Magdalen College

Admission Requirements

Magdalen College is a highly selective college of the University of Oxford in England, with an intake of approximately 300 undergraduates and an equal number of graduate students each year. The College was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor. The College is named after Mary Magdalene, who is said to have visited the site of the College soon after its foundation.

The College is situated on a 50-acre site in the centre of Oxford, on the High Street, next to All Souls College and the Bodleian Library. The College grounds include a deer park, which is home to a herd of fallow deer.

The College is one of the wealthiest of the Oxford colleges, with an endowment of over £300 million. It also has one of the largest libraries of any college in Oxford, with over 200,000 volumes.

The College is a member of the elite group of colleges known as the "quadrivium", which also includes Balliol, Brasenose and Trinity.

Admission to Magdalen is extremely competitive. In 2019, the College received over 6,000 applications for approximately 300 places. The average UCAS Tariff score of successful applicants was 40.5, making Magdalen one of the most selective colleges in the UK.

To apply to Magdalen, students must submit an application through UCAS. They must also sit the College's entrance examination, which consists of a written test and an interview.

The written test comprises two papers. Paper 1 is a general paper, testing students' skills in essay writing, critical thinking and problem-solving. Paper 2 is an academic paper, testing students' knowledge in a chosen subject.

The interview is conducted by two members of the College staff, and lasts for approximately 20 minutes. During the interview, students are asked about their motivation for applying to the College, their academic interests and their extra-curricular activities.

Successful applicants are those who demonstrate academic excellence, a strong personal motivation for their studies, and a good fit with the College's ethos and community.