Elly Nowell, who was interviewed for a place at Magdalen College, tells university 'it did not quite meet the standard'

A teenager has sent a mocking rejection letter to the University of Oxford after an interview for a place there.

Elly Nowell, 19, who had been interviewed for a place to study jurisprudence at Magdalen College, turned down the university before it had offered her a place or rejected her.

Nowell imitated the university's style of rejection letters by writing that she realised the admissions tutors "may be disappointed by this decision, but you were in competition with many fantastic universities". She said the university "did not quite meet the standard".

Nowell, a student at Brockenhurst College, a further education college in Hampshire, said the grand, formal setting of the college "allowed public school applicants to flourish … and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the academic potential of both".

She told the BBC the interview had left her feeling like "the only atheist in a gigantic monastery".

"I have now considered your establishment as a place to read law (jurisprudence). I very much regret to inform you that I will be withdrawing my application," the letter stated. She attacked the lack of diversity at the college.

A spokeswoman from the university said the letter was "a witty way to communicate her withdrawal".

"The irony is, though, that six out of the seven people offered law places at Magdalen were state-educated."

It is not known whether the university intended to accept or reject Nowell. The teenager hopes to study at University College London.

theguardian