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Oxford is consistently ranked one of the worlds top veuniversities, and number one in the UK.Oxford offers unparalleled resources, many of which are accessible to undergraduatestudents, not reserved for graduate students or professors as they may be at otherinstitutions. The tutorial system is a speciality of Oxford, where students spend timewith world-leading experts every week of their course.
Oxford is also renowned for its collegiate system, as the University is made up ofcolleges, typically with a few hundred students in each. This offers all the resourcesof an internationally-acclaimed research-intensive University with the supportivecommunity environment of a liberal arts college.
From the Vice-ChancellorOxford University is a wonderful place to live and study.I hope you will consider coming to experience life here inBritain, at the oldest university in the English-speakingworld. You will be surrounded by some of the greatestminds of your generation, and benet from some of the bestteaching in the world.
I studied here in the UK and in Canada, then worked at
Princeton University and University of Pittsburgh before Ibecame Provost of Yale. So I have personally experiencedsome of the nest universities in the US, and I know thatOxford University is truly world class.
I do hope to meet you here!
American connections With over 20,000 resident alumni, the United
States and Canada are home to the largestnumber of Oxford University graduatesoutside the UK.
The US is Oxfords largest source of internationalstudents and international academic staff.
The Rothermere American Institute in Oxfordwas opened by President Bill Clinton in 2001.The institute hosts the nest library ofAmericana to be found outside the US.
www.admissions.ox.ac.uk
A guide to Oxford for American students
President Barack Obama wassworn in using te same bibleas Abraam Lincoln used at isinvestiture in 1861. Te LincolnBible was published by OxfordUniversity Press in 1853.
AlumniFamous Americans who havestudied at Oxford include:
President Bill Clinton
Stephen Breyer andDavid Souter, US
Supreme Court Justices
Susan Rice, US Ambassadorto the United Nations
Richard Levin,President of Yale
George Stephanopoulos,television journalist
Elena Kagan, recentlyconrmed to the USSupreme Court
Rupert Murdoch,Chairman and CEO,News Corporation
Naomi Wolf, author(The Beauty Myth) andpolitical consultant
Ben Jealous, Presidentand CEO, NAACP
Kris Kristofferson, writer,singer-songwriter, musician,and actor
Rachel Maddow, TV anchorand host on MSNBC
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Wile Oxford is rigtly famed for its Classics and humanities courses it is also a world-leader
in many scientic areas of study. Its libraries and other resources are virtually unparalleled.
CoursesOxford offers: full time undergraduate degrees
Junior Year Abroad
full time graduate degrees, both taught and researchcourses
part time distance learning courses and summer schoolsfor adults
Undergraduate coursesUndergraduate degrees at Oxford aremore specialised than those at Americanuniversities. There are no major or minor
subjects here, so you cant mix and matchdifferent courses.When you apply, you need to choose one course from thelist of single honours courses (one subject) and joint honourscourses (two or more subjects). For the full list please see:www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/courses.
You will spend all your time at Oxford studying just thesubject or subjects that you chose at the start. This will suitsome students really well, though perhaps not everyone, asit means you focus on the course youve chosen, right fromthe start.
The rst year of each course usually follows a core
programme, where everyone on your course takes thesame papers, leading up to rst year exams. In later yearsthere are usually still core papers, but also a wide range ofoptions, so you can specialise in areas of your course thatparticularly interest you.
A standard bachelors degree in England usually takes threeyears, in contrast to the American four-year degree. In thesciences, students may do a fourth year to gain a mastersdegree. Some language courses take four years, including upto one year in a country where that language is spoken.
Independent studyA typical week at Oxford and at a leading US collegewould probably be very different. In the US, you wouldprobably spend a lot of time in structured classes in fairlylarge groups. At Oxford, you would have lectures withlarge groups but you would also have tutorials. These arehour-long meetings between (typically) two students andone tutor, where you discuss an essay or problems you havebeen working on. You would have one or two tutorials aweek throughout your course, and they provide you with anextraordinary level of personal attention and feedback.
Tutors are not only dedicated teachers, they are also activeresearchers, developing new knowledge at the cuttingedge of their subjects, which they may bring into tutorialdiscussions.
You are required to structure their own time: you have toorganise your work to complete assignments in time foryour tutorials.
