Let's lay out the obvious one first: * Getting good grades. Although they don't have a specific requirement for GCSEs, it does put you at an advantage to have several grade 8s and 9s (4 or more), especially for maths and English. Their requirement for A-level ranges from A*AA to A*A*A Some less obvious ones are: * Exploring a subject that you are passionate about. Oxford usually looks for students who show a genuine passion for the subject they want to study (this is assessed in the interview and in the perso la statement). You could do this by, for example, attending talks and events related to the subject you want to study, doing research by reading books or academic articles, etc. Bonus: If you are applying for a science subject, I recommend doing many problems from recognised websites or books. https://isaacphysics.org/ is a great example