Reapplying to Oxford - A Successful Reapplicant's Guide

Hey there everyone,

I want to start off by saying that Oxford really isn't the be all and end all, it is not a prerequisite for academic success whatsoever and almost everyone who gets rejected from Oxford gets offers from other world class UK (or international) universities. That alone is more than enough evidence that even if you get rejected, you're still massively intelligent (I made the mistake of letting my Oxford rejection convince me I wasn't particularly intelligent for a while after and in hindsight such thinking isn't constructive and is heavily flawed).

Having said all of that, some people really do fall in love with Oxford and reckon it's worth a second attempt - if that's you, read on.

So I applied to Oxford for 2017 entry and was rejected post-interview. Like a lot of people who receive rejection it was my first experience of academic failure and given my academic strength was such a large part of my identity, I was crushed.

I considered just going to university that year but ultimately decided I wanted to give Oxford one more shot - I received my offer for PPE two days ago and couldn't be happier.

All that being said, I wanted to share what I learnt during my reapplication because I was given a myriad of, often contradictory, advice from almost everyone I knew about how to go about it, and not all of it (in my view) turned out to be correct.

So, to begin - poor GCSE's in of themself are not enough to bar your entry to Oxford.
I got 2 A*'s 7 A's and 2 B's at GCSE which are comparatively poor for Oxford applicants - this was compounded by the fact I went to fantastic state schools and come from a well off background, so contextually they were really bad (my contextual GCSE score was -1.49).

Whilst GCSE's are taken into account to a significant extent, entrance exams, interviews and A levels are all far more important.

The second thing I think is important is that you can revise for your entrance exams. I met a whole ton of applicants that made it to interview that hadn't done any of the entrance exam past papers which, in my view, is a big error. My TSA score went up by more than 15 points by the time I'd finished all the past papers - I went from a score of around 55 (too bad for even an interview) to a score of 73 which is a huge huge difference when it comes to your application.

I can't speak for other entrance exams but I know quite a few of them contain the multiple choice section of the TSA and so really are worth doing.

For those who sit the TSA in particular I also just wanted to give a bit of advice on structure for the unseen essay - you only have thirty minutes and finishing it is critical. I saw this piece of advice on TSR a while back and it helped a bunch:

P1: Argument against your view
P2: Why the argument in P1 is wrong
P3: Argument for your view
P4: Dismiss two criticisms of your view and conclude briefly.

The above structure allows for a coherent essay which answers the question and shows that not only your aware of the merits of opposing views but also that your own conclusion is justified.

Next up, smash your A levels. I initially applied with an AAA prediction but reapplied with A*A*A. This undoubtedly makes a difference - Oxford need to know you can handle and do well in exams and, particularly if you have poor GCSE's, your A levels are the best way to prove that.

When it comes to the interviews themselves there is no easy route you can follow to guaranteed success but there are a few things you can do maximise your chances:

1) Wear whatever the hell you like. During my first round of interviews I wore a shirt and jacket because I thought it mattered to look the part but I felt claustrophobic in such clothing. This time round I rocked up in my favourite Tee and ASOS jacket combination with some really old scruffy trainers. The reason that helped is because it made me more comfortable - if formal works for you rock it, but if it doesn't then don't.

2) Don't rush into answers. I initially thought fluency and 'quick thinking' were critical to getting a place so dived right in to all my answers without giving it much thought - often there is intricate details contained within texts or questions the interviewers might give you that you wouldn't notice if you were rushing - it's totally fine to ask the interviewers for 30 seconds to think before you respond.

3) Ask the interviewers for further clarity or detail if you're even slightly unsure. Quite often there might be a word you're unfamiliar with or a situation where you don't really understand what the interviewers are asking - it's far better to clear that up and then answer the question than take a gamble and potentially give an irrelevant response.

4) Intellectual dexterity and flexibility are key, but you need to strike a balance. The interviewers want to know you can change your mind in the face of compelling arguments but will also sometimes be testing your ability to defend a view - all that is to say don't change your mind at every challenge but don't dig in either; defend your opinion until you feel it's indefensible and then move on. Phrases like "now I've thought about it I would like to scrap what I just said" are absolutely fine and allow for a more fluid discussion.

5) This last piece of advice might be controversial but I do think it's the right way to go - be personable. The interviewers aren't just looking for raw intellectual firepower, they're looking for students they want to teach over the next X years. So, for example, if you see an opportunity to make a joke that you think will fly go for it - they aren't going to exclude you on the back of a bad joke but they might gloss over you if you come across as a super rigid because at the end of the day they want to find students they will enjoy teaching.

