<p>Since one can only apply to one of the two, I am curious about what makes each school different from the other, and which school is stronger in which area.</p>
<p>Anybody???</p>
<p>They are much more similar to each other than they are different (and I can say that since I was an undergrad at Cambridge and a graduate at Oxford).</p>
<p>Someone will no doubt post Oxford is better for arts and Cambridge is better for sciences. Over the last 800 years, that is marginally true. But marginally. It does NOT mean Oxford was first and Cambridge last in the UK, or vice versa. It means one was first, and the other second. I did Natural Sciences (Biological) at Cambridge. As a PhD student I demonstrated at some practical classes for Oxford undergrads studying Biological Sciences - ** and they were exactly the same practicals I had done at Cambridge**. The admissions process is roughly the same. The entry standards are similar. That’s WHY you can only apply to one. Otherwise all students apply to both and get admitted twice - reducing yield to 50%.</p>
<p>Oxford and Cambridge don’t offer exactly the same courses (For example, I chose Natural Sciences at Cambridge because it has more flexability in case I changed my mind about Biology. I didn’t change my mind and just took all the bio courses, so doing Biological Sciences at Oxford would have been very similar). So if only one offers the course for you, choose that one obviously. If they both offer the course you want, just decide if you’d prefer sleepy, quieter and smaller Cambridge or bustling, busy touristy Oxford and pick one. No harm done. In my experience, everyone worries terribly about college choice, but most students who cannot visit just pick one that looks pretty on the website! So if you can’t decide, do that. It’s not as crucial as you think.</p>
<p>Let me know if you ever go to a job interview were you are turned down because you went to Oxford rather than Cambridge (or vice versa). It’s not going to happen.</p>
<p>I wonder if you are a foreign student (especially American student - Americans seem the most obsessed with this) and you apply to Cambridge for arts or Oxford for sciences you are more likely to get in? Maybe? Bucking the trend.</p>
<p>In the UK, because you are studying only one course, it’s the standard of that course which matters rather than the overall uni really. You can find subject-specific league tables online. For some subjects neither Oxford or Cambridge is at the top. They aren’t necessrily the place for everything. You might like to consider Durham. It’s a mini Oxbridge and just as old (some parts older. One of the colleges began it’s life as a Norman castle) but easier to get in.</p>
<p>^ Thanks for that post. Yes I’m a foreign student (though not from the US), attending an IB school where a few students a year go to Oxbridge. I’m probably more an arts person, interested in history and international affairs.</p>
<p>try Oxford’s PPE? it’s a tough course (to get in and survive) but i heard it’s very rewarding.</p>
<p>^ Thank you for that, the course sounds very appealing although I’m not sure if I can get accepted into it 
Are there any similar (less competitive) courses?</p>
<p>Here’s Oxford’s data for 2000.</p>
<p>ARTS
Applications - 6,156
Acceptances - 1,976
% places to Applications - 32.1</p>
<p>SCIENCE
Applications - 3,184
Acceptances - 1,245
% places to Applications - 39.1</p>
<p>TOTAL
Applications - 9,340
Acceptances - 3,221
% places to Applications - 34.5</p>
<p>Most popular major in Oxford in 2000 was English with 928 applications received. The acceptance rate was 27.4.</p>
<p>PPE had 878 applications and had an admit rate of 28.7 whilst Law has 839 applications and had an admit rate of 27.3.</p>
<p>The toughest major to get onto was Law with Law Studies in Europe. It only had 11% acceptance rate. Economics & Management was the second toughest program to get onto with only 15.9 acceptance rate. The admit rate for Medicine was 22% whilst Chemistry has 70.5 admit rate.</p>
<p>IN CONTRAST</p>
<p>Cambridge had 11,383 applicants and only 3,135 students were admitted, or and admit rate of 27.5%. </p>
<p>The top 8 most popular programs at Cambridge are:
Natural Sciences - 1,816 applicants
Medical Sciences - 1,130
Engineering - 1,016
Law - 921
Mathematics - 861
English - 834
Economics - 722
Vet med - 716</p>
<p>Vet Med had the lowest acceptance rate with only 9.1%, followed by Computer Science with 17.6%, Architecture with 18.2%, History of Art with 21.1% and Economics with 21.7%. Meanwhile, Mathematics had 29.3% and Medical Sciences with 24.9%.</p>
<p>hanana, as long as you have the grades and you perform well on interview, you are more likely going to get accepted. The odds of getting into Oxbridge is lower than those of the Ivies. Of course, Oxbridge is superior to the “lower Ivies” and are as superior to HYPSM + Caltech & Berkeley.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post cupcake,you not only helped Hanana,but you also helped me tremendously,as I also am at cross roads as to which institution to apply to and attend</p>
<p>Wow, the admittance rate to these colleges are crazy high.</p>
<p>why not post this on a college forum based in the UK? While we are at it, can someone tell me the difference between the University of Timbuktu v. Bola Bola? duh…</p>
