alleries, classical concerts, and ballet made no difference.[104] Veiled accusations of racism regarding the 2009 intake were dismissed on the grounds that ethnic minority applicants apply disproportionate

d funds many initiatives to attract applicants from this sector, including the UNIQ Summer Schools, Oxford Young Ambassadors, Target Schools, and the FE Access Initiative.[95] Regarding the UNIQ Summer School, of all the UNIQ students who went on to make applications in autumn 2010 to enter the university in 2011/12, 39 per cent ended up with places. The overall success rate for Oxford applicants is around 20 per cent. Most colleges also run their own access schemes and initiatives.
The Oxford Admissions Study was a research project set up to investigate access issues, in which data were collected on 2,000 students who applied to the university in 2002, including exam results from the universities they went on to attend.[100] A number of reports were published based on these data. It was found that, if anything, admissions tutors treat applicants from state schools more favourably than applicants from private schools with the same attainment.[101][102] The research also suggested that this discounting was justified as private school students need higher grades at entry to do as well as their state school educated peers in final university examinations.[103] It was found that cultural knowledge beyond the school curriculum, linked highly to reading habits, was a good indicator for whether arts subjects would gain a place. Contrastingly, participation in cultural activities such as visiting museums, art galleries, classical concerts, and ballet made no difference.[104]
Veiled accusations of racism regarding the 2009 intake were dismissed on the grounds that ethnic minority applicants apply disproportionately more to the most competitive courses, and that black candidates had lower A-level scores nationally.[105] However, further analysis of entrance figures for 2010 and 2011 by The Guardian reported what was termed an "institutional bias" in favour of white candidates; ethnic minority candidates had significantly lower success rates in individual subjects even when they had the same grades as white candidates. In medicine, for instance, ethnic minority applicants who went on to score three A* grades at A level were almost half as likely to gain admission as white applicants with similar grades.[106]
Scholarships and financial support[edit]


Rhodes House - home to the awarding body for the Rhodes Scholarships, often considered to be "the world's most prestigious scholarship".
There are many opportunities for students at Oxford to receive financial help during their studies. The Oxford Opportunity Bursaries, introduced in 2006, are university-wide means-based bursaries available to any British undergraduate. With a total possible grant of £10,235 over a 3-year degree, it is the most generous bursary scheme offered by any British university.[107] In addition, individual colleges also offer bursaries and funds to help their students. For graduate study, there are many scholarships attached to the university, available to students from all sorts of backgrounds, from Rhodes Scholarships to the relatively new Weidenfeld Scholarships.[108]
Students successful in early examinations are rewarded by their colleges with scholarships and exhibitions, normally the result of a long-standing endowment, although since the introduction of tuition fees the amounts of money available are purely nominal. Scholars, and exhibitioners in some colleges, are entitled to wear a more voluminous undergraduate gown; "commoners" (originally those who had to pay for their "commons", or food and lodging) being restricted to a short, sleeveless ga