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Oxford Oriental Studies Students and Applicants

Basically our school keeps saying that you won't even have a chance if you don't have 7 A* and the rest As. So be realistic and don't apply. Totally crushing news. I also know that people hate having people put their fantastic grades up saying can I get into Oxbridge with their full A* grades. But seriously, people I need information. My GCSE grades are causing me insomnia!!!
Okay I got 5A* 4A 1B (chemistry) I also have an A in maths AS and have now finished yr 12. I am going to apply for Oriental Studies which people say doesn't have a very high competition rate, but I think it is just as hard as any other. I really want to get in. They have the perfect course. If any of you TSR people happen to be doing Oriental Studies and am at Oxford. I would really really appreciate it and may love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

p.s. I wrote this same one in the personal statement area because I didn't realise this existed. So if you saw this and that please don't grill me.

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Reply 1
luvursoul
Basically our school keeps saying that you won't even have a chance if you don't have 7 A* and the rest As. So be realistic and don't apply. Totally crushing news. I also know that people hate having people put their fantastic grades up saying can I get into Oxbridge with their full A* grades. But seriously, people I need information. My GCSE grades are causing me insomnia!!!
Okay I got 5A* 4A 1B (chemistry) I also have an A in maths AS and have now finished yr 12. I am going to apply for Oriental Studies which people say doesn't have a very high competition rate, but I think it is just as hard as any other. I really want to get in. They have the perfect course. If any of you TSR people happen to be doing Oriental Studies and am at Oxford. I would really really appreciate it and may love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

p.s. I wrote this same one in the personal statement area because I didn't realise this existed. So if you saw this and that please don't grill me.

Your school are being silly, you do have a chance and it's worth a try, but that's really all anyone can say at this point.:dontknow: Your GCSEs are probably a little below average for successful Oxford applicants, but obviously that's just an average, meaning that every year people get offers with lower grades than that, as there are of course quite a few successful applicants with considerably higher grades.
Reply 2
luvursoul
Basically our school keeps saying that you won't even have a chance if you don't have 7 A* and the rest As. So be realistic and don't apply. Totally crushing news. I also know that people hate having people put their fantastic grades up saying can I get into Oxbridge with their full A* grades. But seriously, people I need information. My GCSE grades are causing me insomnia!!!
Okay I got 5A* 4A 1B (chemistry) I also have an A in maths AS and have now finished yr 12. I am going to apply for Oriental Studies which people say doesn't have a very high competition rate, but I think it is just as hard as any other. I really want to get in. They have the perfect course. If any of you TSR people happen to be doing Oriental Studies and am at Oxford. I would really really appreciate it and may love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

p.s. I wrote this same one in the personal statement area because I didn't realise this existed. So if you saw this and that please don't grill me.


Hey, I'm an Orientalist at Ox, and I can tell you that your grades are definitely good enough. I got worse grades than you did at GCSE, and I'm here.

With subjects like the Oriental languages (which are you thinking of btw?), what's much more important than your grades is your personal statement. You have to show them that you have an interest. You probably haven't studied the language before, so you have to be able to demonstate that you already have the passion to do what's probably going to be a very demanding degree.

Obviously grades are important, but you're already in a position from which you can apply knowing that they won't reject you on the basis of your grades. So what you should do now is read around the subject. Really figure out what interests you in the area. Literature, history and that stuff. With a strong enough personal statement you'll get an interview and then you can blow them away with your passion! :p:

Read the ox website. It doesn't say anything about perfect grades.

All the best. If you want any more info feel free to get in contact.
Reply 3
I got 3 A*s and 8As at GCSE, and I have an offer to study Law. Your school is being a little over cautious, I feel.

If you want to apply to Oxford, you definitely don't need to feel like your grades aren't good enough.
Reply 4
Quack
Hey, I'm an Orientalist at Ox, and I can tell you that your grades are definitely good enough. I got worse grades than you did at GCSE, and I'm here.

With subjects like the Oriental languages (which are you thinking of btw?), what's much more important than your grades is your personal statement. You have to show them that you have an interest. You probably haven't studied the language before, so you have to be able to demonstate that you already have the passion to do what's probably going to be a very demanding degree.

