Hi, I’m currently studying in the United States and I don’t understand the British system. I’m interested in Oxford’s computer science programs, but I’m not sure what their minimum requirements are. Doesn’t it differ for each college that is affiliated with Oxford? Is it possible to still get in if you don’t meet minimum requirements if you email the admissions officers or know a few professors who can write a letter of rec? It just says on their website that if you don’t meet minimum, your application would not be competitive. I think my extracurriculars are good and my connections are too, so is it still possible to submit an application?
Well, of course you can submit an application to Oxford (in October, through Ucas), but I guess what you are asking is actually something different.
First of all, your connections don’t count at Oxford, it’s not the US and that would be completely illegal.However, you can find the minimum requirements on Oxford’s webpage. You just have to go to the admissions section, there you will find everything you need to know.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate?wssl=1
In terms of grades you need a certain number of APs/subject SATs and a specific SAT/ACT score. If you don’t have those scores yet, it’s not a problem, if you get an offer it will be conditional upon getting those grades later in the year.
Extracurriculars are great, if they are related to CS! However nobody really knows (or at least it is not openly discussed) how much they are weighted when shortlisting for interviews. The admission test (MAT) is certainly more important, though maybe not as much as it would be if you were applying for Maths. They share an admission test.
It is two and a half hours long, there are 10 multiple choice questions (40 points) and 4 long questions (15 points each). Two long questions (Number 2 - Algebra and Number 5 - something with Games and/or Logic) and multiple choice are shared with Maths. Computer Science specific are two other Logic questions, one typically with Liar/Truthteller statements (Question 6), one with Algorithms (Question 7). You can find the syllabus, tests from previous years and statistics on the Maths institute webpage, I’m not sure about the CS department.
ECs might help you if you are a borderline canditate (between upper and lower cutoff) for shortlisting, but a great MAT score will probably help you more (as in you wouldn’t be a borderline candidate if you got above the upper cutoff), so it would be a good idea to have a look at the papers. After that it’s mostly your interview that counts.
Good luck!
We can advise more helpfully if you let us know your stats. Where do you fall short of the requirements? NB you don’t have to have AP test scores etc in hand when you apply - it just means that you expect to get them, and if you get an offer, it would be conditional on your achieving them later in the school year before entry.
You definitely need a strong math background for CS.
Also, I forgot to mention, please only contact an admission officer (ideally one of the college you are applying to) if you have a question which truly can’t be answered from the webpage. As you are American and there seems to be a lot of information targeted directly at US students, this is very unlikely. (It would also be unlikely if you were from anywhere else.)
Admission officers are not the ones making decisions, those are made by faculty. However, they are extremely busy with administrative work, especially at this time, as A Level results are about to be released.
Good luck again!
Great advice from @Nyctea
To clarify your specific question about colleges:
No, the requirements for each course are university-wide