Would I be silly applying for Oxford for 2016 entry in my circumstances?

My A-Level grades are A*AA, so good but I probably pretty standard by Oxford standards (I think?). My GCSEs are 5A*s and 5As, which are I think relatively good considering the school I attended.

In terms of financial difficulties, I receive, in addition to the government support, £7,000 support from Edinburth (their maximum). UCL's is much less, and considering it's London, potentially especially in second and third years, I would have to rely much more on loans and a part-time job; which is doable obviously but it's something to consider.

In all fairness I think you're probably correct and, while I'll think about it still, I'll probably take up my UCL place, the English course there does look great.

I don't know the exact details of Oxford's financial packages for students such as you (and me, incidentally - I got a £10K bursary from Oxford ) at the moment because things have changed so much since I was there. Safe to say though, that it is probably better than UCL.

What do you make of the English course structure and modules available at Oxford? Your grades are good. You'd just have to explain why you were so late in making an application. How do you think you'd fare at the ELAT? Questions galore!

That's a pretty great bursary it has to be said. It is much less than that now I think - but it is still much more than UCL's (I can't remember the exact figures off the top of my head ).

I do like the look of the course structure. The choice in second year to do Pathway I or Pathway II to me seems to be a good way to specialise in what you're interested in to some extent, while still keeping your options open and being forced studying texts which you might not have otherwise, and the potential benefits of that. The main attraction is the tutorial system for me though.

In terms of the ELAT, I would have to practice it as it's unseen, but I think I could do well. There was a similar exercise at my UCL interview this year to do, and I was fairly happy with it (though the ELAT is admittedly quite a bit harder as it's on more than one text). I've also done pretty well in an essay at Edinburgh in an essay which looked at a single poem in isolation. I think I'll practice and see how it goes over the summer - if I find I'm struggling particularly it might not be the best idea to apply.

It was £10K over three years to be fair. And the tuition fees weren't 9K then either! I think Oxford give reduced tuition fees to some students but you'd have to double check that coz I really can't remember the specifics of the new tuition fee shiz.

Maybe you should email the admissions tutor for English at Oxford and just ask whether you would stand a realistic chance and see what they advise you?

Good luck figuring it out either way. I do think you would most likely be very happy at UCL but London IS expensive...