Mentorship and Oxford admission Guideline

The University of Oxford Africa Society, the Africa Oxford Initiative,

The Ganglion Initiative and ’So You Got a scholarship’

University of Oxford
An admission application

December 2021
1 | Overview

This document provides an overview of the requirements for admission into the
University of Oxford and other top-class universities worldwide and guides you
through the process. It outlines the different focal areas for university admissions,
with valuable links to vast resources. Through this document, you should be well-
equipped with the skills and knowledge to pass your standardised test, write your
CVs, reference letters and Statement of Purpose, perform well at interviews and
gain access to funding.

Click on the hyper links under each topic to access the designed resources, in-
cluding videos and documents. You are urged to study the write-ups, understand
the patterns carefully, and reproduce them in writing your references, CVs, SOPs
and responding to your interviewers.

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2 | General Information

This section contains general admission information, including frequently asked

questions and their answers from seasoned experts.

• 2019 admission Q&A

• 2020 admissions Q&A

• Scholarships

• Blog about AfOx 2020 admissions Q&A

• Frequently asked questions

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3 | Personal Statements

This section provides details on how to write your personal statements and offers
samples for ideal personal statements to help you understand the structure of these
documents.

• Personal statement : The basics

• Personal statement sample 1

• Personal statement sample 2

• Personal statement sample 3

• Personal statement sample 4

• Personal statement sample 5

• Personal statement sample 6

• Personal statement sample 7

• Personal statement sample 8

• Personal statement sample 9

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4 | CVs

This section gives an understanding of CV writing, including the structure and

model samples.

• CV and Resume

• CV vs Resume

• Career Portfolio

• Biodata

• Awards and honours

• Leadership experience

• Academic background and qualifications

• Presentation and publications

• Volunteering and work experience

• Skills

• Identifying your skills

• Skill Inventory questionnaire

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5 | Letters of Recommendation

The letters of recommendation are vital to your application process. Therefore,

this section gives a better grasp of your expectations in your letters to create a
convincing case for your admission.

• Letter of Recommendation (LOR)

• Anatomy of LOR

• What you should do before approaching someone for LOR

• How to slide into your potential mentor/refereeâs DM podcast

• How to get a letter of recommendation

• LOR student self assessment form

Letter of Recommendation Samples

• Letter of recommendation sample 1

• Letter of recommendation sample 2

• Letter of recommendation sample 3

• Letter of recommendation sample 4

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6 | Standardised tests

Standardised tests are explained in this part of the document to delineate the es-
sential requirements and how to achieve them.

• Test of English Proficiency

• TOEFL

• IELTS

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7 | Interview

This section provides helpful tips for you to ace your interviews.

• Highlight

• Before the interview

• What to wear for your interview (males)

• What to wear for your interview (females)

• What to bring along for an interview

• Interview question sample 1

• Interview question sample 2

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8 | Researching and accessing funding

Helpful guides about funding are provided in this section.

• Student Fees and Funding Scholarship tool-graduate

• Student Fees and Funding Scholarship tool-undergraduate

8.1 Further Scholarship tips

These podcasts contain information relevant to applying for other scholarships

8.1.1 Rhodes Scholarship Podcasts

• Podcast 1

• Podcast 2

• Podcast 3

• Podcast 4

• Podcast 5

8.1.2 Black Heart Scholarship (Podcasts)

• Podcast 1

• Podcast 2

• Podcast 3

• Podcast 4