Life as a Scottish Student

Video series: Live Q&As with students

Summary

Scottish students talk about their application experiences.

Description

We catch up Scottish students and hear their thoughts on how to approach the Oxbridge applications from Scotland. Our panellists cover a lot of topics specific to Scotland, such as the age gap between Scottish and English students, and how to adjust from Highers.

⭐Panellists:

Emma (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Oxford)
Finlay (Engineering Science, Oxford)
Mhairi (French and Philosophy, Oxford)
Colin (Archaeology, Cambridge)
Finn (History, Cambridge)
Kai (Maths, Cambridge)

Timestamps:
00:00:01 - Introduction
00:00:14 - Introduction to event
00:00:48 - Introduction to InsideUni
00:01:22- Introduction to panel members

00:02:07 - Introduction to Section 1: Day in the Life
00:02:18 – Day in the life of an Archaeology student (Cambridge)
00:03:52 – Day in the life of a PPE student (Oxford)
00:05:10 - Day in the life of a Maths student (Cambridge)

00:06:34 - Introduction to Section 2: Pre-submitted and Live Questions
00:07:04 – Do you have to be something special, or can normal people get into Oxbridge?
00:08:30 – How do applications work, and are there any necessary requirements to get in?
00:12:44 - Is coming from Scotland a disadvantage when it comes to getting an offer from Oxbridge?
00:14:55 - What is the workload like? What happens in lectures and supervisions/tutorials?
00:19:02 - How do you choose a college? Which colleges are self-catered? Which colleges are best for Law?
00:24:10 - How much does it cost to go to Oxbridge?
00:28:58 - Can you maintain a job while at Oxbridge?
00:31:19 - What are the differences in the education systems between England and Scotland, and how does this impact applying to Oxbridge?
00:34:16 - How important are Highers for whether you get in or not?
00:35:06 - Will the admissions tests contain content which hasn’t yet been covered in Higher courses yet?
00:36:53 - For languages, will I be interviewed in my second language?
00:39:25 - What was the main thing you were worried about when applying from Scotland?
00:41:03 - Can you get a part-time job back home outside of term time?
00:42:39 - How did you cope with being younger than English students?
00:43:32 - Can you study abroad as part of your degree?
00:46:15 - What is the SAAS application like? Is it a disadvantage to apply to SAAS and study in England? Are there any scholarships available for Scottish students?
00:47:13 - When did you start preparing for entrance tests?

00:48:07 - Introduction to Section 3: One useful resource we used when we applied
00:48:18 – Finn (History, Cambridge): History Virtual Classroom (https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/welcome-ou...)
00:48:43 - Mhairi (French and Philosophy, Oxford): University of Oxford podcasts (https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/)
00:49:09 - Finlay (Engineering, Oxford): (iwanttostudyengineering.org)
00:49:32 - Kai (Maths, Cambridge): outreach events, interview workshop
00:50:05 - Emma (PPE, Oxford): YouTubers
00:50:27 - Colin (Archaeology, Cambridge): departmental reading lists

00:51:25 – Conclusion/thanks/closing