Oxford Uni VS Kings for music

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Hey! Just finishing my music degree at Oxford, and insured KCL three years ago so hopefully I can be of help. Oxford is great if you don’t really want to perform as part of the degree. In fact, you can choose to do no performance papers at all, they are all optional. From an ethnomusicological perspective, there are optional papers which you can take all three years (and its implicit within the core of the degree). I am even taking a paper on the making of modern china through music for finals, where some people had the chance to take lessons at SOAS to learn the pipa etc. The course was really broad-I ended up researching on mandopop which was great. The downside of Oxford is that you can’t really get out of ‘early musicology’ (think opera, early song) - but it does only make up c.10% of the final degree. I would say it’s worth going on an open day and seeing if it’s the faculty for you by having a chat to the tutors and current students. I was worried Oxford was going to be too small and maybe limited socially/ in concert offering but honestly, I have loved it and have gone to so many cool concerts of all genres-it definitely has a mini London feel to it. KCL I’m pretty sure has a compulsory performance paper in first year. I liked the look of it because you could cross-register courses with SOAS. Aside from this though, I remember it being fairly traditional in terms of optional modules (think quartet, 19th c opera etc). I assume their workload is probably less than oxford’s so that’s something to consider. Maybe look at Sheffield,Leeds or Bristol if you want a city vibe - happy to answer any more specific questions!

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

@The_Lonely_Goatherd any advice?

Do you mind if I ask you a bit more about the application process to Oxford?The website says that I need to prepare additional essays and performance videos, along with the interview, what advice and experience do you have about things like these and your personal statement?

Do you mind if I ask you a bit more about the application process to Oxford?The website says that I need to prepare additional essays and performance videos, along with the interview, what advice and experience do you have about things like these and your personal statement?

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Thank you so much for this information! I would like to ask whether you have any reading recommendations and if i could get a short explanation on the college system? Does which college I am under affect the teaching or is it just a smaller social community? I am taking part in Oxford's UNIQ program this June, and hopefully that will be really beneficial to me, my mocks are in two weeks and hopefully I should be able to get that A. Again thank you (and @The_Lonely_Goatherd ) for all the advice and help!

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Ahhh that's so great you're doing UNIQ, hopefully that'll give you a better sense of the uni and how the music degree works. Then you can make an informed decision about applying or not applying. Like another user said, it's you doing the degree not your dad (though being South Asian, I totally get how parental comments and influence is heavy for Asian applicants! )
The way I explain colleges to people is that it's where you primarily eat, sleep, and socialise. Lectures are centralised but tutorials are held in colleges. That said, it doesn't (for the most part) have a huge bearing on how or what you're taught. You might find yourself having tutorials on different modules to your friends each term, because each college gets to decide how, when and where they will run their tutorials. Generally speaking though (unless things have radically changed the last few years?!), your college tutor will make arrangements to ensure that you have the best possible teaching for each module - which may include sending you to have tutorials at other colleges. (To give an example: I was at Worcester College, where the college tutor was a famous composer and the second tutor was a medieval music DPhil (PhD) student. So they made reciprocal arrangements with other colleges so that we were taught elsewhere for, say, 19th century modules on Wagner or symphonic tone poem, and then students from those tutors' colleges would come to Worcester for composition and medieval and early music!)
I got sidetracked. Going back to the "eat/sleep/socialise" thing. When trying to narrow down colleges, you should consider what you would ideally like out of the Oxford experience. For example, would you prefer:

Once you've done that, you can use the Oxford SU college suggester to get some ideas and then go to the open days and see a few of those colleges and speak to the lecturers/college tutors
Good luck with your mocks!

