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Here are some frequently asked questions
about admission to study law in Oxford as an undergraduate.
You
should always check the Undergraduate
Prospectus for
authoritative information on
admissions procedures.
What academic
standards are set for undergraduate admissions in law?
We
have formally spelled out the qualities we are looking for in applicants
for our undergraduate programmes in law. These 'qualitative admissions
criteria' are used by all colleges. So far as formal academic qualifications
are concerned, there is no fixed requirement. Most of those admitted
will either hold or be predicted to obtain all As at A-level (or
equivalent), and will already have an outstanding group of GCSEs
(or equivalent) dominated by A*s and As. However our main interest
is in academic promise and sometimes we may admit candidates whose
existing qualifications, in our view, do not do justice to their
academic abilities. We rely on the UCAS form, on performance in
the National Admissions Test for Law (see below), and on our interview
process to establish whether this is so. We do not rely on
any non-academic factors unless they reveal something relevant to
academic progress. If we make an offer before A-level (or equivalent)
it will usually be AAA (or equivalent).
Check
the qualitative admissions criteria for undergraduate law at Oxford...
Notes
on A-level and GCSE equivalents for Scottish and overseas applicants
...
Some
international qualifications
Should I study any
particular subjects at school?
At least a C grade in
GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent) is normally required. For Law with
Law Studies in Europe (but not for the regular Law degree) you must
normally have studied a European language to A-level (or equivalent)
- in most cases the language of the country you want to go to during
your degree (see further below). Otherwise your choice of subjects
at school is your own. Strictly academic subjects matter most. Both
arts and sciences are helpful. Studying law at school confers no
particular advantage or disadvantage. When colleges are comparing
A-level results and predictions they may attach reduced importance
to General Studies.
Check
the official table of admissions requirements, which gives more
detail of the language requirements for Law with Law Studies in
Europe applicants ...
What
is the
'National Admissions Test for Law'?
The National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) has been introduced by
leading UK law schools to assist them in making fair comparisons across
an increasingly large number of very highly qualified applicants. The
LNAT is jointly owned and supervised by the eight instigating institutions,
operated by Pearson Vue, and administered in co-operation with UCAS.
You will register electronically in September-October and sit the test
during the same period at a test centre near your home. The exact deadlines
for booking and sitting the test are announced on the LNAT consortium
website. All applicants for our BA law degrees are required to sit the
test. If applicants fail to sit the LNAT test by the deadline of 1 November,
their applications will be incomplete. It is the responsibility of the
applicant (not anyone else) to check the LNAT consortium website for
deadlines and instructions. This applies to UK, EU and overseas applicants.
If there is no test centre in your country, or no safe transport route
to a test centre, you must contact the Oxford college to which you are
applying for further instructions.
The
LNAT consortium website (includes practice papers and registration
information)
Why does Oxford hold interviews?
Most of our applicants
have or are predicted to obtain all As at A-level (or equivalent)
and hold an outstanding group of GCSEs (or equivalent) dominated
by A*s and As. Most come with the strong support of their school
or sixth-form college and most have very impressive personal statements.
Because of this we need to have further mechanisms to reach final
decisions among such uniformly excellent applicants. One mechanism
is the LNAT (see previous question). Another is the interview. Our
interview process is designed to provide further insight into the
academic strengths and weaknesses of our candidates.
Want
to know what number and proportion of applicants get in? Check here
...
Are all applicants interviewed?
No.
We only interview those who have a realistic chance of getting in,
when judged by their UCAS forms and LNAT scores. Some candidates
from overseas may also be considered without interview .
Interviewing
of overseas candidates ...
What is the interview about?
Interviewers
will be looking for evidence that you meet our qualitative admissions
criteria (see above). The interview may include legally related
questions as well as more general intellectual puzzles calling for
logical analysis of a type similar to legal analysis. Interviewers
may ask questions about your interests and enthusiasms in order
to ease you into the interview, or in order to assess your motivation.
