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Choosing an Oxford College

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Original post by tooambitious
whats brasenose like? <--- sorry for the incredibly broad question, but anything you have to say, id appreciate :smile:


I'm from Brasenose, so obviously a bit biased but I think it's a really lovely college.

Yes, people say that all the people from private schools come here but the percentage more than any other college is minimal I think. I (and loads of my friends) am state educated and even so I don't think you could easily tell between those who are and those who aren't.

From my experience our atmosphere is incredibly friendly. We're the right size so that you know everyone in your year (and since accommodation is very integrated, plenty of people from others) but there is still a wide variety of people. One of the big benefits is accommodation actually, you are housed for all years of your course either on the college site (very central) or Frewin annexe (even more central and ~5mins from the main college). This means you're perfectly situated for just about anything, and always surrounded by friends.

Hall is pretty good (plus you get decent kitchens in second year, and third if you want), the college is really pretty, we have very recently refurbished bar and JCR which are both very popular and really good events like the Brasenose Arts Week in Trinity Term which has loads of stuff going on.

I don't really know what else to say generally. Let me know if you have any specific questions (and I'll think up some downsides too, just to make the argument a bit more balanced).
Legend, thank you!
Original post by tuesday91
I'm from Brasenose, so obviously a bit biased but I think it's a really lovely college.

Yes, people say that all the people from private schools come here but the percentage more than any other college is minimal I think. I (and loads of my friends) am state educated and even so I don't think you could easily tell between those who are and those who aren't.

From my experience our atmosphere is incredibly friendly. We're the right size so that you know everyone in your year (and since accommodation is very integrated, plenty of people from others) but there is still a wide variety of people. One of the big benefits is accommodation actually, you are housed for all years of your course either on the college site (very central) or Frewin annexe (even more central and ~5mins from the main college). This means you're perfectly situated for just about anything, and always surrounded by friends.

Hall is pretty good (plus you get decent kitchens in second year, and third if you want), the college is really pretty, we have very recently refurbished bar and JCR which are both very popular and really good events like the Brasenose Arts Week in Trinity Term which has loads of stuff going on.

I don't really know what else to say generally. Let me know if you have any specific questions (and I'll think up some downsides too, just to make the argument a bit more balanced).
Reply 2382
Hi, I'm hopefully applying to Oxford to do PPE next year as well as a choral scholarship with one of the colleges. This has rather restricted my college choices to the following (I'm not applying for the choirs that do services every day):

-Merton
-The Queen's
-St. Peter's
-Worcester
-St. Johns

Could anyone tell me a little bit about any of these in particular? Thanks in advance (:
Original post by Tenbinza
Hi, I'm hopefully applying to Oxford to do PPE next year as well as a choral scholarship with one of the colleges. This has rather restricted my college choices to the following (I'm not applying for the choirs that do services every day):

-Merton
-The Queen's
-St. Peter's
-Worcester
-St. Johns

Could anyone tell me a little bit about any of these in particular? Thanks in advance (:


I'm no expert, but I believe some people end up singing in a college choir that isn't their own college? Someone else might be able to tell you more. So your choices aren't necessarily that limited.
Original post by Tenbinza
Hi, I'm hopefully applying to Oxford to do PPE next year as well as a choral scholarship with one of the colleges. This has rather restricted my college choices to the following (I'm not applying for the choirs that do services every day):

-Merton
-The Queen's
-St. Peter's
-Worcester
-St. Johns

Could anyone tell me a little bit about any of these in particular? Thanks in advance (:
Do you want to know about the choirs, or about the colleges?
Original post by tuesday91
I'm from Brasenose, so obviously a bit biased but I think it's a really lovely college.

Yes, people say that all the people from private schools come here but the percentage more than any other college is minimal I think. I (and loads of my friends) am state educated and even so I don't think you could easily tell between those who are and those who aren't.

From my experience our atmosphere is incredibly friendly. We're the right size so that you know everyone in your year (and since accommodation is very integrated, plenty of people from others) but there is still a wide variety of people. One of the big benefits is accommodation actually, you are housed for all years of your course either on the college site (very central) or Frewin annexe (even more central and ~5mins from the main college). This means you're perfectly situated for just about anything, and always surrounded by friends.

