In the first blog in our series of conversations with Schools Liason Officers at Oxford and Cambridge, Seren interviews Natalie Thompson, the Schools Liason Officer for Magdalene College, Cambridge. Natalie talks about her job, the outreach events she runs, and has lots of advice for applicants
What is an SLO?
An SLO or School Liason Officer can mean different things in different colleges, depending on how many people you have working in Outreach at a particular college. I'm the only SLO at Magdalene, so I'm responsible for all things Outreach, whether it's organising the open days or visiting schools, having schools come and visit us, hosting residentials at the college - anything to do under 18s and outreach. At some other colleges, this job is split into roles for a couple of different jobs, for example, having one person working more closely with the link areas and one person working more broadly. But for me, it's all things Outreach: all different events, whether in Cambridge, in the regions that we work with, or online.
How did you end up at Cambridge as an SLO?
I wasn't planning to apply to Cambridge at all - at my secondary school they had a handful of people apply to Oxbridge each year, but they’d never had anyone get in. I'd been to Oxford on a school trip towards the end of Year 12 and quite enjoyed it. Then in the Easter of Year 12, I'd entered an essay competition run by Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. I didn't expect to go anywhere, but I won a prize, and I was invited to come to the open day in Cambridge to collect it, where I absolutely fell in love with the place, and really wanted to come. I applied to Fitzwilliam (which also happens to be my link area college), and got a place to do History. Throughout my time at Fitz, I was a student ambassador, and I was also a CAMbassadors (https://www.cao.cam.ac.uk/cambassadors) for the university. I volunteered on some charity projects like InsideUni, and Universify (https://www.universifyeducation.com/). I really liked working with students and demystifying Cambridge and meeting students from a similar background to me with similar concerns, and I could reassure them a bit about applying to the university. I decided to stay in Cambridge after I graduated and applied for an SLO job, and I ended up at Magdalene!
What is a link region?
In Oxford and Cambridge, the colleges are assigned areas of the UK that we work in for Outreach purposes. This doesn't mean that only students from that region can apply to the college, or they're more likely to get a place at the college, it's more to give them a point of contact, with an SLO with a college and for outreach events and any queries they have in the application process. Here at Magdalene, our link areas are Merseyside, the Isle of Man and North and West Wales - next week I’m visiting schools in Liverpool.
We also have schools from those regions visiting us, and we run residential programs just for students from those areas. It ensures that every region is getting equal attention from Cambridge and that regions further away from Cambridge, aren't getting left behind just because they are hard to get to.
I think it provides quite a good scheme to have a point of contact and a college that, if they're not sure which college to apply to, they often do pick their link college, and for events leading up to the application process, it's a chance to get involved with the university and have someone to ask questions to.
Is there a typical day-to-day, or is it very much dependent on the time of year?
It definitely depends on the time of year. From January until about April is a very busy Outreach time because it's when we're working with Year 11s on A-Level choices and Year 12s on finalising their subject and university choices. Because it's not exam season or admission season, by default it becomes Outreach season. During that time, I'm usually either visiting a school or hosting a school visit in Cambridge. If it’s more of an admin day, then I am planning and booking in visits, scheduling trips away, or working with Fellows and students to organise bigger events. We also do evaluation - figuring out which events are working and going through the feedback, and tracking the students progression after they participated in events.
When it's the interview period in early December, I help the admissions team with organising interviews and admissions tests. In the summer I go out to UCAS fairs around the country and come back for the open days at Cambridge, so it’s definitely a very varied job!
You mentioned about helping students with A-Level choices - do you have any broad advice for people applying to Oxbridge?
This is one of the things that I talk to students the most about. I talk to more Year 10s and 11s than I do Year 12s, because it's really important to get the right A-Level choices.
I wish more students knew about the importance of doing the right A-Levels for the course you want to do at Oxford or Cambridge. I talk to a lot of Year 12 who are already too far through their A-Levels to change subjects and they hadn't realised that they needed a particular A-Level to go on to their chosen university course.
Before you finalise your A-Levels, I really encourage students to have a look at university websites and the entry requirements to see which subjects are recommended or required for that course. The Humanities are often more flexible with subject choices, but the STEM subjects often require 3 or more STEM A-Levels, often including Maths and Further Maths.
If your degree of choice needs Further Maths but your school doesn’t offer it, perhaps consider moving to a school that does, or doing some self-studying in your own time to make sure that your maths is really strong if you're going to apply to those courses. It can make the difference between a strong application and one that isn't..
Aside from A-Level choices, what is the most common misconception about applying to Oxbridge?
The idea of imposter syndrome and that Oxbridge isn't for someone like them. That's the position that I was in when I was applying to Cambridge myself. I came from a school where no one had ever got into Oxford or Cambridge, and I am still the only one to get in. It was very much fear of the unknown. If you don’t know anyone who's been to Oxford or Cambridge or haven't visited the cities before, it's quite hard to know what your life will be like there. To combat these fears, participating in Outreach events and coming to open days or doing summer schools are all great: anything to get a sense of what your day-to-day life could be like if you're a student at this university.
