15th October 2010 9:00
By Harriet Boulding
Today is the deadline for Oxbridge applications, and thousands of hopefuls are reading their personal statements for the last time before submitting their applications. There was a time when almost every student who applied would be interviewed, but now only about 2 thirds of applicants will get this far. Cambridge is now making offers including one or even two A* grades, which is putting huge pressure on candidates who wish to apply to this university for competitive courses such as Law, English and Medicine.
As a tutor at this time of year I see many students through the university application process, and the stress has never been higher than it is among Oxbridge applicants. For some the thought of being rejected without interview is the most frightening part, and many are concerned about the response of their peers, teachers and parents. The pressure mounted on some applicants is vast, and unfortunately this year many of these students will not get places due to the astronomical entrance requirements.
Tutors can prepare students for entrance exams and interviews, but it is far harder to prepare them for the sustained pressure of studying for A’ levels alongside the university applications process. Here we are not so much tutors as counsellors and social workers, trying to maintain students’ sanity where schools are failing to make this a priority. Those who do make it to interview will have a month to prepare, enduring constant pressure from their schools to do mock interviews and read more than they ever have.
University applications are an aspect of tutoring which reminds me just how undefined the role of a tutor is. We can work on timed essays and interview skills, but the ability to stay calm and rational in an environment fraught with pressure and expectation is far harder to teach.