Oxford (Day 6)

HELLO!

This is Lauren and Crystal, and we are your bloggers for today :)

Time does fly, it is already day six! Today was full of interesting and new experiences to say the least. We tried our hand at punting, visited the Ashmolean museum/ went shopping and had an admissions talk as well as a Philosophy lecture!

Punting. Punting was indeed an unique experience. Then again, it felt somewhat like kayaking (the one we all had a go at during OBS). Some of us were really good at punting but unforturnately, some of us weren't and for those who weren't as capable in that sense, it felt pretty daunting. For one, our group wasn't able to complete the route because we were stuck going in circles for 45 minutes and eventually took another 45 minutes to get back to the rental station. Quite an experience indeed! Some groups were most definitely more successful and some even managed to establish their own methods of punting. Nevertheless, we are certain that everybody learnt a lot from the experience! :)

After punting, half of us visited the Ashmolean museum and the other half went shopping around Oxford's city district! Both parties enjoyed themselves very much! Those who visited the Ashmolean museum were full of praise for its fabulous and wide-ranging exhibits while those who went shopping came back with some great buys.

Following that, we proceeded to walk to St. Catherine's College where we had an admissions talk by an admissions officer from the college. We are sure that most of us have gained much from the talk! Personally, we gained new insights on college life, the support network as well as entry requirements.

Some information for those who did not take notes! :)

Background information on the U

The University of Oxford is the oldest English-speaking university and it has been around for over 900 years. Over time, it has produced 47 Nobel Prize winners! What's special about Oxford is it's turtorial teaching system which they claim is "unsurpassed elsewhere today". Currently, 14% of Oxford students are international students.

As an Oxford student, one would be a member of the University, a department as well as a college! There are also many sports (E.g. Tennis, Fencing, Dance, Horseriding, Ice Hockey etc) and clubs and societies (E.g. Law Society, Harry Potter Society, Oxford Optimists, Jazz Society, Wine Tasting Society etc) that one can join or participate in as a student at Oxford!

Entrance Requirements

Generally, 3As at the A Levels is a must! Oxford also seems to focus a lot on academics! During the admissions talk, they stressed the importance of being academically inclined and interested in the study area of your choice. One must also show aptitude and potential. To apply, you would have to submit your UCAS application (5 UK university choices, personal statement etc.) by 15th October and your interview application in Sept. As of now, interviews will still be conducted in Singapore. However, in the future, interviews might be conducted via Skype/ in Oxford etc!

Considerations

- High School Transcripts
- Exam/ Predicted Grades
- Personal Statement
- Teacher's Reference
- Pre-Interview Tests (esp for popular courses like medicine, law or PPE)
- Written Work
- Written Tests at Interview
- Interview(s) - Interviews are said to be entirely academic and will be discussion based. It is usually 20-30 minutes long and it should be intellectually challenging! It should somewhat take the form of a mini tutorial.

Fees

About USD$16, 000 for 30 weeks living expenses, and USD$40, 000 or less for course fees. Scholarship applications and more information can be found at the website: www.admissions.ox.ac.uk. The student union website is as such: www.ousu.org.

After the admissions talk, we had a Philosophy lecture by a Philosophy tutor from Oxford! He talked to us about "The Explanatory Gap". The philosophy lecture we had was certainly mind-blowing and somewhat different from the philosophy lessons we had in school. It was to some extent mind boggling and at times, we were not exactly sure of the direction we were heading. Despite our many questions, the lecturer was extremely kind and he tried to answer most of the queries we had. At the end of the day, philosophy seemed to leave us with more questions that answers. But as the lecturer said, philosophical discussions leave us more enlightened although we might not come to any concrete conclusions! All in all, a very enlightening lecture indeed. In addition, he added that philosophy can be applied to various other fields such as Science. For example, after a certain level, all scientific knowledge can only exist as theories and assumptions before mankind, as of now, is limited by our knowledge constraints.

Interesting huh? (:

Our day ended off quite nicely with a dinner at Browns' restaurant where we all had lots of fun! Right now, we've reached the Travelodge in Cambridge and are more or less settled in. So...that's all for now!

Goodnight!

P.S. Photos will be uploaded after the trip! :)