Oxford and Cambridge are really exciting places to be. It's lots of different like-minded people who are equally enthusiastic about their subject and want to learn more about it, from all different backgrounds. It's becoming more and more diverse year on year with every intake of students that we have. It might be a big leap, but there is a lot to gain from the really high-quality teaching and learning opportunities that we have, and the chance to engage with other students who have a similar enthusiasm for your subject. You can still apply to four other universities if you apply to Oxford or Cambridge, so there's nothing to lose and a lot to be gained.
Another misconception that I often encounter is that a lot of students think that Cambridge is more expensive than other universities, and that's actually not the case. In reality, we have very short terms and long holidays and the college system means that you only pay for your accommodation during term time, so you're actually paying for fewer weeks than you are at other universities with a year-round housing contract. Bursaries, travel grants, and hardship funds are often much more generous at Oxford and Cambridge than other newer universities, and the cities themselves are very easy to get around - you can usually walk, cycle, or get a very cheap bus, so you’ll often spend less on transport.
What do you think the biggest barrier in applications to Oxbridge is?
It goes back to that fear of the unknown - I still think it is seen as quite different to applying to other universities, because of the application process with a lot of extra hoops to jump through. Ultimately, it's still a university. You're still getting lots of the same experiences whichever university you go to. It's very easy to get emotionally invested in your application to Oxbridge because you spend so much time on it and dedicate so much of yourself to it - I know I did. Going to visit other universities, having a backup, and ensuring that you're not pinning all your hopes on one university can all help with this. Understand that there are lots of great universities - Oxford and Cambridge are just two of them. You'll enjoy yourself and have a good time at whichever university you end up at.
Applying to Oxford and Cambridge can be a really good experience regardless of whether you get in or not. There's still a lot to be learnt from the process, even if it doesn't quite go to plan in the end.
What else do you wish students would know when they were applying to Oxbridge?
How much help and support there is. I didn't know about many Outreach events and when I was applying, and I come across a lot of students now, who had no idea either. There are websites and databases of all the Outreach events going on in Oxford 🔗 and Cambridge 🔗. You can filter it by year group, subject, and area - there's so much going on, whether it's residentials or summer schools or webinars, or opportunities to ask questions of current students or admissions teachers. There's things happening year round for lots of different year groups. They're usually all free and often all online so you can access them very easily. They are there to support students, so definitely make the most of them.
Are there any particular events that you want to advertise that Magdalene has coming up?
I am doing a personal statement workshop 🔗, for any UK student at State school at the end of May and beginning of June, and those are online in the evenings, so you can come along and ask any questions. We've also got the Cambridge open days, on the 4th and 5th of July. I'll be there on the Magdalene stand handing out merch and answering questions. That's a really good chance to see the university, and see all the colleges and departments.
For any younger year groups (Year 10s and 11s) there is a mailing list 🔗 where you can indicate what sort of things you're interested in, and I can send you an email when those things open for next year, when you're in year 12. This will be things like summer schools and more webinars and we also do subject Easter sessions led by academics. There's something for everyone.
What's your favourite thing about Magdalene?
The new library is amazing, it is a fantastic building, so definitely have a look at some pictures of it! It opened two years ago and has so many workspaces. It's all wood and natural lighting, it's just beautiful. I love showing students around it because their mouths just fall open in awe, and you can see that they’re really imagining themselves working in there and living the life of a Cambridge student.
What are the best ways for current Cambridge students to get involved in Outreach?
If possible, become a student ambassador at your college. It's the best way to see lots of different types of Outreach events, and how helpful it is to hear from current students. I have student ambassadors who help with school visits to Magdalene, usually giving tours, and Q and A's. Meeting the current students and hearing about their lives is often the highlight of the open days and residentials for prospective students. I think it's a really rewarding role and it's often a paid role as well, so it's a good way to get some money during term time or in the holidays. It's so rewarding for me as an SLO to hear from the students and the teachers about how valuable it is to hear those current student voices.
Is there anything else you want to say about the College system at Oxford and Cambridge?
It's definitely not the most important thing, because you're still getting the same kind of teaching experience at whichever college you go to. That being said, some things to consider are the age of the college - if you particularly want to go to a newer college or an older college for example. If you want to live in a historic building, you probably aren't going have an en suite bathroom. If you want really modern accommodation, maybe pick a more modern college or college that has recently built a new accommodation block.
Location can also be another factor to consider - if you particularly want to be very central, or a little bit further out. I chose to be on the outskirts of Cambridge, as I quite liked being able to go into town when I wanted to, but also come away, but nothing's too far away. Another factor is the size of the college - Magdalene is quite small, which means that it’s very friendly, everyone knows each other and gets on quite well, whereas some people want to be in quite a lively, big bustling college.
Going to an open day is the best thing to do if possible because you get to see everything all at once, although it can all blur into one once you've seen lots of different colleges. Even just having a walk around Cambridge and getting a sense of where the colleges are and what they look like can be useful.
However, there's also a chance that you can get an offer from a different College than the one you applied to - this can happen if your original College thinks you're good enough for a place at Cambridge, but hasn't got a space for you. Then they could put you in the “winter pool” and you could be taken out by a different College. Most students end up very, very happy with the college they are at.
Don't stress about college choice too much - if you really can't decide you can do an open application where you're randomly assigned somewhere, and there's no advantage or disadvantage doing it either way, it's really up to you!