Admission to Course 2- 20 Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about admission to study law in Oxford as an undergraduate. Before reading them, please remember that you should always check the Undergraduate Prospectus for authoritative information on current admissions procedures.
The information set out below applies to the four-year Law with Law Studies in Europe courses. For information on other courses see:
admissions to the three year Law course
admissions to the two year Senior Status Law course
The Application Process: 20 Questions
1. If I want to do an undergraduate law degree at Oxford, who do I apply to?
All applications for places on our undergraduate law degrees must be made to a college – not to the Law Faculty. Any offers of a place are made solely by the colleges: the University – and hence the Law Faculty – automatically admits candidates awarded a place by a college. This is because Oxford is a federal University: the University awards degrees, but every undergraduate student must be a member of a college, and each college decides who to admit.
Applications for the four year courses, like those for the three year course, are made to colleges, and all offers of a place are made by colleges. However, the Faculty does have more involvement in applications for the four year courses. Due to the relatively small number of places available on the four year courses, any college’s decisions to offer a place for the four year course require approval by the Faculty. The Faculty’s decisions are made as part of the general admissions process in December of each year and so there is no delay in finding out whether an application to the four year course has been successful or not. In all cases, the college, not the Faculty, will tell you whether your application has been successful.
For further information, see:
How does the college system work?
2. How do I decide which college to apply to?
First, if you don’t want to choose a particular college to apply to, you don’t have to. You can instead make an “open application”. This means that, when your application is received, the Oxford Undergraduate Admissions Office will allocate your application to a particular college. In order to increase your chances of success, your application will be allocated to a college with a relatively low application rate for law. Your application will then be considered in exactly the same way as applications made by those who chose to apply to that college. In 2008, for example, around 15% of all undergraduate law applicants made an open application.
Second, if you would rather choose a specific college, you have a lot of choice! Around 30 colleges currently admit students for the standard three and four year undergraduate law degrees. If you have a chance to visit Oxford, colleges will be happy for you to look around; college web-sites will also have details of specific Open Days, when tutors will be on hand to answer questions. However, there is no need to worry if you can’t visit before making an application. The best way to choose is to read about the colleges in their own words, and in the words of their current students. Each college has a web-site and a prospectus. Some will also have an “Alternative Prospectus” produced by students; in addition, there is a University-wide 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 ...
3. Who makes the admissions decisions?
Any offers of a place must be made by a college. The main decision is therefore made by the law tutors at the college considering your application. At each college, the law tutors 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 making admissions decisions, each college applies exactly the same criteria to its applicants: it is not the case that different colleges look for different types of applicant.
As noted in Question 1 above, a Faculty panel must approve all offers of a place on any of the four year courses. The Faculty’s decisions are made as part of the general admissions process in December of each year and so there is no delay in finding out whether an application to the four year course has been successful or not. 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 (for more on the language tests see Question 19 below). In all cases, the college, not the Faculty, will tell you whether your application has been successful.
If you are not successful in this final competition for Law with Law Studies in Europe places your college may nevertheless decide to offer you a place on the regular three year Law course. As a result, you may be asked to indicate at interview whether or not you would be interested in a place on the three year Law course, should your application for the four year course not succeed. Your chances of being accepted for the four year course are unaffected by the answer you give.
List of Law Faculty members showing their college affiliations: most (except the holders of 'statutory chairs') are also college tutors.
4. Can I apply for more than one of the different four year courses?
If you wish to apply for a four year course, you must choose one of the courses and enter the relevant UCAS code on your UCAS form. For example, if you choose Law with French Law you must put down M191 as the course code on your UCAS form. It will then be clear that your preference is to be offered a place on that particular variant of the four year course. If you are then invited for an interview by a college, you can inform that college (either at interview or before then) that you also wish to be considered for a different version of the four year course. For example, if you inform the college that you also wish to be considered for the Law with Spanish Law course, the college can then ensure you are given an oral language test (see Question 19 below) in Spanish as well as in French. And, if the Faculty panel (see Questions 1 and 3 above) comes to consider your application, it will consider you first as a candidate for the French Law course, and then as a candidate for the Spanish Law course. Even if you are not offered a place on either of those four year courses, you may still be offered a place on the three year Law course.
5. Will my application be considered by more than one college?
All the colleges make great efforts, separately and together, to make sure that those candidates who should receive offers from Oxford do receive them.
First, your application will be considered by the college to which you apply – or, if you make an open application, by the college to which your application is allocated. That college may select you for interview, in which case it will continue to consider your application, and, at the end of the interview period, will make a decision as to whether to offer you a place. Alternatively, it may be that the college does not select you for interview (this may happen, for example, if that college has received a large number of excellent applications). Your application will then be considered by a Law Faculty committee. The committee is made up of Faculty members who are also college law tutors. This committee may then decide that your application, assessed against the general field of applications to all colleges, is worth further consideration. In that case, you will be called for interview at a different college. This pre-interview re-allocation process aims to ensure that, as far as possible, strong candidates are selected for interview, no matter which college first considered their applications.
