The Student Room Group

St. Johns (Oxford+Physics)

I would like to study physics at oxford. I don't think grades will be a problem, I'm hoping for 4As in maths, chemistry, physics and economics.

I was wondering if St. John's is too high to aim for, I read tha only 1 in 5 people get in and I don't want to be rejected. I chose it because it seems to look good and the highest amount of physics students go there.

Do you need to be particularly good to get in? And what are good alternative colleges for physics students?
Reply 1
mik1a
I would like to study physics at oxford. I don't think grades will be a problem, I'm hoping for 4As in maths, chemistry, physics and economics.

I was wondering if St. John's is too high to aim for, I read tha only 1 in 5 people get in and I don't want to be rejected. I chose it because it seems to look good and the highest amount of physics students go there.

Do you need to be particularly good to get in? And what are good alternative colleges for physics students?


St John's is a very difficult college to get into, but they claim to be able to place good candidates elsewhere, which will make you end up at Corpus Christi, St Edmund Hall, etc who only get 1.5 first applicants per place. These are still very fine colleges in my oppinion, but if you really don't like to go there I would perhaps consider an intermediate college as a first choice.

I see you chose St Johns "because it seems to look good and the highest amount of physics students go there." However, there are more things to take into account than that. What is the atmosphere of the college (i.e. academic or laid-back)? What are the tutor's interests? For example the tutors at St Johns are very fixed at particle and condensed matter physics. If you are more of a astrodynamics or theoretical physics fanatic, you might consider applying somewhere else. There are plenty of alternative colleges, but it depends on your taste and you should really have a look into this yourself.
Reply 2
ok i've had a look at some of the coleges, unfortunately I can't see the staff's interests in a lot of them. If all the statistics such as number of undergraduates/ratios of courses taken and the specific strong points of physics taught, it would help me decide. I am leaning towards theoretical physics.

Some of the websites are a lot better than others. I couldnt even find the physics teachers on Corpus Christi. :frown:
Reply 3
mik1a
ok i've had a look at some of the coleges, unfortunately I can't see the staff's interests in a lot of them. If all the statistics such as number of undergraduates/ratios of courses taken and the specific strong points of physics taught, it would help me decide. I am leaning towards theoretical physics.

Some of the websites are a lot better than others. I couldnt even find the physics teachers on Corpus Christi. :frown:


Most college websites give some information on the tutors under the subject listings. You can find information on the physics teachers at Corpus Christi at:

http://www.ccc.ox.ac.uk/prospectus02/academicinformation02/physics.htm