Law and MedicineAnother difference from the US is that law and medicine canbe studied as undergraduate courses you do not need tocomplete another degree rst. You can study for a BA in law(equivalent to an LLB) in just three years. The full medicalcourse at Oxford is six years long. This begins with a threeyear pre-clinical science degree, followed by three years ofclinical training.
Research partnershipsOxfords research collaborations include a longstandingconnection with Princeton. There are three maincomponents to the relationship: student exchange, researchcollaboration and a joint postdoctoral programme in globalpolitical economy.
Entrance RequirementsCompetition for places at Oxfordis very strong, and even excellent
grades will not guarantee you aplace.As a guide to the minimum our tutors wouldusually expect, you would need:
SAT Reasoning Test with at least 1,400 in Critical Reading andMathematics and preferably also 700 or more in Writing, giving acombined score of at least 2,100.ORACT with a score of at least 32 out of 36.
Grade 5 in three or more Advanced Placement Tests in appropriatesubjects.
OR SAT Subject Tests in three appropriate subjects at 700 or better.
Te OxfordEnglis Dictionary:te recognisedautority on teEnglis languageworldwide
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Visa information and other support
The Student Information and Advisory
Service provides visa and immigrationinformation to new students. This includeshow to obtain a visa to study, informationabout your status and your legal obligations,immigration for family members, travelduring your stay and staying on to workafter your studies. The Service also offers ameet and greet service to welcome you onarrival to the UK, as well as an orientationprogramme to help you settle in.
www.ox.ac.uk/students/international_students
Other equivalents would also be acceptable, such as theInternational Baccalaureate with a level of performancearound 38-40, including core points, with 6s or 7s in thehigher subjects.
Students are also welcome to apply to Oxford while they
are studying at other universities for a Junior Year Abroad,or for a complete degree. However, Oxford does not accepttransfer students, so if you want to study for a full degreeat Oxford, you will need to start the course here from thebeginning.
Students usually apply at the beginning of their senior year.All candidates must apply through UCAS by 15 October, whichis earlier than the usual December deadline for US universities.All courses at Oxford start in October, almost a full year after the
application deadline.UCAS is the University and Colleges Admissions Service. This issimilar to the Common App, and its used by all universities in theUK, making it easier to apply to several institutions. You need tocomplete an online form at www.ucas.com where you can list up tove university courses to apply to. Please note that you may applyto one course only at Oxford, and you cannot apply to both Oxfordand Cambridge in the same year. You will need to provide details ofpast academic performance and predicted grades for any pendingqualications. You also write a personal statement outlining yourreasons for wanting to study the course you are applying for. There isalso a section where your teacher or counsellor provides a reference.
Tutors will read this form and take into account your academic
achievements, your personal statement, the academic reference fromyour teacher and, for many subjects, examples of written work andan admissions test. They will then draw up a shortlist of the strongestcandidates who will be invited to an academic interview in December.Candidates who are able to travel to Oxford for interview are welcometo do so. If you are not able to travel, or you cant get a visa, tutors maychoose to interview you by telephone or some other remote means,such as Skype.
If your application is successful, you will receive an offer of a placeby mid-January. If you have not yet completed all your high schoolqualications then this offer will probably be conditional on your nalgrades. This is not the same as the wait list for a US university. If youachieve the grades required in a conditional offer then your place at
Oxford is guaranteed.For further details of the application process, please seewww.admissions.ox.ac.uk/apply.
Selection criteriaWe are looking for academic achievement and academic potential.Although we take many all-round talented students, who captainsports teams, run volunteer societies, and write plays, we do not selectstudents for their extra-curricular achievements or their leadership.In contrast to our US peer universities, we select on academic criteriaalone. This means that our academics your future tutors are thepeople making the admissions decisions and conducting admissionsinterviews. An Oxford admissions interview is an academic interview:
in the sciences, you might be asked to solve an equation; in thehumanities, you might be given a poem to read and analyse. Wewant to understand your academic potential, and give you a chanceto experience Oxford learning. This is quite different from a typicalUS college interview, which is a more general discussion about yourschool performance, academic interests and extra-curricular activities.
