Oxford Demystified - Geography

@Oxford Mum thank you so much for the lovely comments! The coronavirus pandemic has definitely had significant impacts on the environment, and I recently read an article about how one of the greatest issues is disruption to conservation efforts. Many landscapes (particularly woodland areas) require the regular removal of invasive species, otherwise these will dominate the area and out-compete native species, which will reduce biodiversity and disrupt local ecosystems. These could take years, and in some cases even decades, to fully recover.
Also, thank you for providing a transcript for Shane Koyczan’s poem. A link to the full video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An4a-_NjilY
I completed my solar panel project last Summer, and looked at the environmental, financial and other implications of installing solar panels at a domestic scale, in order to reach an unbiased conclusion. Financially speaking, it is highly unlikely that the money saved from energy bills will compensate for the initial cost and installation of solar panels. In fact, the “Feed-back time” can be over seventy years in some areas. From an environmental point of view, there is no doubt that the creation of solar panels creates pollution which can cause great environmental damage. However, the buyer must also remember that fossil fuel power plants create great amounts of toxic chemical pollution too, and the production of solar panels produces 80% less carbon dioxide emissions than the burning of fossil fuels. It’s important that a buyer looks at the reputation and environmental records of companies before purchasing solar panels.

Why did you want to study your subject?
I want to study Geography because I feel like it is becoming more and more relevant in modern society with greater climate and environmental concerns, as well as a more globalised and connected world. In many ways, Geography is also like a middle ground between the sciences and the humanities, requiring both mathematical and English skills. It is not enough to just understand geographical processes, but also what impacts these can have on the environment and society. If you are interested in studying scientific processes with mathematical skills, but also enjoy more humanity based subjects with extended writing, Geography may be a subject you could consider.

Why Oxford?
There were many factors which influenced my decision to apply Oxford, most notably the university’s reputation. Oxford has ranked #1 for Geography on many university league tables in recent years, with many of Oxford’s Geography lecturers and professors being some of the most distinguished Geographers in the country. The university also offers a strong bursary (if you’re from a low-income family) and I’m fortunate enough to live relatively close to Oxford (much closer than the University of Cambridge), making transport easier. Finally, it was also just the history of the university itself. It has been a place of study for many recognised people (Including authors Lewis Carrol and C.S Lewis) and the buildings themselves had a very antique feel about them; they were almost Hogwartian in places.

Did any of your teachers inspire you? Or any other expert (TV presenter etc)
It’s strange, but pretty much since I started secondary school I knew I would try and apply for Oxford University, mainly because I had heard of its reputation. My decision to study Geography took longer to make. I chose it for GCSE and enjoyed studying it from then on, but it was neither a teacher nor a geographical expert who inspired me to take it further. It was poetry. Shane Koyczan has been one of my favourite spoken word poets for years, and I heard his poem “Shoulders” shortly before choosing my GCSE options. The poem deals with environmental issues, and more specifically how it is the responsibility of everyone to take on the challenge of protecting the environment, no matter how impossible this may initially seem. Although I can’t say that it was this poem alone that inspired me to study Geography (it was the GCSE study that expanded my interest), the message of “Shoulders” stuck with me, and influenced my attitude towards my future and what I wanted to do with it, or what I felt I had the responsibility to do.


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 "Geography: A Very Short Introduction" (J. Matthews & D. Hebert), which was recommended on Oxford’s Geography website. This text explained how the study of Geography not only bridged the gap between the sciences and the humanities, but also how Geography is an everchanging subject that must accommodate for the changes in society and the environment. It’s difficult to describe exactly what Geography is, because the study Geography of a hundred years ago would be different from how we study geography today. The world moves, and geography moves with it. As well as this, I also read "Wildlife in the Anthropocene" (J. Lorimer). J. Lorimer is a professor at Oxford, and in this text he argues how the interrelationships between human society and wildlife have become more and more interconnected, to the point where we are now entering “The Anthropocene”: a period in which humans play a vital role in the development of wildlife and nature. As well as this, I got a stack of “National Geographic” magazines and flicked through them without making extensive notes. It was a way of exploring the world I wanted to study without going anywhere physically, and I tried to link articles I read with geographical issues I knew of. I also did this while reading the everyday news and found this to be useful for expanding my geographical understanding.


