Which Oxford college?

Errr ... crucially, there's a link at the bottom of each of those college pages - 'Which Oxford colleges offer my course?' - and I can find German with Spanish, but no mention of Spanish with German at all (never mind Beginners' German). It might take a little more research as I just scrolled through... Are you sure Oxford offers that combination??

I'm planning on applying to Oxford for Spanish and beginners German in my gap year after achieving my a level grades this summer. I have no idea about Oxford colleges as I applied for Cambridge last year lol so would anyone recommend me the least competitive or nicest ones/ones that accept the most language students?

Hi,

I'm attaching the link to the latest college success rates table. It allows you to check the stats for a single year, or a three-year average, and for the college as a whole, or by subject.

https://public.tableau.com/views/UniversityofOxford-CollegeSuccessRates2021/CollegeSuccessRates?:embed=y&:display_count=yes&:showTabs=y&:showVizHome=no

My advice is to look at all the information you can online about each of the colleges and decide which one you like best, as you never know how many people will apply to a college in any given year. Decide what is most important to you and do a pros and cons list, then go for the one you like best.

I'll find the link to the college list and attach it too. You can take a virtual tour of each college to get a feel of them. You should be able to visit your shortlist in person before you apply in the autumn.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/modern-languages/modern-languages-college-options"

"For courses involving Beginners' Czech, Beginners' German, Beginners' Modern Greek or Beginners' Portuguese, please click on the relevant option for Czech, German, Modern Greek or Portuguese to show which colleges offer these courses."

Emphasis mine. The colleges for that course are listed under German & Spanish as a result.

(Evidently all colleges offering those languages also offer the beginners variants, whereas for other beginners languages some may only offer it post-A-level!).


You might find this tool made by the OUSU handy: http://apply.oxfordsu.org/colleges/suggester/

You can tick different options that are important to you to see what colleges might fit that, and they add a fair bit of detail in the descriptions once you search!

The alternative prospectus is also a really useful resource.
https://apply.oxfordsu.org/

Bear in mind that 1/3 of offer holders end up at a different college to the one they applied to, so don't put too much emotional energy into choosing your dream college.

The alternative prospectus is also a really useful resource.
https://apply.oxfordsu.org/

Bear in mind that 1/3 of offer holders end up at a different college to the one they applied to, so don't put too much emotional energy into choosing your dream college.

Thank you guys for all the responses! Does anyone know if any of the colleges look down on applicants applying during a gap year?

I don't think this is really a concern for any courses outside of very mathematical ones where sometimes they might want to have some reassurance you haven't "gone rusty" in your maths skills (and even that is pretty limited these days). So I don't think there will be any outright negativity involved.

Thank you very much for this reply. Alright I'll have a look into those kinds of texts, do you mean theyre a requirement as part of the application?

No I mean they're a requirement of the course once you're successful - so it just might be helpful to know what you're getting yourself into

But that's the fun bit! (If you have time ).

Thank you guys for all the responses! Does anyone know if any of the colleges look down on applicants applying during a gap year?

That's true - but I've ended up with an open offer, so I really have no clue which college I will go to!

Ah - I see! Which college did you apply to? And was it for English?

I applied on my gap year, and I just mentioned what I was doing for a few lines in my Personal Statement. They might also ask you about it during your interview. Otherwise, there really was no problem applying during a gap year. It won't disadvantage you

I applied to Lincoln for Chemistry!

I looked at your name and assumed! (I'm at Merton, doing English.)
So is your offer underwritten by Lincoln, or another college, or is it completely open?