EF University Preparation OxfordAs noted in my previous email (“University Application Tutorial”), we are organizing to have no lessons on Friday 24th December (Christmas Eve). However, you will not miss out on lessons: these will be rescheduled to other times during the week. This means that your timetable for the week beginning 20th December will be a little different from usual, so please pay close attention to it.
I hope you are keeping well and enjoying your first week of the Winter Term.
Please see below more details about our trip to the University of Birmingham campus next Thursday 16th December.
As I’ve said before, this will be our first university campus visit since February 2020, so I’m really looking forward to it and hope you are too. Birmingham is a particularly exciting destination for our first trip because is one of our most popular partner universities and a member of the elite Russell Group of top research institutions. It also has one of the most beautiful university campuses in England.
To make sure that everyone gets the full benefit of this fantastic opportunity, everyone is expected to attend and there will be no classes running on this day. Instead, you will be able to enjoy presentations from world-leading experts at the university, as well as getting an insight into university life in the UK. Even if you are not planning to apply to this particular university, Birmingham is an excellent representative of the university environment in the UK, so will give you a good impression of what it is like to study here. I will try to organize another visit to a newer university with a less traditionally ‘academic’ focus later in the year so that you have the chance to sample both styles.
The cost of the trip is included in your course fee (you don’t have to pay extra), but you will need to pay for your own lunch at the university.
Please meet at the end of Pullens Lane at 08:30 on Thursday. If you are late, we will have to leave without you and you will lose a full day’s attendance.
You will be able to see on your timetable on the app whether you are to travel in Bus1 (with me) or Bus2 (with David). Please keep to the correct bus so that we can make sure we don’t lose you.
The schedule for the day will be:
| Time | Activity |
| 08:30 | Depart EF Oxford from the end of Pullens Lane |
| 10:30 | Arrive University of Birmingham Met by student ambassadors and Mary Elliston (Student Recruitment Officer, UoB) |
| 10:45-11.45 | Introduce Birmingham Mary Elliston to introduce University of Birmingham and the plan for the day |
| 11:45 | Lunch and Campus Tour Students to separate in UG and PG to take campus tours and lunch. This will be an extended campus tour to include the library and sporting facilities. Groups will be spread among the many different cafes. You will need to pay for your own lunch. Places to go for lunch: Costa, Burrito bar, Wok and Go, Salads, Spar, University Centre |
| 13:30 | Undergraduate Students: Academic Sessions – Social Sciences – Focus on Film (College of Arts and Law) – Engineering and Physical Sciences Postgraduate Students: Ambassador leads Student Life session (30 minutes approximately) and answers questions on their student experience |
| 14:30 | Depart University of Birmingham |
| 16:30 | Arrive EF Oxford |
As always, let me know if you have any questions about the day.
I will email you again shortly with details of your university application tutorial with me, which will take place online in the next couple of weeks.
I hope that exam week is going well for you. We’re over the hill of it now: ALS tomorrow (both written and speaking) should be relatively plain sailing.
I’m writing with four reminders and updates for the coming weeks.
In all of the excitement of exam week, please don’t forget that you also need to submit your Application Workshop portfolios by 14:00 this Thursday 2nd December, as usual in PDF format with the official cover sheet to the official Submissions address.
Remember to include all components of the portfolio:
This isn’t your final application, but it should show that you have put serious thought and work into getting as ready as you can be in your Application Workshop classes.
You will receive a grade (Pass, Merit, Distinction or – I hope not – Fail). I will also use this portfolio as the basis for the Application Tutorials in the coming weeks (see below).
A few people have been asking me about their modules next term. You can find the full course outline on the website.
Please make sure that the Education section of your UCAS application reflects this.
If this is different from what you are expecting, or if you have changed your plans, please let me know as soon as possible.
As I have said to a few of you already, I will be holding one-to-one tutorials with each of you over the final two weeks of term (Monday 13th December – Wednesday 22nd December). These tutorials will all take place online so that we can more easily review your application together.
Everyone will get a 20-minute appointment to speak to me about your course and your application. I will send you an email next week with your personal appointment time and the joining link.
Please make sure that your application on UCAS is up-to-date so that we can make this meeting as productive as possible.
I am delighted to announce (in case you haven’t already heard) that we will be visiting the University of Birmingham campus on Thursday 16th December. This will be the first campus visit that we have done since February 2020, so I’m very excited about it.
The University of Birmingham is one of our most popular partner universities and a member of the elite Russell Group of top research institutions. It also has one of the most beautiful university campuses in England.
To make sure that everyone gets the full benefit of this fantastic opportunity, everyone is expected to attend and there will be no classes running on this day. Instead, you will be able to enjoy presentations from world-leading experts at the university, as well as getting an insight into university life in the UK. Even if you are not planning to apply to this particular university, this is a great opportunity to get an experience of what awaits you next year so that you can prepare yourself properly.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Good luck with the final push of exam week!