Did you attend any lectures, or take part in any competitions? If so, would you recommend them, and why?
I did not attend any lectures or competitions. I attended the Oxford open day and visited the Geography department, and they gave a short lecture, but it was more about the Oxford application process than the subject itself.


Did you have any work experience? If so, how did you find it?
No, in fact, this was part of my Oxford application that caused me the most anxiety. I contacted six potential work experience placements, including my local council and various environmental agencies. However, I was rejected from all them and ended up without a placement. My advice to anyone looking for a placement is to apply to places you would be generally be interested in, but don’t stress too much if you’re rejected. In the Oxford lecture I attended, they actually specifically stated that they didn’t look too hard at work experience placements while considering applicants. I had no work experience but still got accepted. If you can get work experience, great, but please don’t lose sleep over not having a placement!


Did you have a specialist subject/EPQ? What was it? How did you go about your research?
Again, at the Oxford lecture I attended they stated that they looked into exam results far more than EPQs, and I did not take one myself. Nevertheless, if there is a topic you are generally interested in and you believe you can keep up with the workload, I’d say go for it. Other universities may value EPQs more highly and could even give you a reduced offer. The additional research will also be helpful for your geographical knowledge (if it’s geography related). Although I did not do an official EPQ, I spent my summer holiday between years 12 and 13 carrying out my own project around the sustainability of solar panels which I then mentioned on my personal statement.


What did you mention in your personal statement and why?
I mentioned the books I had read (see above), my solar panel project and I also wrote about the subjects I had taken as well as Geography (Biology and English Literature) and how these were relevant to a Geography degree. This allowed me to draw attention to the strengths I had which were not directly related to the degree itself, but still demonstrated relevant skills. As well as this, I also mentioned how I had volunteered as a Geography tutor to GCSE students while I was in year 12.


Which techniques did you use for the entrance test?
The Geography Admissions Test (GAT) consists of two parts. The first section requires reading of a text (usually an article) and then you must answer a question, usually asking you to summarise what was discussed in the text. The second section involves the analysis and evaluation of a set of data, presented in a graph or another similar format. The most important thing to remember in the GAT is that you are not being tested on your general geographical knowledge, but instead your understanding of the information you have been presented with. The GAT is 90 minutes long, and I found it best to dedicate 45 minutes to each section. For the first section, be sure to take time to thoroughly read the text; it can be tempting to skim read and get writing straight away, but if you take time to read and annotate the text carefully, you will produce a much higher quality answer. The same applies to the second section: read and understand the data before you try and write anything about it. Don’t be afraid to draw and annotate on the paper. When analysing data, try and look for: a main trend, minor trends throughout the data, data that does not fit these trends, other anomalous results, outliers etc. Also, for section two, you will be given a list of things to potentially include in your answer. Try to talk about them all, as this is most likely what the examiner is looking for.


How did you choose your college? Did you go to an open day and if so, did it help you to decide?
First, I found all the colleges that offered Geography and then I went on the Oxford website and had a look at the descriptions of each college and picked the ones I liked the sound of. I then narrowed my list down further by ruling out the colleges that were miles away from the Geography department (so I could be within walking distance). When I attended the Oxford open day, I had time to visit two colleges, so picked my two favourites from the list and visited both of these in person. In the end, I chose to apply to Brasenose college. The people showing us around were very friendly and helpful and I just generally liked the “vibe” the college gave off. I could see myself living there more so than any other college. What college you pick has no impact on the success of your application, and it is also important to remember that you can be “pooled” during the interview college and be interviewed at the college you didn’t initially apply for (this is to even up numbers, and really won’t affect your chances of success). When choosing your college, pick one that you like, but it isn’t something to get too stressed about.


