What's an open application?
If you don’t mind which College you attend then you don’t have to choose – you could make an open application instead.
- After the closing date (16 October), each open applicant is allocated to a College.
- The aim of the allocation is to even out the distribution of applicants for each course across the Colleges.
- applicants are allocated to Colleges which happen, in that year, to have received fewer applications per place in that subject than the average number across all Colleges
- open applications from mature students (aged 21 or older) are allocated to one of the three mature Colleges (Hughes Hall, St Edmund's or Wolfson).
- Once allocated to a College, your application is treated exactly the same as any other application.
- For equally well-qualified applicants, making an open application or indicating a preference College makes no difference to your chance of being made an offer.
You can only submit one application to the University, either selecting a preference College or an open application in your UCAS application. Applications to more than one College, or to one College and an open application are not allowed.
If you’re an applicant with unusual qualifications (eg a non-standard choice of A Levels for your subject), a mobility and/or sensory impairment, or have other considerations that require particular support, then it's advisable to apply to a specific College having sought their advice about your circumstances at an early stage, rather than make an open application.
Please note that entry requirements can differ between Colleges and you may be allocated to a College with a higher typical offer, or which will make an offer based on particular grades in certain subjects. For more information, check the entry requirements tab for the course you are applying to.
Before you submit an open application, be sure that you’ll be quite happy whatever the outcome of the allocation: we can’t change it once it’s done.
If you decide to make an open application, you should select '9' as the campus code on your UCAS application.