Knowledge of the law is not being assessed and is not relevant to
the assessment of the interview. Sometimes, however, candidates
may be given a legal extract to discuss. In this context, the only
legal knowledge being sought is that which can be learnt from the
extract. Candidates for Law with Law Studies in Europe who are applying
for the French, German, Italian or Spanish Law options may also
be given an oral test in the relevant European language. (This does
not apply to those interested in going to the Netherlands where instruction
will be in English.)
General
facts about Oxford interviews - and a few myths exposed ...
Will you look at samples of my work?
Only Harris Manchester College (a college that offers places only
to those who will be 21 or older when starting their course in Oxford)
requires samples of written work. When you complete the LNAT test, you
will write a short essay: this will be read by use when evaluating your
application.
What are the language requirements for Law
with Law Studies in Europe?
Applicants for Law with Law
Studies in Europe will need to identify which variant of the programme
they are interested in (French Law, German Law, Italian Law, Spanish
Law or European Law). Since the year abroad teaching in the European
Law variant is conducted in English, the Faculty sets no formal language
requirement for entry to this variant. Those applying for the French,
German, Italian or Spanish Law variants will normally be expected
to have (or be predicted to obtain) an A at A-level (or equivalent)
in the relevant language. Where a conditional offer of a place is
made to such applicants, an A at A-level (or equivalent) in the relevant
language will normally be one of the conditions. Recognising that
opportunities to study Italian at A-level are not so widespread,
the Faculty may exceptionally make offers to candidates for the Italian
Law variant whose level of Italian is below A-level, but where there
is sufficient evidence (typically, from their work on other languages
at A-level) that they can be expected, with additional intensive
language training during the first two years in Oxford, to be able
to bring themselves up to the standard required to study successfully
in Italy during the year abroad. Candidates for the French, German,
Italian and Spanish Law variants may expect to have an oral language
test when they come to Oxford for interview. It is important to emphasise
that, although these tests of linguistic competence are important
and must be passed, selection for the programme is made first and
foremost by reference to the applicants’ potential as a law
student.
Why do I apply to a college rather than the Law
Faculty?
Oxford is a federal University and every degree
candidate must be a member of a college. The colleges are academic
institutions, not merely places of residence. In the case of undergraduate
students, the colleges make the main admissions decisions. The University
- and hence the Law Faculty - automatically admits those admitted
by the colleges. No separate Faculty decision is required. The exception
is the BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe (the four year programme).
For this programme, college decisions must be approved by the Faculty,
because there is such a small number of places available. In all
cases, the college, not the Faculty, will tell you whether your
application has been successful.
How
does the college system work?
How
do I choose a college?
You don't have to if you don't
want to. You are welcome to make an 'open application', in which
case the
Undergraduate Admissions Office
will allocate you to
a college with a relatively low application rate. If you would rather
choose for yourself, you may want to read about the various colleges
in their own words, and/or in the words of their current students.
Each college has its own website and prospectus. There is also a
student-written 'Alternative Prospectus' produced by the Oxford University
Student Union.
More
on choosing a college ... List
of undergraduate colleges with links ...
Alternative
prospectus on the OUSU site ...
Who makes the admissions
decisions?
The main decision is always made by the college
law tutors. They are professional academics who are also lecturers
in the Law Faculty. If they admit you, they will also teach you
in tutorials (or organise tutorials for you at other colleges in
subjects outside their expertise). In the case of the BA in Law
with Law Studies in Europe, the college's law tutors will nominate
their preferred candidate(s) to a Faculty committee, which looks
at all the colleges' nominations together. No separate interviews
are held by the Faculty committee: the selection is made on the
basis of the information provided by the colleges as to the candidates’
application and performance in the admissions process, together
with (in the case of applicants for the French, German, Italian and
Spanish options) the results of the language tests held during the
interview period. If you are not successful in this final competition
for Law with Law Studies in Europe places your college may nevertheless
offer you a regular Law place. You may be asked to indicate at interview
if you would not be interested in taking up a regular Law place instead.
List
of Law Faculty members showing their college affiliations: most
(except the holders of 'statutory chairs') are also college
tutors ...
Will my application be considered by more than
one college?
All colleges have access to your papers.
