Can American Students go to Oxford University? Tips for American Applicants (2024)

FAQs

Is it easier for Americans to get into Oxford? ›

Many Oxford courses require an admission test and/or some written work. If you're deemed a good candidate, you will be called for an interview. The success rate for American students is slightly lower than that of home students, at about 8.2%.

US students applying to Oxford University must meet the same academic requirements as UK students. This includes submitting strong academic transcripts, standardised test scores (such as SAT or ACT), and a well-written personal statement showcasing their passion for the chosen subject.

The University of Oxford acceptance rate is highly competitive. As of the most recent data, the Oxford University acceptance rate for undergraduate programs is around 17.5%. This means that out of every 100 applicants, only 17 or 18 are accepted; due to this acceptance rate, Oxford puts the applications through.

Is it rare for an American to attend Oxford as an undergraduate? Yeah, pretty rare. There are normally about 150–175 or so American* undergraduates admitted each year.

The University of Oxford in the U.K. estimates it will cost overseas students nearly $65,000 to attend the school in 2020-2021, if you factor in tuition and expenses.

As of 2023, Harvard's acceptance rate is 4%. Half of the applicants accepted at Harvard have an SAT score between 1480 and 1580. On the other hand, Oxford's acceptance rate of about 17.5% is appealing. However, the Oxford acceptance rate and Harvard acceptance rate for international students happens to be 9%.

To apply to Oxford, students would need to have completed, or be studying for, at least 120 points at stage 1 or above, in appropriate subjects. We would expect students to be performing at the highest level, with at least pass grade 2.

Undergraduate qualifications

If your graduate course at Oxford requires a 'first-class undergraduate degree with honours' in the UK system, you will usually need a bachelor's degree from a recognised university with an an overall grade of 85% ('A') or 'Excellent', or a GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0.

Oxford prefers applicants to have as many A*s and 9s as possible, and many applicants have a lot of 7, 8 and 9 grades. So you should ensure that your historic grades don't let you down, especially in subjects relevant to your course. Also, don't stretch yourself too thin if you're struggling to get great grades.

Economics & Management is one of the most competitive courses at Oxford due to its very small cohort size of under 100 students. This is unusual for a major course like this, but it goes to show that your application is going to have to really stand out to be a part of the those 5% of successful applicants.

Do Oxford care about extracurriculars? ›

Tutors make the admissions decisions based on your academic abilities and potential alone: extra-curricular activities do not form part of the selection criteria in any subject. We aren't looking for any specific computing knowledge, but we are looking for people with a genuine interest in the subject.

Does Oxford offer any scholarships for international undergraduate students? Unfortunately, scholarships for overseas students following undergraduate courses are very limited. Students are usually expected to find an appropriate source of funding in their own country.

On average, around 17% of applicants are admitted. However, there are issues with this number. First, students can only apply to one program at Oxford or Cambridge for undergrad.

Oxford has one of the lowest drop-out rates in the UK: figures published for 2019/20 academic year of entry by the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that only 0.9% of Oxford students dropped out, compared with a UK average of 5.3%.

“Oxford boasts one of the lowest drop-out rates in the UK, with only 0.9 percent of students choosing to leave.” However, once students arrive and experience Oxford themselves, it is often not what they expected.

How hard is it to get into Oxford as an international student? Oxford University is very selective, with an acceptance rate of 17.5% for domestic students and 9% for international students.

For the 2022-23 admissions, the University of Oxford received a total of 7,463 applications from overseas candidates. Out of these, 676 applicants received admissions offers and 551 got admitted in the university. Thus, the Oxford University acceptance rate for international students has been recorded to be 16.8%.

It is a myth that some colleges are easier to get into than others. Application numbers change from year to year, and the difference is filled up with people who have made an open application.

In the UK system, you'll need a first-class undergraduate degree with honors to get into Oxford as a graduate student. But if you're a US student, what are the Oxford GPA requirements? The minimum University of Oxford GPA is around 3.7 out of 4.0. So, a 3.0 or lower GPA for Oxford won't cut it.