What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford

Welcome to the University of Oxford forum: where prospective and current students can discuss anything about Oxford.

Announcements Posted on
Please change your TSR password 23-05-2013
Enter our travel-writing competition for the chance to win a Nikon 1 J3 camera 20-05-2013
A note of caution regarding personal information 10-05-2013
IMPORTANT: You must wait until midnight (morning exams)/4.30AM (afternoon exams) to discuss Edexcel exams and until 1pm/6pm the following day for STEP and IB exams. Please read before posting, including for rules for practical and oral exams. 28-04-2013
Sign in to Reply
  1. Incarnadine91's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 579
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by Gallifreylives)
    ooh thanks for your help
    I'll double check
    don't want to disappoint in first week....
    The tutors know it's your first week, they won't be expecting anything special, so don't worry too much! Also, your first tute never goes as well as you expect. Don't worry about that either.
  2. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by Gallifreylives)
    St Hilda's
    You want an essay!? :eek:



    actually... it is a tiny bit awesome
    Oh, cool...

    Yes, I do, I miss work. :sigh: I also want a reading list, but there we go...
  3. shj's Avatar
    • Full Member
    • Posts: 124
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by KingMessi)
    Oh, cool...

    Yes, I do, I miss work. :sigh: I also want a reading list, but there we go...
    What I wish I'd been told:

    ENJOY YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAY. Don't wish you could get to university faster. It really is your last bit of freedom (especially to read whatever books you want when you're an English student). Do fun things.

    Yeah the work is awesome blah blah but you also get a lot of it!
  4. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by shj)
    What I wish I'd been told:

    ENJOY YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAY. Don't wish you could get to university faster. It really is your last bit of freedom (especially to read whatever books you want when you're an English student). Do fun things.

    Yeah the work is awesome blah blah but you also get a lot of it!
    I know, but I've been on a Gap Year, so I've become fully satiated with fun things over the last ten months...I feel listless...
  5. MrCarmady's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 448
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by flywithemma)
    :eek: I'd dispute that
    so have you made any friends during lectures then?
  6. heyquickquestion's Avatar
    • Full Member
    • Location: Bristol
    • Posts: 148
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    I want to play basketball but I'm probably not good enough to be in the university team. Any inter-college basketball competitions? Or people that play basketball regularly? (I'm a guy btw)
  7. pinkpenguin's Avatar
    • TSR Demigod
    • Location: Worcester, UK
    • Posts: 5,635
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by heyquickquestion)
    I want to play basketball but I'm probably not good enough to be in the university team. Any inter-college basketball competitions? Or people that play basketball regularly? (I'm a guy btw)
    Colleges do have Basketball cuppers. I played in it last year

    The other thing to do it to get in touch with the University team. Go down to trials (you never know, you may be good enough) and if you don't get it they'll probably have a development set up of some kind/some pick up games.
  8. nexttime's Avatar
    • TSR Idol
    • Posts: 8,182
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by KingMessi)
    Oh, cool...

    Yes, I do, I miss work. :sigh: I also want a reading list, but there we go...
    You're doing English aren't you? Just read some books! :p:
  9. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by nexttime)
    You're doing English aren't you? Just read some books! :p:
    I am indeed - and I am reading books! I just...want Oxford-English-degree-related books.
  10. MrCarmady's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 448
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by KingMessi)
    I am indeed - and I am reading books! I just...want Oxford-English-degree-related books.
    Beowulf is a mainstay, if that helps. Also modernism is taken by most if not all people in the first year, so Ulysses, Orlando, Sons and Lovers are likely to come up. I'm not an English student, but friends with a fair few
  11. The_Lonely_Goatherd's Avatar
    • TSR Deity
    • Location: London!
    • Posts: 29,755
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by KingMessi)
    I am indeed - and I am reading books! I just...want Oxford-English-degree-related books.
    The Faerie Queene. The amount of complaints I heard about it, it may serve you well to read it in advance :lol:
  12. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by MrCarmady)
    Beowulf is a mainstay, if that helps. Also modernism is taken by most if not all people in the first year, so Ulysses, Orlando, Sons and Lovers are likely to come up. I'm not an English student, but friends with a fair few
    Thank you. I already have Beowulf but haven't read it yet...
  13. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
    The Faerie Queene. The amount of complaints I heard about it, it may serve you well to read it in advance :lol:
    Cheers. I did actually read part of this prior to my interview, but never finished it...
  14. The_Lonely_Goatherd's Avatar
    • TSR Deity
    • Location: London!
    • Posts: 29,755
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by KingMessi)
    Cheers. I did actually read part of this prior to my interview, but never finished it...
    It's pretty long (from what I understand), to be fair to you :p:
  15. KingMessi's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: London
    • Posts: 13,827
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
    It's pretty long (from what I understand), to be fair to you :p:
    Hmm...it can't be longer than Christopher Booker's 'The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories', which I read twice prior to interview.
  16. AnimalSpirit's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Oxford
    • Posts: 859
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by Mystic123)
    Not doing a language course is one of my biggest regrets now I'm about to leave, but I had a horrible workload last year and some personal issues that led to me dropping a few other things so I doubt I'd have kept it going. Without those...I'm sure it would have been manageable, and I know people who've done it and really enjoyed it.

