Frequently asked questions

Yes, UNIQ is completely and utterly free! There are absolutely no fees to either UNIQ participants or their schools or colleges, and we cover all travel, accommodation, meals, and staffing and tuition costs. We think it’s a pretty good deal! This does rely on information being sent back to us on time. In the case of travel, students that fail to adhere to our deadlines or lose their ticket may have to pay for their own, and we don't reimburse fuel costs for travel by car. We don't cover additional snacks or souvenirs you may wish to buy, nor forgotten items. If you have any worries about paying for something on your visit, please speak to us, though.

The UNIQ programme is designed to increase the confidence of those who attend in applying to top universities (with specific reference to Oxford), and to 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.

Yes! We welcome any and all applicants, whatever their gender or sexual identity or assignment. On the application form, you will be able to inform us of the name you would like us to use in our communications with you, and of your preferred pronouns. We'll always endeavour to recognise you by the names or pronouns you prefer, and you can change these at any stage of the application process or programme by getting in touch with us, or even by letting our student ambassador team know when you arrive in Oxford. If you have any concerns about accommodation or any other aspect of the programme, you can contact us to discuss these. We're very happy to hear from you, and wherever possible we will make reasonable adjustments to meet your needs and preferences.

Yes! UNIQ welcomes applications from students with disabilities or other needs and makes reasonable adjustments to facilitate access. You do not need to declare this at the point of application, but if we offer you a place you will be asked to let us know about anything that we would need to consider to accommodate your needs. This includes any access arrangements for the residential in Oxford.

If you would like more information about accessibility and resources for students, staff and visitors in Oxford more generally, please visit Oxford's disability support pages. Information about building accessibility can be found on the University's Access Guide or interactive map.

Please contact uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk if you have further questions or concerns.

To be eligible to apply for UNIQ, you must be a UK resident settled in the UK with no restrictions on the period for which you may stay in the UK, or you must otherwise expect to be eligible for home fees status at the point that you would be applying to higher education. See our page on selection criteria for more information about residency requirements. 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 programme, and can only attend during the correct year of study. As such, any applications received from students that have already been on the UNIQ programme will be automatically disqualified from the selection process.

If you do not attend a UK state school you cannot apply to UNIQ. This includes if you attend a public school, an independent school, or a private school. Only UK state schools are selectable on our application form (grammar schools are considered to be state schools and do appear on the form). See our page on selection criteria to see if UNIQ is for you.

If you do not attend a UK state school you cannot apply to UNIQ. This includes if you attend a public school, an independent school, or a private school, even if your attendance is supported by any scholarships or bursaries. Only UK state schools are selectable on our application form.

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 and Welsh 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 your first year of A Levels 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 Diploma.

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 undergraduate course, please take a look at the course page on the University website.

We take several factors into consideration when it comes to applications to UNIQ. GCSE or equivalent attainment is one part of this, but our minimum grades might be lower than you think. As long as your application meets our criteria then it's definitely worth putting in an application. We are aware that sometimes circumstances arise which mean you do not perform to the best of your ability. If this was 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 if you are not selected, it does not in any way mean that you cannot apply to an undergraduate course at Oxford, and it will not affect any subsequent applications 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.

We do accept applications from students who are home schooled or have been in the past. You will still need to meet our other eligibility and selection criteria as well as any requirements of the course(s) that you are interested in applying for.

When applying you will need to:

• Select 'home educated' in any relevant school selection drop downs
• Provide details of someone who can act as a referee for your GCSEs or equivalent qualifications. If you were previously in school but are currently home schooled, this could be a previous school teacher or exams officer.
• Use the extenuating circumstances section to let us know about your specific circumstances.

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.

We ask participants to nominate a teacher at their current place of study. We may contact some teachers during the application period, but the majority of teachers will be contacted once we have sent out offers for the programme, and the respective applicants have accepted their place.

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. If you took each Science subject as a separate GCSE, you will find each subject listed alphabetically under 'Science - Biology', 'Science - Chemistry', etc.

The schools eligible for UNIQ are all listed on the application form. We cannot take applications from overseas students or from non-state or fee-charging schools regardless of any scholarships or bursaries that might allow you to attend. Only UK state schools (including grammar schools) are selectable on our 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. If your school name begins with 'the', try it with and without 'the'. Another example would be words such as ‘Bluecoat’ which may be entered in as ‘Blue Coat’. If you believe that you should be eligible for UNIQ but still cannot find your school name after following the steps above, please contact the UNIQ team.

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 someone on the reserve list. If you have applied and are waiting for UNIQ decisions, but 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.

