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Oxford PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Students and Applicants

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Reply 1040
Avatar for Levhead
Levhead
Hello all,
got my interview at Balliol:smile: which made me feel good, until i realised that 80-90% of applicants get invited for interview which made me appreciate the still daunting possibility of failure!

Anyway, not trying to sound funny or anything (man i hope Oxford don't read this!) but I see a correlation between those selected for interview and their nationality. Neither the Croat or the Czech have been invited, despite stellar academic credentials. Is this simply a co-incidence?

Furthermore, if you look at the admission statistics for Oxford, it is apparent that English applicants (and public school ones for that matter!) are more likely to get into Oxford University than overseas ones.

Just some thoughts
Levhead
Reply 1041
Avatar for Gothard
Gothard
levhead, I am from poland,and still I got in for the interview... I cant see the coleration between interviews and nationality. It makes no sense at all.
Reply 1042
Avatar for neda
neda
It just has to be the international qualifications. I am from Bulgaria, and I too got rejected before the interview!!!! I thought that my application was good, but........ I just cannot see other reason.
I'm actually vietnamese and did IB. I guess my app was just poor altoghether :-S
Gothard, my classmate (a polish national, his grandma was a dutchess or something) got an interview at st.anne's. ox is a small city, maybe u'll meet him :smile:
I wonder if they invite more "maybe cases" to interview if they're from England, because it's less trouble for them to travel to Oxford. If they think someone doesn't really stand a chance, they won't want to drag them in from across the world, but they might be willing to drag them in from Lancashire (my situatiion!), just in case.

I know that Balliol has quite a strong international identity, so Im not sure why they'd have any other prejudice against it. However, I do think that if the tutors don't think your country's education system is as good, or that your exams are a good measure of your potential, they may turn someone down because of it.

???

It's still unfair though. Maybe the leftyness of the college turns them against anyone who can afford to spend the extra money to study in the UK. Pretty unlikely, I hope; that would be really naughty of them... Je sais pas
Levhead
Hello all,
got my interview at Balliol:smile: which made me feel good, until i realised that 80-90% of applicants get invited for interview which made me appreciate the still daunting possibility of failure!


Well, last year, the college I applied to only interviewed 21 out of 62 applicants personally. That doesn't include overseas interviews or reallocated applications, but. It's hard to believe that they reallocated 35 people, or that they had that many overseas applications.

So, basically, if you've got an interview at a college as popular at Balliol, you're doing better than the top 90%. And if you've been rejected before interview, my condolences, and if it helps at all then you're probably not in the bottom 10. Interviews are getting tougher to get hold of, and rejections of amazing looking candidates like you guys only goes to show how utterly unpredictable things can be. But that can be a good thing too, so just keep positive. It will all work out one way or another, be that at Oxford or another great university.
Thanks a lot! I really did feel like an idiot but you made me feel better:smile:
Has anyone still not received one for PPE? I have received nothing from Merton: rejected or requested. I guess I'm going to have to phone them tomorrow (they said on the letter to phone them if no news within 4 days of the interview date). Isn't looking good.
I wonder if anyone who did the new PPE Test, and also has an interview coming up could help update this guide with me.
Hello people, got a response from the admission board.

THE REASON: weak submitted work

Ahem... Riiight...

To be honest, not wanting to play any chances, I had the history and politics essays (2500 words each) checked twice by two renowned university professor back here. And after I translated them I asked my English professor to double check for any style/grammar errors.

And they're telling me that my submitted written work was erroneous? Riiight...

Well, **** U

Everyone preparing for the interview, unless English or Polish (DO NOT WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE), do not even bother...
CroatUndergrad
Hello people, got a response from the admission board.

THE REASON: weak submitted work

Ahem... Riiight...

To be honest, not wanting to play any chances, I had the history and politics essays (2500 words each) checked twice by two renowned university professor back here. And after I translated them I asked my English professor to double check for any style/grammar errors.

And they're telling me that my submitted written work was erroneous? Riiight...