Hi! I'm back and I just want to provide some updates!After some intense mocks, predicted grades and walking around oxford for 4 intense days at UNIQ, I think I really want to apply to Oxford now. My predicteds have came out to be A*AAA, A* in mandarin and A in RS, Maths, Music. The UNIQ program made me really want to apply! Looking at the Bate collection, the Gamelan collection, the Bodelian Library, Weston Library and hand on mini lectures talking and discussing with Professors was really enjoyable for me! If the faculty wasn't going to move, I think I would apply to Pembroke (which is where I stayed at for UNIQ), but since the Faculty is making a move, I might go for Worcester, Lincoln or Trinity. I am currently reading (and painstakingly understanding bit by bit) Nicholas Cook's "Very Short intro to music", and I am also reading "An Introduction to music studies" and "A very short introduction to ethnomusicology" by Timothy Rice. Currently juggling my PS, EPQ ,4 a levels and talking to teachers about the additional prep! Wish me luck on applying!
Emiiii

Hey, thank you for the update, this is so great to read! I'm so pleased you had such a great time at UNIQ - and it's wonderful you've managed to get those predicted grades up too.
I forgot to say when I recommended Nick Cook's short intro: if you are struggling to understand it, please don't worry or panic. It took me three goes of trying to read it, to begin to 'get' it (and that was when I was in my second year at Oxford, haha! ).
Good luck for your application! I was at Worcester and it used to be one of the most oversubscribed colleges for music - not sure whether that's still the case, as they have a different college tutor there now. Do let me or @Katya25 (I think the other current muso at Oxford on TSR is @qwerties ?!) if you think we can help or support you in any way!
Btw, I recently replied to another poster on here who was asking about how to structure a music PS under the new system (I did a bit of reading/research and then replied to them). I can tag you in that thread if you like?

Hi! I'm back! Quick update, sent in my UCAS form 28th Sept. applied to Oxford (Trinity college), Kings, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham, I currently hold offers from Bristol and Birmingham! I have a few questions about Oxford applications process. So regarding my written work, do I wait for colleges to contact me to tell me how to submit or do I collate a PDF and just send it to Trinity? And for the actual written essays, the longest essay I have is around 700 words (does not meet the requirement of 1500 words as written on the website), it was under timed conditions for an exam and TOTALLY not my area of interest at all. Recently I am doing my EPQ (The development of Chinese popular music, examining the movements and censorship) and I'm have done heavy research for it, for my written work I'm planning to collate this research and write it into two, 1500 word, smaller essays (EPQ requirements is 4000 words) that go into two different directions. This would include citations and be more "scholarly", and would pass as a mock or practice write up for my EPQ? Would that be recommended? Or would it not pass as I sort of wrote it just for admissions? And final final question (I'm sorry) what are the interviews likes?

Hello! Congrats on those two offers already, that's excellent news!
Tbh I'm not really able to offer proper advice: as I applied in 2006 for 2007 entry, anything I tell you as an answer is likely to be outdated info So I'm tagging @Katya25 and @qwerties , who would be better placed to advise about online interviews and whether you're supposed to wait for Trinity to contact you, re: written work or whether you just send it. I think 'in my day' we just sent it via snail mail (i.e. in the post. Except there was a postal strike, so one of the schoolteachers - who had been to Oxford herself for undergrad and who knew the geography of the city - took the train/coach up from London to hand-deliver all our written work to the relevant colleges ). You didn't wait for the college to ask you for the written work. But things are probably a lot different now!
What I will say about written work is it *can* sometimes form the basis for an interview - so it's advisable to choose a topic you could talk about if needed. Also, as long as your teacher signs/stamps the form or whatever it is they have to do these days, Oxford wouldn't necessarily know that it was written especially for the admissions purposes

Hi! Just an update! I have just received an email from the faculty re:submitting written work! Probably because yesterday was the early entry deadline. But my other questions still stand! Thank you!

Oh that's good to hear! Hopefully one of the current or more-recently-graduated musos will be along and able to help soon

UPDATE: I have given in all my written work and I have an interview offer from Trinity College and I’m waiting on my second one! Could either do the student reps give some tips and advice please? Thank you!