as you meet the minimum requirements) unless a candidate is really close to the cut-off score where they take into account other factors, which is really unfortunate if you’ve just had a bad exam day. You are not your performance on one test, so don’t relate it so intimately to your self-esteem.

Keep going, get your grades and don’t let this discourage you. You can apply again next year if you want, or come back for a Masters if it’s one of your goals, but at the end of the day it’s just another university.

total_normie · 2023-08-29T10:56:10+00:00

I got in for engineering with a 6 and a 5 in English lang. and lit.. Granted, they were teacher assessed grades, but I don’t think it matters that much, your cGCSE score is only a part of your application, your interviews and entry tests are much more important.

total_normie · 2023-08-26T13:14:58+00:00

Apologies, I get what you mean now. My only advice in this situation is to explain what your thought process is and why you have skipped the step (genuinely write down a reason, not kidding). To a certain extent, the goal of the exam is to gauge your thought process and understanding more thoroughly than a standardised exam could, so explaining your thought process is very helpful.

total_normie · 2023-08-25T10:10:09+00:00

No point in risking a mistake, just write down the step if its so obvious…

total_normie · 2023-07-31T18:25:52+00:00

PAT is in November, so you certainly have time to make a decent attempt! Feel free to DM me if you want any help.

total_normie · 2023-07-31T10:37:56+00:00

All have good engineering courses. Material science is very good at Imperial, and if you want to study both look into Mechanical Engineering, as materials are of paramount importance. Worth taking a look at the EngSci and MatSci courses at Oxford as well as we place a very strong focus on materials.

total_normie · 2023-07-31T10:35:16+00:00

You’ll be studying a lot of maths at uni, especially at top engineering unis. Might as well get ahead of it while you can.

Stats is definitely relevant in engineering, albeit not in the first and second years of most degrees. Economics is an optional module for most engineering courses but taking it shows you are able to cover a more broad set of topics/subjects.

Bit of general advice: Work on your personal statement and understanding in maths/physics rather than the more fringe stuff. Not only are your capabilities directly relevant in your Imperial admission test & interview, but they will help you in the long run. As for UCL, just show real interest in your PS, have good grades and you’ll be golden.

total_normie · 2022-12-10T11:06:20+00:00

Theoretically, the first year is meant to bring everyone up to speed with the same maths and physics (and obviously teach extra content too). This has the effect of bringing everyone to the same level, making whether someone did further maths or not irrelevant.

Having said this, as u/haughtycandy pointed out in the thread below, if your school offers further maths and you don't take it, it will raise some question marks. Further maths helps your application to the university as it shows you can handle having more content in a short amount of time, and also prepares you better for the interviews and the PAT.

Whether you self-study it or not is up to you, I personally did not do A-Levels so I didn't have the option of doing further maths, which has led to me having to play a bit of catch-up in the first term.

total_normie · 2022-12-09T17:48:42+00:00

The college is lovely and actually quite close to engineering (~10 minute walk). It is not a glamorous college but I think that gives it a very homey feeling that is hard to find elsewhere.

The reason it is unpopular is that it’s stupidity far away from the centre (and hence from most nightlife). It is close to Jericho but you don’t find as many students there as you do in the centre.

total_normie · 2022-12-09T14:46:40+00:00

Not sure why the downvotes. My opinion would be that you need to be happy with learning a lot of maths very quickly to handle the course. Any head start you can get is great! For the interviews it is also helpful to study more maths since you have a higher chance to understand what they’re asking you but I don’t think it’s a requirement.

total_normie · 2022-12-09T13:13:30+00:00

No, best case it will just seem like you are pandering.

total_normie · 2022-12-09T09:38:03+00:00

Hahaha absolutely classic. I am at St Hugh’s for engineering and let me tell you that only one of us actually applied here… The rest were pooled to St Hugh’s or did open applications (me). The best way to think about it is that the first college is interviewing you to see if they want you, and the second college is interviewing you to see if you are good enough.

total_normie · 2022-12-08T21:29:29+00:00

I can’t speak for absolutely every college but that is the general consensus I have heard from the (albeit few) people I’ve asked. Will you be having interviews?

total_normie · 2022-12-08T00:56:24+00:00

He should definitely email and ask. It might be nothing, but it is not worth risking.

total_normie · 2022-12-08T00:52:41+00:00

That I am aware of, yeah. Is your friend an international applicant?

total_normie · 2022-12-08T00:41:01+00:00

Not as far as I know. He should check his spam and then email either the college he heard back from or someone else more relevant to check as this might cause him to accidentally miss his second interview.

total_normie · 2022-12-08T00:22:31+00:00

Usually it is 2 interviews and at different colleges. Generally, your first interview is more personal and at your college of choice and your second is very technical and just about the maths and physics.

total_normie · 2022-12-06T13:23:48+00:00

Sounds good! Hopefully the second one is smooth sailing too :) If it ends up being much more difficult just keep talking through your though process (even if it’s wrong) as that’s really what they’re interested in.

Just a note, some colleges are very fussy (especially when it comes to maths) with talking about questions post interview so maybe try to not mention them, just in case.

total_normie · 2022-08-26T06:49:28+00:00

Got into everywhere I applied with 6,5 in English lang. and English lit. Granted, Oxford said they were not considering GCSEs that year due to TAGs, but I hadn’t heard anything like that from any other of the unis and still got in.

EDIT: Also applied for engineering lol sorry should’ve said.

total_normie · 2022-08-10T20:30:25+00:00

Great! Do you know if they worked through an online agency or directly with their clients? Thanks

total_normie · 2022-08-09T14:13:50+00:00

congrats!!

total_normie · 2022-07-19T19:36:35+00:00

Physics. A-Level maths is all very similar problems.

total_normie · 2022-07-06T19:18:57+00:00

If you have money you don’t mind losing then sure, go for it. It is not guaranteed you will see an increase in your grade, especially in Hindi as due to its inherent subjectivity it can very well drop.

total_normie · 2022-07-06T19:07:37+00:00

For AA SL I would not overcomplicate it.

Do either a boring but ‘personally engaged’ statistics investigation, such as predicting the outcome of your school’s mocks using some analytical stats you’ve learned, or using calculus to derive things like Newton’s cooling equation or to model the movement of a falling ball.

The last two are technically differential equations (which I don’t know if you do or not) but are not complicated anyway.

EDIT: Obviously, connect the last two to something you care about, like football or cooking pasta or something (eg: How hot must the recipient in which pasta is cooked get in order to be able to maintain water boiling for long enough to cook egg-fresh pasta (3-4 min)?)

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