Well, **** U

Everyone preparing for the interview, unless English or Polish (DO NOT WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE), do not even bother...


Look, i'm not trying to be rude because you obviously are a really good student, but it's kind of insulting to the rest of us that you're just assuming that however good you are, we can't possibly be better. maybe there is a flaw in the system, but your choice to interpret 'weak submitted work' as 'erroneous' might be the sort of mistake you made in your submitted work... nobody is saying you got stuff wrong, just that you aren't in the strongest portion of candidates.

i genuinely sympathise with you if you believe you're good enough, but oxford have seen all the candidates and you haven't. it's not even a bad thing to have been rejected, it's just a ridiculously competitive place!

chill out and move on, or continue talking to oxford about it!
London Prophet
I wonder if anyone who did the new PPE Test, and also has an interview coming up could help update this guide with me.


*waves*
I just got my rejection from Merton. Pissed off. But nowhere near as much as CroatUndergad. I never thought I would get in anyway (my application was rushed and my gcses poor). Atleast I don't have to go to Oxford now; I couldn't afford the time off work in monetary terms anyway!

How do most people go about getting feedback? Email?
Its kinda nice to know that they've taken written work seriously though, from my perspective at least, because I felt mine weren't as strong as I would've liked. I took them seriously when they said just send in some ordinary classwork, but I hadn't ever written an amazing history essay- it was always just practice of exam technique. My philosophy one was more analytical but really not very clearly structured... Not sure why I'm saying this to yall... but it's a good distraction from reading flipping "Capitalism and Freedom", which I can tell you isn't the right ol laugh it's cracked up to be.

cheerio
Sally
sorry, but my honest commiserations croatundergrad and unchangeablehyp. Have a little more confidence in yourself unchangeablehyp- rejection from oxford really says very little about youself and your capabilities, whilst letting it put you down does. Life is what you make of the opportunities you DO get, neh? Same for croatundergrad- they're not saying you'r anything less than a wonderful candidate; they're just saying that on this occasion, they think other people will be more approriate. As they have so many applicants, it's not really a put down for them to think you won't be in the top 14 out of 100 or so. And that's just their opinion too, so if you really do know that you're better than they think, go out there into the world and proove it, for all the right reasons, neh?

I just luuurve cheesy pep talks :-D
sally_mmm
Its kinda nice to know that they've taken written work seriously though, from my perspective at least, because I felt mine weren't as strong as I would've liked. I took them seriously when they said just send in some ordinary classwork, but I hadn't ever written an amazing history essay- it was always just practice of exam technique. My philosophy one was more analytical but really not very clearly structured... Not sure why I'm saying this to yall... but it's a good distraction from reading flipping "Capitalism and Freedom", which I can tell you isn't the right ol laugh it's cracked up to be.

cheerio
Sally


Same here, I never really had a decent History essay. I never spent long on essays that didn't count for anything, so seeing as I didn't send in any coursework, my stuff was pretty far from perfect. Still, it is representative :smile:
Reply 1056
Avatar for Gothard
Gothard
CroatUndergrad
Hello people, got a response from the admission board.

THE REASON: weak submitted work

Ahem... Riiight...

To be honest, not wanting to play any chances, I had the history and politics essays (2500 words each) checked twice by two renowned university professor back here. And after I translated them I asked my English professor to double check for any style/grammar errors.

And they're telling me that my submitted written work was erroneous? Riiight...

Well, **** U

Everyone preparing for the interview, unless English or Polish (DO NOT WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE), do not even bother...


Well... from what U wrote and from what I can tell the reason for rejecting you is also your strongest point. I believe that they dont look for really brainy ppl, but those who can think in some sort of "analytical" way. If It wont trouble u much, could u send me ur essay ?
sally_mmm
sorry, but my honest commiserations croatundergrad and unchangeablehyp. Have a little more confidence in yourself unchangeablehyp- rejection from oxford really says very little about youself and your capabilities, whilst letting it put you down does. Life is what you make of the opportunities you DO get, neh? Same for croatundergrad- they're not saying you'r anything less than a wonderful candidate; they're just saying that on this occasion, they think other people will be more approriate. As they have so many applicants, it's not really a put down for them to think you won't be in the top 14 out of 100 or so. And that's just their opinion too, so if you really do know that you're better than they think, go out there into the world and proove it, for all the right reasons, neh?

