How To Apply To Oxford University.
You would not believe how many school students apply to Oxford every year, over 22,000!
There is a process for applying to Oxford, so you should have a good idea of what to expect and how to prepare. We have summarised the process below.
Make sure that you have a firm grasp of the application process and deadlines and keep calm and remember that Oxford is looking for you and your application to succeed. You can do it!
The Deadline
Applications for undergraduate entry always close on October 15th at 6pm UK time. This date and time is the same every year.
IMPORTANT – This is for entry the following year.
So, for entry in October 2025, you need to apply by Tuesday 15th October 6pm this year 2024.
And take note, you cannot apply to both Oxford and Cambridge, you have to choose just one, naturally I hope Oxford, not “the other place” as we refer to it here.
So, if you are considering entry in 2025:
First Steps
I can’t stress more strongly the need to start your research into your application as soon as possible. The more time you give yourself, the better you will be prepared, and the more confident you will be in the outcome.
Your UCAS Form
UCAS is the University and Colleges Admissions Service, and is actually an independent charity. Their job is to act as the central administration organisation for admissions to full-time undergraduate education in the UK.
You can start to fill in your UCAS form from May 2024, but you won’t be able to submit it until September.
The UCAS application will ask for:
- Your personal details including your email. Make sure you monitor this address regularly.
- Details about your education, and any qualifications you already have.
- A personal statement where you tell us why you are interested in your chosen course.
- Your reference. Give your teacher plenty of time to write your reference, and don’t miss the deadline
- The UCAS fee (for 2025 entry £28.50.)
The UCAS Form – Choosing a Course
Decide which course you wish to study. By the way you can only apply to one course at Oxford.
Check the admission requirements for your chosen course, the necessary specific grades and subjects are on each course page.
Choosing A College
You can either choose one College out of the 32 which accept undergraduates, or you can make an open application in which case a computer algorithm will allocate you a college. (This is sometimes now referred to as “The Sorting Hat”).
The Oxford application process is designed to do one thing, we want the best students with the highest academic ability for that year.
So if a College is oversubscribed for a subject, then other Colleges may offer places to those students rejected by the original College.
In fact the statistics tell us that about 25% of students who are not offered a place by their first choice College ARE offered a place by a different College.
Admissions Tests
You need to sign up for any admissions test for your course usually by the 30th September.
Be sure to have your test candidate entry number by this date if your course requires you to sit an admissions test as part of the selection procedure.
Written Work
Many of Oxford’s courses require applicants to send in a sample of their written work as part of their application. The tabs on this page will offer you more details of what you require to send (if anything), how to send it, and the deadlines by which the work must be received. The due date for written work is usually early/mid November.
What is written work?
The tutors need evidence of your analytical, reasoning, language, and writing skills. What you submit may well form a focus for discussion and debate at your interview should you be invited, so please ensure you keep a copy.
Interviews
“Which would you prefer to be, a zombie or a vampire?”
“Should poetry be difficult?”
Just two of the “dreaded” Oxford interview questions.
If you have been successful in the first stage of the admissions process, your UCAS application and tests, you will be invited for interview.
Well done!
Being invited to interview for Oxford entry is a huge achievement in its own right. Of the 22,000 who apply only about 10,000 will make it to the interview stage.
The Oxford interview process is designed to test not so much your knowledge, after all you are only probably 17/18 yrs old, but rather your thinking.
Interviews always happen in the first two or three weeks of December, and are usually held online.
There will be a post soon focusing specifically on Oxford interviews.
Decisions – Early January
The end of the applying to Oxford road!
You will hear via UCAS in early January whether you have been offered a place.
Good luck!
And to give yourself a better chance, come on one of my Oxford University Tours.
To your success!
Iain