Oxford Biochemistry / Biology

1.

your best pieces of advice for applying?
I would say as long as you've got the grades (they don't have to be like 3A* at alevel and all 9s at gcses, tho ofc that doesn't harm your application lol, but all applications are contextualised in terms of your sch etc) and you've got a passion (i.e nerdiness) for biology and can have an hours worth of discussion about bio (interviews lol) then go for it! I really do recommend people apply otherwise you just don't know!

2.

I do go to a private school which for some reason is frowned upon for Oxbridge lately
Well everyone knows the oxbridge stereotype hahaha, but ik like my best friend is from a private sch and she's like on the nicest people ik (often too nice) but yeh it's very much entrenched, we'll hardly shake off that stereotype of rich upper class white guy tho off haha but please don't let that demoralise you at all, this is how the outreach team at my college put it - everyone who deserves to get in, will get an offer

3.

I got a 9 in biology, 3x8's, 5x7's and a 6 in english lit (it was just not my thing omg)
Honestly I don't see anything wrong with those grades, sure there's like uber smart people in ox, but these grades are defo still sooo good (i can relate to you with english lit, for me it was maths, thank goodness for covid in my case)

4.

Also, what was the interview process like and what sort of things did you get asked?
Interview is generally at 2 colleges, one you applied to, and a random one to make it fair in case you screw one interview up and they'll ask tough questions but pleaseee don't give up and say idk just think of something, they're tough on purpose but the concepts they're exploring are grounded in general biological principles, there's a mix of graph analysis, experimental/research stuff (like asking questions such as how would you go about research x,y,z) and they always tend to like showing a photo of some animal or plant or microbe and asking general questions like from the photo where do you think it lives, how do you think it's adapted etc. at the start of the interview after the optional ps question.

5.

I'm not going to comment on your chances or anything cuz honestly i have no idea whatsoever, only the mystical admissions people know the exact criteria that they use and what the tutors specifically look out for in applicants but I hope that helps. Ik there's lots of bio PS and super curricular related stuff like books on the internet for inspo to become a mega bio nerd if you commit to biology for your degree. Also check out zero gravity if you're eligible super helpful! Hope that helps and good luck with 6th form!