At Brasenose, we pride ourselves on having a diverse community of students, where we welcome the best and brightest from all backgrounds, across the UK and the world. We are very happy to see much the same in our 2023-24 admissions cycle.
For the fourth year in a row, over 75% of our UK offer holders are from state schools. This year, UK offer holders hail from Cornwall, Portsmouth, Bristol, Swansea, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, London, Durham, and the Yorkshire Dales – as well as some crossing seas to come to us from the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland!
Looking internationally, we have offer holders from the USA, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, China, Singapore, and Australia.
Freya, a Second year PPE student, is our current JCR Access and Admissions Rep. She commented: “There are definitely a lot of myths surrounding Oxford and what it’s like to study here, as well as the type of person who Oxford is meant for and I definitely didn’t think I fit the description, coming from a state school in the North of England (and not considering myself to be a genius by any means!). I almost let concerns about not fitting in and finding few friends, and about the workload at Oxford, my own abilities to tackle it, as well as fears that I’d be missing out on that classic “uni experience” because of the library, prevent me from firstly applying, and then finally, accepting an offer to study at Brasenose.
However, I am so incredibly glad I didn’t let my misconceptions stop me from taking this incredible opportunity where I have met friends (hopefully for life!) as a part of Brasenose’s incredible student community and where I have the chance to deeply explore a subject I love (while still definitely having the time to experience all things “uni” and everything else Oxford has to offer!)
Now that I call Brasenose home, I truly believe that our label as ‘Oxford’s friendliest College’ is deserved; our JCR reps for Diversity & Equality as well as Women*s and Welfare organise events to connect those with common interests and make sure every student is supported. In fact, one of my favourite aspects of BNC’s community is its diversity and the opportunity to meet so many friends you may never have otherwise encountered!
The Offer holder Day that I attended in March before beginning my studies in October transformed my view of what Oxford would be like – the chatty and smiling student helpers answered my bombardment of questions and the other offer holders hailed from all across the UK (and the world!) from so many different backgrounds and walks of life; I made friends immediately.
This year, as Access Rep, I was very lucky to have the chance to meet our 2024 offer holders during this year’s event & I’m so excited to welcome them into our little family here at Brasenose – it was wonderful to see everyone getting involved in activities, getting to know one another & forming friendships that will continue to grow in October!”
Despite having a history that traces all the way back to the 1200s, Brasenose is an incredibly progressive and modern college. Brasenose was among the first of the Oxford colleges to become mixed gender (we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of admitting women this year), and the student council (the JCR) has a representative (or representatives) for Women*, welfare, charities, and Diversities & Equality. Everyone is welcome at Brasenose, regardless of gender, religion, identity, or background.
Each year, we run events to celebrate the diverse range of brilliant individuals that make up the college. Examples include LGBTQ+ events, Ethnic Minority Dinners, a Chinese New Year dinner, a Burns Night dinner and Ceilidh and Holi. Of course, there are lots of events put on by the students just for fun as well, such as music festivals, film nights, pub quizzes, Halloween parties, garden parties, music recitals a massive selection of sports, and one of the university’s biggest arts weeks.
We understand that some students think that choosing Oxford will be more expensive than other universities and they worry that they cannot afford it, or that they would not fit in. This is certainly not the case. Tuition fees at Oxford are no more expensive than most other UK universities, and although the southeast of England does have higher than average living costs, there are comprehensive bursary schemes to support those from low-income backgrounds. Typically, these are much more generous than those available at other Russell Group universities. For 2024 entry, UK students with a household income below £50,000/year will be entitled to some form of bursary (see here for more information).
You can also learn more about our students by reading their blogs (Diana, Hattie, Alex, Lucy, Jui), our “Humans Of Brasenose” page on Facebook and Instagram, and our Brasenosejcr page on Instagram (especially the student take-overs). Brasenose has a reputation as one of the friendliest colleges in Oxford, and that is something we are very proud of; everyone is welcome at Brasenose.
Of course, the best way to get a feel for the college and our wonderful staff and students is to visit us on one of the university open days. All colleges and departments will be open for you to visit and there’ll be talks, sample lectures, “meet the tutors” session and much more. We look forward to welcoming you!
So, if you are thinking of applying to Oxford, why not put down Brasenose as your college preference? We are always looking for the very best students, and we would love you to be one of them. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
A detailed breakdown of our admissions statistics for this year can be found here:
https://www3.bnc.ox.ac.uk/downloads/admissions/Web_Admissions_Report_2023_round.pdf