OXFORD, CAMBRIDGE AND THE RUSSELL GROUP KIRSTY SIMPSON, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD CONTENTS
¡ Studying at University ¡ Choosing a subject ¡ Choosing a university ¡ Introduction to the Russell Group and Oxbridge ¡ Student Finance ¡ Preparing for University ¡ Questions? STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY
¡ Further study after school, concentrating on a subject of your choice. ¡ Courses normally last 3 years. ¡ Move away from home (maybe?). ¡ Gain a Bachelor’s degree- beneficial/ required for a range of career paths. HOW ARE YOU TAUGHT AT UNIVERSITY?
Lectures Practical Sessions Seminars and tutorials
A lot of independent study WHAT DO YOU LEARN AT UNIVERSITY?
¡ Your subject!
¡ ‘Transferable skills’
¡ Life skills
¡ Meeting new people
¡ Exploring new interests A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Q is from Rochdale. She is a first year student at the University of Oxford, studying Economics and Management A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A UNIVERSITY STUDENT
“I only have a few lectures and classes this term, so I have been spending most of my time doing independent work. I wake up at around 8:30am, get ready, have breakfast and then try to be in the library by 10am. I work for a few hours and then come back to college for lunch with my friends at around 12:30pm. I have an Economics tutorial at 1pm and this lasts for 2 hours. After my tutorial I go punting with my friends and then I go to a yoga class. At 6pm I get dinner in hall (it’s Carvery Monday). After dinner I go to the library and work until 9:45pm. After this I watch a film with my friends and then get ready for bed.” Is Q’s day different to a day at school? How? WHY GO TO UNIVERSITY?
¡ Become an expert in a subject you love. ¡ Improve your career prospects. ¡ Have new experiences. ¡ Become more independent. ¡ Make new friends. ¡ Have fun! CHOOSING A SUBJECT
Something Familiar? Something Brand New??
¡ History ¡ Classics ¡ English ¡ Law ¡ Sciences- Biology, Physics, Chemistry ¡ Archaeology ¡ Languages- French, German, Spanish ¡ Sciences- Biochemistry, Earth Sciences, Materials Science. ¡ Religious studies / Theology ¡ Languages- Greek, Turkish, Japanese, Hebrew, etc. ¡ Geography CHOOSING A SUBJECT
When choosing a subject remember- course choice is not career choice!
60% of graduate jobs advertised by the Oxford University careers service do not require a specific degree subject. These jobs are looking for the transferable skills you get from studying any degree. WHAT DID THEY STUDY AT UNIVERSITY?
Rowan Atkinson – Engineering, University of Oxford WHAT DID THEY STUDY AT UNIVERSITY?
Jessica Ennis – Psychology (University of Sheffield) WHAT DID THEY STUDY AT UNIVERSITY?
J K Rowling – French and Classics (University of Exeter) CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY
¡ Does it offer the degree I want? ¡ Can I study abroad or get work experience? ¡ What are its university rankings? ¡ Do I have the right grades to get in? ¡ Do I want to be close to home or further away? ¡ Do I want to live in a city, a town, a campus? ¡ Do I like it there??? UNIVERSITY RANKINGS
¡ Give you some idea of what it is like to study at a University. ¡ Quality of teaching- number of academics per student, degree classifications, etc. ¡ Graduate prospects (eg employment, salary) ¡ Student satisfaction / happiness ¡ Compare in UK or world, whole University or just your course ¡ Rankings are a helpful guide, but should be used in conjunction with visiting Universities! CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY
¡ UCAS allows students to apply to 5 different universities- meaning you can choose some ‘safe choices’ and some which are more of stretch Aim high!!! THE RUSSELL GROUP
¡ A group of 24 of the UK’s top Universities, with very strong research and teaching. ¡ Great graduate outcomes- graduates hold 60% of UK graduate jobs (and make up 17% of UK graduate pool). ¡ Receive around 75% of all research grants and income to UK universities. ¡ Account for around 60% of all doctorates awarded in the UK. ¡ NOT the only ‘good’ universities in the UK, but one measure you could take into account when making university choices. OXBRIDGE
¡ ‘Oxbridge’= University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. ¡ Oldest Universities in the UK (Oxford 1096, Cambridge1209) ¡ Regularly top two universities worldwide for teaching and research. WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT OXBRIDGE? COLLEGES COLLEGES
¡ Your home within the larger university ¡ Provide accommodation, library, food, clubs, events, etc. ¡ Provide academic and pastoral support. ¡ Offer a selection of courses, don’t usually have a particular course specialism. ¡ DO NOT control your teaching- this is done by the larger university who set curriculum and exams. WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT OXBRIDGE? TUTORIALS AND SUPERVISIONS
¡ Small group teaching- around 3 students to one academic. ¡ Discussion of the subject (not a lecture). ¡ Usually based around an essay or problem questions. ¡ Inspire you to explore your personal interests, support you with areas you find challenging. STUDENT FINANCE UK GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN, 2019 ENTRY STUDENTS FROM ENGLAND
Maintenance Household income loan £0 - £25,000 £8,944 £25,000 - £42,875 £8,944 - £6,650 £42,875 - £62,215 £6,650 - £4,168 £62,215 + £4,168 OXFORD BURSARIES – 2020 ENTRY
Household income Annual Oxford Bursary
Oxford Bursaries are £5,000 or less £5,000 non-repayable support £5,001 - £27,500 £4,200
£27,500 - £30,000 £2,000 No separate £30,001–£35,000 £1,500 application process- £35,001–£37,500 £1,000 assessed using student loan application £37,501–£40,000 £800
£40,001 – £42,875 £500 CAMBRIDGE BURSARIES – 2019 ENTRY WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN STUDENTS?
High grades at Engagement school – in with subject GCSE and A inside and level! outside school
Students who Problem can solving and communicate critical their passion thinking for the course skills THE OXBRIDGE APPLICATION PROCESS
Choose Choose a Check admission UCAS your College or open assessment/ test application course application registration deadlines
SAQ – Submit written Interview Decision Cambridge only work and/or take (December) (January) (22 October) admission assessment/ test ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
No minimum GCSE requirements…. But they are important!
We look at the school context of your grades. PREPARING TO APPLY PREPARING TO APPLY – EXTRA-CURRICULARS AND SUPER- CURRICULARS
Extra-curriculars Super-curriculars
Hobbies and interests not related to your subject: Engagement with your subject outside of GCSE/ A Level ¡ Sports studies ¡ Music ¡ Summer Schools ¡ Drama ¡ Public Lectures ¡ Volunteering ¡ Work Experience ¡ Duke of Edinburgh ¡ Relevant clubs ¡ Scouts/ Guides/ Cadets ¡ EPQ SUPER-CURRICULAR….. BE CURIOUS…….
Raising aspirations Oxplore aims to engage you with Promoting broad thinking debates and thoughts that tackle Stimulating intellectual complex ideas across a wide curiosity range of subjects. Using the latest research www.uniq.ox.ac.uk @oxforduniq
Applications open online q A range of university access programmes for December - January lower sixth students, exclusively for UK state schools q Help young people make informed choices about university q A taste of life at Oxford q Offer over 30 academic strands q We offer residential and digital programmes. q UNIQ is 100% free. CONNECT WITH US…….
2019 University Open Days 3 and 4 July 20 September THANK YOU!
For the most recent information and advice about anything in this presentation, please refer to our website. ¡www.ox.ac.uk/study ¡Got questions? ¡ox.ac.uk/ask
ANY QUESTIONS?