Hi! I’m Miranda and I am a first-year Classics student at Corpus.
Coming from a non-selective state school in Bristol, applying to Classics at Oxford did not occur to me as a possibility until Year 12 when I was lucky enough to take Classical Civilisation as an A-Level. Going to an open day and a few access events gave me a better idea of what to expect and hearing from current students gave me the push to apply.
I originally applied to another college but got pooled to Corpus at the interview stage and am very glad that I did! Corpus is a lovely and supportive community and definitely lives up to its reputation of being “small and friendly”. About 70 students are admitted per year, which gives you the chance to get to know everyone. We have a College Parent system, where freshers get assigned ‘parents’ in the years above who can help you out with anything you need. The college itself is also very pretty and is just a short walk from the centre while also being right next door to Christ Church Meadows, giving you the best of both worlds.
The advantage of doing Classics at Corpus is that, whilst we have a small number of undergraduates, we have more Classics students than most colleges, which means you have a great support system, not to mention the lovely tutors that we have. As I didn’t study any classical languages in school, I am on the Classics Course IIA course which means that I have been picking up Latin from scratch with daily elementary classes for my first two terms at the Classics Faculty. It has been a challenging experience so far but it is definitely manageable and well worth the effort.
There are lots of societies and clubs to get involved in, both at college level and University level, which can be a great way to make new friends. In terms of welfare, Corpus has a large team of people who are always ready to help, from welfare ambassadors (students) to specific welfare tutors (staff). There is also a weekly Welfare Tea and the 5th week of term is Welfare Week, where there are lots of welfare-boosting events.
My biggest piece of advice would be that if you’re nervous about applying, just go for it! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me. :)
Resources
Resources categorised by subject and by Key Stage, as well as materials for applying to Oxford and finding out more about Corpus, can be found here.