For admissions requirements and the application process, please visit the College prospectus pages and application pages. 

Before you decide to study Mathematics, or any other subject, at university level, you should try to discover what it involves. Some topics in university Mathematics are a direct continuation of those you will have studied at A-level/IB/secondary school, but others introduce you to new ways of thinking. You will be concerned with the logical and precise structure of arguments, the proper definition of mathematical objects, the design of sophisticated mathematical models, and the legitimacy of computations.

If what attracts you to mathematics is the ability to solve precisely only a narrowly defined set of problems, you should question whether mathematics is right for you. A-level and school mathematics can often be quite “recipe-like”, with a somewhat regimented and recognizable style of exam questions, and which do not really introduce students to “Real Mathematics”.

If you choose to study Mathematics at University, in addition to being able to solve the straightforward questions, you should enjoy mathematics for its own sake and be curious as to how it all fits together. You should take pleasure both in investigating things yourself and in learning about it from others.

To help you decide whether university level mathematics is right for you, you may wish to take a look at the recommended reading list.

Schools and colleges can now register to be a test centre via the Oxford University central website. Please also note that the way that candidates access the questions is changing for October 2023. Candidates will see the questions on a computer screen. Candidates will write their responses in a paper answer booklet, which will be scanned by their test centre.