Hall is pretty good (plus you get decent kitchens in second year, and third if you want), the college is really pretty, we have very recently refurbished bar and JCR which are both very popular and really good events like the Brasenose Arts Week in Trinity Term which has loads of stuff going on.

I don't really know what else to say generally. Let me know if you have any specific questions (and I'll think up some downsides too, just to make the argument a bit more balanced).


Thanks for the helpful info :smile: How would you rate the food quality from 1-10? And at formal hall is it just the same food or do they make additional effort? Cheers- hopefully see you next year! :smile:
Reply 2386
Original post by anyone_can_fly
I'm no expert, but I believe some people end up singing in a college choir that isn't their own college? Someone else might be able to tell you more. So your choices aren't necessarily that limited.


I think for the choral scholarships you do have to go to the correct college, or at least that was the impression I gained from the information - being in the college choir is a different process from having a scholarship so you might be right in that regard?

Original post by fluteflute
Do you want to know about the choirs, or about the colleges?


Sorry, was looking for info on the colleges. Basically I went on the choral open day last year and went to Worcester, which was a really nice place, but I want to find out about the others before I apply later on this year.
Original post by Tenbinza
Sorry, was looking for info on the colleges. Basically I went on the choral open day last year and went to Worcester, which was a really nice place, but I want to find out about the others before I apply later on this year.
That's okay :smile: I think you'll probably find that all of the colleges are nice places! Is there anything in particular that's important to you? "Tell me about colleges X, Y, Z" is very open ended!
Original post by Tenbinza
I think for the choral scholarships you do have to go to the correct college, or at least that was the impression I gained from the information - being in the college choir is a different process from having a scholarship so you might be right in that regard?


That's probably correct. There are definitely non-mertonians in the merton choir, but giving scholarships out to people who then apply to another college doesn't make too much sense, so maybe they are non-scholarship members.

Yeah as fluteflute says, work out what is important to you, such as accommodation, location, grounds etc, take a look at the websites, prospectus and alernative prospectus, which are all better presented general sources than random people on TSR, and then after that feel free to ask more specific questions on here.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by marc_h94
Thanks for the helpful info :smile: How would you rate the food quality from 1-10? And at formal hall is it just the same food or do they make additional effort? Cheers- hopefully see you next year! :smile:


Cool to see a future BNC member!
Food quality is pretty good, I'd say maybe a 7? We're probably not the best but I always enjoy it when I go (I don't as much this year because I enjoy cooking for myself, but plenty of people still go for all meals).
And formal hall is very different to regular, it's a 3 course served meal with a totally different menu. Regular hall is canteen style but has more of a selection of things. I love formal, the food is usually lovely. The HCR website probably shows the menu better than the JCR one http://hcr.bnc.ox.ac.uk/index.php/hallmenu if you want to have a look at the next couple of weeks, it's pretty typical.
Original post by tuesday91
Cool to see a future BNC member!
Food quality is pretty good, I'd say maybe a 7? We're probably not the best but I always enjoy it when I go (I don't as much this year because I enjoy cooking for myself, but plenty of people still go for all meals).
And formal hall is very different to regular, it's a 3 course served meal with a totally different menu. Regular hall is canteen style but has more of a selection of things. I love formal, the food is usually lovely. The HCR website probably shows the menu better than the JCR one http://hcr.bnc.ox.ac.uk/index.php/hallmenu if you want to have a look at the next couple of weeks, it's pretty typical.


Woah, merely looking at that menu is making me salivate. Amazing! As you're cooking for yourself I'm assuming you're at the Frewin annexe? Is it as fun as living in college or a bit secluded? Thanks, looking forward to seeing you there if I get my grades! :smile:
Original post by marc_h94
Woah, merely looking at that menu is making me salivate. Amazing! As you're cooking for yourself I'm assuming you're at the Frewin annexe? Is it as fun as living in college or a bit secluded? Thanks, looking forward to seeing you there if I get my grades! :smile:


Yup I'm living in Frewin, the way it basically works is 1st years are in college, 2nd years are in Frewin and then 3rd years it depends where you are on the room ballot but it is about half in college and half here. It doesn't feel secluded here at all because about half the students live here (it's a pretty big place, there are two 'quads' (I say quads, it's not like quads in colleges but gives an idea of how the place is shaped). It's especially good in summer because you're always allowed on the grass.

