What should I Study at Oxbridge?

Wondering which subject to study at Oxbridge? Now is the perfect time to sit back and review your options, keep an open mind and find out exactly what interests you. Here is some advice on how to choose your Oxbridge degree.

Last Updated: 12th July 2015

Author: Rob Needleman

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What should I Study at Oxbridge?

Are you wondering which subject to study at Oxbridge?

At this stage, it is perfectly fine to be unsure, or not fully sure, about which subject you want to study at university.

There are many to choose from, ranging from the different options within Natural Sciences (Cambridge) and individual sciences (Oxford), to Classics and English.

Now is the perfect time to sit back and review your options, keep an open mind and find out exactly what interests you.

Here is some advice on how to choose your Oxbridge degree.

1. Don’t Rush Your Decision

May is the time when the idea of applying to Oxbridge starts to play in the minds of many potential applicants.

The UCAS deadline of 15th October seems far away from the more imminent AS level exams in May/June. Many students who have always dreamed of becoming doctors or classicists may well know exactly which subject to apply.

However, this is not the case for all potential applicants.

Choosing your degree is a huge decision. Studying at Oxbridge requires the biggest commitment you will have made so far in terms of studying, researching and revising for exams. This is why you cannot rush this decision, but we implore you to start thinking about this decision early, so you can begin to strengthen your application.

When we say strengthen your application, we mean perfecting your Personal Statement, gaining work experience, revising early and consistently for your Admissions Tests and even starting Interview prep (wider reading, working through different scenarios and finding opportunities to demonstrate passion and commitment to the degree).

Oxbridge Open Days

The summer is full of opportunities to visit both Oxbridge Universities and gain an insight into all subjects that catch your attention. Use that time, and the freedom of the summer holidays to make your judgements on what courses offer the best options for you.

Ask lots of questions. If you have a question but are afraid that it may be somewhat silly, chances are that someone else has also had the same thought, so do ask! Open days and the regional conferences are a great place to ask current students anything that you may not necessarily want to ask a senior admissions tutor.

In our Oxbridge Open Day Guide, we cover some of the questions you could ask including:

How do the admissions tutors select which applicants to make offers to?
In your opinion, what are the best and worst things about the university and the course?
How important are admissions tests, is there a cut-off score and what score should I aim for?
Does the university hold interviews or is it solely based on my UCAS application?
Are some halls of residence better or worse than others?

Our Oxbridge application support is designed to cover the whole year and provide you with structured learning to give you the best chances of success.

We help you craft the perfect Personal Statement, achieve a highly competitive Admissions Test score and teach you how to Interview effectively – covering all areas of your Oxbridge application.

Discover our Oxbridge Premium Programmes by clicking the button below to enrol and triple your chances of success.

2. Look Through The A-level/IB Syllabus

Take some time to read through your subjects’ syllabuses and ask yourself the following questions:

Does the syllabus sound interesting?
Would you like to learn more about the subject at university?

The next step is to see how these subject areas line up with the Oxbridge degree course content. Read through the modules listed on the degree page of the Oxford or Cambridge website. Then identify the particular optional modules that you can choose to specialise in, this will give you a good gauge if it is right for you.

For example, if you would like to study a broad range of physical and biological sciences, you might decide on Natural Sciences at Cambridge. You may have a particular interest in studying genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems and would like to specialise in the Ecology module and Animal Diversity module in second year, and then the Genetics module in years 3 and 4.

3. Keep an open mind

By this point in your studies, it should be clear that individual subjects offer a great deal of variety within themselves.

Do not be thrown off or feel uneasy if you find that certain parts of a subject that you think you should like don’t appeal to you. It may also be the case that certain parts of other subjects may sound appealing, and if so, look further into it!

4. Revise

Although applying for university is an exciting time, your immediate priority should be doing yourself justice in any upcoming exams.

By thinking about applying to Oxbridge, you have already identified yourself as a capable candidate, be confident that you will do your research thoroughly after exams. Now is not the time to only dwell on the future, and to lose sight of the more immediate challenges.

We hope this helps you with your Oxbridge decision making. As we mentioned earlier, this is the biggest commitment you will have made so far so take your time to choose the degree you are really interested in and will enjoy studying.