Sucedo | Frequently Asked Questions

Our Value

Do I really need to pay someone to get into Oxbridge?

Of course not. Well, you do need to pay application fees, but aside from that you can get by just fine without paying anyone. The universities have excellent admissions offices that can help you with forms and advice (Oxford University, Cambridge University). On top of that, colleges' admissions offices are usually happy to answer questions about the college, and sometimes give more general advice. Many also have access-schemes.

Though we could of course help you with those things (and some of you will find that the personal attention is worth it), we can also give you subjective advice that the official sources can't, and most importantly we spend a significant amount of time with you, teaching and giving you tailored advice, so that you learn how to make the most of your interests and abilities. That's something the admissions offices simply don't have the resources for (and what you pay us for).

Unfortunately, tutors sometimes get it wrong. Rejected applicants are not all less suitable for Oxbridge than those that are accepted. There are many reasons why applicants perform worse than they could and we are here to make sure you do yourself justice.

Does coaching really help? Can't tutors see through that?

That depends on the type of coaching. Tutors are looking for potential to succeed in the course. They've interviewed and taught hundreds of students and are pretty good at spotting bullshitters. Maybe, just maybe, if you're a particularly brilliant and hilarious bullshitter, they'll accept you because they want to be entertained over the next 3 or 4 years, but we wouldn't recommend aiming for that.

We don't give you set answers, we just show you how to make the most of your understanding or develop it. So think of us as teaching you how to develop and show your academic potential. On average, you only have to convince your tutors' that you have more potential than 2 other applicants. Honestly, those are pretty good odds and ones that you are partly in control of. Small things make a difference. Think about how much you would pay for the privilege of an Oxbridge education if you could (which, to be very clear, you can't!).

Why are you expensive?

We aim to provide services that are good value for money. Of course, how you value our products depend on your personal wants and priorities. Unfortunately, whether or not you get an offer it's clearly impossible to test what role our coaching played. However, as a gesture of good will, we will give you 30% back if you don't get an offer.

For the amount of money we ask you to pay us, you can get excellent books from which, if you dedicate enough time, study, and practice, you could learn more than we could ever teach you. In that sense we are expensive (as is most forms of education). However, chances are you end up learning more with the guidance and help of someone who already knows the subject or skill you're trying to acquire ,because that makes it easier and less time consuming for you, which decreases the risk that you'll give up.

You must decide for yourself whether the investment is worthwhile for you.

Our Principles

Shouldn't education be free for everyone?

Until someone starts giving away quality education for free, this is really a question of who should pay for it. Taxpayers is one answer and we think that's reasonable up to a point. But we don't think public funding should limit what education is on offer.

Money is not, and hasn't been for a long time, the most important factor in obtaining a good education (which is not the same as a prestigious education). Education can be almost free. You can get surprisingly far with a decent public library, the Internet, and a good deal of discipline (and we encourage that -- the world would be better off if people did!). Money can still help of course, but it's not necessary.

That said, of all the things you can spend money on, we think education is one of the most sensible. But be careful how you spend that money. It's hard to decide whether to laugh or cry at statistics like this. There's no magic that grows your neurons in proportion to how much money you give someone, be it a teaching service like ours, a school, a teacher, or a bookshop. It's all about what they make you think. We've found personal tutorials to be one of the most effective ways to learn, though it also happens to be one of the most expensive (ask Oxford or Cambridge and see if they agree).

Though we are a for-profit company, we welcome donations. We will use them to give our services without taking a profit to those we think will most benefit from them. We'd be delighted to discuss with you in more detail; please contact us at donations@sucedo.com.

Or as Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University, said: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

Isn't coaching unfair to those who can't afford it?

Perhaps, but not worse than what's happening now. We think it's more unfair that only those who already know Oxbridge students or go to schools that have a history of sending students to Oxbridge get that help and insight (although we're not convinced they always get the best help). That, if anything, is elitist. And for foreign students that is exaggerated.

General

Are you affiliated with the universities?

No. Neither Sucedo nor our coaches are affiliated to or acting for a university or college. We are here to give the best advice for you, whether or not that favours a particular university, college, or course.

What's Oxbridge?

Oxbridge is an abbreviation referring to both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Am I clever enough to get into Oxbridge?

Probably. However, raw intelligence on its own is overestimated. What you need most is ability to think for yourself and an interest in the subject. Combined with dedication that will take you far. Tutors are mostly looking for potential to benefit from the tutorial system, the course, and achieve a First in Finals.

Will you tell me the answers to my interview questions?

No. We'll show and teach you how to think through them.

How do I trick the Oxbridge application process?

You convince your tutors you can think well and would love the course. If you can fake that you've got it made. We think the odds are against you though. And we don't encourage you to do so. In fact, we think the Oxbridge application process is one of the fairest there is (though there certainly are things that could be improved).

Who are the coaches?

Our coaches are all current or former Oxbridge students. In addition to having gone through the admissions process themselves, they have spent 3 years or more with tutors like those who will interview you.

What your coaches teach you depend on the product you choose. They are there for you though and therefore prepared to discuss anything, from their own experience with applying, personal statements, choosing a college, interviews, tests, questions asked, post-interview experience, and offer policy, to more general topics about applying, and getting prepared.

Will I really get to talk to someone doing the subject at the college I'm applying to?

You're most likely to get one coach doing your subject and one coach at your college; not one coach for both, though we'll try to, of course.

Why do you want to encourage foreigners to apply to Oxbridge?

We want Oxbridge to get the best students possible, whatever nationality they may be. We think the universities (and the UK for that matter) will be better off the better students they get. We know from experience that there are many, many people in the world who would both do exceptionally well at and enjoy Oxbridge, but don't apply for one reason or another.

So if you want people to get in on merit, does that mean undeserving students get in at the moment?

Many very good people don't apply in the first place. There are good and bad reasons for not applying. Good reasons are things like Oxbridge not offering a suitable course, or thinking that another university has a better course, or that you've got strong reasons to study in a particular city. Bad reasons include thinking the application process is too daunting or that Oxbridge only accept people who read Euclid's Elements before they turned 10 and Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus before they turned 13. Though you may well meet one or two who did, the vast majority will be surprisingly normal and non-genius.

Of course, tutors do get it wrong some times because they don't get a fair picture of a candidate. They're doing the best they can at an incredibly difficult task, with little help from A-levels and many other qualifications that are poor discriminators for the abilities that matter.