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Does it matter if you apply to the same oxford college from the same school?

There are 3 of us at my sixth form who are all wanting to apply for maths at oxford, does it matter if we apply for the same college?

Reply 1

morris743

I'm not 100% but I wouldn't have thought so.

Reply 2

Zoedotdot

18

Not sure about for the same subject, but there are a good few people in my college at Cambridge who came from the same schools :smile:

Reply 3

GlibByNature

No, but some schools don't allow it because why would you want your pupils to compete against each other?

If all of you are happy I guess it's not really a problem.

Reply 4

Festina lente

11

From the college's point of view, no it shouldn't matter.

For Maths I believe you are supposed to get interviewed by two colleges anyway and what with that and the pooling system, you may not all end up at the same college even if you all get offers.

You may find that your school are a bit odd about it - some don't like you to apply to the same college - but if two of you really like the same one, you shouldn't worry about both applying.

Reply 5

tamtamsham

OP

Oh right thanks, I'm the only one who hasn't really decided on a college yet and so I was just wondering whether I could still consider the two my friends are applying at :smile:

Reply 6

quintsy

17

Statistically the chances of all of you getting in are not high, simply because acceptance rates in general are relatively low, but I would not say that the probability of you getting in as an individual would be diminished, simply because you're from the same school (does that make sense? As a mathematician you can probably explain it much better than me! :p:

). In the event that you're all of a relatively similar, and desirable, standard but the college doesn't have enough spaces to take you, the pooling system should ensure that you are reallocated to another college :yes:

Reply 7

Omio

7

It would not be sensible for you guys to apply to the same college. Each college accepts only a few applicants (5-10) each year and there might be some preference for diversity. If you're competing against yourselves, you'd have worse chance of getting in than if you applied to separate colleges.

Reply 8

hobnob

14

Omio

It would not be sensible for you guys to apply to the same college. Each college accepts only a few applicants (5-10) each year and there might be some preference for diversity. If you're competing against yourselves, you'd have worse chance of getting in than if you applied to separate colleges.

There isn't, but there is a preference for good applicants. The college won't really care which school they're from. And even if they did want to avoid admitting three students from the same school for the same course, they wouldn't be stupid enough to reject strong candidates purely because of the school they attended. It isn't a matter of first-choice college or nothing. If those three maths applicants are all strong compared to the other candidates of that application cycle, then they'll either get offers from the college they applied to or they'll be pooled and subsequently snapped up by other colleges. And if they're not that good, they won't increase their chances by spreading their applications around different colleges.

Reply 9

I Murder Carrots 4 Fun

8

It definitely matters if you are applying from one of the big selective private schools that send a lot of people to Oxbridge, as a college with five places for a subject won't want to be seen to have 3/5 Etonians/Paulinas/Westminsters. However, if your school doesn't typically send many people to Oxbridge, it matters a lot less, although may detract from your uniqueness as an applicant... something that may look exciting on your record will be considerably less so if it transpires that it is not unusual for people from your school to have done it. That said, they won't reject you, as a good candidate, on that basis.

Reply 10

wer343lit

11

Our school wouldn't let us apply to the same College for the same subject, since it means you're competing directly against each other.

Oxford certainly will allow you to apply, so it will depend on your school's policy.

Does it matter if you apply to the same oxford college from the same school?

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