So You Want to Go to Oxbridge?: Tell Me About a Banana.

by Oxbridge Applications

When all applicants are outstanding on paper, what determines who is offered a place? And what exactly are admissions tutors looking for when they ask 'Tell me about a banana'? Now in its fifth edition, So you want to go to Oxbridge? Tell me about a banana...is a tour-de-application-force, packed full of over eleven years' research on how to excel in the increasingly competitive Oxbridge application process. From picking the perfect course and college to polishing your personal statement, mastering your admissions test and conquering that all important interview - this book has been written by Oxbridge graduates for Oxbridge applicants just like you!

Genres: Nonfiction

260 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2014

Reviews

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was at once full-blown adrenaline-rush-intimidating and comfortingly encouraging. It's definitely a dream of mine to go to university, and even though Oxford and Cambridge don't appeal to me, this book had some excellent widely-applicable information on what subjects you should choose, how to prepare and how to get in. It's focused on the entry aspect of university, so you won't find much in here on what it's like being at Oxbridge or any university in general. But I think this was a good decision, as the subject-matter of this book is already stretched across every subject you can take at Oxford and Cambridge. Going into the full undergrad experience of each of these would make it a little too overwhelming, I think.

The great thing about this book is that it's not designed to tell you what to say to impress teachers and interviewers - it's designed to encourage you to think and make sure you engage in what you're passionate about. The 'Choosing a Course' section gives you a brief introduction to each subject on offer at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as giving book recommendations to help explore the subject further and presenting some past interview questions to see if the subject sparks your interest. How to approach answering these is explored later in the 'Approaching Questions' section. This was really useful for me because it was an easy way to see which subjects I was into and which just switched me off.

In a book with this much breadth I think it's inevitable that you're going to skim some of it, as only some subjects are going to interest you (for example I could understand next to nothing of the maths stuff and didn't really desire to). For me, the English advice was most interesting and I feel I got some really good tips. I loved that it was reinforced multiple times that you're not supposed to know the definitive answers to interview questions - you're just meant to be able to unpick the question and explore the issues raised in it. That's a really good thing to bare in mind I think and just one of the things this book taught me.

I would definitely recommend this if you're interested in going to uni, especially if you're not sure which subject would best suit you. I love that it was written by actual Oxbridge graduates, so even when things seemed too scary or complicated to think about they'd explain it in an accessible and clear way. I think it could have been a little more friendly and fun in its writing style (it is mostly going to be teenagers reading this, after all) but I guess that just speaks to the fact this is an Oxbridge book after all, and if you want to go there you have to be serious about it.

[Sophie]

This was an interesting read with some great resources. My favourite part was 'the questions to get you thinking' both in the choosing a course section and in the interview section. Even if you're not thinking of going to Oxbridge the questions make you think more about what subjects you're really passionate about. I found most of the book highly informative though I did skim read some of the approaching questions for subjects I wasn't interested in. Would recommend.