Inside Oxford's most exclusive college

(Originally published in The Oxford Student)

There is one Oxford college that won’t have turned up on your UCAS form and wouldn’t have been able to accommodate you during you DPhil programme. There is one admissions process that makes the undergraduate rigmarole look like a local library application. There is one Oxford college that looms over the Radcliffe Camera but is blissfully ignored by trigger-happy tourists. It is the final destination for the smartest, most determined and most promising students in the British education system: All Souls.

The college typically accepts two postgraduate students per year. Sometimes they don’t deem anyone up to their standard. Before candidates can apply they must meet stringent academic standards: Oxford or equivalent degree with first class honours. Eligible candidates are then welcome to take the college’s notoriously difficult and open-ended entrance exam. Every September around fifty students sit the four exams: two compulsory general papers and two on specialist subjects. Hopefuls can pick from law, literature, classics, and economics among others.

Amia Srinivasan, who was admitted to the college in 2011, thinks that more students should challenge themselves and take the exams. “Difficulty or ease doesn’t really come into it”, she says “there are lots of questions, many quite open-ended, and there is no risk of failing the exam. The task is to find something to say, preferably non-boring, on the spot, and get it down quickly – a task which is surprisingly enjoyable”.

If that thought feels you with dread then All Souls probably isn’t the institution for you. Liz Chatterjee, who has been at the college since 2008, also thinks more students should push themselves and take a shot at an Examination Fellowship. “Psychologically”, she says,  “the exams are much easier than Finals, because there's nothing resting on them. Some of the questions are almost fun, or at least provide a good anecdote: one of those I answered was the celebrated 'Does the moral character of an orgy change when the participants wear Nazi uniforms?'”

Kiwi Max Harris is one of two students admitted to the college earlier this month and he praised the opportunity to explore esoteric topics in the exam. “The exam was long”, Max says, “it’s twelve hours of writing but it’s very memorable too. The Law questions allowed me to explore issues that I'd thought a bit about but on which - for the most part - I hadn't done any academic writing. The General questions involved topics that I'd had conversations with other people about in pubs or flats - for example, on cooperatives, or why the gay rights movement has been successful in the West - but that, again, I hadn't investigated in any depth.”  

The exams are not the end of the ordeal and selected candidates don’t get the comfort of a cosy interview in a fellow’s office. During a viva around 55 fellows question candidates on their exam answers during a 25-minute encounter.

“The viva was a bewildering thing”, Amia says, “it was a sea of fellows in gowns. I was questioned on my philosophy papers by Derek Parfit and Myles Burnyeat, two giants of the discipline. But everyone was very nice, and the whole thing ends quite quickly, and apparently I managed not to make too much of a fool of myself”

Max agrees that the viva process is an academic honour. “It is a bit of a privilege having your ideas analysed by so many amazing people in one room”, Max says. “I was asked about contradictions across my answers, implications of my arguments, alternative ways of approaching the questions, and more.  I didn't think it had gone very well but I did enjoy the experience.”

Henry VI and the then Archbishop of Canterbury Henry Chichele founded All Souls in 1468. Although the college did at one time accept undergraduate students, Chichele’s founding charter enshrined the college’s unique position in Oxford. It was hoped that the college’s ‘clerical milita’ would serve both church and state and would train for the priesthood whilst also pursuing further study. Thanks to Chichele’s huge initial investment, Oxford’s ninth oldest college still boats one of the university’s largest endowments.

The college’s vast wealth enables them to offer hopeful applicants an inimitable package: automatic fellowship, a seat on the college’s governing board, total academic freedom, housing, and generous sponsorship. There isn’t even an obligation to remain a full-time academic during that time.

“It’s a place of remarkable freedom, particularly in the UK academic context” Amia says. “I had the leisure to do my DPhil at my own pace, taking four years to write my dissertation. Along the way I got to teach seminars, run conferences, and do some non-academic writing. The squeeze on graduate funding makes this an increasingly rare thing.”

Members also boast that the gothic college itself is a fantastic place to live and study. “All Souls only has around 75 Fellows”, Liz says, “so it's much smaller than other colleges and you very quickly get to know everyone. That means it's surprisingly friendly, non-cliquey, and sociable—there are film clubs, wine tastings, etc. Of course, there are no Bad Taste bops or crew dates—but we cope.”

The college’s idiosyncrasy is also a major draw. “In some ways it’s just as you would expect: scholarly, eccentric, dusty”, Amia says, “but in other ways it is a surprising place, with ever increasing diversity, and a real sense of community. We know how to throw a good party.”

Tempted? Liz and Amia recommend familiarising yourself with some past papers, reading widely and debating obtuse topics before having a go at supposedly the hardest exam in the world. A love of learning, a sense of fun, and intellectual curiosity are also imperative. “It’s first date rules”, Amia says. “Be yourself, have fun, and see where it goes.”

“The college takes specialist knowledge seriously”, Liz says. “Know and enjoy the subject you've chosen to sit in. Don't be afraid to be a bit more ambitious. After all, what have you got to lose?”