A few people have been asking me recently about studying in the US and Canada. I mainly specialize in applications to the UK, but I’ve been learning about the US application process myself. You can see the main information you need to get started below, but please ask me if you have more specific questions.
Yes. The application process is a bit different, and it will need a bit of extra work and independent management on your part, but you are probably eligible and the skills that you learn on the Foundation Year will certainly help you.
Applications to US and Canadian universities are direct: that is to say that you make a separate application to each institution instead of a single central one like UCAS. Please be aware that most US universities charge an application fee, which you will have to pay for yourself.
The application process varies widely from course to course, and university to university, so reach out to the universities you are interested in and they will send you their own application packs which should explain you through the process.
As in the UK, you will need to provide a Personal Statement (or ‘Motivation Letter’). This could be based on the one you have written for the UK, but you’ll want to ‘Americanize’ the style to focus more on selling yourself and all your achievements.
You will also need to meet academic and language requirements, just like for the UK.
Language requirements for the US and Canada are normally based on TOEFL instead of IELTS, but most universities will also accept IELTS scores. However, this is at the university’s discretion, so you should check with them.
Academic requirements for the US will usually be based on SAT or ACT scores. If you’re applying to a US university, you should book to take the SAT test in the UK as soon as you can. The next test date available for booking is 12th March (booking deadline 11th February). You do not normally need to have taken the SAT before you apply: this will form the basis of a conditional offer. In fact, a growing number of US universities are now ‘test optional,’ which means that students can decide whether or not to submit standardized test scores as a part of their application.
You can find out more about exam dates and test centres by clicking on the links in this sentence.
Some courses, especially in the sciences may prefer ACT. For more information, go to this website: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
In Canada, universities will probably make offers based on your high school qualifications, but they also accept SAT scores as they can boost your application.
Some institutions might also take your Foundation Year into consideration, so please declare this qualification on your application, and be ready to send the syllabus to the university (I can provide this for you).
The SAT is a single, general test, including English, Maths and Critical Thinking/Analysis. You can find more details of what the test includes here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test
Although we don’t provide specific exam training for SATs, the modules you take in the Foundation Year will develop the language, maths and thinking skills that will help you with the test. You can find more specific test practice on the website linked above.
It’s up to you, but the same basic principles apply as for the UK: some universities are more competitive than others so you should apply to a range of them if you want to make sure that you receive an offer.
One thing which is quite different in the US is the system of Community Colleges. These are smaller institutions which offer two-year Associate Degrees. It is very normal in the US to start off with one of these and then apply to a major university for the following two years to ‘top up’ to a full US Bachelor’s degree. The advantage of this from your point of view is that both entrance requirements and fees are typically lower at Community Colleges, so one or two community colleges should definitely feature in your application strategy.
Beyond that, application decisions are similar to the UK: think about the location and the kind of university environment you want, and apply for a good mix of universities that will suit you.
EF has partner institutions in North America. Although the partnership agreement for these is with our US schools, these institutions recognize the EF name and have a good relationship with the organization. As in the UK, you can apply to other universities as well, but these make a good starting point.
I hope that this information is useful to you. I am also getting in touch with my counterpart in Boston, Mass. for more information and advice about applying to North America.
I will also post this to the EFUPOX website. Please get in touch with me if you need any further support or assistance.
Here it is, the moment everyone’s been waiting for: Exam Timetables for next week are out!
Please check your efupox.co.uk emails for your personalized timetable, including locations and your ALS Speaking exam details.
All exams will take place in school on Monday and Tuesday next week. If you fail any exams, you will take the resit exams on Friday 3rd December.
Please see below details of your exam timetable:
Monday 29th November
| Module | Time |
| EAP | 09:00-10:00 |
| Specialist Modules | 12:00-13:30 |
Tuesday 30th November
| Module | Time |
| ALS (Written) | 09:00-11:00 |
| ALS Speaking | 20mins between 14:00-17:00 |
The times and locations will also appear on your EF Campus Connect app and website, except for ALS Speaking, for which you need to refer to your email.
All exams will take place on paper (except the Speaking, obviously). Please make sure that you bring writing implements (pens and pencils) and spares and refills.
Of course, you will not be allowed to take notes, books or electronic devices into the exam with you, nor will you be allowed to communicate with other candidates or anyone else apart from the invigilator during the exam. If you break these rules, you will be disqualified and score zero for the exam.
If you fail any of these exams, you will have one opportunity to retake the exam. If this is you, we will tell you at the end of Wednesday 1st December and you will retake the exams on Friday 3rd December.
We will then be marking, double-marking and moderating your exams. We hope to be able to give you your provisional scores for the term on Friday 10th December.
Naturally, we understand that this is an anxious and stressful time for you. If you have any concerns or feel worried or overwhelmed, do not hesitate to speak to either myself or the Welfare team.
It only remains for me to wish you the very best of luck. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.