I guess the only thing not so great about here is that we are a whole 5 minutes away from the bar/JCR/library which some people don't like, but it's really not far to get to the main college site for that stuff. Plus there are some possible plans to change one of the function rooms here into a secondary JCR.
I am a student in the states studying abroad at Oxford next year. I have been accepted into St Catz and I am waiting on Wadham. I hope to study writing/lit and psychology. If anyone has information on whether one is better than the other etc. (for academics or social life) I'd greatly appreciate it!

I am currently leaning towards St Catz based on what I've heard so far. (Modern buildings don't scare me :smile: )
Original post by slcstudent
I am a student in the states studying abroad at Oxford next year. I have been accepted into St Catz and I am waiting on Wadham. I hope to study writing/lit and psychology. If anyone has information on whether one is better than the other etc. (for academics or social life) I'd greatly appreciate it!

I am currently leaning towards St Catz based on what I've heard so far. (Modern buildings don't scare me :smile: )


There won't be any significant differences in such broad categories as 'academics or social life'. Just decide based on factors that are important to you.
Original post by slcstudent
I am a student in the states studying abroad at Oxford next year. I have been accepted into St Catz and I am waiting on Wadham. I hope to study writing/lit and psychology. If anyone has information on whether one is better than the other etc. (for academics or social life) I'd greatly appreciate it!

I am currently leaning towards St Catz based on what I've heard so far. (Modern buildings don't scare me :smile: )


Hi there! I'm from Catz and I can tell you, you've made a good choice there. :smile:

Comparing it to Wadham... That's a little difficult, depending on the criteria. The academic side of things is going to be the same pretty much everywhere, because you're taught largely by the university department, rather than in college - everyone gets the same lectures, labs etc. You can also go anywhere in the university for tutorials according to the subject matter, they'll pick the tutor that specialises in whatever it is you're doing. So that's not really relevant. As to social life, to be entirely fair you'll enjoy your time at both colleges, there's enough variety of people to do whatever it is you like doing - there's no college where everyone stays in their room, for example! So to be honest, they're similar enough that it wouldn't really matter which you chose in the long run. So...

The only thing I can really do is tell you about my own experience and what know of Catz, so you can see whether you'd like to spend your time here. This year we elected a visiting student rep for the JCR (college student council) to make sure you guys feel comfortable and are integrated into the college community, as far as I know it's been very successful. The college puts on some special stuff just for you, like a huge Thanksgiving dinner, and all the visiting students I've talked to have really enjoyed their time here. For the general stuff, accomodation is decent and has such modern conveniences as double glazing and an en-suite bathroom (which most of the visiting students get) as well as decent kitchen facilities on each staircase. If you don't feel like cooking hall food is generally good, £3.50 for a 3-course meal is nothing to be sniffed at and the food is all good quality. We put on Entz (costume parties) regularly and they're always a blast, we have one of the biggest and well-stocked common rooms in Oxford and we take full advantage of it. Overall we are one of the biggest colleges in terms of numbers, actually, so there's always stuff going on and you're sure to find someone you like to hang around with. :biggrin: The atmosphere is lovely and if you're not put off by the buildings, theere's no reason you won't love it.

Do you have any more specific questions about Catz? I'll be happy to help. :smile:
Original post by Incarnadine91
Hi there! I'm from Catz and I can tell you, you've made a good choice there. :smile:

Comparing it to Wadham... That's a little difficult, depending on the criteria. The academic side of things is going to be the same pretty much everywhere, because you're taught largely by the university department, rather than in college - everyone gets the same lectures, labs etc. You can also go anywhere in the university for tutorials according to the subject matter, they'll pick the tutor that specialises in whatever it is you're doing. So that's not really relevant. As to social life, to be entirely fair you'll enjoy your time at both colleges, there's enough variety of people to do whatever it is you like doing - there's no college where everyone stays in their room, for example! So to be honest, they're similar enough that it wouldn't really matter which you chose in the long run. So...

