Applying to Keble College | Keble Geography

Application Procedure

You can watch a video of Richard and Ali outlining the interview procedure
Oxford application forms are due in by the 15th October, along with your UCAS forms
On the Oxford Application form, you will be asked to specify your college preference – for which, if you want to come to Keble you would put ‘Keble’ as your top choice
For further information about the timeline and process of applying to Oxford (Keble) please see the School of Geography and the Environment application information and/or Keble College application information. Note that this year applicants will sit the TSA for the first time. This will inform shortlisting for interview.

Entry Requirements

Offers for Geography are for 3As at A-level (one A grade must be in Geography if you do Geography as an A-level)
Applicants from overseas or with other educational backgrounds are welcomed – you should see the admissions sites above for further advice

Submitted Work

You will be asked to submit two pieces of written work as a part of your application
The submitted work should be work that you have produced during your recent Geography course at school, not work prepared specially for an Oxford application
The submitted work should be of essay length, and should have been marked
Work should preferably reflect both human and physical aspects of the subject
But don’t worry if you think your work doesn’t match the stated criteria exactly – we are always flexible.

Interview Preparation

There is no need to work hard in preparation for your interviews, since the tutors are looking at your potential, not at how much you already know and have learnt
You can watch footage of a mock interview, to get an idea of how we run things; as well as footage of Ali and Richard discussing the applicant’s performance
It is useful for you to have read around the subject and you need to show an interest in, and awareness of the world around you (reading the papers regularly and watching the news would be a good start in this respect)
Think about why you want to do Geography at Oxford, what aspects of your current Geography course you find particularly interesting
You should re-read your submitted work and personal statement in case these are discussed
Above all, the most important preparation you can do just before interviews is to stay calm as panicking and not thinking before you speak are common mistakes!

The Interview Period – what happens?

Interviews take place outside term time, so you are provided with a room in college and will usually stay for two nights
You will be well looked after by the undergraduate interview helpers who are around college and always in the Junior Common Room (JCR) to direct you, answer queries, and organise evening entertainments for interviewees. You can eat in hall with the other interviewees, and will have plenty of time around your interviews to explore the city of Oxford and speak to the student helpers about life here
Coming for the interviews is far more daunting in prospect than once you are actually here, and remember that everybody else will be nervous too! Also remember that we use a number of criteria in addition to the interviews in our assessment of candidates
During the 2-3 days you will have two interviews in Keble. These interviews are separate and it isn’t until the end that all the interviewers come together to make their decisions
A geographical article will form the basis of the discussion in at least one of the interviews. You can pick the articles up 30 minutes before your interview in order to prepare. You can see an example of the article used in the mock interview. In the interview, you will be asked to summarise and extract key arguments from the article and do some data response tasks. The data analysis component is usually followed by a more general discussion. The second interview is likely to take a more open format.
Once you have had your two interviews, if you are not requested to go for an interview at another college, then you are free to go home. If you have an interview in another college, it does not necessarily mean you have not been accepted at Keble. You will be able to stay in Keble until all your interviews have finished.

Getting a place

If you are successful in being offered a place, it will be conditional on you attaining 3 As at A-level, or the equivalent. Or, if you already have your grades your place is offered unconditionally. You will be notified about two weeks after the interviews.