The co-operation between colleges does not end there. If you are invited for interview at a particular college, it may also be the case that, once that college has interviewed you, you will be offered a further interview at another college. That college may then consider your application and make a decision as to whether to offer you a place. This form of re-allocation, taking place during the interview process, aims to ensure that, as far as possible, the best candidates are offered places, no matter which college first interviewed them.
Finally, each year a small number of candidates receive an Open Offer. If you receive an Open Offer, and satisfy any conditions attached to it (such as getting 3 As at A-Level), you are guaranteed a place at Oxford, but the identity of the particular college which will admit you will only be confirmed at the end of August, once all the A-Level results have been received.
6. Should I study any particular subjects before applying?
At least a C grade in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent) is normally required.
If you are applying for the four year Law with European Law course (to spend the year abroad in the Netherlands), then you do not need to have studied any languages: the courses taken by our students at Leiden are taught in English.
If you are applying for any of the other four year Law with Law Studies in Europe courses then you will need to show you have the necessary language skills. Successful candidates for the French, German, Italian or Spanish versions of the four year course will normally be expected to have (or be predicted to obtain) an A at A-level (or equivalent) in the relevant language. So, where a conditional offer of a place is made to an applicant for one of those courses, an A at A-level (or equivalent) in the relevant language will normally be one of the conditions. As opportunities to study Italian at A-level are not so widespread, the Faculty may exceptionally make offers to candidates for the Italian Law course 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.
If you are applying for the French, German, Spanish or Italian version of the course and are invited to Oxford for an interview, you should expect to be given a short oral language test as part of the interview process (see Question 19 below). Such a test is important and you must show the necessary linguistic competence. However, it is important to emphasise that the decision as to whether to offer a place on the four year course is made first and foremost by reference to your potential as a law student, not by your performance in the oral language test.
These points aside, your choice of subjects is your own. Strictly academic subjects matter most. Both arts and sciences are helpful. Studying A-Level or AS Law confers no particular advantage or disadvantage and we are happy to receive applications from those who are studying for such qualifications in law. When Oxford 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 ...
7. Can I apply for deferred entry?
Certainly: 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. However, because of the relatively small number of places available on the four year courses it is uncommon for more than one place on any of the separate four year options to be offered on a deferred basis.
8. 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.
Open days and summer schools ...
9a. What are the fees and other costs?
Further information on tuition fees and available funding
All students must pay accommodation and food costs, whether you are a UK, EU, or Overseas student, and whether you are studying for a first or later undergraduate degree. College rents and catering charges vary. There are also many options for living out of college. Oxford works out as no more expensive than other popular UK student cities. Overseas students, during a year abroad, have to pay a reduced fee to Oxford University. The fee situation concerning UK/EU students, during a year abroad, is currently under review.
Check the latest fee levels and estimated living costs (also grant and bursary info)...
Who gets the home/EU rate?
9b. Are there any bursaries and scholarships?
UK government support is not usually available to students reading for their second (or later) undergraduate degree. However, there are some scholarships open to such students, some administered by the University and others by colleges.
Visit the funding search for the latest information.
Scholarships for overseas students ...
Other financial assistance for Oxford students ...
10. How do I get the application forms?
You need to fill in the online Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) form. The UCAS form is all that is needed: there is no additional Oxford form.
No separate form is needed for applications to any of the four year courses – your UCAS form is the only thing we need. Please make sure to use the correct UCAS course code on the form – there is a different one for each of the different four year courses: the code for the course involving a year in the Netherlands is M190; for France it is M191; for Germany is M192; for Italy is M193; and for Spain is M194.
Go to the UCAS website
11. Do I need to fill in separate application forms for accommodation?
No. 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.
12. What is the timetable for applications and decisions?
Your forms have to be submitted in October (for example, October 15th 2012 is the deadline for applications to study at Oxford from October 2013 and for deferred applications to study at Oxford from October 2014). You must sit the LNAT (see Question 17 below) before 20 October 2012. Registration for the LNAT starts in August 2012.
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 ...
13. 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 the English Language during their two most recent years of study must satisfy our English Language Requirements.
Native speakers of the language of the country for which they are applying (e.g. a French native speaker applying for Law with French Law) are not required to take the oral language test (see Question 19 below), but in all other respects the assessment of their application is identical to that of non-native speakers.
14. Do you make special provision for mature students?
Yes. All colleges consider applications from mature students (those who will be aged 21 or over when starting their course). In addition, Harris Manchester College exists to serve the specific needs of mature students and admits only mature students.
