<p>SOME colleges offer bursaries to struggling students, which are in essence financial aid packages, but a. the availability of those bursaries depends on how wealthy the individual college is, and b. you can’t apply for them prior to being accepted. So if you really want to try that, get in first and contact the college with your concerns later.</p>
<p>Chances are you’ll be disappointed.</p>
<p>Competitiveness of admissions depends on the course. The acceptance rate for Economics & Management and History & English at Oxford, for example, is 8-9%, while that for Materials Science is ~45%.</p>