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@admin.ox.ac.uk as soon as you can if you have already submitted your application but have made a mistake or need to update any details in your application. Once applications have closed there is only a small window (approx 3 days) to make any further changes.

No, as long as you submit by the deadline your application will be considered equally. We recommend that you don't rush your application, so give yourself enough time and make sure that all your details are correct before submitting. You must have completed your submission before the deadline for it to be considered: we cannot accept late submissions under any circumstance.

We do not send out confirmation emails after you submit your application.
Instead of an email, once you successfully submit your application you should be taken to an “application submitted” screen.
If you are unsure whether your application went through (for example: you closed the window too soon), log in again and navigate to the final page of your application. There, you should see a confirmation message indicating it was successfully submitted.

We cannot accept applications after the deadline under any circumstances; as soon as the deadline passes, we begin processing applications. We would still love for you to engage with Oxford, however, and would encourage you to explore the many other opportunities offered by the University at ox.ac.uk/access.

During the UNIQ residential, you will live in student accommodation owned by one of the Oxford colleges. As members of the University of Oxford, all undergraduates are attached to a college. Colleges of the University provide academic and pastoral support to their students. UNIQ will hopefully give you an idea of what the college atmosphere is like.

If you are offered a place on UNIQ, a college will be assigned to you, and you will not find out which college you will be staying in until you meet us in Oxford. We do our best to ensure that you will be staying in a college that offers your subject, and there are opportunities to visit other colleges during the residential.

Your UNIQ college will be your home for the week, and is managed by a Site Manager. Site Managers are senior student ambassadors who are responsible for making sure that your college is a friendly and welcoming place for you. They will organise events such as drop-ins sessions, tours and evening activities.

UNIQ ambassadors are current undergraduates who will take you to lectures and seminars and stay with you at your college, and some of them will be able to help you with your subject. Some of the ambassadors participated on UNIQ in previous years, and we strongly encourage you to ask your ambassadors any questions you may have! All UNIQ ambassadors wear t-shirts so that you can identify them easily.

Being away from home can be a really important part of coming to University, and almost all Oxford undergraduates live in the city. As a student living independently, you learn how to balance your own budget, how to manage your time effectively, and how to juggle different demands. Living away from home is also a great opportunity to meet new people from different backgrounds, with different interests to you from all over the world. We think that getting a taste of what it’s like to live away from home is really important; therefore, the residential element of the UNIQ residential is compulsory. 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. Living in college is a really fun experience, and you may find that you make some good friends that you keep in touch with after UNIQ! Staying in college for UNIQ will be a different experience to living away from home at university, as the UNIQ team and ambassadors will be looking after everyone, but if you or your family have any specific questions or concerns, please get in touch and we will do our best to help.

Your academic timetable has been designed by Oxford lecturers and tutors to give you an idea of what university study is like. You will be taught material aimed at the level of a first-year Oxford undergraduate, but don't worry - you will have current academic and graduate teaching staff, as well as your ambassadors, available to help and support you. Each academic timetable on UNIQ is different; you might have lab work, visit a library or museum, have a tutorial, or be asked to give a presentation. The style of learning at Oxford will most likely be very different from the style of learning at your school or college, and it is somewhat different from most other universities (you can find out more about this on this page). Our best tip is to keep asking questions and to stay curious to learn more about aspects of your subject that interest you.

University is not just about studying, and UNIQ provides you with the opportunity to experience some of the wider social aspects of life at Oxford. There will be (optional) opportunities to engage in organised social activities with your college cohort, to explore Oxford and other colleges, and to relax in your college common room and ask any questions you may have to your UNIQ ambassadors and site manager.

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, you make every effort to complete it before attending. There will also not be adequate facilities available to practice music or complete training for sport. 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.

You will have your own individual, lockable bedroom. You won't have to share a bedroom with anyone else. There are some ensuite rooms, but because so many of the college buildings are historic, shared bathrooms are quite common and you may share a bathroom with a few other UNIQ participants in gender-segregated corridors. If you have an ensuite room, you may stay on a mixed-gender corridor. If you have a specific requirement or concern regarding accommodation and you receive a place on the programme, you will be able to let us know on the form you use to accept your place.

We do our best to ensure that all dietary requirements are catered for, but we cannot guarantee that halal, kosher or other religious diet food can be provided at your college 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. As soon as you receive a place on UNIQ, it's really helpful if you provide us with details regarding your requirements so that we can try as much as possible to ensure there will be something suitable for you in college; if for any reason there is not, we will make alternative arrangements with you.

We provide opportunities for students to pray throughout the day. We ask that students notify their ambassadors on arrival of 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 there are a finite number of these, so you may wish to bring your own, providing it is reasonably portable.