Lastly, read read read. You have no idea about what might come up in an interview, entrance exam or A2 exam but reading widely around your subject will give the best chance to show depth and breadth. One of my A2 economics papers was based almost entirely off of things I'd read by Stiglitz, Krugman and Ha-Joon Chang and it was by far my best one. You want to give yourself as much possible prior knowledge when going into an Oxford application - not because they necessarily look for prior knowledge but because being familiar with as many ideas, concepts and methods as possible will only help you when encountering new ones.

I used an almost identical personal statement second time round because I'd worked really hard on my first one and didn't think I would be able to write a better one - I changed some of my book references and made it slightly more contemporary, but if you think your first personal statement was a banger then don't feel the need to scrap it and start afresh.

Finally re the gap year side of things - if you reapply you will have only had from August-November free time post results and I don't think you need to do anything glam or exciting in that time. I didn't mention my year off whatsoever in my PS and when I was asked about it I simply said I had sought to expand my understanding of economics and philosophy by reading further around the subject.

I don't know if any of this is helpful or if its something you guys have read a thousand times - but I really didn't think I would get in this year after my interviews and am so so happy I reapplied - as I recently read on TSR;

Don't let anybody tell you it's done when it isn't.

Cheers and if anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to answer them - best of luck all.

I want to say congratulations!
The same thing happened to me. I was rejected 2017 for Biological Sciences and was gutted. I was ill over L6 and U6 and my dad had a heart attack so I had no clue how I was going to do at A levels. Oxford was kinda my motivation for the GCSEs and AS and so I really thought I was going to screw them up. Anyway I got my results and this gives such a confidence boost because you have what you need and there is no uncertainty of you getting the grades.
I was really unsure if I was going to apply or not because it is a tough process and a very emotional process. I couldn't find anything about reapplying or anyone who had. It would have really helped to know something about it but hey.

In case anyone curious:
GCSEs: 9A* 2A 1B (English language lol)
AS: AA in Maths and Further Maths
A Level: A*A*AA (Biology, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry) and an A* in EPQ

Did you reapply to oxford and get in this time round?

@saboor 123 - hope I got your user right, you might find this thread useful

Hey there everyone,

I want to start off by saying that Oxford really isn't the be all and end all, it is not a prerequisite for academic success whatsoever and almost everyone who gets rejected from Oxford gets offers from other world class UK (or international) universities. That alone is more than enough evidence that even if you get rejected, you're still massively intelligent (I made the mistake of letting my Oxford rejection convince me I wasn't particularly intelligent for a while after and in hindsight such thinking isn't constructive and is heavily flawed).

Having said all of that, some people really do fall in love with Oxford and reckon it's worth a second attempt - if that's you, read on.

So I applied to Oxford for 2017 entry and was rejected post-interview. Like a lot of people who receive rejection it was my first experience of academic failure and given my academic strength was such a large part of my identity, I was crushed.

I considered just going to university that year but ultimately decided I wanted to give Oxford one more shot - I received my offer for PPE two days ago and couldn't be happier.

All that being said, I wanted to share what I learnt during my reapplication because I was given a myriad of, often contradictory, advice from almost everyone I knew about how to go about it, and not all of it (in my view) turned out to be correct.

So, to begin - poor GCSE's in of themself are not enough to bar your entry to Oxford.
I got 2 A*'s 7 A's and 2 B's at GCSE which are comparatively poor for Oxford applicants - this was compounded by the fact I went to fantastic state schools and come from a well off background, so contextually they were really bad (my contextual GCSE score was -1.49).

Whilst GCSE's are taken into account to a significant extent, entrance exams, interviews and A levels are all far more important.

The second thing I think is important is that you can revise for your entrance exams. I met a whole ton of applicants that made it to interview that hadn't done any of the entrance exam past papers which, in my view, is a big error. My TSA score went up by more than 15 points by the time I'd finished all the past papers - I went from a score of around 55 (too bad for even an interview) to a score of 73 which is a huge huge difference when it comes to your application.

I can't speak for other entrance exams but I know quite a few of them contain the multiple choice section of the TSA and so really are worth doing.

For those who sit the TSA in particular I also just wanted to give a bit of advice on structure for the unseen essay - you only have thirty minutes and finishing it is critical. I saw this piece of advice on TSR a while back and it helped a bunch:

P1: Argument against your view
P2: Why the argument in P1 is wrong
P3: Argument for your view
P4: Dismiss two criticisms of your view and conclude briefly.

The above structure allows for a coherent essay which answers the question and shows that not only your aware of the merits of opposing views but also that your own conclusion is justified.

Next up, smash your A levels. I initially applied with an AAA prediction but reapplied with A*A*A. This undoubtedly makes a difference - Oxford need to know you can handle and do well in exams and, particularly if you have poor GCSE's, your A levels are the best way to prove that.

