The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford,England. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the world's second-oldest surviving university. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast to Cambridge, where they established what became theUniversity of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".The University is made up from a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four Divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions as part of the University, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the metropolitan centre.Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the self-governing colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments. Oxford is the home of several notable scholarships, including the Clarendon Scholarship which was launched in 2001 and the Rhodes Scholarship which has brought graduate students to read at the university for more than a century. Oxford operates the largest university press in the world[13] and the largest academic library system in the United Kingdom.Applying to Oxford
The deadline for applications for undergraduate degrees starting at Oxford in 2015 has now passed (it was 15 October 2014), and we cannot accept late applications. If you want to start an undergraduate degree here in 2016, you will need to apply by 15 October 2015.UCAS application
If you want to study at Oxford, you need to apply a year before the start date of your course. The deadline is 6pm UK time on 15 October every year, and the application form is online at www.ucas.com.You will need to provide information about yourself, including a personal statement where you talk about your interest in the subject you’re applying for. There is also a place where a teacher or advisor needs to give you a reference. This is all submitted through an online form – no additional references, transcripts, or certificates are required or accepted.Most people apply to Oxford before they have finished their final year of school or college. If this is the case for you, then your referee will need to provide you with predicted grades – where they say what they expect you to achieve in your A-levels (or equivalent qualifications).You may also need to register for a test or send in written work, depending on which course you are applying for.
Tests
For many courses, you need to take a test as part of your application –check your course page. You will need to register separately for the test, by a set date in October, and can normally sit the test in your school or college, or at a centre near your home.Written work
For many courses, you need to send in written work as part of your application - check your course page. You should send something that you have produced as part of your normal school or college work, which has been marked by a teacher. We would expect each piece of written work to be no more than 2,000 words, and to receive it by 10 November.After you have submitted your application (and usually before the end of October), the college considering your application will get in touch to tell you how you should submit your written work. Most colleges will ask you to post your written work (unfolded), although some will accept it electronically. We can't return written work, so do make sure to keep a copy.What to sendYou should send written work that demonstrates your analytical, reasoning, language and writing skills, as appropriate for your chosen degree course. It must be original school or college work, marked by a teacher, and not re-written or corrected in any way. It may be typed or handwritten – as long as it is legible – and photocopies are acceptable. Individual course pages give more information about the best type of work to send and how long it should be, but no course will accept work longer than 2,000 words.If you are not sure what to send, or if you are concerned that you do not have suitable written work, you should contact the college that is considering your application.Extended essaysExtended essays for the International Baccalaureate, Extended Projects, or other longer pieces of work which exceed the 2,000 word limit are not acceptable as submitted written work. However, you may like to submit an extract from an extended essay. Also, if you mention your essay in your personal statement, tutors may like to discuss this with you at interview if your application is shortlisted.LanguageAll written work must be in English (except where required for Modern Languages). International students whose work is in a language other than English are asked to submit both the original work and their own translation into English.Interviews at Oxford
There are lots of myths about interviews at Oxford, but really they're just conversations about your chosen subject - like a short tutorial.The interview plays a vital part in the selection procedure, but remember that the interview is just one aspect of your application. Tutors will also consider:- any admissions tests or written work required for your course
- your examination results and predicted grades
- your personal statement
- the academic reference
- think about some basic questions that may be asked at the beginning of an interview and how you might answer them. For example, tutors may ask why you have chosen this particular subject, and why you want to study it at Oxford.
- read widely around your chosen subject, including newspaper articles, websites, journals, magazines and other publications.
- take a critical view of ideas and arguments that you encounter at school or college, or in the media – think about all sides of any debate.
- be prepared to show some background knowledge of the subject, if you are applying for a course not normally studied at school or college, such as Medicine, Law, Biochemistry or Oriental Studies. However, you will not be expected to have a detailed understanding of specific or technical topics. For example, you may be asked what role your subject plays in society.
- re-read your personal statement, and any written work that you have submitted, thinking about how you might expand on what you wrote.
- organise a practice interview for yourself. This could be with a teacher or someone else who is familiar with your subject, but preferably not someone you know very well. This will help you to get some more experience of talking about yourself and your work in an unfamiliar environment.
- remind yourself of the selection criteria for your chosen subject.
A good deal of the teaching in an Oxford college takes place in small classes or tutorials, and your interviewers – who may be your future tutors – are assessing your ability to study, think and learn in this way. This will depend on how carefully you listen to questions, and how sensibly you answer them.You may be interviewed by two or more tutors at a time, each being an expert in some aspect of the degree course for which you are applying. If you are applying for a joint course, with two or more subjects, you will be interviewed by tutors representing each of the subjects, separately or at the same time.The interview is designed to assess your academic abilities and, most importantly, your academic potential. Tutors are looking for your self-motivation and enthusiasm for your subject. Decisions are not based on your manners, appearance or background, but on your ability to think independently and to engage with new ideas beyond the scope of your school or college syllabus.In many ways, your interview will be like a mini tutorial. If you don’t know the answer to a question, you may wish to explain that you haven’t covered that topic yet, but do try to work out the answer if you can. Many questions are designed to test your ability to apply logic and reason to an idea you may never have encountered before. The questions may seem difficult, but don’t worry: many of the topics you will cover do not have simple ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. Interviewers are not trying to make you feel ignorant or catch you out, but to stretch you in order to assess your potentialDecisionsShortlisted candidates will be told whether or not their application has been successful on Wednesday 7 January 2015. Colleges will send either a letter or an email to arrive on this date.Tutors will make a decision based on:
- your interview
- any admissions tests or written work required for your course
- your examination results and predicted grades
- your personal statement
- the academic reference
No comments:
Post a Comment