15. What academic standards are set for undergraduate admissions in law?
All colleges apply the same admissions criteria. 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 or potential. We rely on the UCAS form, on performance in the National Admissions Test for Law (see Question 17 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). For applicants applying in 2012, we will not make any offers requiring an A* in A-Level.
Check the qualitative admissions criteria for undergraduate law at Oxford...
Notes on A-level and GCSE equivalents for Scottish and overseas applicants ... [NB change to AA in Advanced Highers plus B in further Advanced Higher or A in Higher]
Some international qualifications
16. What if I do not yet have any pre-existing academic qualifications, such as GCSEs or equivalents?
We do accept applications from candidates who have not yet obtained any certified academic qualifications: for example, some candidates who are due to sit IB examinations may not yet have any certified qualifications when they apply to Oxford. However, in order to give your application fair consideration, we do require some evidence of your academic achievements to date. So, if you do not have any certified examination results, it is very important to include on your UCAS form detailed information on your academic achievements. This may take the form, for example, of tests you have taken in school or college. It will also be helpful if your referee can give a detailed account of your academic achievement.
17. What is the 'National Admissions Test for Law'?
The National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) is a test used by a number of leading UK law schools to assist us in making fair comparisons between the very large number of excellent applications we receive each year. Oxford was a founder member of the Consortium which owns and supervises the LNAT and we continue to be closely involved in the development and setting of the test, which is operated by Pearson Vue, and administered in co-operation with UCAS. The LNAT tests candidates’ aptitude for the type of skills necessary on a law degree: for example, a set of multiple choice questions tests reasoning and analytical ability; you are also asked to write a short essay, which tests your written communication skills. Your essay will be seen and marked by Oxford tutors. Further information on the composition of the test, as well as a practice paper, is available on the LNAT website (link below).
All applicants for any of the Oxford undergraduate law degrees are required to sit the LNAT. It is your responsibility to register for and sit the LNAT before Oxford’s deadline of 20 October 2012. If you fail to sit the LNAT test by that deadline, your application will be incomplete. It is your responsibility as an applicant (not anyone else’s) to check the LNAT consortium website for deadlines and instructions as to how to register and sit the test. This applies to UK, EU and overseas applicants: there are LNAT test centres all over the world. 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)
18. 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 Question 17 above). Another is the interview process. Our interview process is designed to provide further insight into the academic strengths and weaknesses of our candidates.
It is important to note that we do not interview all applicants. For those being interviewed, interviews are time-consuming and demanding. In addition, we prefer to focus our interviewing efforts on candidates with a reasonable chance of success. As a result, we only interview those who have a realistic chance of being offered a place, judged by their UCAS forms (including their existing academic record)and LNAT scores. This short-listing process means that some of our applicants are turned down without being invited for interview. If a candidate is short-listed, and so invited for interview, we will make reasonable efforts to arrange an interview. In some cases, however, candidates from overseas may have to be considered without interview.
Want to know what number and proportion of applicants get in? Check here ...
Interviewing of overseas candidates ...
19. How do interviews work?
Interviews are a useful way for us to test your aptitude for the type of skills necessary on a law degree: for example, interviewers will be testing your reasoning and analytical ability. The purpose of the interview process is thus to give us extra information as to how you perform against our admissions criteria (see Question 18 above). Interviews can take different forms: for example, an interview may include legally related questions as well as more general intellectual puzzles calling for logical analysis of a type similar to legal analysis. Whilst interviews may discuss legal issues, your pre-existing knowledge of the law is not being assessed. For example, you may be given a legal extract to discuss – if so, the only legal knowledge being sought is that which can be learnt from the extract.
A useful way to see what an Oxford undergraduate law interview is like is to watch a mock interview: a video can be downloaded for free from the Oxford University iTunes store (go to http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/) or be seen at http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/?feed=law-general-video-feed#law-general-video-feed.
If you come to a particular college for interview in Oxford, you are very likely to receive two interviews at that college. In 2010, those interviews took place over Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th December. It may then be the case that, as part of our re-allocation process (see Question 5 above), you will also be interviewed by a second college: if so, that interview will take place on Friday 17th December.
If you are applying for the French, German, Spanish or Italian course and are invited to Oxford for an interview, you should expect to be given a short oral language test as part of the interview process. You need make no specific preparation for the test, which is designed to assess whether (after the additional preparatory language courses taken by our students during the first two years at Oxford) you would be able to cope with a year in a University in the country of proposed study (France, Germany, Italy or Spain). Such a test is important and you must show the necessary linguistic competence. However, it is important to emphasise that the decision as to whether to offer a place on the four year course is made first and foremost by reference to your potential as a law student, not by your performance in the oral language test.
General facts about Oxford interviews - and a few myths exposed ...20. Will you look at samples of my school or college work?
No. When you complete the LNAT test, you will write a short essay: this will be read by us when evaluating your application.