Sometimes you may find that you are interviewed at more than one
college. Many students end up being admitted to a college other than
the one on their application form; unless you are one of the small
number of candidates given an Open Offer, a college can only offer
you a place if you have been interviewed by that college. The colleges
all make great efforts, separately and together, to make sure that
those candidates who should receive offers from Oxford do receive
them. Every year, a small number of applicants will receive an Open
Offer. Applicants with an Open Offer are guaranteed a place at a
college but we are unable to confirm the college until the ‘A’ level
results are made available.
Can I apply for deferred entry?
Applications
for deferred entry are welcomed. Applicants who are offered places
for deferred entry will generally rank among the strongest of those
to whom offers are made. This is because we need to be sure that
they would also have been offered a place had they applied the following
year, against what might turn out to be stronger competition. For
the purposes of deciding whether to invite deferred-entry applicants
for interview and whether to offer them a place, the colleges
and the law faculty will rank them against all the other current
law applicants, not only against the other deferred-entry candidates.
Can I visit the University and/or
colleges to see what they are like?
Yes, we
have open days for prospective students in March and in the summer. College
open days run throughout the year. We also host a summer school
in July under the auspices of the Sutton Trust.
Open
days and summer schools ...
What are the fees
and other costs?
For UK and EU students, the tuition
fee is capped by the government. No tuition fee need be paid
up-front. You can arrange for the Student Loan Company to pay your
tuition
fee for you, so that you pay it yourself after you graduate,
subject to your income reaching a certain threshold. These arrangements
are fixed by government and are identical to those at other
universities. Overseas students must pay both University fees (at
a higher rate) and college fees. The costs of accommodation and
food are always payable by you, whether you are a UK, EU, or Overseas
student. College rents and catering charges vary.
There are also many options for living out of college. Oxford works out no more expensive than other popular
UK student cities. There is an Oxford bursary scheme as well as
a UK government maintenance grant scheme to help with living costs
of UK students.
Check
the latest fee levels and estimated living costs (also grant
and bursary info)...
Who
gets the home/EU rate?
How do I
get the application forms?
You need to fill in a Universities
and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) form and an Oxford Application
form. If you are still at school or sixth-form college these will
usually be provided and submitted by your school or college. If you
are an individual applicant you can obtain them by mail or pdf download
from the
Undergraduate Admissions Office. Those applying
for postgraduate entry to an undergraduate degree use different
forms, also available by mail or pdf download from the
Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Go
to the Admissions Office application forms page to request or download...
What is the timetable for applications
and decisions?
Your forms have to be sent in October (for example, October 15th
2008 is the deadline for applications to study at Oxford from October
2009 and for deferred applications to study at Oxford from October
2010). Interviews are in December. Decisions are sent out in late
December or early January. If you receive a conditional offer your
place will either be confirmed or denied when your exam results come
out in August.
Get
the precise application deadline ... See
a more detailed timetable ...
Are
there any special requirements for applicants who are not native
English speakers?
Candidates who are not native English speakers and who have not
been educated in the medium of English Language during their two
most recent years of study must satisfy our English
Language Requirements.
Do
I need to fill in separate application forms for accommodation?
First
year undergraduates are invariably accommodated by their colleges.
If you get a place, your college will be in touch to explain the
arrangements and will provide you with any paperwork that needs
to be completed.
Are there any bursaries and scholarships?
The
University has a bursary scheme for publicly funded home/EU students
who are on full fee remission. Applications are made through your
college on arrival. There are also a few scholarships available
to overseas applicants. Once you are in Oxford there will also be
various funds to which you may apply at college level and in the
University.
About
the Oxford Opportunity Bursaries ... Scholarships
for overseas students ...
Other
financial assistance for Oxford students ...
Do
you make special provision for mature students?
Yes. Harris
Manchester College exists to serve the specific needs of mature students
(those who will be aged 21 or over when starting their course) and
admits mature students to study undergraduate law. Other colleges
accept mature students as well.
Full
information for mature students ...
Where can I find the
answer to my other questions?
Always check the University
Undergraduate Prospectus first. Failing that contact the
Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Prospectus
homepage...
Undergraduate Admissions Office contact...
Question
about the undergraduate programmes themselves? FAQs are here ... |
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