Time more Bruneians seek entry to Oxford, Cambridge

OXFORD and Cambridge are the top universities in the UK. If you are a bright sixth former with good grades, you should think seriously about applying.

Don't believe people who tell you that Oxford and Cambridge are full of toffy-nosed Brits who live in castles. That may have been the case in 1890, but it isn't the case now.

A few aristocrats may still be around, but they tend to keep quiet about their titles. The majority of students come from government schools and are not from wealthy families.

These days both universities are very cosmopolitan. There are students from all over the world, including many Moslems. You'll find mosques in both cities and it is easy to buy halal food. Oxford and Cambridge have many Malaysians and Singaporeans, although not many Bruneians. It's time there were more.

It isn't true that you have to be a genius to get in, although you must be intelligent and have excellent results at O-level or GCSE and at AS level.

The admissions tutors are looking for intellectual acuity and potential and they will take into account your educational background. They look at the preparation you had for the admissions process and recognise that many schools do not prepare students specifically for Oxford and Cambridge entrance. You have to choose. You cannot apply to both, except for certain music scholarships. The first thing is to decide what you want to study. Oxford and Cambridge do not offer every subject.

At Cambridge you will be given a broader introduction to subjects like science than at many other universities and you can specialise later. At Oxford, you can study chemistry from day one.

Applying to universities in the UK is relatively easy. Your school will be registered with Ucas, the clearing house for all UK admissions. Your higher education teacher will tell you the buzzword and you can then start the admissions process through the Ucas website (www.ucas.com).

You will be applying for entry in September 2009 or possibly 2010, if you are thinking about a gap year. The site is open for registrations now.

There are plenty of Oxbridge scholarships for Brunei students, offered in conjunction with the Brunei Ministry of Education.

British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, make offers to candidates.

These are conditional on results. In other words, a university will say to a candidate we will take you to read physics next year provided you get an A and two Bs. If you get them, you are in. It's a contract. If you miss your offer by a grade or two, the university may still take you. It all depends on the competition.

If you miss a grade by just a few marks, get your school to apply for an emergency remark. If your grade goes up, the university has to take you, but, beware, grades can fall too.

Entry to Oxford and Cambridge always includes an interview. For subjects like Maths or Engineering, the interviews are very technical.

Expect to be asked lots of Maths questions and to be taken through a problem. You probably won't be able to do the problem on your own without a nudge in the right direction, which the interviewers will give. They are trying to see if you can approach a problem intelligently.

Applications to UK universities have to be submitted online. For Oxford and Cambridge you have to submit a paper form too. Your school should have these. If not, the British Council will have a supply.

Oxbridge applications must reach the admissions tutor before September 20th. This means they must leave here in good time by courier.

On the Ucas form, and on the Oxbridge paper forms, you have to write a personal statement. This is an extremely important part of the application.

You may apply to five universities in total, but for no more than four medicine or veterinary science courses. It is normal to apply for the same course at different universities, although a little variation is allowed.

It is practically impossible to write the personal statement, if you apply for widely differing subjects.

In the personal statement you have to demonstrate passion for your chosen subject and teachability. The Oxbridge paper forms allow you to tailor the personal statement specifically to the Oxford or Cambridge course.

Teachability means receptiveness and the ability to rise to the challenges of your chosen course. Most universities will decide whether to make you an offer on the basis of your Ucas form, so the personal statement matters. You should choose universities that match your abilities.

Don't go to a university that requires only Cs or Ds, if you are going to get As. The course will be less challenging and your degree will not have the same prestige.

If you are a good student, you should apply to the Russell Group of universities. There are a few other very good universities that do not belong to the Russell Group. You are allowed to hold two offers, a firm offer and an insurance offer.

Make sure the insurance offer is a little bit easier to achieve. You cannot trust the advice of agents, because they are not objective. They receive commission from the universities for which they work. They are unlikely to suggest that you go to a university, from which they do not receive commission.

Apply through your school, not through an agent. Oxford and Cambridge always interview for all courses.

Cambridge will be in Brunei at JIS on November 3rd. Cambridge may ask applicants in some subjects to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or Singapore, but many Bruneian applicants will be interviewed here. The MOE will have details at a later stage. We do not know yet whether Oxford is coming to Brunei, but admission tutors will certainly go to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Alternatively, you can opt to fly to the United Kingdom for interview, in which case the application must reach Oxford or Cambridge by October 15th.

There may be advantages to this: you will see the Colleges and you will be interviewed by the dons who will teach you — but there are also some disadvantages: you may experience culture shock or jet lag.

Why is this article appearing now? Because it is vital to get on with all the research and start writing your personal statement.

Those applying for the most competitive universities need time to read around their subjects. Lots of students who are forecasted to get three As, don't get into Oxbridge. To get a place at all the top universities, you need to stand out from the crowd. Good luck.

The writer is the principal of Jerudong International School.

The Brunei Times