BOSWORTH College was pleased to welcome back ex-students Shobo Shobo and Gilmore Wellio recently. Both students are currently studying at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, and they agreed to come back to talk to this year’s potential Oxbridge applicants.
BOSWORTH College was pleased to welcome back ex-students Shobo Shobo and Gilmore Wellio recently. Both students are currently studying at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, and they agreed to come back to talk to this year’s potential Oxbridge applicants. Shobo is currently in his second year reading Engineering and Gilmore is in his third year of study reading Chemical Engineering.
They both talked in detail about the application process and the interview day, including the TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Admissions Test that they had to complete, expanding on how important a student’s personal statement would be, as they do ask questions about it and are looking for more in-depth explanations about any topics discussed. They also highlighted to this year’s cohort how important reading around their chosen subjects would be to add weight to these discussions.
Shobo also gave details about how he was asked to calculate momentum in 2D, initially he did his calculations the hard way, so the interview panel then asked him if he could do this another way and he realised he could have done it an easier way, which he then did. So conveying to the students, to make sure they think a while before commencing with any work or answers, but also looking at alternative ways if prompted.
Students were also interested in what life at Cambridge was like and how hard the studies had become. The boys elaborated that studying at Cambridge was fairly intense as the terms were split into three sets of eight weeks and in the last term; the final two weeks are taken up with their end of year exams. Students are also not allowed to re-sit any exams so they are aware that they have to get it right first time. Alongside this, students will have practical assessments and project work every week throughout term, but the majority of the marks do come from the end-of-year exams.
It was also interesting for the students to learn more about the unique tutorial system that operates at Cambridge alongside lectures and practicals. Each student is given a study partner and they will share supervision periods with a lecturer, which can sometimes be the Director of Studies at least three to four times a week. This can prove challenging as each is gaining lots of one to one time with the lecturer. It is a designated slot that allows students to talk more about any of their current topics and to go over things they possibly need to better understand. They both found it extremely useful and felt it was good to have the study partner system as it provided another person to bounce ideas off.
The college was delighted to see how well Gilmore and Shobo were doing with their degree studies and hopes they will be back next year to provide us further insights. The talk certainly helped to fire up this year’s Oxbridge candidates and they are now eager to apply.
For further details about Bosworth College, ring 01604 239995 or visit www.bosworth-college.co.uk