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Classics at Oxford preparation?

I am interested in studying Classics, however, I have never studied Latin or Ancient Greek or Ancient History. What should I be doing in order to show that Classics is what I want to study and I know what I am applying for e.g read, study and etc (need something for beginners)?
(edited 6 years ago)
I imagine, based on what these top universities usually ask for, you would need to have taken an A-Level in Ancient History, Latin or Greek, on top of a Classics A-Level. It can be hard to access these qualifications at most colleges/sixth forms, unless you can enter a grammar sixth form. This is merely based on the information I was fed when I was in grammar school and considering Classics at university.

It didn’t seem very flexible, especially when Oxford and Cambridge talk came into it.
(edited 6 years ago)
Hiya! There is, as you will know, no need to have studied Latin or Greek a-level for the Oxford Classics course. My advice would be to try and show interest through reading some Greek or Roman literature (the English translation, of course) and mentioning it in your personal statement. If you are doing an EPQ centring it around this would be cool. Also perhaps if you have coursework that you could bend towards this (perhaps English as I know History CW can be quite rigid?) maybe you could give this a go? You could also do quite fun things like visit a few museums and maybe talk about a specific art work that interested you.

Even if you can do only a few of these things, it'll be really good in not only demonstrating your passion but really getting you thinking about Classics in a rigorous way.

Best of luck!
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Avatar for HelloX
HelloX
OP
4
Original post by Art.Sibande
Hiya! There is, as you will know, no need to have studied Latin or Greek a-level for the Oxford Classics course. My advice would be to try and show interest through reading some Greek or Roman literature (the English translation, of course) and mentioning it in your personal statement. If you are doing an EPQ centring it around this would be cool. Also perhaps if you have coursework that you could bend towards this (perhaps English as I know History CW can be quite rigid?) maybe you could give this a go? You could also do quite fun things like visit a few museums and maybe talk about a specific art work that interested you.

Even if you can do only a few of these things, it'll be really good in not only demonstrating your passion but really getting you thinking about Classics in a rigorous way.

Best of luck!


Thanks for the reply. So I could bssically read the a couple of plays and philosophical texts and that would be sufficient? I know that Classics entails art, history, language, literature, philosophy and etc and was wondering if focusing only on philosophy and literature would be enough. Also, is there any text better than any others to read for the purpose of discussion?
Reply 4
Avatar for astro67
astro67
10
Original post by HelloX
Thanks for the reply. So I could bssically read the a couple of plays and philosophical texts and that would be sufficient? I know that Classics entails art, history, language, literature, philosophy and etc and was wondering if focusing only on philosophy and literature would be enough. Also, is there any text better than any others to read for the purpose of discussion?


I would suggest you read whatever interests you and keep reading stuff that interests you - don't stop at a couple of plays or philosophy texts and think that you've done enough. If your interest is heartfelt, you'll want to carry on reading other things. In general, I would read for your own interest rather than for the purpose of discussion. The stuff you have found really interesting is automatically what you will be able to discuss best. If you find yourself drawn to Ancient History and what life was like in ancient Greece and Rome more than Philosophy and ancient Literature, you might want to think about the Classical Archaeology and Ancient History degree.

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