Oxford is one of the world's best universities as well as the most difficult to enter into, especially for the less-privileged students. Recently, however, it has done something to welcome poor but deserving students into its hallowed halls using an ingenious method.
Oxford has always been criticized of being prejudiced when it comes to accepting students. That kind of viewpoint might change soon as Oxford welcomes a diverse range of students in the new round of interviews coming this month.
This month, 59 percent of students come from state schools. The figure might still be low compared to the 93 percent who goes to state schools every year. However, this is significant enough when compared to the 67 percent of those who got "A" scores in all three A-level exams given by Oxford. This score is considered the minimum requirement to get admitted to the university.
However, The Economist stated that there are still areas of the country where not any of their students get into Oxford. There 156 constituencies where 12 percent of the students get the minimum score to enter Oxford yet only one percent is able to get to the university because of the rigorous application process set by the university.
Most less-privileged students apply to the most sought after courses like medicine and law. These courses have a very rigorous application process which includes a series of exams and interviews. Most of these poor students are less likely to get the top A scores that will admit them.
In an article in the Telegraph, Oxford addressed the issue by establishing a free year-long course that will prepare these students and help them catch up before they go through the application process. The program was modeled after Trinity College Dublin which discovered that students who come from tough backgrounds did well than their peers after allowing them to catch up for a year.