The only thing I can really do is tell you about my own experience and what know of Catz, so you can see whether you'd like to spend your time here. This year we elected a visiting student rep for the JCR (college student council) to make sure you guys feel comfortable and are integrated into the college community, as far as I know it's been very successful. The college puts on some special stuff just for you, like a huge Thanksgiving dinner, and all the visiting students I've talked to have really enjoyed their time here. For the general stuff, accomodation is decent and has such modern conveniences as double glazing and an en-suite bathroom (which most of the visiting students get) as well as decent kitchen facilities on each staircase. If you don't feel like cooking hall food is generally good, £3.50 for a 3-course meal is nothing to be sniffed at and the food is all good quality. We put on Entz (costume parties) regularly and they're always a blast, we have one of the biggest and well-stocked common rooms in Oxford and we take full advantage of it. Overall we are one of the biggest colleges in terms of numbers, actually, so there's always stuff going on and you're sure to find someone you like to hang around with. :biggrin: The atmosphere is lovely and if you're not put off by the buildings, theere's no reason you won't love it.

Do you have any more specific questions about Catz? I'll be happy to help. :smile:


Thank you so much for this! Honestly, your academic information was extremely helpful. I was under the impression that one must study within their college as opposed to the university as a whole, so that's wonderful!

Is the student body at St Catz generally personable/friendly? Tight knit? Hard working? I know it's one of the largest colleges (still small but still) does that effect the dynamic at all? I like a good time, but I suppose I'm not into huge partying (like greek life equivalent). I've heard people talk about "clubs" at Oxford, what does that mean exactly? Clubs here in NYC can be really intense, but its not a college scene at all.

I am studying writing/psych, but I am actually concentrating on directing for theatre and film in the long run. While I'm not studying this next year per say, I am hoping to get involved in student productions/clubs etc. I hear there is some kind of affiliation with the School of Drama? Are there good artistic projects going on?

Any other fun facts would be great. I also wonder how American students are received abroad. (Should I just pretend I'm Canadian?) I'm just kidding. :tongue:

Thanks again! I love your school, and I'm looking forward to next year!
Original post by slcstudent
Thank you so much for this! Honestly, your academic information was extremely helpful. I was under the impression that one must study within their college as opposed to the university as a whole, so that's wonderful!

Is the student body at St Catz generally personable/friendly? Tight knit? Hard working? I know it's one of the largest colleges (still small but still) does that effect the dynamic at all? I like a good time, but I suppose I'm not into huge partying (like greek life equivalent). I've heard people talk about "clubs" at Oxford, what does that mean exactly? Clubs here in NYC can be really intense, but its not a college scene at all.

I am studying writing/psych, but I am actually concentrating on directing for theatre and film in the long run. While I'm not studying this next year per say, I am hoping to get involved in student productions/clubs etc. I hear there is some kind of affiliation with the School of Drama? Are there good artistic projects going on?

Any other fun facts would be great. I also wonder how American students are received abroad. (Should I just pretend I'm Canadian?) I'm just kidding. :tongue:

Thanks again! I love your school, and I'm looking forward to next year!


No problem, glad to help! :biggrin:

It's not as tight-knit as some of the smaller colleges as our student body numbers in the 500+ as opposed to the 200 of somewhere like Lincoln, so naturally you're never going to know everyone. That said it is extremely friendly and I've never felt more welcome :smile: The large number of people means it's fairly busy, there's always something going on and Entz' are a blast. If you're not one for partying though (I'm not particularly) you can still find other people who aren't and of course there's always work to be done!!! We don't have a 'reputation' for being hard-working particularly but lots of people are. Again, big student body = lots of variation! People will understand and you'll fit in perfectly whatever your style.

