Oxbridge Entrance Tutor 2012

Help Applying to Oxbridge 2012

I'm a part-time tutor for Oxford colleges, having taken my doctorate at Oxford and my masters at Cambridge; so I have considerable experience of the Oxbridge entrance application procedure, both as a student and as a tutor.

I provide help and advice to candidates, in all subjects, applying to Oxbridge; demystifying the process for them.

If I had to stress one point it is that Oxbridge applicants can be over-coached; the trick is to get the balance right, so that you avoid common mistakes without sounding like a programmed automaton.

There are four main areas where your Oxbridge application will benefit from informed advice from an experienced Oxbridge tutor:

drafting your Oxbridge personal statement
preparing for your Oxbridge interview
typical Oxbridge interview questions
preparing for the Cambridge or Oxford TSA, or similar thinking test
applying to study philosophy at Oxbridge

If you'd like help with your 2012 Oxbridge application, then I'd be delighted to receive your email:

Best Oxbridge Personal Statements

What distinguishes the best Oxbridge personal statements? To answer that question you need to understand the role of the personal statement in the Oxbridge admissions process.

The head of Cambridge admissions recently publicly conceded that the Oxbridge personal statement does not contribute towards the candidate's overall score. So what is the function of the personal statement?

(More on writing successful Oxbridge personal statements....)

If you'd like advice on writing a successful Oxbridge personal statement, I'd be delighted to receive your email:

Help with Oxbridge Interview Preparation

Oxbridge interview preparation should begin with your personal statement, for your interviewers are likely to use it as the basis for some preliminary ice-breaking questions.

A common pattern of Oxbridge interviews is to follow the ice-breakers with one or two questions allowing you to demonstrate your general thinking skills, before posing subject-specific questions.

The trick to improving your performance in the Oxbridge interview is to eliminate simple mistakes without turning into an over-coached automaton.

I provide tailored online Oxbridge interview practice, using Skype. As a part-time philosophy tutor at Oxford colleges, and as a private TSA tutor, I provide informed feedback on your interview style, and on the structure of your answers.

(More on help with your Oxbridge interview preparation....)

If you would like help with your 2012 Oxbridge interview preparation, then I'd be delighted to receive your email:

Cambridge/Oxford TSA Tutor

Certain Oxbridge applicants (PPE at Oxford, for example) are now required to take a Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA).

The Cambridge and Oxbridge TSAs vary a little in detail, but generally has 2 parts: a multiple-choice test, and a short essay test.

My TSA tutoring for Oxbridge is based on the recommended textbook Thinking Skills by John Butterworth and Geoff Thwaites, Cambridge University Press.

You work on a combination of reading and mock Cambridge and Oxford TSA questions, and we then have a tutorial, using Skype or the phone, to discuss your answers and fine-tune your preparation for the TSA test.

Being a part-time philosophical logic tutor at the University of Oxford, I also offer more advanced tuition in formal logic.

(More on formal logic tuition....)

If, as part of your Oxbridge application, you seek tuition for the Oxbridge TSA, then I'd be delighted to receive your email:

I have begun a specialist website which covers all aspects of applying to study philosophy at Oxford or Cambridge: University Philosophy Application Advice.