Oxford Demystified - Oriental Studies (Arabic)

Well, @Pichi, what can I say!

I have probably never seen such a detailed, engaging account of an Oxford subject in all the demystified chapters!

Your love of Arabic positively leaps off the page. The beautiful sounds, the history, the architecture, the culture: I almost feel like you are whisking me away on a magic carpet ride to the mystical world of the Middle East (or was this just me remembering my holiday in Cairo?).

Added to these beautiful images is your love for all things linguistic: you family heritage, your self study of Latin etc. You even have a friend in Cairo, who inspires and encourages you at every turn. It all ends in this wonderful sentence "I love the feeling I get when reading Arabic literature - it feels like being transported to a special world of its own". This is how every Oxford hopeful should feel about their own subject.

As you say, even from Year 3, your future plans were to study at Oxford. Many teachers would just ignore this remark, but yours said "it was possible if I combined that desire with some hard work". What's more you also had an English teacher who was an Oxford graduate and was also busily encouraging his class to reach for those Oxford dreaming spires. At the time, you doubted yourself, as only a couple of people in your school had got in, but this dear teacher "wouldn't give up" on you. I like the cut of his jib! Also, Zero Gravity evidently gave you a massive helping hand too. Applicants to Oxford need mentors and cheerleaders, just to keep them going.

Then came the real turning point. The Oxford Humanities Study Day

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/visiting-and-outreach/outreach-events/year-12-humanities-study-day-virtual

It must have sealed your fate that with all this Arabic interest bubbling away in the back of your mind, the French classes were full and you ended up in the Arabic department. Engaging with the course material and speaking to the tutors was the icing on the cake and signposted the way to your ideal course.

I love the way you really analysed which course you wanted (Oxford v Cambridge) and you felt more comfortable at Mansfield (the only college I have ever stopped in overnight). I once heard the tongue in cheek remark that Mansfield had "toffophobia". I prefer to think that it's relaxed, welcoming and perfectly formed!

Your PS must have been a real treat to read. Just like the rest of this chapter, it has been carefully thought out. Introspection, exploration and reflection - this is not only a great motto for the personal statement, but should be stamped on the foreheads of every applicant, just to remind them how to go about Oxford admissions!

Here's another great saying "see what direction your academic intrigue leads you in".

After all this veritable Ali Baba's cave of verbal gems, we now have a beautiful (again, well thought out) long list of resources and ways one can engage in your subject. My, you have gone to so much trouble (but I bet you never thought it was trouble though, far from it).

Your meticulous approach in learning Latin finally paid off with the OLAT, that bastion of grammar and linguistic patterns!

As for the interview, I can well imagine you kicking a teacher's file over in your excitement. Bet the interviewers felt like kicking a few files, too having the joy of meeting such a keen prospective student.

The advice "expand, question and challenge" is a class act in how to ace an academic interview. Chapeau bas, as they say in France.

I bet you are counting the days before you come up to Oxford. I hope your childhood dream blossoms into a reality more beautiful than you could have hoped for.

Introduction:

Hey! I’m Pichi, and I hold an offer for Arabic at Mansfield College for 2022 entry. It’s a subject with a very small number of places at Oxford, so I’m aware it is hard to find anything about it and I hope this can be some use to you then.

For context, I go to a non-selective state school comprehensive in a major UK city. I have nine grade 9s and two grade 8s at GCSE and applied with A-Level predictions of A*A*A* in English Literature, French and Psychology.


Why Arabic?


Did anyone inspire you?

Why Oxford (why choose it for Arabic)?

Why did you choose your college?

Did you attend any lectures, or take part in any competitions? If so, would you recommend them, and why?

The personal statement:

What resources did you use? What did you read/watch?

What techniques did you use for the entrance test (the OLAT)?

How did you find the interview process?

Any interview tips?


@Oxford Mum - Thank you for letting me write this! I hope anyone else reading this too found it helpful.