I just luuurve cheesy pep talks :-D


Very true. In writing my grades out in another thread though I am kind of surprised they didn't ask me for interview. I'm really interested to know what the main reason was. York seemed pretty quick to give me an offer.

I worry slightly now about my other choices though as I did write my personal statement with PPE in mind, but then applied for straight Politics in my other choices!

So do I just email the admissions tutor of the college (Merton) I applied for if I want feedback?
yeah, You're meant to send them from philosophy, politics or economics if you study them. They may therefore be suspicious that I didn't send one from economics, but I honestly never wrote a single essay, including a mock exam! I'm not sure whether that'll work in my favour or not... it certainly shows that my knowledge is not going to be in depth! It suggests Im just an exam-passing machine.

And yes unchangeablehyp, i think you should just ask them why they rejected you. It might help your school to know too. I know my school always asks for feedback to help them aide future candidates.

Argh! Does anyone else have the feeling they don't know one tiny percent of everything, just the basics, they should know for an Oxford PPE interview?

And I have just found an excellent source of distraction...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monsters

The creatively named "Terrible Monster" is pretty good, pipped to the excellence post only by Ogopogo, only because he is so obviously the Loch Ness monster in migratory waters.... Argh! Work...
The contradictive persona of ban Josip Jelačića Bužimski


Josip ban Jelačić is, it can be said, the only person in the Croatian history of the nineteen century that continued to exist in our society in the form of a legend. Better (and more accurately) said, as a myth. Surely that there were more people in the mentioned century that acted publicly for a far greater period of time and even surpassed Jelačić in many areas, but only remained as «notable historical figures». For example, J. J. Strossmayer, dr. Ante Starčević or Ljudevit Gaj were all topics of numerous historical controversies. They were all used or misused for the advantage of different political ideologies. But, all their eventual social laudation or condemnation of their personal opinions or visions remained mainly entrapped within a very close intellectual circle. Josip Jelačić functioned socially, historically viewed, for a very short time, but managed to live several lives.

And those lives were quite a few: the physical one, the one as a famous historical persona, then in the form of a monument representing a brave horseman in the centre of Zagreb (quite an honour). This last Jelačić's afterlife, from being the popular city meeting point «under the horse tail» to the great anger when the monument was removed from the square, are all interesting stories for themselves.

However, it is the just mentioned that had put ban Josip Jelačić into a historical gap filled with certain questions. Was he, when he was alive, a positive or a negative historical person? Because, one of his first social acts when he was named a «ban», was to divide the Croatian public of that time on those who did and didn't oppose his approach and procedures. The year is 1848., and the Austrian-Hungary Empire was torn apart by numerous revolutionary events raging across its lands. The small nations, one after another, slowly started to raise their voices and arms against the centuries of oppression and the denial of their basic human freedoms. The conflicts around the person of ban Jelačić occur relatively soon after he was given the role of the ban, for he continually indulged the wishes and demands of the reconstructed and quickly growing Vienna absolutism and centralism.

However, one must bear in their mind that Josip Jelačić was the child of the imperial military schools and their education (he began his education at the Vienna Therezianum, the most elite school for aristocrats of his age, where sons of noblemen and magnates were educated for administrative and military service in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, when he was only eight years old), and the Monarchy was still a great and powerful country. What should, or even better, could the future ban do against that fact? Today it is possible to easily (and quite safely) criticise and discuss his political and military actions, when approached from this point of view.

But, in order to understand his way of thinking (dare I say soul), we should step in his shoes in the identical environment, what is unfortunately impossible today. Maybe it will be clearer one day, when in distant future a time machine of some kind would be constructed, and a brave time passenger pays a visit to Jelačić. With this fantastic presumption, it is questionable if even then that someone will be able to conceive all the courses of that time.

