Admission process in Oxford

The admission process for undergraduates is undertaken by the individual colleges, working with each other to ensure that the best students gain a place at the University regardless of whether they are accepted by their preferred college. Selection is based on achieved and predicted exam results, candidate-submitted written work; interviews, which are held between applicants and college tutors; and, in some subjects, written admission tests prior to interview. Personal statements and school references are also considered. Prospective students apply through the UCAS application system, in common with all British universities, but must observe an earlier deadline. Because of the high volume of applications and the direct involvement of the faculty in admissions, students are not permitted to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year, with the exception of applicants for Organ Scholarships and those applying to read for a second undergraduate degree.

The decentralized, college-based nature of the admissions procedure necessitates a number of mechanisms to ensure that the best students are offered admission to the University, regardless of whether the college they originally applied to can accommodate them. As such, colleges can pool candidates to other colleges, whereby candidates can be interviewed at and offered admission to another college. Some applicants are also awarded an open offer, which does not carry an attachment to a particular college until A Level results day in August. The colleges have recently signed up to what they call a Common framework outlining the principles and procedures they observe.

Undergraduate and graduate students may name preferred colleges in their applications. For undergraduate students, an increasing number of departments practice college reallocation to ensure that the ratio between potential students and subject places available at all colleges are as uniform as possible. Students who named colleges which are over-subscribed are reallocated to under-subscribed colleges for their subjects. Generally, students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply as many factors besides academic performance are taken into account during the Stringent Admission Procedure.

For the Department of Physics, college reallocation is done on a random basis after a shortlist of candidates is drawn up and before candidates are invited for interviews at the university. As a result of this, the college eventually offering a candidate a place to read a subject may not be the one they originally applied to.

For graduate student admissions, many colleges express a preference for candidates who will be undertaking research in an area of interest of one of its fellows. St Hugh's College, for example, states that it accepts graduate students in most subjects, principally those in the fields of interest of the Fellows of the college. Perhaps as a consequence of this, it is not uncommon for a graduate student to be a member of their supervisor's college, although this is not an official university requirement. For graduate students, admission is first handled by the relevant department, and then by a college.