As for the club scene, I can't really say because I'm not that involved, there are plenty in Oxford with lots of student nights but of course it's never going to be as 'intense' as if you were in a big city. The workload means that going out every night is not a good idea, but plenty of people still manage to have fun. I'd ask other people about that more, as I say I'm not really into clubbing and it's more a general rather than college thing :colondollar:

Yeah, there's a great drama scene at Catz and in the University as a whole, we're forever getting bombarded with advertisements for plays in the city someone's written/directed/in :wink: On top of that several plays have been put on within the college itself, particularly during our yearly 'Catz Hearts Arts' intiative. And you're right, we host the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor for Drama, which is generally a famous actor who gets picked on a yearly basis and comes and gives talks to us. It's currently Meera Syal (not sure if you'll have heard of her), she gave a workshop on improvisational comedy just the other week - and previous holders have included Trevor Nunn and Patrick Stewart, who turned up at a dinner last term, much to our excitement!!! So in general, Catz is quite an artsy college but there's always other things going on in the University that you can get involved with beyond us.

American students are received fine, don't worry :wink: When Stefan, a guy who'd arrived with us in our fresher year, left at the end, we planned on giving him a symbolic viking funeral down the river in a punt but never really got round to it :tongue:

Hopefully see you then!
Original post by Athena
An excellent start would be to call in a university - school is for ages 5-18 :wink:


Haha, I didn't want to mention that :tongue:
Original post by Athena
An excellent start would be to call in a university - school is for ages 5-18 :wink:


Good point. I'm going to have such a problem with that. Plus I go to "Sarah Lawrence College" Which is a university, but I guess that's the term used for high school? So confusing!! But thank you, I didn't even notice that! :tongue:
Original post by Incarnadine91
No problem, glad to help! :biggrin:

It's not as tight-knit as some of the smaller colleges as our student body numbers in the 500+ as opposed to the 200 of somewhere like Lincoln, so naturally you're never going to know everyone. That said it is extremely friendly and I've never felt more welcome :smile: The large number of people means it's fairly busy, there's always something going on and Entz' are a blast. If you're not one for partying though (I'm not particularly) you can still find other people who aren't and of course there's always work to be done!!! We don't have a 'reputation' for being hard-working particularly but lots of people are. Again, big student body = lots of variation! People will understand and you'll fit in perfectly whatever your style.

As for the club scene, I can't really say because I'm not that involved, there are plenty in Oxford with lots of student nights but of course it's never going to be as 'intense' as if you were in a big city. The workload means that going out every night is not a good idea, but plenty of people still manage to have fun. I'd ask other people about that more, as I say I'm not really into clubbing and it's more a general rather than college thing :colondollar:

Yeah, there's a great drama scene at Catz and in the University as a whole, we're forever getting bombarded with advertisements for plays in the city someone's written/directed/in :wink: On top of that several plays have been put on within the college itself, particularly during our yearly 'Catz Hearts Arts' intiative. And you're right, we host the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor for Drama, which is generally a famous actor who gets picked on a yearly basis and comes and gives talks to us. It's currently Meera Syal (not sure if you'll have heard of her), she gave a workshop on improvisational comedy just the other week - and previous holders have included Trevor Nunn and Patrick Stewart, who turned up at a dinner last term, much to our excitement!!! So in general, Catz is quite an artsy college but there's always other things going on in the University that you can get involved with beyond us.

American students are received fine, don't worry :wink: When Stefan, a guy who'd arrived with us in our fresher year, left at the end, we planned on giving him a symbolic viking funeral down the river in a punt but never really got round to it :tongue:

Hopefully see you then!


Thank you so much. I know my questions are pretty random, it's just that I've done a lot of research and now I'm just worrying about the little things. :wink:

St Catz sounds like the perfect place for what I'm hoping to do, and I am so looking forward to next year! I think the size of the school--(I did it again! NO!) EDIT: I think the size of the university is actually to my advantage, and I think I'll fit right in. I'm looking for a place with a lot of variation in its student body, so the size of St Catz sounds perfect. (it's still small to me, I'm at a university with 1500) But you do have the entire university of Oxford to consider as well...

Loving the artistic opportunities, loving the visiting professor, loving the viking funeral!

Thanks! Hopefully I'll see you next year!

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