What universities can I expect my child to get into? How likely is their success while using OA services?

Guided by our team of elite mentors, our students are up to 9 times more likely to gain admission into top universities in the world. However, what we serve to achieve is to let your child shine and not just be another statistic. We will work with your child individually and guide them to choose their dream schools based on our Success Diagnostic and your child’s academic achievements. The earlier we start working together, the more time we have to make a significant impact on your child’s future.

Once I select target schools after consultation, how much time does it take to prepare? How much would that cost? What is the frequency and time you invest in the classes?

The time required to prepare for university admission depends on the admission system (UK/US/EU), as well as the type and number of schools and courses chosen. Some schools require additional entry tests, essays and/or interviews.

Depending on your child’s schedule and other commitments, we can opt for a standard timeline or a more intensive accelerated timeline. This will inform the frequency of classes. During our first consultation, we will be able to discuss your child’s needs and goals, which will inform both the time and fee required in our proposal.

What types of services do you provide?

We offer personalised and bespoke services that unlock the future of your child. Our core service is university admissions counselling; however, we also offer internship programs, skill courses, and IELTS preparation. We will work with your child to determine what they need to achieve their goals, and we will fill in the gaps. For example, if your child is looking for additional opportunities for academic research or work experience to boost their essays, we will be there to identify and arrange these activities.

How do you ensure the learning quality of your classes?

As we have mentored more than 100 students over the years, we uphold rigorous standards of teaching by organising regular training sessions for our mentors. We are highly selective of our team to ensure world-class quality. Besides internal checks, we also ask our students for feedback after every class to ensure that they are happy with the learning quality. We treat student feedback very seriously and respond quickly to maintain a world-class level of teaching.

The founders of Oxford Academica also have regular direct consultations with each student, which means that they are always there to listen to the feedback. Our priority always is students, and we go above and beyond to ensure their satisfaction with learning experiences.

How do you ensure the results of your classes?

Based on our years of experience in this sector, we have created an in-house diagnostic system that allows us to understand the academic journey of your child in great detail. We are not only able to identify potential challenges but also estimate the likelihood of gaining admission into their dream universities. When we are working with your child, we keep track of their progress and compare it to our internal timelines and growth scenarios. Once your child’s Student Success Path is completed, we provide another diagnostic system that measures the new likelihood of university admission. This gives us a clear indication of the progress achieved.

Is the style of remote and self-directed learning suitable for my children?

We have modelled our remote and self-directed approach after the learning environment we experienced at the university level. Having the experience of guided but self-directed and quite independent learning gives your child a chance to better prepare for real-world teaching at top universities.

We have opted for remote learning because we believe that location should never be the reason for someone to miss their dreams. Although we only work with a handful of students per year to keep our quality high, we are a global team and work across multiple geographies. This way, we ensure that your child can always learn from the best talent anywhere in the world.

How does your fee model work? By hour/by year?

Our fee model incentivises building a long-term supportive relationship between the Oxford Academica team and you and your child. With unlimited contact hours with Oxford Academica, this way also ensures the best learning outcome with your children. We chose a fixed-fee model as our pricing structure that can be modified as our relationship continues to arrange for additional out-of-scope services. Following our initial conversations, we will present you a proposal that will list the services that will support your child to get to their dream schools. We calculate the fee based on the services required.

English is not my child’s first language. Will they be at a disadvantage?

While applying to an English-speaking university, fluency in English is a key requirement. Students whose mother tongue is not English are at a certain disadvantage, especially when it comes to admission tests and interviews. The Oxford Academica team understands the challenges faced by international students, as both co-founders were born in non-English-speaking countries have experience teaching English as Second Language students.

We help students practice their English by conducting all our sessions in English. For students who need to improve their language, we also offer language classes with a special focus on the IELTS exam, which is often the requirement.

Your child’s English proficiency is often better than you think, especially if they are applying for STEM or even some social science degrees. During our diagnostic sessions, we also conduct a language test for those students who come from non-English speaking countries to identify what approach is the most suitable for each of our students.

How early should my child start with OA in the university admission process?

The rule of thumb is that it is never too early to start preparing for what is arguable the most important decision in your child’s life that will have a tremendous impact on their future. If you start earlier, we can provide more extensive services, including guiding your child with extracurricular activities and gradually building up their academic knowledge. We recommend that students interested in competitive universities should start their preparation no later than a year in advance and no later than two for the US applications. So, if your child is enrolled in a UK system, we would advise getting in touch with our team by the beginning of year 12. We have found that students who enrol later often struggle to balance our recommended activities and readings with intense academic workloads.

Can you guarantee that my child will get it to their first choice school?

Although our students are up to 9 times more likely to gain admission to top global universities, and almost all of our students gain admission into their top choices, we cannot provide you with a guarantee that they will get to their first-choice school. This is because the admission system is complicated, and there are factors beyond our control, such as demographical traits preferred by the admission committee or your child’s performance at admission tests or interviews.

It is our guarantee that your child will be as fully prepared as possible to comfortably face the challenges of the university admission process. However, they will be the ones facing the system themselves, and our services cannot do it for your child.