Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 169

NoonecansayOxfordisn’toneofthemostcitiesintheworld.

Butonestudenthasbroughtthebeautifulstreetsandarchitecturetoadigital

generation.HarrisonJonesmeetsThatOxfordGirl

SHE’S THAT GIRL

A

nOxfordinternetsensation
hashithalfamillionviews
onherblog–completinga
remarkablejourneyfrom
pre-teenOxfordUniversity
wannabetoadmissions
processguru.TillyRose, 26 ,sethersights
ongoingtoOxfordagedjust 10 andnow
findsherselfattheheartofaworldwide
brandhelpingothersreachtheinstitution.
MissRose’s“ThatOxfordGirl”bloghas
nowamassedmorethan 507 , 000 hitssinceit
beganinSeptember 2016.
Sincethen,theJesusCollegealumna
haspublishedabookofthesamename,
andaccruedmorethan 31 , 000 Instagram
followers–averaging 150 , 000 impressions
aweek.Thefirstofherfamilytogoto
university,theEnglishLiteratureand
Languagegraduateovercameaseriesof
serioushealthproblemstocompleteher
studies,butisnowfocusingonherbrand–
whichalsoboasts 70 studentambassadors,
someofwhomwereacceptedtoOxfordafter
readingtheblog.
MissRoseexplained:“Aged 10 ,Icameon
alittledayouttoOxfordwithmyparentsand
westumbledacrossasignonBroadStreet,
outsideBalliolCollege,thatsaid‘thepubliccan
lookaround’.(Aftergoingin)Iturnedaround
toMumandDadandsaid‘I’mgoinghere’.
“Iwastotallyinaweoftheplace,butno
oneinmyfamilyhadeverbeentouniversity,
IwasatastateschoolandIwastoldnotto
botherapplyingtouniversitybecauseIwas
tooilltogo.”

STYLE FASHION

thatoxfordgirl.com

NowaLondon-basedaccessactivist,she

isinOxfordeveryweekandfocusingonthe

brandfulltime.Itssuccesscomesagainsta

backdropofheavycriticismforOxford,which

hasbeenwidelydenouncedfornotadmitting

enoughstudentsfromdiversebackgrounds.

Sheadded:“WhenIstarted,I’dbeen

completelyshockedbythedisparityin

helpthatyoungpeoplereceived(in)the

applicationprocess.”Thoughgettingaplace

was“anabsolutedreamcometrue”,that

disparitydrovehertostartthenon-profit

blog.Thefreepowerfulaccessresource’s

popularitywas“unexpected”–butnowher

dreamistomakethebrand“completelyself

sustaining”,whilekeepingafuntoneand

studentperspective.

MissRosehasrecentlybeengivenaplace

onthepre-acceleratorwomen’sprogramme

withOxfordFoundry,aimingtosupport

andempowerentrepreneurs.Herbook

coversherentireOxfordjourney–fromthe

applicationprocesstojoiningsocieties.It’s

afunandaccessibleguidetohelpanyone

who’sthinkingofapplyingfortheprestigious

university.

MissRose’sblogcoverseverythingfrom

opendaystodailystudentlife.Shealsohas

reviewsofcityrestaurantsandbars.