Дистанційний урок для 10-Д класу. Culturestudy. 20.02.2021

Topic: Cambridge and Oxford

Read the text and mark sentences True or False

                           Oxford and Cambridge:

                        the similarities and differences

      The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a great deal in common, including their collegiate structure, personalised teaching methods and wealth of resources available to students.  There are some differences between the two institutions which we’ll explain below. 

       Both institutions are involved in a range of outreach activities including the regional Oxford and Cambridge Student Conferences, which provide a great deal of information about both Universities.

Colleges

      Both Oxford and Cambridge are collegiate, meaning  they’re made up of a number of individual colleges, as well as academic departments.

      Every student is a member of the University, their department and their college. It’s the Universities (through the academic departments) that are responsible for course content, core teaching (lectures, seminars, practicals, projects), examinations and awarding degrees. This means that students are studying for the same degree, whichever college they go to.

      A college will be a student's home while they’re studying – colleges provide a range of facilities, academic and pastoral support, and organise small-group tuition (which may be with a tutor/supervisor from another college).

      The college system offers the benefits of being part of a large, diverse University, and also a member of a smaller, interdisciplinary college community, which usually includes both undergraduate and graduate students. Students will have access to their college's facilities, such as extensive library and IT provision, as well as the resources of the wider University.

      The colleges are responsible for admitting undergraduate students, and students can indicate if they have a preference college in their UCAS application. If they don’t have a college preference, they can instead select an ‘open’ application and their application will be allocated to a college which has relatively fewer applications for their course in that year.

      Both Universities work hard to ensure that the best students are successful in gaining a place, whichever college they've applied to or been allocated to (in the case of open applications). This means that applicants may be interviewed by more than one college and students may receive an offer from a different college to the one to which they applied or were allocated.

Teaching

      Teaching methods are very similar at both Universities, as students attend lectures, classes and laboratory work as appropriate for their course. Unlike at many other universities, students at Oxford and Cambridge also benefit from highly personalised teaching time with experts in their field. The only difference is in the name: Oxford refers to these sessions as ‘tutorials’ while Cambridge calls them ‘supervisions’.

      Students are required to prepare an essay or other piece of work in advance for these sessions. Usually, tutorials/supervisions take place weekly, with students meeting their tutor/supervisor to discuss the work in small groups (most often of up to three students, though the group size varies between courses and years). These sessions aren't formally assessed so they don't contribute to the final degree classification, but they're used to review progress and ensure students receive regular feedback.

Assessment

      Students at both Oxford and Cambridge are assessed informally throughout their course by producing work for their tutorials/supervisions, which help to ensure students are on track. Formal assessment is almost entirely based on written examinations, although some courses (where relevant) may include some practical assessment and in the final year of many courses one exam paper can be replaced with a dissertation.

      At Oxford, most courses are formally assessed at the end of the first and final years, with the final degree classification result usually based on the exams taken at the end of the final year.

      Most Cambridge students are assessed at the end of each year and their final degree classification is determined by their performance in exams in more than one year of their course

How to apply

      Students must apply online through UCAS by 6pm (UK time) on 15 October.

      At Cambridge, some students are also required to complete the Cambridge Online Preliminary Application (COPA) in addition to the UCAS application; and other deadlines may apply for some applicants. See the Applying page for information.

      Cambridge also asks all applicants to complete an online Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ) after submission of their UCAS application to ensure consistent information about all applicants.

      Oxford does not require students to complete any extra forms.

      Applicants typically need to take a written test/assessment as part of their application and may be asked to submit some written work. If a student’s application is shortlisted, they'll be invited to the relevant University for interview.

Interviews

      The purpose and structure of these interviews is very similar at both Universities. They’re a lot like a mini tutorial or supervision, where students may be given a small passage to read or perhaps set a small problem which they’ll discuss in the interview.

      The main focus of interviews is to get a sense of how the student applies their existing knowledge and skills to unfamiliar problems, and how they process the information available. It's not a matter of how quickly – or even whether – the student arrives at a particular answer. There often aren’t right or wrong answers, and it’s the process of reaching their answer that’s generally of most significance (rather than the answer itself). The interviewers just want to get an insight into how the student thinks.

      It’s important for students to understand that their performance at interview alone doesn’t determine the outcome of their application – admissions decisions are made holistically, taking all available information into account.

      Both Universities are aware of private companies and individuals who offer, at a charge, information and advice on our admissions process, tests/assessments and interviews. We DO NOT support or encourage any of these commercial enterprises. We’re unable to verify the accuracy of the information these companies/individuals may provide.

1. Students are studying for the same degree, whichever  college they go to.

2. The colledge system doesn't offer the benefits of being part of a large, diverse university.

3. Teaching methods are very similar at both universities.

4. Students must apply online through UCAS by 8 pm on 15 October.

5. Both universities are avare of private companies.