A warm welcome to anyone that is reading this blogpost!
To give a little context, this blog isn't something I commit to regularly nor does it have a particular theme as I had first intended it to have. Since I don't have an awful lot of spare time during term, I decided that when I do get the opportunity to blog, I should write about something useful or something that you might search in google.
So... without further ado... today I will be talking about applying to Oxford!
Given that I have been through the application process and was successful (I'm now studying at Oxford), I feel that I have a little bit of knowledge to share with you and some tips for making the whole thing seem less stressful.
I understand that the application for 2016 entry has passed now but this may still be useful to you if you have been offered an interview in this coming December or want to apply next year.
First of all, I might as well give you a personal account of my own experience and how I found the whole process.
I originally applied for English and French, which involved 2 admissions tests and 3 pieces of written work alongside my personal statement. My interview week consisted of 1 interview for the English side of the course and one interview for the French side of the course. Each interview was around 25-30 minutes long and there were 2 tutors/interviewers in each.
In my English interview, I was asked to analyse a poem that was provided 20 minutes before the interview and this occupied around 15 minutes of the interview. They asked me general questions about my impressions of the poem, comments on language, form and structure, anything that came to mind essentially! There was no specific focus so I was pretty much allowed to discuss whatever angle interested me. After the poem analysis, the rest of the interview consisted of answering questions about books that I had mentioned in my personal statements, explaining what literature I had read pre 19th century, and discussing anything the tutor had thought was interesting about my application.
**it is worth noting that no interview is the same. There were 5 other girls applying for English and MFL at my college and none of them had an interview that was similar to mine. Some were asked about what they had written in their admissions tests, some were questioned on their EPQ, some were asked about specific authors, it really varies!
My French interview felt a lot more informal. The first half consisted of analysing a poem (again!). The poem was in English and the questions took on a similar format as the ones I'd had in my English interview. The rest of the interview was about my personal statement, work experience, reading and general questions like why I wanted to study the course. I get asked this a lot so I will emphasise this as best I can. My whole interview was in English bar 5 minutes at the end of casual discussion about whether I liked France, the food, the culture etc.
HOWEVER - this varies from college to college. My college doesn't focus too much on the spoken language side in the interview because the course is mostly literature based and so they prefer to test your literary skills rather than your language skills (and this is something you will develop more in your year abroad anyway). Other colleges tend to do it slightly differently. Some will ask you to speak in the language for the entire interview, some 50/50, some will ask you to translate or answer a few questions in the language, some will conduct the entire interview in English and some will give you literature in the language. If this is something that worries you, do your research to find out which interview style will work in your favour (hint: use the student room for this).
The interview process at Oxford is somewhat frustrating compared to elsewhere as it can last as long as a week and consists of a lot of waiting around. However, it is equally a very good system as it gives you the best possible chance of getting in. Essentially, after having your interviews with the college you applied to, your application is open to any other college who can request to interview you at anytime with very short notice. I only had interviews at my own college but I still had to wait 5 days before going home just in case a request was put in by another college. Some of my friends had up to 6 extra interviews so it can be very stressful and intense but just remember that it means the university is taking your application very seriously and are rooting for you to get in!
After this process, I eventually received an offer to study English Language and Literature which I accepted and here I am! - if you're confused, don't be. It's not unusual for joint honours applicants to get offers that differ from their application if they feel you are better suited to that course.
So... that's my experience. Now onto advice:
1. The best piece of advice I can give you about the application process at Oxford is not to read too much into it. I thought my interviews had gone terribly. I completely forgot all the books I had ever read in my life, made a joke about the weather which nobody laughed at, used the wrong conjugation of the present tense (I know) and generally made a complete fool of myself. Yet, here I am... I still got in. Similarly, don't convince yourself that getting interviews at other colleges means your original interviews went badly and that getting no interviews at other colleges means nobody wants you. I met people who had interviewed at 3 other colleges and still ended up getting an offer from their original college... it's a bizarre system but it's very accurate and very precise. If you deserve a place here and you're the right candidate, you won't be overlooked and you will get in.
