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Oxford Demystified - Physics
Background
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
Scroll to see replies
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
Background
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
Thank you very much for this marvellous chapter! Could I please ask you the titles of the other "couple of books" you had read on physics?
It's not surprising that Stephen Hawking's books are recommended for this course.
Please find the full list below:
https://www.space.com/39987-stephen-hawking-best-books.html
Did he influence you in any way?
Also please find links to the competitions OP applied for:
AS Physics challenge past papers
https://www.bpho.org.uk/past-papers/as-challenge
https://www.bpho.org.uk/bpho/as-challenge
Senior maths challenge
https://www.ukmt.org.uk/
(edited 4 years ago)
Other resources applicants may find useful:
Interview questions (this website also includes recommended reading)
www.oxfordinterviewquestions.com/questions/physics/
https://sites.google.com/site/oxbridgeinterviewquestions/why-is-water-so-important-to-life
https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/physics-interview-questions.html
Oxford Physics interviews (youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSEM91KR0cg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvvpsiQEU2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBwNyEDVQGw
Interview questions (this website also includes recommended reading)
www.oxfordinterviewquestions.com/questions/physics/
https://sites.google.com/site/oxbridgeinterviewquestions/why-is-water-so-important-to-life
https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/physics-interview-questions.html
Oxford Physics interviews (youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSEM91KR0cg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvvpsiQEU2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBwNyEDVQGw
There are many things that stand out for me in this chapter, and also appear in other Oxford offer holders' chapters.
There is the discovery that the students were not "upper class prodigies" but "normal". If you are worried about the stereotypes, then don't. They very rarely exist! OP really enjoyed his time during the interviews, socialising with the other candidates, who were not "ultra competitive", but were more interested in playing cards!
There is the keen teacher too, who was happy to stay behind after class to answer OP's "bizarre" questions. I bet they are not bizarre for Oxonians! They love the obscure! Hurrah for teachers who go above and beyond, inspiring and motivating their pupils to achieve to the max.
If there is one thing Oxford loves, it's "self directed teaching". That means learning by yourself - witness how OP taught himself further maths - no mean feat! Also you realised that there were topics in the PAT you had not covered yet in school, but you plugged those gaps by teaching yourself. That's very wise.
You looked carefully at the PAT and formed a strategy, which served you well on the day. There is rarely enough time to get through any of the Oxford admissions papers, so you left the questions you were stuck on and came back to them afterwards.
As for the interviews, there are some key tactics you employed which really helped. When you were asked a question, you went to check you understood. Oxford really want you to think out loud and explain your workings. Even if you get a question wrong, they may give you silent brownie points for the way you approached it. You let the interviewer guide you to expand a little more. Instead of panicking, you saw it as a conversation and you love physics anyway, so this was not a chore! Add in a couple of friendly tutors, who know you will be nervous and it results in an enjoyable interview. Plus the questions were not one line straightforward answers, but problem solving, something to really get your teeth into.
Finally you made an interesting point - do not get too hung up about your college choice. All Oxford colleges have friendly students and amazing tutors. Wherever you end up, it will feel like a family. I know after a couple of terms my sons would talk about going back to college as "going home". Thanks, lads!
Well done @KingoftheBRUCE
There will be another separate chapter about Physics and Philosophy in a few weeks, written by a current Oxford student.
There is the discovery that the students were not "upper class prodigies" but "normal". If you are worried about the stereotypes, then don't. They very rarely exist! OP really enjoyed his time during the interviews, socialising with the other candidates, who were not "ultra competitive", but were more interested in playing cards!
There is the keen teacher too, who was happy to stay behind after class to answer OP's "bizarre" questions. I bet they are not bizarre for Oxonians! They love the obscure! Hurrah for teachers who go above and beyond, inspiring and motivating their pupils to achieve to the max.
If there is one thing Oxford loves, it's "self directed teaching". That means learning by yourself - witness how OP taught himself further maths - no mean feat! Also you realised that there were topics in the PAT you had not covered yet in school, but you plugged those gaps by teaching yourself. That's very wise.
You looked carefully at the PAT and formed a strategy, which served you well on the day. There is rarely enough time to get through any of the Oxford admissions papers, so you left the questions you were stuck on and came back to them afterwards.
