Oxford Admissions - The Profs (2024)

FAQs

Is it hard for Americans to get into Oxford? ›

Many Oxford courses require an admission test and/or some written work. If you're deemed a good candidate, you will be called for an interview. The success rate for American students is slightly lower than that of home students, at about 8.2%.

Get good grades

Yes, your grades will need to really dazzle. GCSEs are seen as evidence of work ethic – and you need a really strong one of those to cope with studying at Oxford or Cambridge. Our guesstimate is that the average successful applicant has around eight 8/9 grade GCSEs under their belt.

It is hard for everyone, but with respect to foreign students specifically: In theory, Oxford assesses all students the same - so whether you are from overseas or from the UK, you compete on a level playing field with the UK applicants.

Oxford vs Harvard: Acceptance Rate

As of 2023, Harvard's acceptance rate is 4%. Half of the applicants accepted at Harvard have an SAT score between 1480 and 1580. On the other hand, Oxford's acceptance rate of about 17.5% is appealing.

Both Oxford and Cambridge are highly competitive, and unfortunately, you can only apply to one per year. Based on acceptance rates and numbers, however, it is easier to get into Cambridge than Oxford. Both Harvard and Oxford are esteemed, top-ranked universities where students strive to get their degrees.

However, it's worth noting that UK-domiciled applicants are substantially more likely to receive an offer from Oxford than students from outside the UK. In 2022, there were 2,706 US applicants and 164 of these were admitted.

All Souls College

All Souls is the most elusive Oxford College and it takes no undergraduate students. In order to get in, graduate and postgraduate students apply for examination fellowships through “the hardest exam in the world”.

The standards of Ivy League universities are met by a large number of extremely selective universities across the globe. Nobody disputes Oxford's standing as a university of the same calibre as Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, despite the fact that it is not an Ivy League institution.

Is Oxford better than MIT? ›

Deciding between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Oxford hinges on one's academic preferences and career objectives. MIT is the go-to for those passionate about engineering, technology, and applied sciences, offering an environment ripe with innovation and practical problem-solving.

Oxford has been named the world's best university. However, there is a widespread belief that Cambridge is slightly superior in the sciences. At the same time, Oxford is slightly superior in the social sciences and humanities - but both Universities insist there is no significant difference.

Undergraduate qualifications

If your graduate course at Oxford requires a 'first-class undergraduate degree with honours' in the UK system, you will usually need a bachelor's degree from a recognised university with an an overall grade of 85% ('A') or 'Excellent', or a GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0.

The average cost of a degree from Oxford University is about 173,000 USD and graduates are expected to make about 41,000 USD per year after graduation, which means students have to work for about 4.2 years before the degree starts paying for itself.

Average everything: no. They screen applications initially based on grades. Average grades mean instant rejection, you can't just slip past by luck. If it is about Grades, to be admitted to oxford for postgraduate studies you need to have distinction in your undergraduates.

How hard is it to get into Oxford as an international student? Oxford University is very selective, with an acceptance rate of 17.5% for domestic students and 9% for international students.