Another Step Up student now studying at New College!

The new academic year brought with it another student who participated in our outreach initiative - Step Up. 

Maria Copley has joined us as a first year studying Music. She attended Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Hove - one of our Step Up partner schools - and actually won our Equality and Diversity Essay Competition back in 2020. 

She was kind enough to talk to us about her experience of the Step-Up programme, her essay prize win, and how she has found starting here as a student. 

Welcome to New College! How have you found things so far? 

There's so much going on. The people are really lovely and really kind, and there's always someone to help as well, which is really great. I'm also a disabled student and they've been as helpful as they could be, trying and make me feel comfortable and ensuring I have everything I need. There's such a homely atmosphere created by the staff, making people feel as safe, comfortable and accepted as possible.

As a music student, I've found it a bit difficult to find the perfect work-life balance because things that other people do as a hobby - like joining an orchestra, rehearsing or playing an instrument - that's my job. That's my life. And so I might not be writing essays and going to lectures all hours of the day, but in the time in between I am practising, or going to rehearsals. In Freshers' Week, I did five auditions in the space of two days! 

But I have also found some time to have fun - for example, on Sunday we did karaoke and had pottery brunch. That was really great because you need that kind of space to do something not at all work-related, with people around you.

I am also going to be a Step Up Ambassador because I believe in it so much. I obviously found it helpful, and I'd love to help other people in the same way. 

You mentioned Step Up. So was that your first contact with New College? 

Yes. It was great! We got so much help from Step Up and also opportunities that I would never have had otherwise - like being able to travel up to the university and have more specific tours. I remember when we had a day trip up here in Year 11, we got to see a number of different colleges so we could see how they differ.

It was really helpful having the team talk to us about personal statements and things like super-curricular activities. While applications for other universities might centre on your extra-curricular activities, super-curricular things are really important for Oxford. They help give you more of an insight into what it would be like studying that subject outside of school and whether that is actually something you want to do - and help demonstrate your interest in it if you do decide to pursue an application. 

So what do you find most useful about the programme? Is there a particular highlight? 

The Outreach team and students were trying to debunk some 'Oxford' myths. I think that it is really true that some people are intimidated to apply because of their background, whether that's ethnicity, social background and even gender; that people can feel discouraged because they have an (often incorrect) idea of what Oxford might be, when in actual fact, I have never met so diverse a group of people from so many different backgrounds and walks of life. The one thing that all of us have in common is that we love our subjects and then that's the best thing to bond over. And so that was really helpful to have people who had first-hand experience and because they were students, they were talking to us in a way that felt familiar and that we could maybe trust what they were saying. It didn't feel like they were trying to advertise anything - they were just being honest. 

And you won our Equality and Diversity Essay Competition back in 2020. 

Yes! It got forwarded to me by my college. I saw it and the list of ten questions. The topic was - and is - really important to me so it was something I was happy to put extra time into. And then also I found a particular question that immediately I had a very visceral reaction to and I was like, 'Okay, I can work off that energy.'

It's very difficult to write passionately and put that much work into something that you're apathetic about. But I found a question that really appealed to me.

I had so much fun writing it, finding all the sources and also writing academically about something that I don't study because I feel like that was a really good way of getting into the idea of how to research, how to cite sources, how to write formally in a way that sixth form doesn't really teach you, but in a way that felt like a safe environment.

And it worked out pretty well! I remember making exactly 2000 words because I was terrified that they would disqualify me if I was one over or under the word limit!

It was it was a really good experience. I really enjoyed doing it and I was very, very pleasantly surprised when I got the result and it was like, 'Oh, well, maybe how I do know how to write!'

And you mentioned that that was a key driver in you actually applying to New College in the end. What were you looking for in terms of a college?

I wanted something fairly big, or at least definitely not the smallest possible college, because I wanted to have that sense of community. Also as a musician, the bigger the group of people, the bigger the pool of people to collaborate with or play with and it makes the orchestras function better. I was also looking for a friendly college as well, which this seemed to be.

I'm so glad to be here because I actually feel like there are so many things about it which suit me very well. The disability support has been great and the community is really lovely. The Clore Music Studios - the New College music practice facilities - are literally 5 minutes away, which is very, very helpful because my disability means that carrying things for a long time is very difficult and very painful and not great when you're trying to practise immediately after that.

Everyone's been so lovely and the buildings and grounds are beautiful. The history is also inspiring, to just think of all the people that have done this before me.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to people thinking about applying?

Be brave. You might be the first person from your family to apply. You might be the only person in your friendship group. You might not see yourself as being suited here. I promise you will find your people. Everyone does, especially at larger colleges. But I'm sure it's the same at small colleges too.

Also, if you're passionate about your subject, that's what matters. I was terrified for my interviews, and then I ended up pre-empting one of the questions and answering it as part of my answer to a previous question, and I could see the tutors trying not to laugh. And that was like, 'Oh, this is actually nice!' So yeah, be brave, have faith in yourself, read books, watch video essays, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts and talk to people who are just as passionate as you are.

If you can't find them in your environment, find a forum, find a YouTube community. There are so many places now where you can talk to people and connect with them, and I wish anyone who wants to apply the best of luck.