The Siena Society welcomed Dr Helen Swift, Fellow and Tutor in Medieval French at St Hilda’s College, Oxford to its latest meeting on 23rd February. Dr Swift talked about the admissions process for both Oxford and Cambridge universities and the many St Catherine’s students (and their parents) who were there, including some from Years 9,10 and 11 as well as from Year 12, would have found it very informative.
It is quite clear that Oxbridge is after ‘exciting minds’; they are 2 universities unashamedly only interested in the academic excellence of its students. In terms of A level qualifications this translates into typical offers of A*AA for Cambridge and A*A*A to AAA for Oxford with the average successful applicant having achieved a minimum of 6 A*s at GCSE.
Other aspects of the 2 universities which make them unique are that they are both collegiate; as a student you are both a member of the university and also a college. Dr Swift emphasised that such a system allows for a greater sense of community and support. She felt that the differences in all the colleges were largely superficial and that an applicant would be better off spending their time researching the course that she might want to study, as opposed to the college where she would study it. There is an option to make an ‘Open’ application to a college and Dr Swift felt this was a sensible way of proceeding for any student unsure about which college to apply for.
The other main feature of Oxbridge which distinguishes them from other universities, is the tutorial system, whereby each student is allocated an academic tutor with whom they have one on one tutorials on a weekly basis. This ensures a truly privileged and interactive education with the personal expertise of a true leader in their field guiding every student.
Dr Swift was also at pains to point out that both universities use interviews as a primary method of selecting potential students, as well as a variety of specialised aptitude tests. This is a crucial aspect of the admissions process and students from St Catherine’s applying to Oxbridge can expect a lot of help in interview techniques and aptitude testing prior to attending interview.
Perhaps the most important piece of advice that Dr Swift gave in her very helpful talk, was to encourage our students to choose the degree course they want to read first and then look to see which universities offer it. She felt that far too many students apply to Oxbridge simply because of the name, without giving sufficient thought to what they might read when they got there. Such applicants fail to win an offer because they cannot write a ‘convincing narrative about what brings them to the subject’ in their Personal Statement on their UCAS form. As I tell my Years 12 on a weekly basis: ‘ from the beginning of Year 12 you must be continually thinking of ways to show the evidence of your commitment and ability to succeed on your chosen degree course.’ These days excellent exam results alone are not sufficient to gain a place at the country’s top universities and we are very grateful for Dr Swift coming to St Catherine’s to enforce this message, as well as many others.