<p>RML: I beg to differ. As I’ve pointed out in the Harvard vs Oxford thread, Oxbridge aren’t really that selective. Of course, this depends on the applicant’s background. But for the regular UK applicant, the odds are actually better than those for top 10 US schools, simply because Oxbridge combined have about 6,000 students per year, taken from a population that is around 20% the size of that of the US. If you do the math, you’ll find that the proportion of students who get admitted to Oxbridge is comparable to the top 15-20 US colleges (~6000 at Oxbridge vs ~30,000 for US top 20), and the top 10 in the US are definitely more selective. Things get a little complicated when you take into account the preference for LACs, state schools and London universities, but I think at least the top 10 in the US compare very favorably to Oxbridge.</p>
<p>And before somebody brings the Oxbridge interviews into play, think about it in this way: no matter how rigorous or academic the Oxbridge admissions process is, they still have to take the same number of students every year, from a pool of students that is 5x smaller. </p>
<p>I’d imagine that your chances will be lower if you applied directly from the US, as UK students do receive 13 years of schooling and on average the curriculum is harder. But if you make the effort to move to the UK for high school (e.g. take the A-levels there), your chances will likely shoot up dramatically. Personally I know a good few dozen of people at Oxbridge who did this, and really the vast majority of them are just regular smart kids who would belong at top 10-20 schools in the US, not geniuses that some on this board take Oxbridge students to be.</p>
<p>Of course, the quality of an institution depends on a lot more than its selectivity, but nobody can make a sweeping statement that Oxbridge are superior to the Ivies overall.</p>
<p>You cannot compare admissions rates between the Ivies and Oxbridge because the UK system is so different. You cannot apply to Oxford and Cambridge. UK students can only apply to a total of FIVE schools. So, there are far fewer applicants to the elite UK schools - that doesn’t mean the quality of the applicants is low.</p>
<p>rankingsaddict, </p>
<p>I never compared Oxbridge’s selectivity level to Ivies. I think that’s something I find it very hard to do. Oxbridge requires A-Levels. Ivies require SATs. They are entirely different thing. All I know is that based on odds, the Ivies are harder to get into. But in terms of requirements, Oxbridge are harder to get into. For example, everyone admitted in Cambridge maths is talented enough to win a place at any Ivy.</p>
<p>“Of course, Oxbridge is superior to the “lower Ivies” and are as superior to HYPSM + Caltech & Berkeley.”</p>
<p>HYPSM are superior to Oxford and Cambridge overall, which are equal to the other Ivies. Student at my former high school (a top international high school with among the highest average IB score), Most 15/17 of the cross admit between HYPSM and Oxbridge choose HYPSM, I believe 10/15 of cross admits chose Dartmouth/Columbia/Brown over Oxbridge mainly to experience liberal arts. I remember this well because it was the topic of lunch discussion for over a week.</p>
<p>^ I guess most students in your high school aren’t that well-endowed financially to attend Oxbridge. Hahaha…</p>
<p>Well, kidding aside, your high school alone could not singlehandedly dictate which institutions are better than others.</p>
<p>^ To the contrary, the 2 that chose Oxbridge came from wealthy but not rich families. They tried to save money by graduating in three years. About half the ones who chose HYPSM didn’t receive any financial aid, which, costing $58000/year for 4 years, would make them substantially more expensive than Oxbridge.</p>
<p>At my high school, Oxbridge seemed very regional, while the Ivy League appeared to be the new worldly pinnacle. From what I’ve heard of other UWCs, what I’ve seen at my high school applies to many other top IB schools as well. The point is, Oxbridge is equivalent to the Ivy League, with neither above or below the other. I believe students at the Ivy League are very different from students at Oxbridge, with the former much more pre-professional and the latter being much more interested in academia. Top programs at Oxbridge are comparable to programs at top Ivies, and poor programs at Oxbridge are comparable to poor programs at the Ivies. Although I still believe a team of top math students from Harvard (most of which seem to be more interested working for De Shaw than in pursuing academia) would beat the team from Cambridge.</p>
<p>lol RML has complex</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ivies require SATs.
[quote]
</p>
<p>They require more than SAts. lots of ppl with strong sats donnt make ivies. They want you to be close to top of your class. Consistent achievement as opposed to being tested just once. They also require ECs.</p>
<p>To the OP- flip a coin :)</p>
<p>I’m sorry IvyPBear. For me, the most elite high school (Independent Preparatory school) I know is Eton, <a href=“Home - Eton College”>Home - Eton College; [YouTube</a> - Eton College students](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube) and to some extent, Harrow and Westminster School. Your HS isn’t in most people’s radar.</p>
<p><a href=“Day 1-Eton College - YouTube”>Day 1-Eton College - YouTube;
<p>lol u definitely do have a complex. Even Eton and Harrow struggle to send their students to brown and such anyways</p>