Applying to Oxford
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Anonymous
| Focus on the academics, SAT, and interview skills and send her to Cambridge if she wants to study physics. The town is also nicer, with most of the colleges in the historical center. |
Anonymous
| Oxford UK or Oxford the community college for Emory? |
Anonymous
|
Cambridge and Imperial are much stronger for physics in the UK.
Oxford is better for humanities and social sciences. My sister did physics at Oxford some time back (Corpus Christi college) and the 100% final exam after 2 years (in a full formal suit) was very intimidating. Good luck to your DC! Oxford is a special place. |
Anonymous
Yeah not true. Oxford is number 1 in the world. MIT is at 3rd, Caltech at 7th, and Yale number 10th. Knowing a few kids doesn't speak for all students. |
Anonymous
No, the published score requirements are the minimum to even apply. They are necessary but not sufficient. its the first level of weeding out. If you pass that bar, then you take specific oxford admission tests, content varies depending on your course, and then they select a percentage of applicants for an in depth interview with actual professors in the major you are applying for. Interview is to see evidence you can handle oxford style tutorial learning, and probing your knowledge base and ability to think through things. Completely different approach than the US with its approach on “vibes” and being assessed by admissions officers who have no specific knowledge of your course of study but weigh your “personality” and “character” |
Anonymous
| Also they don’t care about GPA or transcript. its down to the exam scores, personal statements, and interview |
Anonymous
| For STEM course at Cambridge, the minimum requirement to apply is 750 math SAT, combined minimum 1500, or ACT 33. No superscoring and all test scores must be sent in. All AP exams must be sent in, with a score of 5 on a minimum of 5 AP exams. |
Anonymous
Surely, with your ability to assess a standout, you learned at some point that your anecdotes do not constitute data. I've met brilliant people who studied at Oxford. |
Anonymous
BURN!!!! US AOs. |
Anonymous
? |
Anonymous
Personal statements don’t matter either. Once you meet the minimum entry requirements, it’s all about the results on the Oxford-specific test and the interview. The latter can be particularly tough for US candidates. |
Anonymous
| The personal statement can be overlooked by some but it can really help a lot of applicants. If you can properly convey your genuine love and passion as well as potential in physics it'll boost your chance by a lot. Next is the PAT anything below 70% will hurt your chances. 70%-80% is considered a good score and you'll still have a decent shot. 80% and above will definitely boost your chances. During the interview they want to know your thought process they'll challenge your thinking and see how you respond and will also throw unfamiliar topics. |
Anonymous
She needs to learn elementary physics at a high level. https://knzhou.github.io/writing/Advice.pdf You can learn basic calculus here: https://www.3blue1brown.com/lessons/essence-of-calculus Once she finished the book by Halliday, Resnick, and Krane, she should be well prepared to start practicing with past PAT problems. I also suggest you register for https://compos.web.ox.ac.uk/ - it's run by Oxford and teaches math and physics in depth for £25 per week. |
Anonymous
| Also, year 10 in the UK is grade 9 in the US so she is at the right level to start COMPOS year 10. |
Anonymous
what does "very good at it" mean, exactly? Does she know basic calculus? Has she passed AP physics 1 or 2 practice tests? How has she done on the f=ma exam? If you want a source of challenging mechanics problems, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Problems-Solutions-Introductory-Mechanics-David/dp/1482086921 |