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It is never too early to think about applying to Oxford, Cambridge or for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Dentistry. Each year a significant number of BWS pupils apply and a pleasing number of them achieve success; in a typical year about 30 students are awarded places at prestigious universities to continue their studies.
Competition is fierce, and anything which you can do to differentiate yourself from the competition will help. If you are really enthusiastic about studying a particular subject at Oxbridge, or training to be a doctor, veterinarian or a dentist be sure to talk to Mrs Armstrong, the Sixth Form Office, your Academic Mentor and your Teachers about which books they would recommend, what podcasts you should be listening to, what courses or work experience you should be planning and how you might go about extending your interest by researching a particular topic in greater depth. You should be reading widely and taking every opportunity given to you in class to extend your work beyond that required by the syllabus. Successful applicants have always shown a proactive approach to developing their love of learning in their chosen field.
Some subjects require applicants to take an admissions test; this may be a national test such as the UCAT for medicine or may be a paper set and marked by the university. Many courses will also require you to send in examples of marked work from Year 12. You should ensure that you familiarise yourself with all the details so that you can plan your preparation accordingly.
Support at Bishop's:
Introduction to Oxbridge - in the Autumn term
Introduction to making an application for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Dentistry - in the Autumn term
Individual guidance meetings with direction for supercurricuar activity
Progress meetings
Registering for UCAS and Personal statement workshops - in Summer term
Visit to the University of Oxford open day
Critical Thinking course to support admissions testing - begins in Summer term
Mock interview practice including MMIs - Year 13
Open days are a great source of information and it is considered essential for all serious applicants to have visited at least one open day. The UCAS deadline for these applications is usually 15th October, with BWS' internal deadline being around 23rd September.
University of Oxford Admissions tests
University of Cambridge admissions tests