Sam Receives Personal Invitation to Oxford University Session

A first year Sixth Form College student has just returned from Oxford University, after receiving a personal invitation to attend a taster day in his chosen field of study at Britain’s oldest and most prestigious academic institution.

Sam Pelan originally applied for a place on a summer school at the home of academic prowess, and although his application wasn’t successful, the university contacted him directly to invite him to a taster day in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) as they were so impressed with his personal statement in his application. Sam also had brunch with the dons (tutors) of the PPE department and fellow potential students.

Sam said: “Speaking with the tutors was an experience that I’ve not had before. I was essentially sitting around chatting with a group of geniuses!”

Sam, who studies Economics, Politics, History and Statistics at The Sixth Form College, continued: “It was incredible to be surrounded by the brightest minds in the field. The other potential students were very much involved in the conversations too and were all extremely intelligent.”

Sam comes from what many would consider a path less-trodden, in that he was home schooled until joining the college last year, but he didn’t feel like there was any barrier between him and the other students, many of whom came from more privileged backgrounds.

He said: “I think that the university is doing well in actively trying to encourage those from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply, which is a good thing. Some that attended the taster session were from private and selective education but that’s no reason for anyone else to feel out of place. Only 17% of applications are successful to study there. In the end, it’s about hard work to get a place at Oxford, so everyone going there will have earned the right.”

Indeed, of the 18,000 applications that the oldest university in the English-speaking world received last year, only just over 3,000 were admitted through the hallowed gates, so competition is even stiffer than for other extremely respected Russell Group institutions.

Hoping for straight As in his AS Level results in August, Sam retains high hopes of earning his spot at Oxford, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics is his dream subject: “Oxford seemed to have a character all of its own. I was walking down the street and overheard two tutors talking about economics, and people in a café having a complex discussion about politics. The university atmosphere obviously seeps through into the rest of the city, and it’s very much something I’d like to be a part of.”