In the Illyrian newspapers «Novine», in March 1849. an article appeared, and I cite only a small part: «Today it is almost a year, that we have Jelačić as a ban. Are there reasons for us to be ashamed of that intense happiness a year ago and loose hope, repent the trust we had and deny the love for the motherland? » Well, it didn't take long for certain circles among the Croatian intelligence to become dissatisfied with the selection of Jelačić for a ban. Because, according to the political circumstances of that time, Jelačić was regarded as some kind of a founder of a brighter future for the Southern Slavs, while the eternal question of Croatian independence remained unsolved.

Perhaps it would be interesting to mention that the leading figures of Croatian politics in the nineteen century (Starčević, Radić, Matoš, etc.) considered Jelačić as an exceptionally negative political figure among Croatian people. The famous writer Krleža, in his «Panoramas of views, appearances and concepts», wrote about Jelačić the following: «A rather great number of people was hanged and killed by his administration in 1848. – 1849., and it was all taken away by the wind and no one know anything about it».

It is an interesting fact that Jelačić was, as a result of great war merits, promoted even three times in a single year: from colonel to a general-major, then to sub-marshal and in the end was given the rank of artillery general (feldzeugmeistera). No one has ever achieved anything alike in the history of Austrian Empire. The question is, were these promotions, regarding the significance and the pace at which they were «coming» results of the great ability and courage Jelačić possessed or, looking from the other perspective, had a political background?

What is little known about the monument is that it was in fact built on the initiative of the Austrian army. When the military ordered the monument in Vienna, and when he was finally set up on the main square, the representatives of Zagreb city said that they disgusted the idea of placing a monument to celebrate such a man as Jelačić, for he compromised the Croatian political repute. And minding that he too was involved in the breaking of the Hungarian revolution in 1848., he is even today considered in Hungary as a negative persona in Hungarian history (However, the current political relations between Croatia and Hungary are surprisingly cordial).

Another quote speaks negatively of Jelačić: «The appointment of Jelačić for the position of ban was a fatal error, for he was both inadequate and not ready to take such a position, and it happened in the breaking point for Croatian history. In addition, suspicious signs of mental illness appeared in his behaviour during the years 1848. and 1849.» (according to the Encyclopaedia of the Croatian Lexicography Institute, volume 3, Zagreb MCMLXVI). No matter how explicit and factual this quote is, one should note the time in which it was written: MCMLXVI – 1966., during the reign of the communist’s administration, which didn't care to hide their non-sympathies towards Jelačić. Moreover, the «anti-Jelačić campaign» was first launched in 1946., only a year after the end of the first world war, when the communist regime removed the monument of ban Jelačić, and changed the name of the Zagreb's main square from ban Jelačić square into the Square of Republic.

Is Jelačić a man that thoroughly fought for Croatian national interests and because of that opposed the Hungarians, or did he react the way he did because of his military obedience to the Emperor and the Monarchy, carrying out orders from above the same way he did later in life, during the dreadful Bach absolutism and aggressive germanisation?

It could be endlessly disputed about the work and persona of Josip Jelačić, but all of the mentioned above undoubtedly doesn't diminish his famous patriotism or his national belonging to Croatian roots. With the ending of all revolutionary happenings in the years 1848. - 1849., and the tremendous amount of battles Jelačić's battles on the plains of Hungary, the dilemmas about his persona have either gone deeper to such extent that no end could have been seen. Nevertheless, ban Josip Jelačić became a legend among the Croatian folk, for one thing: the exceptionally important «ban Jelačić letter on abolishment of serfdom». This magnificent act no historical error or misunderstanding of the political affairs will ever be able to diminish. The Croatian ban slowly, but surely, started to walk the path of mythical heroes, a man who is capable of solving virtually any problem. And the reconstructed Europe was still governed by the rigid and ruthless Bach absolutism. And Croatia was still just a small patch of land in the great dungeon of nations.

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