Oxford Applicants 2016 Entry & Interview chat

Which one (choral v organ) are you applying for and what's your first choice Oxford college? Do you know which other colleges you'll be auditioning at?

Choral (soprano) and my first choice is Queens but I'm also applying for Worcester and Somerville. They are the only ones hat I can apply to..!

Queens and Woosta are great mixed choirs! My college husband is TA, Director of Chapel Music at Woosta. He may come across stern because it's an audition but he is honestly the loveliest man you could ever meet. Nothing to worry about on that front As for OR at Queens, he comes across a bit weird and socially awkward but he's very sweet and nice

Queens and Woosta are great mixed choirs! My college husband is TA, Director of Chapel Music at Woosta. He may come across stern because it's an audition but he is honestly the loveliest man you could ever meet. Nothing to worry about on that front As for OR at Queens, he comes across a bit weird and socially awkward but he's very sweet and nice

Oh top tip for your Woosta audition, if you have one: if RS (music tutor at Woosta) puts his face in his hands whilst you're singing, that is a GOOD sign. Also if he takes sudden sharp/deep intakes of breath with his eyes closed, that is again a good sign. He has the weirdest mannerisms of anyone I've ever met

I'm almost tempted to put Worcester down as my first choice choir-it seems marginally less competitive than Queens, and I love them both! I met OR at an open day in July, and he was really helpful, but I can see what you mean! I'm planning to visit Worcester in September, so maybe I shall have the pleasure of meeting TA then :P

Aha, I don't quite know what to make of that..
But I'll note it anyway

Carfax is considered the city centre (the junction where High Street meets Cornmarket and St Aldate's). The main shops (depending on where you like to shop) are on Cornmarket, High Street and... I think it's called Queens Street/Road? Wherever the Westgate shopping centre is anyway

Aha, I don't quite know what to make of that..
But I'll note it anyway

Right, cheers. Would you say that Worcester is conveniently located as I keep getting mixed views as to how central/easy access to shops/clubs/bars/cafes it is, and looking at a map it looks a bit out of the centre- is this particularly noticeable when you are there, and do most people at Worcester have a bike? The main problem i see with Worcester at the moment is how far away it is from the Iffley Road sports complex, but all the colleges I'm shortlisting aren't as close as I'd like it to be anyway. thoughts?

Yay! that's when I'm coming
See you around

Cheers, PRSOM.

Where in Oxford is considered the centre? I.e where is the main hub of shops, clubs, coffee shops/cafes or just the most popular place for students in Oxford?

I'm helping out at the open day at Worcester on the 18th of September! (I'm a second year) We'll be having tours and talks etc. so it's a great time to come and see the college

I have to agree with colourtheory, the "Oxford looks lots at GCSE results" is a myth. There are a few cases where GCSEs are important, for very popular courses (particularly for Medicine). But Oriental Studies interviews 86% of candidates, in other words they interview practically everyone who makes a serious application. (I suspect many of the 14% they don't interview are people who have done badly on the aptitude test, for the courses that have an aptitude test, which Japanese currently doesn't.)

The key thing for you is to work out which universities have the courses best suited to you. The college thing is a bit sad, but it's not the end of the world - remember that 25% of Oxbridge students are at a college they didn't initially apply to (and near enough all love their college).

Worcester is the closest college to the bars and clubs! Remember, it's Oxford and not the Gobi Desert; everything is within a ten minute walk. Compared to colleges such as St Catherine's we're extremely central (look at a map; we're just down Beaumont Street).

Also, we have accommodation for all three years. Most other colleges require you to move out to Cowley / Summertown in your second year which is miles away from the city centre.

We have all our sports facilities on site and we're the only college to do so.

Iffley is a decent cycle away (10 mins or so), but it doesn't seem to bother the Blues swimmers.

I'm hoping that I may be able to travel by that point to make it for the open day (otherwise I'll just have to settle for the Outreach day in London). Are those who attend shown around every college and buildings of importance, or is just focussed on certain things? x

Do you know if the onsite sports facility have a hockey astro pitch?

I think I'd like to apply to study English Lang and Lit at Oxford, having liked it a lot at the open day and after getting 4 A's in my AS. I thought that I had totally screwed them up, and as such have done little to no research into how to make a competitive oxford english application, or indeed, whether I will be able to.
So I go to a kinda good state school
AS levels in English, History, Latin (and Fine Art which I'm dropping)
I'm gonna start an EPQ this year hopefully. Other than that I have very very little extracurricular to talk about. I've started to try and read widely.. Is that enough?
8A* 5A's at GCSE If that matters.

a) Should i give it a go? At which point do I lower my expectations?

b) if so, what should I start doing now, I've got very little if my personal statement written, I dunno if I should be prepping for anything else? Grateful for any advice!

No, that'd take like a week! No, you go to the individual colleges you're interested in and they show you around and answer your questions etc. The subject departments are also open so you can ask specific questions about the course you want to study.