Rachel Dedman

St John's College 2008, BA History of Art

In October 2010 I will begin the third year of a BA in the History of Art at St John's College, having matriculated in 2008. Before Oxford I attended North London Collegiate School. 



The interview stage makes the Oxford application process more rigorous, exciting and nerve-wracking than other university procedures. I greatly enjoyed the process, particularly because you get to live in a college for a few days with lots of other applicants.

I had two interviews for Art History, one of which involved reacting to a series of unseen images. I know I made mistakes but my tutors have been tactful enough never to mention it, and it didn't really matter. What was encouraged was an ability to think on your feet, in an analytical way, and to take risks in making connections with other aspects of visual culture.

The second interview required me to defend the arguments I'd made in an essay. It was, again, an exercise in debate and the processing of information in a sensitive, creative manner.

The Ashmolean is one of the greatest assets Oxford has to offer. The world's first ever Museum, dating back to 1683, the Ashmolean's most recent transformation took place in 2009 when it underwent a huge redevelopment programme. The whole redesign of the building reflects new ideas in Museology. Their slogan is 'Crossing Cultures, Crossing Times'; this strategy aims to give the visitor a sense of the history of art as a complex network of stories that developed as part of an interrelated world culture.

As a student of History of Art this Museum obviously plays a big role for me during my time at Oxford, and it is an incredibly exciting experience to go into the galleries and have tutorials among the works of art I have written about. In a classroom it is easy to become a little distanced from the physical stuff of one's study – especially with art, when so much of it is in another part of the world. To stand an inch from a Dutch still-life and see with the naked eye the tiniest of hairs from the artist's paintbrush fossilized in the oil's glaze beats any image in a book or on screen. As a result your tutorial becomes a truly vivid and eye-opening experience.

Since arriving at Oxford I have been involved with Raise and Give (RAG), an initiative that encourages Oxford students to engage with charity through innovative fundraising or connecting with the causes it supports. In Hilary Term 2009 I became RAG President, leading the team for the next year. Oxford RAG raised £50,000 for our four student-chosen charities in 2009/10, meeting the ambitious target I had set for my team and doubling the previous year's total.  

I was honoured to receive a Vice-Chancellor's Civic Award in June 2010, and thrilled that the University has recognised the hard work put into fundraising and volunteering by so many students.

In conclusion I would say that you have nothing to lose by applying to Oxford, and it may be the best decision you ever make. Life here is really special. The real Oxford bears very little resemblance to the clichéd, stereotypical Oxford you may have read about. So brush away preconceptions, come to visit, and give it a go!