FeesIn 2010, international student fees are 12,200or 14,000 per year depending on the course(25,500 for clinical medicine). There is also acollege fee of 5,692 per year. We estimate livingcosts in Oxford to be 6,900 if you just stay duringterm time, or 9,200 for the full academic year.www.admin.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding
Funding and scholarshipsUnfortunately, we are not able to providenancial aid to international students except
in certain rare circumstances. In general,international students need to be condent thatthey will be able to meet the costs themselves.
US students are entitled to apply for Federalloans, made through the Direct Loan Program.These can be approved by Oxford University,and can provide funding up to the full cost ofattendance. The basic loan type is borroweddirectly by the student and a further top-up loanis available for parents to borrow on behalf oftheir student son or daughter.
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding
Students applying to study a second
undergraduate degree may be eligible for aRhodes Scholarship.
www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk
How to apply
The one exception to this rule is for studentswho have already completed their rst degree,and who may apply for Senior Status, to startin the second year of an Oxford degree.
www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/grad
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STUDENT COMMENT: MAYNever in my wildest dreams did Ipicture myself as an Oxford student, yethere I am, studying at one of the mostprestigious universities in the world.As proud as I am about it, I must say Iowe a lot to the fact that I am the onlyperson I know from home that even
applied. Give it a try: you never know!
MORE STUDENT COMMENTSee Oxford students from around the
world interviewed in a series of short
information lms online. Just go towww.ox.ac.uk/100faces
Liverpool
Manchester
London
Birmingham
Oxford
Edinburgh
Cardiff
Belfast
Stansted
Gatwick
Heathrow
The City of OxfordOxford is in the beautiful Cotswolds region, with traditionalEnglish scenery of rolling hills. Its just an hour to London bytrain, and there are excellent connections to the airports.
There are two universities in the city: Oxford University itself,and Oxford Brookes University. This means that for a fairlysmall city, Oxford has a large student population of over 30,000,bringing a youthful and cosmopolitan atmosphere and plentyto see and do.
There is no campus as such, as most colleges and departmentsare situated in and around the city centre. The beautiful andhistoric architecture may be familiar to you from lms suchas Shadowlands, The Golden Compass and Harry Potter. After all,Oxford is the city which inspired writers such as JRR Tolkien,Lewis Carroll and CS Lewis.
As well as the ancient buildings, there are also retail stores ofcourse, numerous coffee shops and restaurants, and a thrivingbar and club scene. Oxford also has a surprising amount ofgreen space, including beautiful riverside walks, the oldestbotanic garden in the UK, the University Parks and collegegardens.
Student lifeStudent life is primarily based in the individual Oxford colleges where you would live, at least in your rst year, and makeyour rst friends. There are dozens of clubs and societies at acollege level, and hundreds more across the University, suitablefor your level of interest in all kinds of sports, dance, music,drama, journalism, volunteer work or whatever else you wantto do. The Oxford Union Society is a particularly popular placeto go, with debates and meetings with world famous speakers,as well as parties and other events. The Union has a strongAmerican tradition: Presidents Reagan, Nixon and Carter haveaddressed the Society. Two of the greatest gures of 1960sAmerica spoke at the Union shortly before their tragic
deaths: Malcolm X, and Senator Robert Kennedy.More recent visitors include Henry Kissinger,Dan Quayle, Newt Gingrich, Clint Eastwood,Martin Sheen, OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson,Jerry Springer, and even Kermit the Frog.
However busy you are during the day, youhave your own room to go back to in theevening, as Oxford has only single studentbedrooms, and no dormitories.
Its difcult to take on paid work during Oxfordterms - theres so much to pack in that there justisnt time. However, you can nd jobs duringthe vacations of course, and you can
apply for a post-study work visa thatallows you to work in the UK for upto two years.
Finding out moreOxfords Student Recruitment Team visitsthe US every year. To nd out about events nearyou checkwww.admissions.ox.ac.uk/int.
If you are coming to Oxford, then we reallyrecommend you come to an open day if possible,or download one of our audio tours.www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/opendayswww.admissions.ox.ac.uk/tours
If you have any questions at all, please contactour Admissions Information Centre by [email protected].
+44 (0) 1865 288000www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/admissionsi
STUDENT COMMENT:JANE
I know that my professors are expertsin their eld. Working with them, oftenone-on-one, is one of the real highlightsof Oxford, something I didnt expect toget out of an undergraduate degree,and that I doubt I could have receivedat any of the American universities towhich I applied.