Scholarship for Oxford

[debbs77]

My ex husband keeps telling my son he should get a scholarship for Oxford university.

How does someone even go about applying for this?

He has 12 GCSE'S, doing 4 A levels and wants to do an integrated Masters degree after college.

My concern is that I am not wealthy and in a position to financially support our son.

My ex husband doesn't even pay his £7 a week maintenance so won't be able to help support our son financially either (despite his promises).

I fully support our son moving to university etc if he wishes to

You don't, unless you are something unusual like an organ/choral scholar or training for the clergy or something like that. You get into the college and subject of your choice and then apply for 'exhibitions' or scholarship awards of which there are a surprising amount. One of my friends got a hefty chunk of PhD funding which was only for someone studying history and from Manchester.

This isn't America though and your ex husband is either talking about something he doesn't understand or trying to mislead your son.

My son feels his dad is only pushing this as he wants to be able to say "my son is at Oxford ".

So he would need to get a place first and then try for a scholarship?

Our local Uni does the same degree. His Dad feels that the degree from Oxford would open up more doors for him

Depends on the college, the course and your circumstances.
Academic brilliance is standard for Oxford and some kids with a similar academic record don't even get admitted. The margins are wafer thin.
Most colleges have hardship funds that he could apply for but these are for living costs not fees.

OP, do you know how the student loan system works? The lower your household income, the more your child gets for maintenance. Tuition for undergraduate programs cost the same at Oxford as at other universities. The exception is tuition for Foundation years- Oxbridge do not charge for them, but your child would still have to support themselves via maintenance loans.

There are grants, bursaries and scholarships which are generally based on personal circumstances.
Look at links on university websites. You can also look at The Scholarship Hub

OP what kind of grades did he get in his GCSEs? What are his predicted grades for A levels (appreciate it is early as he is in year 12 presumably).

Yes an Oxford degree will or should open lots of doors. But it's not for everyone - most students will not get an offer (even most of those who apply) and in any case the way the degree is structured and taught doesn't suit all. characters. That's not to knock it.

He would need mostly 7 and above in GCSE with a good few 8/9 grades, and be on target for top grades at A level. What subject does he want to study?

All these aspects would be worth looking at before going much further.

What are his predicted grades?

I meant to say that my understanding is that in fact Oxford is not necessarily more expensive than other unis - as a pp says, tuition fees are the same, and I believe the living costs in college are actually lower than is typical at a lot of other unis. But you still have to achieve an offer before any of this is relevant.

He wants to do an Integrated Masters degree in Physics.

I'm a low income single parent and he would get the highest amount of maintenance loan.

Mostly 9s at GCSE, especially in the relevant subjects. Looking at high grades for A levels though yes, year 12

Two things: scholarships aren't really a thing in the UK (where they do exist they're usually for say music or choral scholars who may need to stay over Christmas for services etc) - students get maintenance loans - the amount depends on household income, so if you earn a low amount of money he should get pretty much the full loan (around £10k a year to live on).

Local uni vs Oxford. Unless your local uni is Cambridge there won't be any comparison. Oxford will be streets ahead of your local uni and if he is capable and wants to he absolutely should give it a go - is he 4 x A star material? Would he cope with the very very intense style of teaching? Most applicants won't get an offer though so be prepared for disappointment if he does apply. And perhaps managing his df's expectations. He should though aim for the best uni his likely grades will get him for his subject. Which may be your local uni, but probably isn't.

well then it sounds as tho it might be worth him having a look at it. There are lots of threads on here offering ideas and support, if he is keen. Can he speak to someone at school? Some schools have programmes to support students looking to apply to Oxford and Cambridge - as the applications need to be in by mid October. So he doesn't have loads of time (in relative terms). If he does apply, he is likely to have to undergo an interview before any offer - I know from friends' DC that this can be challenging and nerve wracking.

If he applies for one of the richer Oxford or Cambridge collages, they have better bursaries for less wealthy students - these are means tested. I had a few friends on one - it was not public knowledge, just something you apply for from/through the bursar. The relevant colleges (eg St John's Oxford) will have published policies and details

Cross post. So he'll get the full loan, and is academically able. If he wants he should give it a go. There maybe some pot of money, a bursary, if you're a very low income household - most unis offer this though. Usually a few hundred quid a year.

