Genre Education company Founded 1999 | Founders James Uffindell Founder James Uffindell Type of business Privately held company | |
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Website www.oxbridgeapplications.com Profiles | ||
Oxbridge applications 5 tips to boost your chances
Oxbridge Applications is an education consultancy that provides students help in their applications to the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and medical and law schools.
Contents
History and services
The company was formed in 1999 by a University of Oxford graduate, James Uffindell, and was originally named Application Research. In 2013 the company was acquired by Dukes Education Group, at which point the founder James Uffindell left.
The company is headquartered in Waterloo Place, London, having been formerly located on New Bond Street before the acquisition. The Dukes Education Group additionally owns English summer school company Summer Boarding Courses, and three Sixth Form Colleges: Fine Arts College in Hampstead, London, Acorn House College, an independent college in Southall, West London, and Rochester Independent College in Kent.
Oxbridge Applications claims that students on their 'Premier Service' (which costs upwards of £5,000) have a success rate that is twice the average.
Reception
The company is independent from both universities. Oxford University has distanced itself from the organisation, telling students "The best advice is to work hard, and make full use of the many free and authoritative sources of guidance and information the University itself provides." College admission tutors and elected student union representatives of the universities have made more critical comments, suggesting that the company misleads applicants.
Similar services
There are a number of other organisations with similar business models including UniAdmissions, OxbridgeSciences, OxbridgeHumanities, Insight Education's Oxbridge Mentoring Scheme and Gabbitas Educational Consultants. By 2008 such for-profit university entrance coaching was already widely in use in the United States; Kaplan, Inc, for example, has been in existence since 1938.