Oxbridge

We are also in the privileged position to be the hub college for the area for Cambridge Universities’ HE+ project and due to this have a direct link with Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. This project involves academic tutorials from staff both in college and from Cambridge University, along with a residential in Cambridge, and topped off with a competition to produce an academic piece of work, judged by Cambridge staff and special guests!

Spring Term

• university and degree choice
• college choice  
• additional university choices
• choice of Extended Project Qualification
• importance of extra-curricular work

Summer Term

• resources for pre-interview assessment test
• supplementary application requirements
• introduction to UCAS application
• introduction to UCAS Personal Statement
• resources for extra-curricular development

Summer Vacation

• completion of Personal Statement
• completion of Extended Project Qualification
• completion of UCAS application
• pre-interview assessment preparation
• extra-curricular development

Autumn Term

• submission of application
• submission of supplementary application material
• pre-interview assessment test support
• interview practice

Support is also provided after the autumn term, in January when applicants receive the outcome of their application.

As applicants cannot apply to both universities, an informed decision must be made regarding which of the two universities offers the most suitable course. This requires the applicant to think carefully about their personal interests and long-term goals, and to study the course structure and content of potential courses at both universities, in order to arrive at a decision that is well informed and considered.  Here is a complete list of the undergraduate courses provided by each university.

An important aspect of Oxford and Cambridge that distinguishes it from other British universities is the application process. This is distinct in several ways.

1. Exclusive Choice
   Firstly, an applicant cannot apply to both universities – they must choose either Oxford or Cambridge. This means that applicants must have a very good knowledge of course structure and content, in order to make a very informed decision as to which course at which university is best suited to their interests and long-term goals. This process is made slightly more complex by the fact that each university offers different courses, sometimes with very subtle differences.

2. College Choice
   Secondly, applicants must select a college to which to apply, as the admissions assessment process is handled by the colleges. While applicants can make an ‘open’ application, whereby they are randomly allocated a college, most applicants will want to take the time to select a college, which will involve preliminary research of several colleges, and their resources and facilities, and attending college open days in addition to university, faculty, or department open days. 

3. Pre-Interview Assessment Test
   Thirdly, a significant and distinct part of the application process for most degree subjects at Oxford and Cambridge is the pre-interview assessment test: a test that is taken under the same formal conditions as an A-level and that is intended to stretch and test the academic and intellectual skills of applicants beyond the A-level curriculum. While some other leading British universities, such as Imperial College and UCL, operate pre-interview assessment tests for certain subjects, they tend to be on a smaller and less formal scale. The pre-interview assessment tests at Oxford and Cambridge have acquired greater significance in recent years since the transition to the A-level linear system: AS-level results can no longer be used as a standardised form of assessment and therefore pre-interview assessment tests have become one of the primary standardised indicators of academic ability. Pre-interview assessment tests take place approximately two weeks after the application has been submitted.

4. Interview
   Fourthly, those applicants whose applications are considered to be worthy of consideration for an offer are put forward for interview. The interview process is designed to model the tutorial process: a dialogue between the applicant and academic/s that allows the assessors to evaluate how well the applicant performs academically and intellectually in the context of a pedagogic dialogue – applicants are often, though not always, also interviewed on a more general basis by the admissions tutor of the college. Interviews take place approximately two months after the application has been submitted.

5. Early Application Deadline
   In addition to all the above highly distinct aspects of making an Oxbridge application, the application deadline for Oxbridge applications is three months earlier than the normal UCAS deadline: mid-October as opposed to mid-January.  This means that applicants have to have their UCAS application, and all the decisions for their remaining four universities, ready by the beginning of the autumn term, and that any other supporting information – such as Year 11 grade transcripts for international students – is ready to be provided along with the application. Applicants are notified of the outcome of their applications generally around 15^th January.

• Archaeology and Anthropology
• Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular)
• Biology
• Biomedical Sciences
• Chemistry
• Classical Archaeology and Ancient History
• Classics
• Classics and English
• Classics and Modern Languages
• Classics and Oriental Studies
• Computer Science
• Computer Science and Philosophy
• Earth Sciences (Geology)
• Economics and Management
• Engineering Science
• English Language and Literature
• English and Modern Languages
• European and Middle-Eastern Languages
• Fine Art
• Geography
• History
• History (Ancient and Modern)
• History and Economics
• History and English
• History and Modern Languages
• History and Politics
• History of Art
• Human Sciences
• Law (Jurisprudence)
• Materials Science
• Mathematics
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Mathematics and Philosophy
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Medicine
• Medicine (graduate entry)
• Modern Languages
• Modern Languages and Linguistics
• Music
• Oriental Studies
• Philosophy and Modern Languages
• Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
• Philosophy and Theology
• Physics
• Physics and Philosophy
• Psychology (Experimental)
• Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics 
• Religion and Oriental Studies
• Theology and Religion

• Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
• Archaeology
• Architecture
• Asian and Middle-Eastern Studies
• Chemical Engineering
• Classics
• Computer Science
• Economics
• Education
• Engineering
• English
• Geography
• History 
• History and Modern Languages
• History and Politics
• History of Art
• Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS)
• Land Economy
• Law 
• Linguistics
• Management Studies (Part II course)
• Manufacturing Engineering (Part II course)
• Mathematics
• Medicine
• Medicine (Graduate Course)
• Modern and Medieval Languages
• Music
• Natural Sciences
• Philosophy
• Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
• Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion
• Veterinary Medicine

www.uniq.ox.ac.uk/

UNIQ is the University of Oxford’s access programme for state school students. We prioritise places for students with good grades from backgrounds that are under-represented at Oxford and other universities. Every year more students from diverse backgrounds get offered places at Oxford with help from UNIQ.

Below are links at to the recent online Oxbridge Student Conference that took place covering everything from individual subject areas, through to student support and why to apply. 

Oxbridge Student Conference

Oxford for North West

Are you a Year 12 state-school student? Are you from the North West, and interested in applying to Oxford? This Seminar Series from is for you!

Oxford for north West Seminar Series 2022