FAQ

Applying

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You are able to select the 'Science' options multiple times and add the grades accordingly. This is ideal if you completed a GCSE like Additional Science.
The schools eligible for UNIQ are all listed on the application form. Make sure to try variations on your school name, especially if your school has converted to an academy in the recent years. For example, if your school is prefixed with ‘St’, try ‘Saint’ and ‘St.’ as well. Another example would be words such as ‘Bluecoat’ which may be entered in as ‘Blue Coat’. If you continue to be unable to find your school name, please contact the UNIQ Team.
We are committed to ensuring that the best applicants for our residentials are able to attend, regardless of medical, accessibility or disability requirements. We make every effort to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made, and are used to planning for students with specific medical, dietary and accessibility requirements. We encourage all UNIQ students to fully disclose their access requirements so that we are able to do all we can to ensure they have the best week possible with us. Please contact uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk if you have further questions or concerns.
If you are still waiting for UNIQ decisions and have been offered another activity that conflicts with UNIQ then we would advise that you commit to the activity you have been offered. Participation in UNIQ is application based and we cannot guarantee that you will be successful in that application. Once you have applied and the places have been allocated, we are unable to change the subject you are taking, therefore we would advise you to ensure that when you apply, you apply for a subject in a week you can make. Obviously, if you are then unable to make the week you should let us know so that we can open the place up to one of the reserve candidates.
We require a 100% completed application that has been successfully submitted to us from the UNIQ application system. Applications started (of any %) but not submitted to us will NOT be considered under any circumstances.
Please email uniq@ox.ac.uk as soon as you can if you have made a mistake on your application or need to update any of the following: change of home address, email address or teacher details. Once applications have closed there is only a small window (approx 3 days) to make any further changes. If you would like to alter any other details on your application form, please email us.