May I slightly caution against an integrated Masters. I can see the attraction as it comes with UG maintenance, but academically a full Masters is a stronger proposition with the opportunity to do a much more detailed project than an integrated masters allows. It's often a positive to go elsewhere for Masters and to specialise rather than end up with a generic Physics masters. It's better preparation for a PhD if that's where he ends up.

There might be more bursaries available to support widening participation rather than scholarships. Each college will differ in its capacity to offer financial support,

www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/current-students/grants-scholarships-and-prizes/

As an example

If he lives with you (a low-income single parent) and gets into Oxford, he would get a Crankstart Scholarship without having to do a specific application. They are awarded automatically based on the household income figure provided to Student Finance.

If it is not what your son really wants, it won't work out. The interview process is very rigorous and thriving at Oxbridge is all about wanting to be there.

I'm familiar with the process and work in schools so have somehow ended up running university applications including oxbridge for schools from some pretty poor communities. The kids who get in are astonishing. Just remarkable - I will never forgot one girl who moved to the UK without any English at 11 and at 19 is a medic at Cambridge. But every year I tell just as many smart kids that they don't have to do it. A great degree from a smart new university within reach of home is a stronger, better foundation for probably a majority of very bright kids, and if it's all about competition, a Rolls Royce apprenticeship or similar is where it's really at anyway.

I wouldn't particularly encourage my kids to go to Oxbridge unless their subject choice led them that way. I'd want them to find the place by themselves where they can most be themselves. Good luck to your son in wherever that is for him.

Aw, he should absolutely go for it ☺️

He needs to show that he has gone ‘over and above’. Extra / wider reading. Many universities ( including Oxbridge) offer free summer residential programmes.

This is all really useful, thank you. He is my 3rd child but first wanting to go to University so it all new.

Would his older sister's income be included in household income?

No, just your income.

OP, be aware that if you live with a partner, your partner's income will be taken into account in assessing household income for student loan purposes.

https://www.uniq.ox.ac.uk/

OP, assuming your DS attends a state school, I would strongly advise him to apply for a place on Oxford's Uniq programme which could help him decide whether Oxford is for him. Note that the application deadline is noon on 23 January.

My D1 has just graduated from Oxford, my D2 is just applying for university but not Oxford. Oxford is way cheaper! Assuming your DS will be applying for a student loan, that comes in two parts - one to cover all tuition fees which everyone can claim, the other is the maintenance loan to cover living costs. The maintenance loan is based on your income, the maximum is nearly 10k.

Oxford is a) rich and b) extremely keen on your financial situation not being a barrier to study. They have a very generous bursary scheme, details here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/oxford-support up to £5920 pa (non repayable) on top of which there is a travel grant, in D1's case she got £500 pa from this as we live over 150 miles from Oxford. This is university wide (not college dependant) and given automatically based on the info you supply to the student loans.

On top of this there are many other one off bursaries you can apply for, either from your college or from specific departments. D1 got a book grant of £100 from her department given to all 1st year History students for example. On top of this there are other hardship funds you can apply for.

Oxford terms are short and the college accommodation fees are much cheaper than anything we have seen at the universities D2 is applying for. In her final year D1 paid about £1.4k per term for her ensuite room in college. Most colleges offer accommodation for all 3 years which keeps you out of the clutches of rob dog landlords!

I’m sorry - but this is just not for the likes of you dressed up as care and support.

Incredibly depressing post.

a stronger, better foundation for what? A lifetime of refusal to step outside one’s comfort zones or attempt to communicate with a broader range of people? Fantastic …

If he lives with you (a low-income single parent) and gets into Oxford, he would get a Crankstart Scholarship without having to do a specific application. They are awarded automatically based on the household income figure provided to Student Finance

This is the only thing your DS needs to know. He would be self sufficient (albeit with a student loan to repay). No need to overthink college or anything else.