<p>Hey guys I'm an American student who is planning on applying to the University of Oxford this year.</p>
<p>I know that giving chances for Oxford is very difficult, as the majority of the decision comes from the interview with the professors. However, I'd like to have my chances for getting the interview in the first place assessed (since not everyone gets an interview). Thanks.</p>
<p>I won't include school grades or ECs since they are useless in terms of Oxford.</p>
<p>Major: Geography
SAT I:
1st sitting: 650M 680CR 780W (2110)
2nd sitting: 740M 790CR 700W (2230)
Super-scored (I dunno if Oxford would superscore.. most likely not): 2310</p>
<p>APs (from Junior year):
World History: 5
US History: 5
Spanish Language: 5
English Literature: 4</p>
<p>SAT IIs:
Chinese (native speaker): 800 (doesnt mean much...)
World History: 790
US History: 770</p>
<p>If you think that u can assess my overall chances as well with these stats, I'd appreciate that very much as well.</p>
<p>You’ll definitely get an interview IF you write at least a solid personal statement. Your scores look great. I can’t emphasize enough how much weight is placed on the personal statement!</p>
<p>I will be applying for the Geography course.
Do you think my scores are good enough for a successful application, assuming that my interview/personal statement all go well (which is a BIG if).</p>
<p>I cant chance you, as i am unaware of the requirements for US students. Your SAT scores are impressive. And sometimes, you get offers without even an interview(though its rare but still… You may go that lucky.) And yeah, Personal Statement is really a very important part of your application. Most of the students who apply their have awesome credentials, and then it comes to the Personal Statement and your Reference which allows you to emerge out of that academically brialliant pool and distinguish yourself as from others.</p>
<p>Really, don’t count on getting an offer without an interview. It does happen, but it’s really for very very very exceptional candidates. I only ever met one person ever who had that happen, and she was an international student from China who started learning English when she was 14, did the IB (in English) a couple of years later and finished it 6 months early because she didn’t find it challenging enough. </p>
<p>The Personal Statement is important, but please remember that it’s not the same as a personal statement in the US. They do not care about your ECs, interests, whatever. You should start it with ‘I want to study Geography because…’ and carry on like that. Also, don’t make it Oxford-specific if you are applying to other UK universities! </p>
<p>The interview process is the most important part of the application, as you are probably already aware. Most people whose stats are in range get offered an interview. If you can swing the cost at all, I would suggest interviewing in Oxford rather than the US, as you will then meet the tutors who will be teaching you. But it’s certainly not necessary to come to Oxford to interview. </p>
<p>About references… be aware that <em>everyone</em> will have a stellar reference. Do not rely on your reference to make you stand out. If you have any Geography-related achievements that you are particularly proud of, put them in your personal statement, don’t leave your teacher to mention them in the reference.</p>
<p>Speaking of phone interviews, it will be worth emailing every college stating your subject and asking if they will consider giving phone/skype interviews. Some colleges could be more accommodating than others.</p>
<p>@ Laylah
Thanks
No i will start at Oxford from this october. Though i can let you know later. I have asked many and many people over facebook and all, but still havent found anybody who has been admitted without an interview so i think its still rare.
ANd cool, so you are an oxonian as well. Thats great. Where are you now?</p>
<p>@ Agneisse</p>
<p>No its not that so. Many colleges interview almost everyone, and by that i mean competetive ones. They cannot tell you that whether they will interview you or not. Its just they decide it after they review your application. Interview basically is the next stage of your application. Some people are rejected on the first stage and dont get uptil interview, whilst the first stage of some students get it through the interview (of course very rare).</p>
<p>I’m half-way through an MA in linguistics at a uni in London - but I’ve taken a year off to work and earn some money! I’m basically a computer/techie person at a biosciences lab, which is a bit of a change of scene for me - I actually did Oriental Studies at Oxford. </p>
<p>What are you going to study? And which college? ;)</p>
<p>@Mindhunter: I know that colleges interview anyone with a realistic chance. In all fairness I did my research into Cambridge and not Oxford (was thinking of applying), but I found that some colleges said “IF you get an interview, it will have to be with you physically here. period.” and others were “if you get an interview, we will be happy to do it over the phone/by video”. </p>
<p>I was suggesting OP do this research into Oxford and, given all the challenges in booking an overseas trip in a rather short time frame, consider applying to one of the colleges which will allow interviews to be done over the phone. I wasn’t asking OP to call colleges and ask them to chance him. Sorry if that wasn’t clear (:</p>
<p>Well my bad in that case. I just may be got it wrong. And actually, i wanted to convey that when applying for undergrads, those who are Uk citizens (and some times EU nationals) are asked to come to the college for an interview whilst the international students are interviewd on telephone, except that of medical students, for whom it is a requirement to be there for an interview.</p>
<p>I LOVE Keble! It has a fantastic bar, it looks like a spaceship!</p>
<p>By the way, when you get to Keble, if you notice spaces in the wall where bricks are missing, it’s probably Trinity’s fault. They have (or at least had) a group called the Keble Deconstruction Society. Their aim was basically to pull Keble down and re-build it to look more like Trinity.</p>
<p>I am heading to Oxford this fall from the US as well. (Teddy Hall, PPE) I agree that of the application process the personal statement and the interview are the most important aspects. I was unable to fly to the UK for the interview, so the tutors were accommodating enough to let me be interviewed via skype.</p>
<p>Hmm, well, generally people either love or hate Keble’s architecture. It’s certainly very different to the traditional Oxford college look. I really like it, personally. It has a gothic feel that many other colleges have lost over time. </p>
<p>Academically Keble is fine - I don’t think it’s too pressured, but they expect you to try your best. It’s certainly not like Merton - Merton is infamous for having tutors who work you very, very hard. As a consequence, Merton students tend to have a reputation for being no fun!</p>
<p>Trinity is just a weird college, that’s why they do that kind of stuff. They do have pretty grounds though!</p>
I wonder why they’ve cancelled them this year. Credit crunch maybe!</p>
They do have pretty grounds though!</p>