Christ Church - My Application Experience (Expert Oxford Application Advice)
Before I start, it's important for me to state that the following was my specific experience; of course it may well differ from individual to individual.
Originally I wasn’t planning to apply to Christ Church. First time round I had applied to Balliol and failed to get in; I returned to Oxford, after taking a gap year, to have a look at some other colleges. I settled on Christ Church, but was concerned about its reputation; having 13 Prime Ministers (the rest of Oxford has 14 amongst all colleges combined and Cambridge has 14 as a university as a whole), as a PPE applicant I thought it would be impossible to get in. This was in addition to the fact that Christ Church already had a reputation of being incredibly competitive. Nevertheless, the friend I was travelling with at the time convinced me to apply.
The application process was less fierce than I expected; some students were pooled in and vice versa.
Christ Church was clearly competitive, but it seemed not substantially more so than other colleges.
I had to stay for four days to have two interviews; checking the board to see if you had another interview at a different college was a nerve-racking experience, but most didn’t seem to. All the interviewers were very polite and understanding of the stressful situation applicants find themselves in.
The interviews themselves passed considerably quicker than I expected them to.
The buildings itself were very intimidating for someone who had not grown up in that sort of environment. However, I enjoyed the novelty of staying in what seemed to be a castle of sorts. My room was reasonable (apart from perhaps the coating of Karl Marx posters all over its walls). I had heard rumours that older students were sent to spy on you and that students were constantly monitored by tutors to see if they fit in; this myth was dispelled very quickly.
I got to know a few other applicants, who I maintained contact with after. Some other applicants were very nice; some were not so nice.
Generally the not so nice applicants, who tended to be more arrogant, did not get in.
Perhaps it was because those who held their nerve performed better during interview; those who were less humble seemed to be out of a place of fear. Do not let them get you down, as the tutors will likely see through them. Some students asked for the questions I’d been asked during my interview; often tutors repeat questions so it’s best not to indulge them in case they get an upper hand. If you’re afraid of appearing rude perhaps just say you’d prefer not to discuss or say you can’t really remember.
Overall I really enjoyed my application experience to Christ Church and would recommend others to do so, despite its reputation for competition.
It was pretty exhausting and at times nerve-racking, but there’s really no need to panic. It’s best to take it as an interesting and unusual experience, no matter the outcome. Oddly enough at the end of the process I felt I wasn’t ready to leave just yet, which was probably a good sign.
For an in-depth exploration of what it feels like to study at Christ Church please see here.
To see key reasons for applying and for not applying to Christ Church, please see here.
Let us know if you have any questions about this article.
This article was written by Kes (Oxford - PPE).
If you find this content useful, please visit Kes' profile for further information on applying to Oxbridge. Alternatively, book support now with Kes, using the form below.
Author: Kes - Oxford
BA Philosophy, Politics & Economics
In my mentoring, I like to focus on building critical thinking and communication skills, which are fundamental to both PPE. In my experience, the best way to build these skills is through understanding argument structure and then applying it to different scenarios.
