Oxford from the Inside

In our latest episode Laurel talks Oxford's Classics & English Joint Honours Course with 3rd year Immy. How do you tailor a Personal Statement to two subjects? Who is Virgil and why study him alongside Virginia Woolf? Can you still apply without being fluent in Latin & Greek? (The answer to the last is a resounding yes) Tune in to find out more about the Oxford ClEngers!

In this episode Siam talks with Marnie and Megan about how to manage the workload of a university degree. Topics of discussion include what an ideal work/life balance is, should you make self-imposed deadlines or is working till the deadline actually advantageous? How helpful or unhelpful is it to work with friends and above all what unique personal rituals do Megan and Marine have on their day to day basis when approaching their workload. 

In our latest episode, Ellis is joined by recent History graduate Bradley to talk about his experience as a state educated northerner at Oxford - stay tuned to find out about him discussing fake Russian kings in the History Aptitude Test, the North East Trap, and his role as JCR Access Officer. You don't want to miss it! 

Timestamps:

00:20 – Bradley, would you like to introduce yourself?

00:39 – Would you like to start by telling us a bit about your background? 

01:48 – Why did you want to study history? 

03:05 – Would you say there’s some kind of hesitation in encouraging state school students to apply to Oxford? 

05:15 – How did you find the application process as a whole? 

08:22 – Did you get any Oxford-specific support e.g. mock interviews? 

16:41 – If you were going to go through the applications process again, is there anything that you’d do differently? 

20:29 – Would you say you suffered from imposter syndrome? 

25:15 – Can you tell us about your role of JCR Access Officer? 

29:44 – How do you think Oxford can improve inclusivity for state school applicants? 

32:40 – What advice would you give to people from the north who want to apply to Oxford? 

In our latest episode, Megan is joined by Anna (2nd year, Physics) and Danlei (3rd year, Maths and Computer Science) to discuss what it's like to be a woman doing a STEM subject at Oxford. Are you thinking of applying to Oxford? Do you want a career in STEM but worry you won't fit in? Tune in to find out what it's like and what support is available! 

In our latest episode, Megan is joined by Siam and Mason to discuss Chemistry interviews. If you want advice on how to prepare for interviews, you're thinking of applying to Chemistry, or you just want to know what they're like, then check it out!

Check out our latest episode where Abbie interviews Jack (2nd year, Enterprise & Entrepreneurship) on his his perspective of Oxford life as an Oxford Brookes student. Are you intrigued to see how well the universities mix? Interested in knowing how different they are? Curious to see which university dominates the nightlife? Then listen in to this episode for some eye-opening comparisons on Oxford life.

In our latest episode Laurel talks 'Compare and Contrast' with Mansfield College English tutor Lucinda and recent English graduate Maya. How do you prepare for the ELAT? How heavily is it weighted? What even is 'close reading'?! Tune in to find out all this and more...

Timestamps:

1.05 Favourite Book right now? The Importance of reading for fun

3.30 What does the ELAT look like? How to approach the paper

6.45 How to prepare & what the tutors are looking for

10.03 How do I structure my answer? 

13.55 How do I practice for the ELAT? Close reading skill development

18.40 What resources are available to me? Access & Outreach work

22.50 Best piece of advice for anyone applying?

In our latest episode Siam talks to talented singers/musicians Rachel and Liam about the many music opportunities the city of Oxford has to offer. Whether you want to get involved with music within the university, through societies, performing at balls, using the endless resources the uni has to offer; or you want to be a part of the vibrant music scene at Oxford- we have it covered! I have to say, during this episode it really does seem that musicians and performers at Oxford are really living the dream - the opportunities do seem to be quite endless!

Junaid chats to Amy and George, both 3rd year Medicine students, all about interviewing at Oxford for Medicine. From what the experience is like, to what sorts of questions are asked and our top tips and advice, we hope this episode will be useful to anyone preparing for interview or thinking of applying to Medicine in the future! As always, we're here with the good, the bad, but always the truth.

In our latest episode, Ellis interviews incoming fourth year Kirsten about writing a personal statement for Modern Languages. Stay tuned to find out what you should do, what you *shouldn't* do, and what we wish we would have done. You don't want to miss it! 

Timestamps:

00:42 - How do you feel looking back on your personal statement? 

02:48 - How difficult did you find writing your personal statement? 

04:38 - What pushed you to apply to Oxford when the course you were applying to was different elsewhere? 

08:40 - Do you think it’s important to have a punchy opening sentence? 

11:13 - What’s your favourite thing that you put in your personal statement? 

16:47 - Did you do anything specifically to put it on your personal statement? 

21:15 - How did you approach structuring your personal statement?

25:18 - Did you have support when you were writing your personal statement? 

27:58 - Has your opinion of your degree changed since you wrote your personal statement? 

30:50 - What’s been your favourite thing about your degree?

33:05 - What would your advice be to someone who’s about to undertake writing a personal statement? 

Resources - Course information: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/modern-languages