How did you find the interview process? (NO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS PLEASE - this is against TSR guidelines)
It’s strange because when you go to Oxford for your interviews, you’re of course only thinking about the actual interviews themselves. But for the 40 or so hours I was in Oxford, only 40 minutes were actually spent in interviews. To me, they seemed a very small part of the interview process! I had two interviews while I was there: one for physical geography and one for human geography. Both were about 20 minutes, and I was interviewed by about two lecturers at a time. Before my first interview, I was very nervous, but an older student walked me to where I had to go, and she was very nice and reassuring. Once I was in the interview, I just went with the flow of what they were asking, and it was actually over very, very quickly. I definitely felt more confident with my second interview, as I knew more of what to expect. Before you go in, you find yourself desperately trying to predict what questions they’re going to ask, but once you’re in it really doesn’t feel like a test or anything. It’s more like a geographical discussion.


Any interview tips?
Think out loud. I know everyone says this, but it’s true. Don’t be afraid to waffle a bit; you might have some very good points in the waffle and it’s these that the interviewers will remember. Also, if you have chosen to study Geography for a degree and you’ve gotten to the interview stage, then you are good at Geography. I remember at the start of the interview process, they put everyone doing geography in a hall to explain the interview process to us, and said that out of the 32 of us, eight would get offers. I just remember looking in this huge hall full of loads of people thinking “Yeah. No way. I’ve got no chance at all; all these other people will be so much better than me”. I know not thinking this at all is pretty much impossible, but try to remember that you wouldn’t have been selected for interview if the interviewers thought you were going to be rubbish. Try and remember why you chose Geography in the first place and let this come across in the interview. They’re looking for somebody to teach. Somebody with genuine passion for the subject, not somebody who knows everything all ready.
As well as this, try and demonstrate your passion further by having a unique selling point which will make you stand out from other candidates. As well as looking at the news for articles linking to geographical issues, I also made a note of things I had found as well as other geographical thoughts and observations I had. That way, I had a sort of written proof that I was interested in the subject and also something else to talk about in the interview.


Did you socialise during interview week? If so, what did you do?
Yes, definitely. When I first came to Oxford, I arrived at the same time as two other interviewees, and spent most of my time with them. There were also older Brasenose students at the college, and they arranged activities such as going out for ice cream and a quiz night.


How did you feel after the interviews?
Like most interviewees say, it really is impossible to know how well you have done. I didn’t think that they had gone terribly, but afterwards I kept going over the interviews and wondering if I had said the right things. I eventually accepted that whatever happened before the offers were given was now out of my hands, and I just had to wait and see.


Where were you when you got your offer? How did you react?
I was at school and it was during our mock exam week (incidentally on the day I was doing my Geography mocks), so, to be honest, my potential offer wasn’t the first thing on my mind. I had actually pretty much forgotten I was waiting to hear from Oxford when I came out of my first exam and one of my friends asked me if I’d got an offer. I’d pretty much accepted at this point that I hadn’t, as a few other Oxbridge applicants at my school were rejected so I thought I most likely had been too. I checked on my friend’s phone (by logging into UCAS), joking about how I was going to fail, and then was consequently very surprised. My friends were very supportive, and I went and told my Geography teachers before phoning my parents.


Are you looking forward to coming up to Oxford?
Yes, very! I’ve acquired the first year book list for Geography and am trying to get hold of as many as I can and see if I can read any before September. However, now exams have been cancelled, I’m very nervous I will not get the grades required to attend. Oxford haven’t confirmed whether or not they’ll take grades from the Autumn exams, and this makes me very anxious. Some senior members of staff in my school seem to believe that universities will accept us regardless of what grades we get, but I doubt, especially for Oxford, that this is the case. I need A*AA to get my place, and I know that in at least one of my subjects, only one student last year managed to get an A* so I don’t know how my school will calculate grades based on the school’s past performance.

This is a very helpful post - thank you. Would you mind saying what GCSE grades you got?