questions about oxbridge.. also, chance me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

hey ! my names ari, and i just have a few questions.

so ive been thinking recently about applying to one of oxbridge (since i cant apply to them both?). only problem is, i just found out today that the application deadline is in 10 days! so first, looking at my qualifications below, do i have a chance, and i mean is it worth it to apply in this time? and then which one do i go for?

and i guess the big question is, since im planning on going into the sciences, and both only offer BA degrees, is it worth it, and would that diminish my chances for med school?

currently going to an all-girls private school in ontario, canada as a senior

gender: female

ethnicity: desi

also identify as lgbt+

desired field of study: either astrophysics, or pre-med

Academics-


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3.9 GPA, i think? thats counting all four years of high school, but i have a 90+ average for this year
took one AP course, as it was the only one offered at my school
grade 12 courses are advanced functions, english, chemistry, biology, physics, french, calculus, and astronomy
in the top 5% in my grade
my SAT score was 2300
gonna take the bio, chem, math II, and french SAT IIs this year!

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ECs/Activites:


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debated individually at the national level this year. head of my team, won several competitions, went to provincials as a team last month
lead oboe in my school band? chamber choir. have played classical piano for 12 years, doing my grade 8 RCM exam in june, will then get my teaching qualification
direct a branch of my family’s charity that funds children’s schools in india
have my own charity that does pop-up gourmet restaurants for people who live under less fortunate circumstances in the GTA
was house head at my school/member of the athletics and spirit council
FRC robotics
did an astrophysics & cosmology course at Brown last summer
MVP at the Michael J Fox Foundation
80 volunteer hours
co-founder of Pennies for Parkinson’s, a yearly Canadian fundraising endeavour done in schools
nominated for and attended Ontario Educational Leadership Camp twice
7 years of acting & directing experience in theatre over 14 productions
founding a TEDx event in my region that will take place in a few months
done one TEDx talk already, have two lined up for the next six months, but possibly more haha you never know

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that’s about it for ECs I think? if it makes a diff, i can also speak five languages: english, french, hindi, spanish, & dutch, and am learning mandarin, german, swedish, icelandic, italian, and ASL

thanks for reading!!

2

oh whoops! forgot to mention in my ECs that im on the gender equality council in the same-sex school organization my school’s a part of, and that im also a rep for them.

3

I’m not sure if this is right, but I read somewhere that OxBridge doesnt care about ECs or GPA. They don’t value creativity and uniqueness as much as USA universities. Instead they compare your AP, IB, ACT, and SAT scores to other international students to apply.

4

Btw, Oxford requires you to take at least 3 AP tests (scores of 5) in fields related to your study. Your SAT score is great. They also require 3 SAT Subject tests above 700. Because you don’t reach their minimum of AP test requirements, I’m not certain whether your application will be considered.

5

@divinggirl6 hey! thank you so much for your replies.

omg is that true, that they dont care about your gpa or ecs? why is that?

about the AP tests though, ive actually spoken with an oxford representative before and they said that for canadian students, all you need to compete with the USA requirement, which is the AP tests, is the secondary school diploma for our province and a certain GPA, and that doing any other tests, like SAT IIs, automatically places us above the basic US requirement lmao its hilarious but convenient for us

6

Oxbridge only cares about your highly specialized excellence in the field you want to study.
You’d need about 88-90% average in each of 3 subjects to qualify for the next step.
An application to Oxford requires years of preparation - you’ll have a mandatory interview where you’ll have to discuss a dozen of books on the subject you intend to study, or answer impromptu really hard questions/problems.

7

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1817382-how-does-one-apply-to-oxbridge-international-baccalaureate.html#latest

See post #7.

8

If you are planning on doing undergrad at Oxford and then Medical School in Canada be very very careful about prerequisites: they vary tremendously by university, and for many Oxford / UK universities may not be the best preparation.

9

@studiokillers Lol I asked a similar question as you. The link @renaissancedad provided is the link to my question. It has a ton of great answers!! Good luck