As for the interviews, there are some key tactics you employed which really helped. When you were asked a question, you went to check you understood. Oxford really want you to think out loud and explain your workings. Even if you get a question wrong, they may give you silent brownie points for the way you approached it. You let the interviewer guide you to expand a little more. Instead of panicking, you saw it as a conversation and you love physics anyway, so this was not a chore! Add in a couple of friendly tutors, who know you will be nervous and it results in an enjoyable interview. Plus the questions were not one line straightforward answers, but problem solving, something to really get your teeth into.
Finally you made an interesting point - do not get too hung up about your college choice. All Oxford colleges have friendly students and amazing tutors. Wherever you end up, it will feel like a family. I know after a couple of terms my sons would talk about going back to college as "going home". Thanks, lads!
Well done @KingoftheBRUCE
There will be another separate chapter about Physics and Philosophy in a few weeks, written by a current Oxford student.
Original post by Oxford Mum
Thank you very much for this marvellous chapter! Could I please ask you the titles of the other "couple of books" you had read on physics?
It's not surprising that Stephen Hawking's books are recommended for this course.
Please find the full list below:
https://www.space.com/39987-stephen-hawking-best-books.html
Did he influence you in any way?
Also please find links to the competitions OP applied for:
AS Physics challenge past papers
https://www.bpho.org.uk/past-papers/as-challenge
https://www.bpho.org.uk/bpho/as-challenge
Senior maths challenge
https://www.ukmt.org.uk/
It's not surprising that Stephen Hawking's books are recommended for this course.
Please find the full list below:
https://www.space.com/39987-stephen-hawking-best-books.html
Did he influence you in any way?
Also please find links to the competitions OP applied for:
AS Physics challenge past papers
https://www.bpho.org.uk/past-papers/as-challenge
https://www.bpho.org.uk/bpho/as-challenge
Senior maths challenge
https://www.ukmt.org.uk/
The two books I put on my personal statement were:
- The Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
- The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking
Surprisingly as a physics nut I didn't really know about Hawking besides " he's a great scientist" until recently; my childhood self was inspired by Brian Cox's shows and books. I only really started learning about him when I started reading his books a couple years back.
Thank you for the links!
Great post, I'm sure this will be very helpful for future applicants!!
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
The two books I put on my personal statement were:
- The Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
- The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking
Surprisingly as a physics nut I didn't really know about Hawking besides " he's a great scientist" until recently; my childhood self was inspired by Brian Cox's shows and books. I only really started learning about him when I started reading his books a couple years back.
Thank you for the links!
- The Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
- The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking
Surprisingly as a physics nut I didn't really know about Hawking besides " he's a great scientist" until recently; my childhood self was inspired by Brian Cox's shows and books. I only really started learning about him when I started reading his books a couple years back.
Thank you for the links!
My younger son used to love Brian Cox's books and shows too. Then one day he won an event ("Teentech") and actually got to speak to him.
As I am a pleb, who only ever got Ds in Physics, all I am interested in is Brian Cox's music videos (he was in pop band D-Ream in the 90s)
(edited 3 years ago)
I'm curious, is it common for most Oxford students to have competed in some sort of competition related to their subject. I'm afraid I can't do so, for some reasons I'd prefer not to say. I was wondering what else I could, extra curricular wise, to boost my application and prove my passion for my subject.
Original post by hmmm101
I'm curious, is it common for most Oxford students to have competed in some sort of competition related to their subject. I'm afraid I can't do so, for some reasons I'd prefer not to say. I was wondering what else I could, extra curricular wise, to boost my application and prove my passion for my subject.
It really depends on the subject, but from my entirely anecdotal experience, it did seem quite common for applicants to have competed in something. But I don't think Oxford will weigh competitions very highly when considering someone's application. The entrance exam and interview are overwhelmingly the main factors that go into deciding who to give offers to, so you're not at a disadvantage against someone who has done them.
As for alternatives to boosting your application, you could read some books on your subject or watch some online lectures.
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
Background
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
Hi! I’m KingoftheBRUCE, and I hail from leafy Shropshire in the West Midlands. I have attended a selective state school for the past 7 years, and achieved 9999887777A* at GCSE. At A Level, I study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.