Obviously grades are important, but you're already in a position from which you can apply knowing that they won't reject you on the basis of your grades. So what you should do now is read around the subject. Really figure out what interests you in the area. Literature, history and that stuff. With a strong enough personal statement you'll get an interview and then you can blow them away with your passion! :p:

Read the ox website. It doesn't say anything about perfect grades.

All the best. If you want any more info feel free to get in contact.

Well I've started reading Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and that's really interesting and am going to read the tetrology by yukio mishima. But I'm also really interested in the history and culture. Could you possibly give me some recommendations possibly?? Thank you sooo much :smile: I've decided to do Japanese Studies and am Korean. The grammar are rather similar so I've listened and watched some Japanese programmes and picked up some words, but I can't really say that in the interview.
Reply 5
luvursoul
Well I've started reading Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and that's really interesting and am going to read the tetrology by yukio mishima. But I'm also really interested in the history and culture. Could you possibly give me some recommendations possibly?? Thank you sooo much :smile: I've decided to do Japanese Studies and am Korean. The grammar are rather similar so I've listened and watched some Japanese programmes and picked up some words, but I can't really say that in the interview.


Snow Country eh? That's good. Have fun with the Mishima. Spring Snow is one of my favourite books by him. But those 4 books are LONG. Enjoy :p: If you want to get a good idea of basic modern literary tradition check out Natsume Soseki (start with 'Kokoro' and go from there), Tanizaki Junichiro (I haven't read any so I can't recommend, sorry), and if you want to please the literature tutor maybe someone like Enji Fumiko. More modern stuff is fun (Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami etc) but the older stuff is a little more Japanese.

History and culture eh? You can get the basic reading list off the Oxford website (http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/html/ea/japanese/ba_japanese.htm - has the basic course info and the reading list at the bottom).

DO NOT buy the Jansen book. It will destroy your soul. Well ok. It's good. But at 900 pages it well beyond general interest. Maybe the Pyle is better? The Reischauer books are interesting. But buying any of these books will cost a bit of money. There are plenty of popular history books on modern Japan (especially it's involvement in the war) 'Nemesis' and such. There's another book which I read before interview called 'An Introduction to Japanese Society' by Yoshio Sugimoto which was good. To be honest most of the books I read on the course were very specific things related to my essays and most can't be found easily. 'Hokkaido Highway Blues' is by no means a cultural study, but is one of the better books on travelling in Japan. To be honest, at this point, the internet might be a better bet. Just look around, find something that looks interesting and go for it. It might not be directly relevent to studying, but any reading is good reading and it will develop your interests.

Do you speak Korean? Because if you get the linguistics tutor at interview he will definitely be asking you about the similarities between it and Japanese. So you might want to think about that one :biggrin:
Reply 6
Quack
Snow Country eh? That's good. Have fun with the Mishima. Spring Snow is one of my favourite books by him. But those 4 books are LONG. Enjoy :p: If you want to get a good idea of basic modern literary tradition check out Natsume Soseki (start with 'Kokoro' and go from there), Tanizaki Junichiro (I haven't read any so I can't recommend, sorry), and if you want to please the literature tutor maybe someone like Enji Fumiko. More modern stuff is fun (Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami etc) but the older stuff is a little more Japanese.

History and culture eh? You can get the basic reading list off the Oxford website (http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/html/ea/japanese/ba_japanese.htm - has the basic course info and the reading list at the bottom).

DO NOT buy the Jansen book. It will destroy your soul. Well ok. It's good. But at 900 pages it well beyond general interest. Maybe the Pyle is better? The Reischauer books are interesting. But buying any of these books will cost a bit of money. There are plenty of popular history books on modern Japan (especially it's involvement in the war) 'Nemesis' and such. There's another book which I read before interview called 'An Introduction to Japanese Society' by Yoshio Sugimoto which was good. To be honest most of the books I read on the course were very specific things related to my essays and most can't be found easily. 'Hokkaido Highway Blues' is by no means a cultural study, but is one of the better books on travelling in Japan. To be honest, at this point, the internet might be a better bet. Just look around, find something that looks interesting and go for it. It might not be directly relevent to studying, but any reading is good reading and it will develop your interests.

