Geography for all

Eleanor, University of Oxford

I found the Oxford application process daunting. I didn’t know anyone who had applied for Oxford, and although my geography teacher was really supportive – suggesting Oxbridge over the summer holidays – she struggled to help. I submitted an open application for Geography at Oxford because the college system mystified me and, amongst trying to revise for A Levels, I lacked the time to research them. My other UCAS choices included Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds and, quite frankly, I had always pictured myself ending up at a northern uni (preferably with a tall, handsome, indie boyfriend). However, I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of Mansfield, which houses mostly state-educated students like myself. Before you reach for your tiny violins, I want to make clear that I am in no way ‘deprived’. My parents, both teachers, provided me with a comfortable and loving white middle class upbringing and my rural school and sixth form were among the best in the county. Despite everything being in my favour, including great predicted grades, I was laughed at when mentioning that I was considering Oxford. Considering I didn’t exactly see myself as ‘the brightest and the best’ as it was – something I think a lot of women suffer with – this was a major knock to my confidence. However, I didn’t quite realise how much geography had already crept into my daily life. During the lockdown in 2020, I borrowed books and read everything around human rights – an A Level topic. I watched documentaries, listened to podcasts on my state-mandated 1 hour walk and developed a keen desire to change the status of women across the world. This has held me in good stead at Oxford, even though people I meet during my assorted retail jobs over the holidays think I’m lying. Despite this, I am yet to lose the fiery determination (my dad might call it something else) that brought me here today.

Habiba, University of Oxford

I did not do A Level Geography at the start of Year 12. I first got into my Sixth Form doing Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. That’s right, I was going to apply for Engineering at uni (defo not related to Asian stereotypes). Soon after I realised I had made a huge mistake - I didn’t actually like Engineering. I dropped Further Maths for Geography (something I knew I already liked at GCSE level) and quickly realised I wanted to do it at uni. I researched what Geography at degree level actually entailed- subjects can be quite different at uni compared to A-Levels after all. I also did some reading based on the topics I had found and liked, such as The Geography of War and Peace by Colin Flint. As I was doing these things my confidence in applying for Geography grew and I knew I had to do it even if people around me thought it wasn’t a ‘hardcore’ subject. The application process was quite intense, especially because I applied to Oxford (I had wanted to get in for years). A super important thing for me was choosing which Oxford college to apply to. I spent a while looking up statistics comparing colleges on ethnic diversity and the proportion of state school students. I ranked them using these criteria and ended up picking Mansfield, a college that is quite ethnically diverse and has an overwhelming majority of state school-educated students (over 90%). However, even after picking it I did not think I would fit in at all as an Asian Muslim woman from a working-class background. I believed others would think that I was the student that was there for the diversity statistics rather than for my academic ability. This thought frustrated me a lot but I was determined to get in, so I tried to brush off the feeling. The hard work paid off and ever since I began studying here I haven’t felt that vibe at all! It’s not as intimidating an environment as I thought it would be and most people are very friendly. Now that I am here, I think of how much happier I am right now than I would be if I had decided to pursue Engineering at degree level.

Emily, University of Oxford

As a working-class northerner who went to underfunded state schools in South Yorkshire, I was categorically sure Oxford was not for me. In sixth form, I got put in a small group of “gifted and talented” students who would potentially have the grades to get into Oxbridge – I thought what a joke, I’ve always tried hard but someone like me could never get in! So what did I do? I applied for Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). Yet, to my surprise, I got an in-person interview and fell in love with the city. I could imagine myself there, and it no longer felt like some ridiculous dream that I shouldn’t bother trying for. I realised, there was life outside this academic cityscape and the snobbery and elitism were in short supply. Now, that’s not to say they aren’t there, but there are also normal, down to earth people, who steal traffic cones like any other uni student. When I got my rejection letter, while not shocked, I was disappointed with the outcome and wanted another go at it. This time however, I went in having learnt that it wasn’t silly to think I was capable enough. Oxford isn’t full of Einsteins, just passionate and hard-working people. So, I took a gap year to get some work experience and travel and started thinking about the things I care about.

I had a chance to step back from all I had experienced and realised I was not a PPE-ist. I cared about politics and economics but fundamentally I cared about how these affected different people and places around the world. I care about the world around me, how it physically works, what humans are doing to it, what animals are doing in it, and I also love a good map. I realised this was Geography and it was all around me. For example, I volunteered on a women’s community project in Tanzania. I saw how little they were educated on period hygiene and contraception – things we take for granted. I realised I was passionate about gender inequalities and how this affected women all around the world. But how would this get me into Oxford. Many people didn’t go to university in my area, let alone Oxford. So, I turned to Google and learnt everything I could. I watched random Ted Talks, listened to podcasts, read the National Geographic and tried to make links to the world around me. Laiqa Walli held a Ted Talk entitled “Developing Africa, Not Westernising it”, which made me think about how we try to impose Western ideas of development on the Global South, ignoring their own agency. Talks like this is why I became inspired, impassioned and enraged by the world. I’d like to say I’m still these things. Oxford has certainly challenged and nurtured me, it’s certainly not perfect (like any uni), but I do fit in here, pink hair an’ all.