By some miracle, I hold an offer to study physics later this year at Oxford. This post will go through my experience of the application process and a few tips for any future applicants as to what to expect and what to do.
Why Physics?
There’s just something beautiful about how we can predict the path of a kicked football and how galaxies form using the exact same set of equations. Physics combines solving maths problems, which I have always loved, with an (incomplete) explanation of why reality is the way it is, which I think is something most people crave an answer for. So it’s basically the perfect subject!
I know it’s cliché to say that I have always loved the subject, but in my case it’s true. As far as I can tell, my love for physics has been hardwired into my brain from birth. My childhood dream was to be a scientist, I have always enjoyed reading science books and videos, and I adored the subject at GCSE and A level. When it came time to decide which course to apply for at university, I’d long made up my mind.
Why Oxford?
My school runs a trip to Oxford for a selected group of the Year 10s, and 3 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen. It was this trip that really started me on the path that led me to today.
This one day broke most of the Oxford myths for me. The student who gave us a tour of University college wasn’t an upper-class prodigy, she seemed like a normal person. The place seemed have a nice community spirit, not the ultra-competitive feel I’d expected. And the city itself was amazing as well.
The tutorial and college systems really appealed to me when researching universities, and out of Oxford and Cambridge the course offered at Oxford felt like a much better fit. So I decided to apply, not expecting to get in but really, really hoping that I would.
Did any of your teachers inspire you?
I’ve had the luck of having an excellent, passionate physics teacher for the past 5 years, who made his lessons entertaining and whenever we had 5 minutes at the end of the lesson, he would spend it answering all the bizarre physics questions the entire class had. He supported me through the entire application process.
Which resources did you use (please name as many as possible) Which books/journals did you read? Which did you like best, and why? What did they teach you?
I read a couple books to try and bolster my personal statement. Stephen Hawking’s books are very common on physics personal statements but they’re common for a reason; they’re great overviews of modern physics that are accessible to A level students (well, mostly accessible, he did lose me when I got to the string theory chapters).
If you’re into particle physics I would also recommend The Neutrino Hunters by Ray Jayawardhana, which discusses neutrinos and the ridiculous lengths physicists have gone to in order to detect them. I wouldn’t have picked this book up, but it was the only physics book at my local library, so I thought “why not?” and I really enjoyed it.
Obviously there are a ton of physics books out there, and I’d read at least a couple. Try to include something that doesn’t really come up on the A level syllabus or goes into a lot more depth than A level.
Finally, PBS Space Time is a very good YouTube channel that has videos going into all things cosmology, from the birth of the universe to its eventual death, with all the quasars, black holes and galaxies in-between. They also cover some concepts like string theory and loop quantum gravity. They’re a really interesting and informative channel if you like space. MinutePhysics is another good channel.
Did you take part in any competitions?
I did! In Year 12 I took part in the AS Physics Challenge for a bit of fun and I really enjoyed it! As well as being useful to put on your personal statement, the challenge is quite useful for getting a starting point for PAT preparation – the questions will stretch your understanding of AS level physics. As an extra bonus, if you get a gold award you get a physics book to pour over – I got a fascinating one on electromagnetic radiation!
While not related to Physics directly, I also took part in the Senior Maths Challenge in both years of sixth form. I’d recommend these as they are quite good at building up your problem solving skills, which you will need to get through the PAT and interviews. In fact, one of the questions I was asked at interview was extremely similar to a question in one of the SMC papers!
What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I started with talking about why I was drawn to physics (see above), and then moved onto academics. I started with my GCSE in Astronomy and talked about the skills I got from the coursework section of that. I then moved onto the competitions I’d entered, how I was self teaching an A level and how I’d chosen a physics-y project for my Computer Science coursework, to hopefully showcase I was passionate about physics and that I had the ability to cope with the pressures of university.
I then wrote a paragraph on the books I’d read and a paragraph on my extracurricular activities, linking everything to physics, for example tutoring helps with communication skills. I finished by linking back to my first paragraph to make it a little more memorable.
How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
I didn’t really put much emphasis on my college choice, because I thought that it didn’t make much of a difference, and that there would be a good chance I’d get reallocated anyway. From my discussions at interview about a quarter to a third of applicants got reallocated, so remember that you may not get your preferred college.