Do you speak Korean? Because if you get the linguistics tutor at interview he will definitely be asking you about the similarities between it and Japanese. So you might want to think about that one :biggrin:

Thank you so much obviously you do Japanese. I'm currently trying to write my personal statement, could you give me some tips by any chance?? Also, I'm applying for Hertford is there any thing that they usually ask in the interview or is this classified stuff which the forum put limits on?
Reply 7
Did you analyse it in uni?? because I also really liked it but I'm not sure if I have enough knowledge to analyse it to an extent that it will impress them in an interview. Could you possibly give me some notes or opinions on some things?? I would be really really grateful. Thank you~
Reply 8
luvursoul
Thank you so much obviously you do Japanese. I'm currently trying to write my personal statement, could you give me some tips by any chance?? Also, I'm applying for Hertford is there any thing that they usually ask in the interview or is this classified stuff which the forum put limits on?


No worries. Yeah, I'm a Japanologist. My personal statement is actually on TSR in the personal statement wiki, if you want to have a look at it. I'd be more than happy to take a look at yours if you want. There is a PS section on TSR though, which might be of more help.

I applied to Hertford, but I actually got into a different college. You'll have two interviews (two chances to prove yourself), one at the college and one at the OI. The college one will be a bit more general (why do you want to study Japanese? what interests about Japan? and I got a random question on current events, so read the newspaper - that's not even interview advice, just read the paper! :wink: ). You'll also have a pretty basic language analysis test. My one was deconstructing/reconstructing/translating a made up language. Pretty easy to be honest. In my interview at the OI we got into the nitty gritty of my personal statement and I got grilled on literature by the literature fellow. So SERIOUSLY do not put anything in your PS that you can't back up. And then more general questions about my interests in Japan (health care...何何何)

luvursoul
Did you analyse it in uni?? because I also really liked it but I'm not sure if I have enough knowledge to analyse it to an extent that it will impress them in an interview. Could you possibly give me some notes or opinions on some things?? I would be really really grateful. Thank you~


Yeah, we did analysis at uni. It's all pretty much self analysed though. So the more practice you get the better! :biggrin: That being said, I couldn't analyse anything before I got here. Just read as much as possible. Literally read everything you can. Find what interests you, and have an opinion. You aren't expected to know exactly how (if at all) Soseki was influenced by Genbun Itchi. You haven't studied anything like this before (probably). But you are expected to have independent analytical ability. Think about what you read. Have your own opinions about it. If you do any independent reading at all, this is pretty standard. High level analysis is NOT expected at interview. In language or in cultural business. It wouldn't be fair of them to assume knowledge.

I can send you essays and stuff if you want. But to be honest, its all so specific, it might be a waste of time.

Let me know if you do want anything though. Good luck!
Reply 9
Quack
No worries. Yeah, I'm a Japanologist. My personal statement is actually on TSR in the personal statement wiki, if you want to have a look at it. I'd be more than happy to take a look at yours if you want. There is a PS section on TSR though, which might be of more help.

I applied to Hertford, but I actually got into a different college. You'll have two interviews (two chances to prove yourself), one at the college and one at the OI. The college one will be a bit more general (why do you want to study Japanese? what interests about Japan? and I got a random question on current events, so read the newspaper - that's not even interview advice, just read the paper! :wink: ). You'll also have a pretty basic language analysis test. My one was deconstructing/reconstructing/translating a made up language. Pretty easy to be honest. In my interview at the OI we got into the nitty gritty of my personal statement and I got grilled on literature by the literature fellow. So SERIOUSLY do not put anything in your PS that you can't back up. And then more general questions about my interests in Japan (health care...何何何)



Yeah, we did analysis at uni. It's all pretty much self analysed though. So the more practice you get the better! :biggrin: That being said, I couldn't analyse anything before I got here. Just read as much as possible. Literally read everything you can. Find what interests you, and have an opinion. You aren't expected to know exactly how (if at all) Soseki was influenced by Genbun Itchi. You haven't studied anything like this before (probably). But you are expected to have independent analytical ability. Think about what you read. Have your own opinions about it. If you do any independent reading at all, this is pretty standard. High level analysis is NOT expected at interview. In language or in cultural business. It wouldn't be fair of them to assume knowledge.

