Information for Undergraduate Offer Holders 2025

Starting a course at Oxford can be daunting, but there are many resources out there to help you succeed! Here are some useful guides from across the University that you might want to check out:

• Study skills and training: Here you can find advice on academic good practice including avoiding plagiarism, managing your time, reading, note taking, referencing and revision.
• Student life: It’s not all about academics at Oxford; here you can find out about the range of other opportunities available to you as a student, as well as tips on how to navigate student life with your workload. If you prefer podcasts, much of this information is available in that form here!
• Managing your budget: Student finances can be daunting at first glance. You can find can find more information on managing your money at university here, as well as information on fees and funding.

You might also find it useful to watch the video below about accommodation and catering at St John’s.

As an Oxford student, you have many great opportunities ahead, but studying here can also be very challenging. To help you prepare for this, the University has put together some resources that will help you manage your transition to University life. This includes material to help develop your study skills before you start at Oxford, no matter your subject.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/new/supporting-your-transition-oxford

The College provides dedicated Academic Skills support. You will meet our team during Welcome Week. Here is what they can offer – do make sure to come along to these sessions to get your studies off to a good start:

https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/current-students/academic-office/st-johns-study-skills-programme/

After A-level results day, incoming undergraduates who have met the conditions of their offer will receive a link to a password-protected page containing information from their subject tutors. This page will include pre-arrival reading and other useful guidance.

If you’ve met the conditions of your offer, please make sure to read this page carefully so that you arrive well prepared and ready to make a good start to your studies.

St John’s provides financial support to all incoming students for the purchase of academic materials. Details of our undergraduate academic grant can be found here; you can if you wish claim from this grant (once you have met the terms of your offer and enrolled as a student) for eligible materials purchased in advance of your arrival, for example books.

Some students may be eligible for additional financial support. If you qualify for this support, the College will be in touch with you directly.

On receiving an offer there is a lot to take in. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions.

I don’t understand my offer
This is a fairly common problem especially if your offer involves more than one type of qualification, for example a mixture of A Levels and Pre-U subjects. We are always happy to answer any questions about individual offers, so please get in touch via email (admissions1555@sjc.ox.ac.uk).

What do I do about sending in certificates?
Please don’t send any originals through the post as they could get lost. If your offer asks you to provide evidence of certification, then please send in verified scans by email. You can get your scans verified by someone at your school. The best way to do this is for them to send an email confirming that your scans are true copies of the original documents, or that they are consistent with the school’s own records.

I don’t understand the English language requirements on my offer
If your offer asks you to provide evidence of English language proficiency please check here.

Can I drop a subject that is not essential to my offer?
If you would like to drop a subject that is not essential to your offer, the College will not give direct advice about this. We strongly recommend that you discuss this further with your teacher/school, as they will be able to advise you. However, our offers are for 3 A-levels (or equivalent) and a fourth is not required to meet the conditions of your offer. It is your decision how you fulfil the requirements of your offer but you meet these conditions in order to secure your place.

Something has gone wrong, e.g.  illness, problems at school, problems at home
If you encounter any problems that could affect your performance in examinations, or lead to your having special requirements when you arrive, please make sure you tell your teachers and your exam board, then get in touch with us. If you are having medical problems we would really appreciate a note from your GP or specialist. Please do not wait until after your results to tell us about a problem that you feel might have affected your performance in exams.

What happens about exam results? What if there is a problem?
A Levels
This year for those studying for A-Levels and Scottish Highers the result assessments will be published in mid-August. If there are any issues arising from your assessed grades, please get in touch with us immediately on 01865 277328 so we can discuss your case.

We appreciate that exam boards for qualifications other than A-Levels are operating different systems during the current circumstances and may have results/assessments earlier than mid-August. Please let us know as soon as you have your results, don’t rely on them filtering through from your exam board. This is especially important for those taking non-UK examinations. If you have not met your offer, please let us know as soon as you can, but do be aware that we are unable to make any final decision on your case until after A-Level results have been processed.

Please note that the College cannot enter into communications on this during the UCAS Embargo period

What about finance?
You should start to investigate your financial situation as soon as possible, to avoid delays and uncertainty. Finance can be a complex business so we would recommend that you approach the experts should you need any help.  The University’s Fees and funding pages can help with any queries and advice about Bursaries.

Confused about Fee Status?
UK? EU? Islands? or Overseas?  The University’s Student Funding link team can help with this too. If you have any doubts about your status, we can arrange for them to send you a simple questionnaire that will sort this out. Let us know if you need this.

What happens if I need a Student Visa?
If you need to apply for a Student Visa, the University’s Student Immigration team will be in touch with details of how the process works. In March we will be in touch with a financial guarantee form, which you will need to return to the College by the end of June. To help with the application process I would urge that you do the following:

• Make sure that your passport is not about to run out around the time you will be making your application.
  
• Start gathering your supporting financial information, such as bank statements or scholarship confirmations in good time.
  
• Keep any original documents such as examination certificates safe and easily accessible in case you are asked to produce them at your visa interview.

What about....?

We are aware that international and domestic events and political situations can change rapidly and sometimes unexpectedly. The university website (www.oxford.ac.uk ) will always keep everyone up to date should any major/unexpected events have an impact on the University, applicants, offer holders or current students.

Accommodation is allocated by the Accommodation Office to those who have already applied by returning the application form by the deadline of 30 June. They will contact those offer holders later in the summer with more information about rooms and will follow up as needed with a room licence for signature and return. See below on disability information. You can find information about our accommodation here.

Academic Office. The Academic Office will be in touch with you with information about welcome week and arrival in Oxford, and will also write to request information from you. Keep an eye open for emails!

Admissions. Our Admissions team can answer any questions relating to offers, visas, UCAS issues, reading lists and preparatory materials. Please note that if you wish to bring to our attention anything has happened that may affect your performance in your final school exams, so we can ensure we have all of the relevant information before making final decisions, your school should let us know at the earliest convenience and no later than 31 July 2025.

Bursary. The Bursary can answer any financial questions you may have.

Elaine Eastgate. Elaine is the Senior Academic Officer at St John’s and the College’s Disability Co-Ordinator. Anyone who has entered a disability code on their UCAS form will be contacted by Elaine to discuss any arrangements that need to be made. If you have not entered a disability code but feel you might need alternative arrangements, please contact Elaine.