While at the open day, I looked around St John’s and Brasenose. I liked the look of St John’s and decided to apply there. As a bonus, it’s located almost exactly halfway between the physics department and the city centre, convenient!
But as I said, I didn’t set my heart on St John’s, and that’s a good thing, because I was reallocated to Jesus college following the PAT. Turns out I found out that I liked Jesus even better than St John’s; it’s just got a wonderful, friendly feel to it.
Which techniques did you use for the Physics Aptitude Test?
Out of the two assessments Oxford puts you through, I was always more worried about the Physics Aptitude Test, or PAT.
I started preparing in late August. While it was difficult to fit preparation around school commitments and self-teaching Further Maths A Level, I ensured that I always did at least 1 past PAT paper per week, and more as the big day approached. About two weeks before, I realised that there were 1 or 2 topics on the syllabus I hadn’t been taught and were consistently causing me to drop marks, so I needed to teach myself those as well.
I’m used to being able to go through test questions in the order they’re given. But that doesn’t work for the PAT, as you don’t have a lot of time and there’s a very high chance you won’t be able to solve some of the questions. During my first pass through the paper, I skipped any question I didn’t know how to solve in 30 seconds at first, then once I reached the end I would go back and try the harder ones. If I was still stuck after 5 minutes, leave it for good.
I was feeling reasonably confident when I went into the exam hall, and this confidence lasted through the multiple choice questions, but not any further. I was horrified by the number of questions I was skipping (far more than my practices), and these questions had a lot of marks behind them. As the minutes ticked by, I felt worse and worse; I was on the verge of tears when I left the exam hall. I’d left a quarter of the paper unanswered, was unsure about a lot of my other answers and was convinced I’d blown it.
But somehow, I made it to interview, getting reallocated, but still. I’d gotten over the scariest part of the process.
How did you find the interview process?
Relaxing.
Yes, I found the Oxford interview process relaxing.
The interviews were a chance for me to get away from the stresses of life at home. 3 days in a world-renowned institution, surrounded by the most beautiful city, with a bunch of nerds I can talk to. What’s not to love?
Physics applicants in my year had 3 interviews, two at our allocated college, and one at another one. At our allocated college, we had one interview with a physics tutor and one with a maths tutor. These were spread out over 3 days and each was only 30 minutes long, and the rest of the time was ours to spend. I explored the city a little and chilled out in the Junior Common Room with the other applicants. Everybody was extremely friendly and supportive of everyone else. On one day I think we played cards for about 10 hours! Much less stressful than normal life!
The interviewers would give me a problem, and I would talk through my thinking with them until I solved it, with them asking small questions as I went to check I understood what I was explaining. If I got stuck, they helped me by trying a simpler problem to build up to the main question and if I was doing well, they’d try and push me further with a follow-up question. Each question took 5-10 minutes, so there were 3 or 4 questions per interview. While I did get nervous waiting outside the offices, as soon as we started talking physics my nerves dissipated. They felt more like conversations than the interrogations I had been told to expect. The interviewers were friendly and the questions weren’t impossible. Overall, I came out of the interviews thinking I had done okay but not amazing. I hadn't blown it, but at the same I was far from confident.
So the overall process was fun! Seeing the city was great, getting to know my fellow applicants was equally great, and the actual interviews were good as well!
Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
On the morning of the offer day, I tried very hard to not think about Oxford. Because for most of that morning, I was in an exam hall, doing a physics mock exam! It was quite difficult to concentrate!
As soon as I got out of the exam hall, I immediately went to UCAS on my phone, desperately hoping to see an offer, and there it was. My first reaction was disbelief. I just stared at the offer for a solid minute, not quite believing what I was seeing. To be honest, I still don’t really believe it.
Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Absolutely! Going to Oxford is a dream come true for me!
I hope you found my account of the Oxford physics admissions process helpful, or at the very least interesting. If you have got the grades in mocks and want to apply, but are worried by the PAT/interviews, my advice would be to just do it! You never know what might happen!
Obviously if you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊. Thanks for reading!
I am going to year 12 this year and I want to do the exact thing you are doing, I have selected the same a levels and want to do the same course at Oxford!