2. Your application is a combination of aspects. A great interview doesn't ensure success and a bad admissions test doesn't guarantee failure - take it from me, I did pretty rubbish in my ELAT and they still offered me an interview! The tutors' jobs are to recognise individual strengths so don't punish yourself over isolated moments of weakness. Also, don't be afraid to admit defeat. If you don't understand the question, can't answer the question or lose your train of thought, be explicit about it and communicate with the tutors. They are happy to rephrase questions or approach it in a different direction if it will open up discussion.
3. Don't base your opinion of the college/university based on your experience at interview. I very nearly declined my offer because I really hated the week I spent here during interviews. Unfortunately, I was put in accommodation that was out of college so I barely made any friends, I spent a lot of time waiting around for interviews that never happened, I met a few unpleasant, competitive, condescending applicants, which totally put me off coming and to top it all off, I had a personal crisis at home half way through the week but I was advised not to leave because it could affect my application. Thankfully, some very kind members of the college invited me back to speak to students and experience a bit of the college without the intensity of interview week and I really enjoyed it, hence why I accepted my offer!
4. Be yourself. I know that's really cheesy but I had so many interview workshops and trial interviews and advice given to me before I came to interview and to tell the truth, it did more harm than good. I went into my interviews thinking that I was expected to respond in a certain way, that I had to mention certain things or steer the interview in the direction I wanted to. In reality, none of that mattered. It's better to just answer the questions honestly and give the best and most accurate impression of yourself as you can. The course pages on the uni website as well as the college website give pretty good advice as to what they expect of you in interview so use this as a guideline and go into your interview with the sole intention of trying your best!
**Also, make sure you've read all the books that you've mentioned on your personal statements, Oxford tutors know their stuff.
***This is not intended to be a snub at Cambridge... (I have no animosity towards them, I think they're a fab uni and I have lots of friends there) However, the beauty of the Oxford system is that whereas Cambridge puts a strong emphasis on the numerical side of your application i.e. your modular scores, UMS, grades etc. Oxford focuses more on the individual and on your personality hence why the interview process can be drawn out and why it is so important to be honest in your interview.
5. The application is the hard part! Once you get here, it's totally chilled. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you and pretend the work load here isn't intense. I get around 2 essays a week (3000 words each) and language presentations to do, I spend about 12-14 hours a day doing work or reading, I have a lot of late nights and I get as much work in vacation time as I do in the term. However... I can sleep in most days until 9 or 10am, all my lectures are optional, I can choose my own essay questions, I can explore the weirdest and most precise aspects of literature if that's what I'm interested in, and my tutorials are super relaxed, friendly discussions with my tutor about absolutely anything we've been studying that week! There's no expectation here to be super brainy. When I say the application is the hard part, I mean it. Tutorials and essays aren't about showing off, they're about testing new ideas and exploring what you're interested in. First year doesn't count towards your degree so there's far less pressure to sound clever or write a perfect essay and tutors don't pressure you to do so.
6. Finally... there is no 'right way' of doing anything. You'll hear many different opinions about the application process and it's better to just ignore all of them. Some people might tell you not to make close friends during interview because there's a strong chance that only one of you will get in... my opinion on that is that it is a load of rubbish. If you want to make friends during interviews and you do make friends during interviews, that's fine! If you choose not to socialise much, that's fine too! I only really made friends with one person during my interview week and she didn't get in, although we still stay in touch. It had no bearing on my time here, barely anyone knew each other from interviews and I still made lots of friends! Similarly, you'll hear various opinions on the applicants/offer holder Facebook groups that emerge over the summer and the same applies. These groups have their benefits and they have their drawbacks. Use them however you want to!
Well. that's all from me for now. I hope some of this information will be useful to you and if you have any questions about anything, feel free to leave them below.
Thanks for reading,
Jade x
P.S. here are some of the pictures I took during my time here at interview:
Christ Church Meadows
Grove Walk, Merton Street
River Cherwell - next to the Botanic Garden
