We want to ensure that the best students, regardless of background, apply for our undergraduate courses. Every year we visit hundreds of schools and colleges to speak to students. Last year we spent in excess of £4 million pounds on more than 1,500 outreach activities.
We also hold residential summer schools in Oxford, including the successful UNIQ Summer Schools for state school students.
For the academic year 2013/14, Oxford is offering the most generous student funding of any university to those on a family income of less than £16,000. In addition, in July 2012 we announced the new Moritz-Heyman Scholarship programme
Summer Schools
We run free week-long UNIQ Summer Schools for Year 12 state school and college students. The programme gives academically talented students a chance to experience life at Oxford and learn more about our admissions process.
Before attending the UNIQ Summer School I never dreamt of applying to Oxford University. It gives you a fantastic insight into what life as an Oxford student is really like.
Finbar McLoughlin, History at Hertford College
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Students are able to chose one of 20 academic programmes, which include a mixture
of classes, lectures and labs, and a chance to experience
an Oxford tutorial with an academic. The week also
features an admissions workshop including mock interviews and advice about
writing personal statements.
I had such a fantastic time at UNIQ, meeting new people and experiencing medicine for the first time, that I did not hesitate to apply to Oxford.
Katie Birse, Medicine, Lady Margaret Hall
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657 students attended the 2011 summer schools and 444 (68 per cent) went on to
apply for an undergraduate course, of whom 185 (41 per cent of those applying) received an offer.
The
usual success rate for undergraduate degree applications is around 20
per cent. In total, 17,243 people applied to Oxford for undergraduate entry in 2012 (or deferred
entry 2013), and 3,536 candidates in total received offers of places – an overall
acceptance rate of 20.5%.
Experiencing ‘real’ tutorials and daily Greek classes confirmed that Classics was the right degree for me and, more importantly, that Oxford was the right place to do it.
Amy Down, Classics, The Queen's College
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The Application Process
In order to ensure that we offer undergraduate places to the best students, our academics gather extensive information about every candidate, through the application process. This includes the submission of a personal statement, reference and academic record, as well as admissions tests and interviews.
I felt very comfortable during the interviews. The interviewers were friendly. Some help and hints are given if you get something wrong and you are always asked to explain the thinking behind your answer.
Andreas Kallinos, Biochemistry at University College
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In 2009–10 we received more than 17,000 applications for 3,200
undergraduate places – the highest in the history of the University.
Competition is fierce because the vast majority of applicants are
already predicted to achieve the grades needed to secure a place at
Oxford. Many courses attract five or six applicants per place.
The content of the questions was from A-level, but I found myself applying my knowledge in different ways. I was also able to find out first-hand how tutorials work, because working through problems and justifying your ideas is exactly what you do on the course.
Jennie Davies, Mathematics at University College
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We invest considerable time and effort in ensuring we offer places to
the most promising of these applicants. Admissions tests help us to
select candidates for interview by providing information about their
aptitude and suitability for their chosen course, irrespective of where
they went to school. Only 70 per cent of applicants to Oxford are
studying for A-levels, so admissions tests enable us to benchmark all
candidates. In 2009-10, more than 24,000 interviews were
conducted with 10,545 candidates.
When I started to describe a physics problem the tutor quickly picked up on the fact that I was just reciting this from memory and persuaded me to solve the problem mathematically. This was something I hadn’t been taught at school. Nevertheless, he dropped a few hints and soon we were successfully finished. It was clear he wanted me to try something outside of what I’d experienced at school so that he could see how I thought about new problems. Despite being nerve-wracking, working through the problem was actually fun.
Jozef Dudek, Physics at University College; Assistant Professor in Physics at Old Dominian University in the USA
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Interviews help us to identify a candidate's potential. We are not
looking for evidence of received wisdom, but of an enquiring mind and a
passion for the chosen subject.
Oxford Opportunity Bursary
It’s really important to us that nobody is prevented from taking up a place as an undergraduate at Oxford because of lack of money.
In 2010/11 the University of Oxford spent £6.6m on bursaries for students, in addition to the financial support offered by individual colleges. Nearly 2,700
of our UK undergraduates hold Oxford
Opportunity Bursaries.
I thought Oxford would never accept anyone with my background, but I was wrong. I’ve got full financial aid and there are a lot of grants. It has opened up so many doors.
Joseph O'Keefe, Russian at Exeter College
Currently, all UK students with a family income below £25,000 receive a full bursary of £3,225. Those with a family income of £25,000–£49,999 receive up to £3,225. During 2009-10, £6.5 million was awarded to more than 2,500 undergraduates, PGCE students and Graduate Entry Medical students.
For undergraduates joining the University in 2012-13 there will be changes to tuition charges and student financial support arrangements. Oxford will be offering the most generous financial support of any university to those on a
family income of less than £16,000. For more information see our undergraduate student funding web page
The bursary has allowed me to live and study without financial worries. When my family’s situation dramatically and unexpectedly changed, my bursary reflected this and supported me financially in my most important final year. At any other university, I would have had to struggle a lot to pay my bills.
Edison Huynh, Geography at Jesus College
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