Feedback 2012 - Keble College

2012 Admissions Round Feedback
Law
Please note this is subject admissions feedback from the 2012 selection round -
there will be changes for each subject for this year's round, and these pages are
only retained to provide a general indication of process. Feedback for the current
round will be published by mid-January.
This year we received 52 applications for Law or Law with Law Studies in Europe. These applications were for 8
standard degree places. An innovation which was introduced several years ago is the reallocation of a certain
number of candidates between the colleges in the University before the interview stage. This is done to avoid the
problem of over-subscription at any particular college(s). It may be, therefore, that we considered a candidate’s
application either because he or she had applied to Keble, or had made an open application, or because he or
she had chosen another college but was reallocated to Keble. This had no influence on our final decision. After
eliminating some candidates at the pre-interview stage, this left a ratio of approximately 3.5 candidates for each
place at each of the colleges, including Keble.
The decisions about which candidates to interview were based on the following: (1) the UCAS form: grades to
date, predicted grades (where applicable), personal statement and the helpful references; and (2) the LNAT (a
written test taken by most candidates before the interview stage which comprised both essay and multiple choice
components).
Our final assessment of candidates interviewed was based on all of the following: (1) the UCAS form; (2) the
LNAT; and (3) the interview(s): two twenty-minute interviews. Both interviews largely consisted of legal scenarios
designed to test for the criteria involved in selection (details of which are published on the web
athttp://www.law.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/criteria.php).
Almost all candidates had mostly A* at GCSE and were predicted a run of A or A* grades at A level (or had, or
were predicted, the equivalent in other examinations). For final selection, therefore, it was the written LNAT test
as well as performance in interview which discriminated the most between candidates. As for the interviews, the
legal scenarios presented assumed no knowledge of law whatsoever, the problems were specifically chosen for
the unusual nature of the scenario and candidates who had studied law were specifically told not to speculate on
what the law might be.
The focus of admissions to study law at Keble is on academic merit. Extra-curricular activities play little to no part
in the decision making process. We are looking for exceptionally bright and motivated students who will thrive in

the intellectually charged atmosphere of law at Keble. Keble’s law teaching team involves one full-time tutorial
Fellow: Professor Edwin Peel (who researches and teaches Contract, Torts, International Trade, and, on
graduate courses, the Conflict of Laws and Commercial Remedies) and several college Lecturers: Asif Hameed
(who teaches EU, Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence); Tatian Cutts (Trusts), and Hannah Glover (Roman
Law). Keble Law also has a Fellow by Special Election, Professor Jonathan Zittrain, who is one of the world’s
leaders on cyber-law and Professor Viktor Mayer Schoenberger, Professor of Internet Law and Regulation.
Amongst this large group of law tutors, Keble also regularly hosts distinguished visitors who speak and engage
with the students, including judges, barristers and solicitors and those whose experiences with the law will
educate and stimulate.