I can send you essays and stuff if you want. But to be honest, its all so specific, it might be a waste of time.

Let me know if you do want anything though. Good luck!

Oh dear I am so bad at current events. I don't even know where england is on the world map .... I better start reading... So does that mean I should mention just one book and basically know it inside out? Or around 3-4 books and just know it. Also, as you said any reading is good so I would really appreciate it if you could send it over?? I don't think TSR has a e-mail like system so could you send it over by my school mail which is [email protected] . Oh yes, my ps is supposed to be in by this friday and I haven't written it yet, but we do get to edit it over the summer etc so I'll post it or send it over by friday, which would be the unedited version with all this stuff that I haven't actually done yet because it will be done in the summer holiday. Oh yea thank you sooo much!!

PS which college are you studying at now? Is it good? I'm personally aiming for Hertford it was amazing when I went to the Oriental Studies open day in May
Reply 10
hey!

I applied for Japanese at Hertford aswell! How was your interview? Heard anything from oxford yet?
Reply 11
i got 1 A*, 7 As, a B and a C at GCSE and still got an interview to study english, and i'm waiting to hear about an offer. don't let anyone tell you your grades aren't good enough - if you really want to go, try - otherwise you'll never know.
Reply 12
It says quite clearly here that "The College typically admits two undergraduates each year".

It would be pretty stupid for a college to be listed as offering a particular subject when they don't make any offers in it.
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 13
Hello my (probably) fellow interviewee :smile:

I am applying to something slightly different (Spanish and Arabic) but if you are interested in the college options, have a look at here: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/colleges/which_colleges_offer_my_course/index.html So Univ DOES definitely offer it.

Unfortunately, I cannot give any advice about the college choice. Opinions vary; some say it doesn't matter as you are given an equal chance everywhere, some deny that and claim that applying to an oversubscribed college is risky. I chose mine on the basis of the correspondence between me and the admissions offices and my personal visit to Oxford. But from what I've seen, Univ is beautiful :smile:
Reply 14
Quick things to note:

- Lesser subscribed does not mean greater chance of getting into if you select it. If you're good enough to get into Oxford, chances are you'll get in. If you don't get into your first choice but you're good enough then you'll get into your second, and if they have no spaces there they'll recommend you to a third. If you're the only candidate for a college and you're not good enough, you won't get in, they'll just pool two other candidates from another college.
- To offer a subject a college realistically has to have resident tutors in that subject. On this basis that they offer Oriental Studies for your language (remember, some colleges only offer a single or set of languages, for example Chinese/Japanese or Arabic, all coming under Oriental Studies), they'll have resident tutors in that subject and so, if you catch my drift, if they didn't give offers out for that subject they'd have tutors with nobody to teach (not that that's not unheard of, if nobody is good enough in a year then they may choose to just take none of the candidates)
- For a subject like oriental studies, with very few places to begin with anyway, most colleges will be 'oversubscribed'. The system will give you an undersubscribed second college anyway.

If you're not good enough for Oxford, chances are you won't get in. If you are good enough, you will :smile:. Choosing your first choice college matters in the sense that you are most likely to be offered a place there (only a small proportion get into second choice), and so you should pick the place you would like to go best, rather than where you think you will get in.
(edited 3 years ago)
Can anybody put up first year reading lists for Oriental Studies, specifically Chinese?
Reply 16
Hi all :smile:

So, I'm applying for Oriental Studies (Japanese) at Oxford - Wadham college.
I need to send two pieces of written work, but as it's Japanese they don't have to be on any specific subject (Just obviously the ones I'm studying at A-level).

Anyway, I have essays from both English Literature and Religous Studies which are all good, however my R.S ones are stronger than my English ones. Would it be ok for me to send two R.S essays? Or would it be better for me to send one of each?
Thanks :tongue:
if you think your RS ones are better than any English one you have done then there is no reason why you shouldn't send to RS essays
Reply 18
A question for those in the know: can the written work be from the same subject or must it come from two different subjects?

I may end up having just one essay-based A-level subject, which worries me.
Reply 19
Two subjects would be better; it shows a wider range of interests and ability. You can always tweak and change your English essay.

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