University of Oxford offer-holders' thread 2015

Awesome it does look really nice on the website! I didn't really get to see it because it was dark when I had my interview - but it looks like it has a load of green (which is good for me 'cos I'm a country girl and I need lots of grass) and the site's quite big too which is nice I honestly can't wait! I think that's what's nice about the college system, you get that small group

Yeah, you'd be right that it has loads of green and is big - I think it's the largest undergraduate college! So where are you from? I'm from Oxfordshire, half an hour away from the university, so I know the area pretty well. Yeah I agree!

Yeah, you'd be right that it has loads of green and is big - I think it's the largest undergraduate college! So where are you from? I'm from Oxfordshire, half an hour away from the university, so I know the area pretty well. Yeah I agree!

Oh right, I didn't know that! I know they have loads of accommodation, which is pretty great because we can pretty much stay there for 3 years if we want I'm from Derbyshire, about half an hour from Derby so I don't know much about Oxford at all, I've only been twice!

No way! I'm from Oxfordshire too, about half and hour away. What school do you go to?

I'd be surprised if the rooms you stayed in weren't undergrad rooms, as graduate rooms are likely to be rented on continuous licenses that prevent them from being used during interviews. There are some unfathomably large rooms dotted around — unfortunately, I have misplaced my copy of the Magdalen accommodation guide so cannot offer any proof of the three room set with a shower large enough to fit a netball team.

Haha. That's fair enough. Oooh, I'd actually prefer that. I don't like large spaces very much

That's awesome! I go to Wallingford School, you?

Rooms are allocated when offers are confirmed in August after the A-level results. Practice may vary a bit depending on how colleges run accommodation, but incoming Freshers will usually be asked to indicate what price band of room is preferred and will be given a form to complete. Allocation to rooms within each band is random and since it is done when the final list of Freshers is known, there is no disadvantage to Open Offer holders.

Some more information that may be useful. College JCRs run 'college parent' schemes - typically incoming Freshers receive a letter written by current students, one of whom normally does the same course, with some arrival tips. In Freshers' week there is also typically a 'parents' dinner' organised by your student parents. Open Offer holders have parents on standby at the underwriting college; if the receiving college is different, you will still get a parents' letter. Similarly, I think that the Facebook pages set up by JCRs happen quite late and that Open Offer holders can join these in advance of arrival since here is a gap of nearly two months between A-level confirmation and arrival.

Subject: Materials Science
College: Mansfield
Offer: A*AA
County/City: Milton Keynes

How you feel: Absolutely thrilled! But also like I've cheated the system - surely they've gotten me mixed up with someone else?! Either that or everybody else who was interviewed at my college had the inability to speak, because I was convinced that that was the only way I'd be deemed an able candidate!!!

I'm also perplexed why I gained my first choice college and not my second choice since, for a huge number of reasons, my second choice interview went so much better! My first choice interview was early in the morning (8:30 am!!) so I was barely awake, forgot everything in my personal statement, spent 5x longer doing calculations than I normally would, wasn't in the mood to meet new people, and on top of that I had a lot of difficulty understanding my interviewers accent (sorry interviewer I didn't mean to be rude!!) So you can understand why I thought that I would never get an offer, let alone from my first choice college when my other interview was so much more successful

According to the Briscoe spreadsheet (thankyou flute!!) no one has even applied to Oxford from my school for at least eight years. This year six people applied, five people got interview and three people were given offers. I think that maybe our "disadvantaged school" status has come in to play? It's definitely one of the reasons I got a place on UNIQ!

What is the Briscoe spreadsheet? Does It have figures from all schools?

Yeah same, what a coincidence Nathan! It's like this conversation was planned! xoxoxo

Was there any large difference between the two? I personally quite liked St Johns' accommodation although I was given quite a large room for my stay and felt a bit like 'there's too much space'

a shower large enough to fit a netball team.

Is there an interesting story underling this comment?

Just one more point. Until you get your insurance offer (especially courses like medicine) I would recommend not to post anything in open facebook groups or twitter regarding Oxford Conditional offer

Oh wow! :O the person who gets that room every year must be reluctant for the year to end...



Yeah, they can feel imposing my room when I stayed was the right size, had a little platform at the back with the desk and chairs on and my bed was a step down. My room had a piano in it too - shame I can't play very well :')

(As a curious St John's student...) where were you placed during interviews?

I don't remember the name of the building . It was near the car park opposite the Larkin and Prestwich rooms, that's as far as my great descriptive skills go . Do you know what building I'm on about?