About UNIQ

We will pay for travel, food, accommodation and any necessary materials whilst you are here. However, this all relies on information being sent back to us according to our deadlines. In the case of travel, students that fail to adhere to our deadlines or lose their ticket will have to pay for their own. Any optional extras, or forgotten items that the student deems necessary during their time on UNIQ will not be covered by the schools.
The UNIQ programme is designed to raise the aspirations of those who attend, increase their confidence in applying to top universities (with specific reference to Oxford), and break down myths and barriers which prevent high performing students from certain backgrounds and schools from making an application. We hope that all students who participate in the UNIQ programme feel more informed about the University and its application process. Students who take part and decide to apply to Oxford University do not receive any preferential treatment at the application stage.
UNIQ is very intensive so you will have little time to complete other work whilst in Oxford. We suggest that if you have a school project which is due directly after or during your residential week, you make every effort to complete it before attending. We also ask that you think carefully about your attendance if you have a music (or similar) exam soon after, as you will have no opportunities to practice during your time in Oxford, and there will not be adequate facilities available to practice. We ask that schools are aware of the intensive nature of the UNIQ residential programmes and that teachers bear this in mind when setting homework over the duration of the residential.
We think that getting a taste of what it’s like to live away from home is really important, therefore, the residential element of UNIQ is compulsory. When you go to University, you have to learn how to balance your own budget, how to manage your time effectively, and how to juggle conflicting demands. Living away from home is also a great opportunity to meet new people from different backgrounds, with different interests to you and from all over the world. Even those who live in Oxford or a reasonable distance for a daily commute will be expected to live on site for the duration of the residential.
Where courses run on more than one week (for example Maths and Law) you will be automatically allocated a week by the UNIQ team. If you are unable to attend this specific week you can ask to be placed in the reserve queue for the other dates. You must be available for the entire duration of UNIQ, so please make sure that you apply for a subject during a week that you can attend. Please also note that we are unable to consider individual requests outside of the standard application form.
UNIQ colleges are assigned randomly. We do our best to ensure that you will be staying in a college that offers your subject, and there are plenty of opportunities to visit other colleges across the UNIQ week.
We ask participants to nominate a teacher at their current place of study. We may contact teachers, asking for a reference once we have sent out offers for the programme, and the respective applicants have accepted their place.
Students who usually attend a church service on Sunday will not have time to do so when they arrive in Oxford. If students would like to attend church on Sunday, they will need to make arrangements to do this before they set off on their journey to Oxford.
Many of the UNIQ residential weeks run within the period of Ramadan. For students observing Ramadan we provide breakfast packs for the early morning, 9pm evening meals on behalf of the Islamic Society and a lunch voucher that allows students to purchase food to eat later. Please note that if the health of a student begins to deteriorate during their fast we will either demand they break their fast or return home.
There is no guarantee that Halal produce is provided at colleges during your stay on UNIQ as each college operates its own catering services. The college will always inform you of the food available for meals and the restrictions on them. All colleges provide a vegetarian option for meals.
In the unlikely event that a student may require a blood transfusion or other serious medical operation and that the student/parents would not wish for this to occur, we ask that you inform UNIQ on accepting your place and we will send you a waiver to complete and return to us. Please note that under UK law the wishes of the patient and/or parent(s) may be overruled by nursing and medical staff under set conditions.
We provide opportunities for students to perform this religious duty throughout the day. We ask that students notify their ambassadors on arrival on how strict they are with timings as this will determine where you will be able to perform the prayer. We are able to provide prayer mats for students to borrow, but they may wish to bring their own providing it is reasonably portable.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for UNIQ, you must be a UK resident settled in the UK at the time of your application, with no restrictions on the period for which you may stay in the UK. You must have been living in the UK since 10th October 2018 and have not moved to the UK solely for the purpose of study. If you are selected, we will contact your school or college and ask them to verify the information on your application.
Students are only permitted to attend one UNIQ residential. Any applications received from students that have already attended a UNIQ residential will be automatically disqualified from the selection process.
Students who attend non-state are not eligible to apply to UNIQ irrespective of the conditions that allow them to attend their current school. This includes any access to bursaries or scholarships that a student may be granted.
The UNIQ programme is for students in their first year of sixth form study, usually the penultimate year of school and the year before making a UCAS application to universities. In English schools this year is referred to as Year 12, but across the UK school systems this year is referred to in different ways. If you are at a school in England or Wales, you need to be in Year 12, currently working towards your AS Levels or equivalent for the first time, to be eligible to apply for UNIQ. This year is sometimes referred to as ‘Lower Sixth’, or you may be in your first year at a Sixth Form College. Applicants studying in Northern Ireland should be in Year 13. Applicants in Scottish schools will be in S5 or Fifth Year. Students taking the International Baccalaureate should be in their first year of study for the IB.
Unfortunately, only students currently studying at UK state schools are eligible to apply. There are a number of summer schools and English language courses run by private companies and schools in Oxford. An online directory of opportunities is available at www.summer-schools.info - Please note that these are not endorsed by the University of Oxford and are completely independent of the University.

Academic

The subject requirements for UNIQ are designed to match the requirements for Undergraduate courses at the University. If you are not studying the required subject(s) for a course, you will not be able to apply for it. If you are unsure if your subjects will match your chosen course, please take a look at the course page on the University website.
The GCSE (or equivalent) results students get are the only point of attainment UNIQ has to base an application on, which is why we ask for them when you make an application. However, we are aware that sometimes, circumstances arise which mean you do not perform to the best of your ability. If this is the case, you should fill in the extenuating circumstances section of the application form. This doesn't guarantee you a place on UNIQ, but when we look at the applications we will take this into account. As with every application to UNIQ, there are a lot of factors involved in selecting participants for the courses and just because you don't get a place doesn't mean that it will affect your application to the University.
The total number of A-level (or similar) qualifications allowed from applicants is just one. Students with more than one completed A-level are deemed to have progressed sufficiently through further education to not be eligible for UNIQ. This rule also applies to students resitting aspects of their course and students that decide to retake their A-levels in different subjects after already completing more than one.

Teachers

We welcome enquiries from schools and teachers, and are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Please email uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk with any queries.
Schools can support students in their applications and will be asked to confirm details submitted by an applicant if they are offered a place but it is the students' responsibility to submit an application.
From 2019 no UNIQ activity will be eligible as our longest residential does not pass the full five day threshold.