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
The two books I put on my personal statement were:
- The Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
- The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking
Surprisingly as a physics nut I didn't really know about Hawking besides " he's a great scientist" until recently; my childhood self was inspired by Brian Cox's shows and books. I only really started learning about him when I started reading his books a couple years back.
Thank you for the links!
- The Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
- The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking
Surprisingly as a physics nut I didn't really know about Hawking besides " he's a great scientist" until recently; my childhood self was inspired by Brian Cox's shows and books. I only really started learning about him when I started reading his books a couple years back.
Thank you for the links!
I'm surprised you got so little support for the PAT; is this usual in your school? Why are you having to self-teach an A level?
Original post by hmmm101
Ok thanks you!
I'm already reading some books, so that's good!
Also, idk if i didnt read properly, but what college are you in now?
I'm already reading some books, so that's good!
Also, idk if i didnt read properly, but what college are you in now?
My offer is from Jesus College. I originally applied to St John's but got reallocated following the PAT.
Original post by Muttley79
I'm surprised you got so little support for the PAT; is this usual in your school? Why are you having to self-teach an A level?
My school takes a very hands-off approach with uni entrance exams, their line was "You chose to apply here, so preparing for it is your responsibility". I'm sure I could've gotten some help off my teacher if I asked but I prefer self-teaching anyway.
At my school we're expected to do 3 A levels and 1 AS. Further Maths was my AS and I really enjoyed it and wanted to continue it to the full A level, but due to timetabling issues they couldn't fit me in, so I had to self-teach. I wasn't completely alone though, my Maths teacher pointed me in the direction of resources and kept track of my progress.
Original post by Jinglewus
I am going to year 12 this year and I want to do the exact thing you are doing, I have selected the same a levels and want to do the same course at Oxford!
Awesome, good luck with your application!
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
My school takes a very hands-off approach with uni entrance exams, their line was "You chose to apply here, so preparing for it is your responsibility". I'm sure I could've gotten some help off my teacher if I asked but I prefer self-teaching anyway.
At my school we're expected to do 3 A levels and 1 AS. Further Maths was my AS and I really enjoyed it and wanted to continue it to the full A level, but due to timetabling issues they couldn't fit me in, so I had to self-teach. I wasn't completely alone though, my Maths teacher pointed me in the direction of resources and kept track of my progress.
At my school we're expected to do 3 A levels and 1 AS. Further Maths was my AS and I really enjoyed it and wanted to continue it to the full A level, but due to timetabling issues they couldn't fit me in, so I had to self-teach. I wasn't completely alone though, my Maths teacher pointed me in the direction of resources and kept track of my progress.
I find that quite surprising - I teach in a selective school and we run prep for MAT, PAT etc from Easter of Year 12. We allow 4 if Maths/F Maths is two of them ... couldn't you be taught alongside the Year 12 AS students?
Original post by Muttley79
I find that quite surprising - I teach in a selective school and we run prep for MAT, PAT etc from Easter of Year 12. We allow 4 if Maths/F Maths is two of them ... couldn't you be taught alongside the Year 12 AS students?
We only have 5 or 6 Oxbridge applicants each year, so I guess they don't see it as a large enough number to run prep sessions for.
I was an AS student in Year 12, so I already had the AS content taught to me, I needed to self teach the A2 parts of it.
Original post by KingoftheBRUCE
We only have 5 or 6 Oxbridge applicants each year, so I guess they don't see it as a large enough number to run prep sessions for.
I was an AS student in Year 12, so I already had the AS content taught to me, I needed to self teach the A2 parts of it.
I was an AS student in Year 12, so I already had the AS content taught to me, I needed to self teach the A2 parts of it.
Even if we only had one we'd continue it. Why can't you be taught A2 content in those classes? I have a variety of FM options in my group
Original post by Muttley79
I find that quite surprising - I teach in a selective school and we run prep for MAT, PAT etc from Easter of Year 12. We allow 4 if Maths/F Maths is two of them ... couldn't you be taught alongside the Year 12 AS students?
That is very intense. My preparation was mostly self-taught with only one or two sessions where we just had a brief discussion. What would your sessions encompass? Would you discuss typical questions or tricks?
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