Formative Coincidences (A Donor Report Story)

"It's actually a bit silly to admit, but I really wanted to get rejected," says Izzy, currently enjoying her third year of her Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies degree at Wadham. That fleeting hope was based on wanting to accommodate a year abroad at the time, and dreading catered refectory meals.

So much about Izzy's journey to (and time at) Wadham is tied to the College's widening access programme. Having attended a sixth form state school in Essex, she applied to several summer school programmes, gaining a place on UNIQ's Asian and Middle Eastern Studies week-long course giving her a first taste of Wadham; weeks later she participated in Wadham's Classics summer school programme. She loved both experiences and these influenced her application: "I was very much one-track minded because I did enjoy Wadham when I stayed, so I was very lucky."

Wadham's student ambassadors were exceptional, she says - fun, helpful and kind - which helped to demystify Oxford. They made sure she felt able to ask any questions without feeling self-conscious: "They really helped me feel so integrated."

The application and interview advice she received from the Classics summer school "made a huge difference" says Izzy, helping her craft her application and giving her the confidence needed to do well at interview.

Wadham's Tutor for Access, Dr Hugh Munro and his team of student ambassadors played a key part in Izzy's journey to Wadham - and it is because of these experiences that she has been a student ambassador since her first year, and intends to remain so through to the end of her fourth year: "I had such a formative experience that it feels silly to not pass it on." Izzy says the ambassador feedback she's had from pupils whose shoes she was once in "just warms your heart."

This story is part of the 2024-25 Donor Report, which you can download below.