When it comes to the interviews themselves there is no easy route you can follow to guaranteed success but there are a few things you can do maximise your chances:

1) Wear whatever the hell you like. During my first round of interviews I wore a shirt and jacket because I thought it mattered to look the part but I felt claustrophobic in such clothing. This time round I rocked up in my favourite Tee and ASOS jacket combination with some really old scruffy trainers. The reason that helped is because it made me more comfortable - if formal works for you rock it, but if it doesn't then don't.

2) Don't rush into answers. I initially thought fluency and 'quick thinking' were critical to getting a place so dived right in to all my answers without giving it much thought - often there is intricate details contained within texts or questions the interviewers might give you that you wouldn't notice if you were rushing - it's totally fine to ask the interviewers for 30 seconds to think before you respond.

3) Ask the interviewers for further clarity or detail if you're even slightly unsure. Quite often there might be a word you're unfamiliar with or a situation where you don't really understand what the interviewers are asking - it's far better to clear that up and then answer the question than take a gamble and potentially give an irrelevant response.

4) Intellectual dexterity and flexibility are key, but you need to strike a balance. The interviewers want to know you can change your mind in the face of compelling arguments but will also sometimes be testing your ability to defend a view - all that is to say don't change your mind at every challenge but don't dig in either; defend your opinion until you feel it's indefensible and then move on. Phrases like "now I've thought about it I would like to scrap what I just said" are absolutely fine and allow for a more fluid discussion.

5) This last piece of advice might be controversial but I do think it's the right way to go - be personable. The interviewers aren't just looking for raw intellectual firepower, they're looking for students they want to teach over the next X years. So, for example, if you see an opportunity to make a joke that you think will fly go for it - they aren't going to exclude you on the back of a bad joke but they might gloss over you if you come across as a super rigid because at the end of the day they want to find students they will enjoy teaching.

Lastly, read read read. You have no idea about what might come up in an interview, entrance exam or A2 exam but reading widely around your subject will give the best chance to show depth and breadth. One of my A2 economics papers was based almost entirely off of things I'd read by Stiglitz, Krugman and Ha-Joon Chang and it was by far my best one. You want to give yourself as much possible prior knowledge when going into an Oxford application - not because they necessarily look for prior knowledge but because being familiar with as many ideas, concepts and methods as possible will only help you when encountering new ones.

I used an almost identical personal statement second time round because I'd worked really hard on my first one and didn't think I would be able to write a better one - I changed some of my book references and made it slightly more contemporary, but if you think your first personal statement was a banger then don't feel the need to scrap it and start afresh.

Finally re the gap year side of things - if you reapply you will have only had from August-November free time post results and I don't think you need to do anything glam or exciting in that time. I didn't mention my year off whatsoever in my PS and when I was asked about it I simply said I had sought to expand my understanding of economics and philosophy by reading further around the subject.

I don't know if any of this is helpful or if its something you guys have read a thousand times - but I really didn't think I would get in this year after my interviews and am so so happy I reapplied - as I recently read on TSR;

Don't let anybody tell you it's done when it isn't.

Cheers and if anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to answer them - best of luck all.

Hi. Firstly, THANK YOU for this post.
I am an international applicant and I applied for law. I got rejected pre-interview. I obviously was so hurt. My academic ability is a huge part of my identity as well and this just shattered me. For me, studying in Oxford wasn’t just about studying in Oxford, if you know what I mean. Before I visited Oxford, I wasn’t that keen on it. Then when I went for my summer school there, I fell in love with it. The system of teaching, the life, the historical buildings, the collegiate system everything. I loved the college where I was staying and I specifically applied to it. I currently hold offers from Durham and Exeter. While I won’t take a gap year, I will definitely apply again.

I wanted to ask you apart from your grades, what else do you think doing differently helped you? For me, I think I didn’t put in the required effort.
Thank you! I really appreciate your post! I also wanted to ask- if you have any idea, what is the reapplicant success rate like?


Thank you!

Received my rejection from New College for Biology today. Absolutely gutted and heartbroken and I feel like a failure so looks like I’ll be reapplying next year.

I'm the same - are you taking a gap year? I was also wondering whether you can go to uni whilst reapplying to Oxford - that way if you don't get in you just continue at that uni, if you see what I mean

I would rather advise you all to self study 3 more easy A levels in your gap year. They want students who can study independantly and who can handle the pressure!

Did you reapply this year?

I am going to re apply to Oxford after my A levels for materials sciences!!!

Are you planning a a gap year now? I just got rejected pre interview which I am gutted about but hope to try again next year if not I’ll hopefully get a deferred from one of the unis that have accepted me

I actually am going to take a gap year and self study 3 more A levels or resit the ones I am doing if I have to! I will also be teaching. IN my gap year I am planning on doing, further maths, biology and psychology. I am currently doing maths, chemistry, physics economics at A level and AS level Further maths