    As far as society commitments in general goes, I think it all depends on the person. I'd say I've been pretty heavily involved in 2 societies, and gone to a few things at various others. Some people manage to juggle half a dozen different extra-curricular activities, rowing and a JCR position without any fuss (although not everyone who does that does a lot of work...), and some people only do one thing or nothing concrete at all. It all depends on how quickly you work and sometimes how little sleep you can get through a day on if you want to do a lot of extra-curricular things. And for time management in general...I guess what I would say is that everything takes longer than you intend it to, and you will procrastinate more than you intend to unless you're extremely self-disciplined. Overall it's not something that's easy to judge until you try for yourself.
    Thanks a lot!
    I'm seriously considering taking Spanish through the language center and hopefully obtaining a summer internship at some Latin American company to get adventure, gain work experience and brush of my Spanish.. It will be kind of hard to pull off, though, but it would be a great way to spend the summer between 1st and 2nd year when it is difficult to get internships in the big London management consultancies/banks.
    I'm an E&M offer holder by the way.
  17. AnimalSpirit's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Oxford
    • Posts: 859
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by shj)
    What I wish I'd been told:

    ENJOY YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAY. Don't wish you could get to university faster. It really is your last bit of freedom (especially to read whatever books you want when you're an English student). Do fun things.

    Yeah the work is awesome blah blah but you also get a lot of it!
    I'm signed for 5-6 weeks mathematics, 40 hours a week, over the summer.. It's kind of a part of my offer so I can't abstain from it.. I really would have enjoyed spending my summer on something else but that's life :/
  18. crazycots's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    • Posts: 62
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by AnimalSpirit)
    I'm signed for 5-6 weeks mathematics, 40 hours a week, over the summer.. It's kind of a part of my offer so I can't abstain from it.. I really would have enjoyed spending my summer on something else but that's life :/
    Ouch

    Sorry to butt in.

    If you don't mind my being nosey what course are you going to read and how come that is 'part' of your offer?
  19. flying_ifan's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    • Location: Spain
    • Posts: 159
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by crazycots)
    Ouch

    Sorry to butt in.

    If you don't mind my being nosey what course are you going to read and how come that is 'part' of your offer?
    Ditto!

    That sounds kind of cruel... is the course at Oxford or elsewhere?

    I guess if it is at least you get to know Oxford well before the rest of us arrive
  20. AnimalSpirit's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Oxford
    • Posts: 859
    Re: What you wish you'd been told before coming to Oxford
    (Original post by crazycots)
    Ouch

    Sorry to butt in.

    If you don't mind my being nosey what course are you going to read and how come that is 'part' of your offer?

    (Original post by flying_ifan)
    Ditto!

    That sounds kind of cruel... is the course at Oxford or elsewhere?

    I guess if it is at least you get to know Oxford well before the rest of us arrive
    The course is an upgrade to my gymnasium maths.. And don't worry, it's not in Oxford.
    I didn't do mathematics at A-level and planned to upgrade it over the summer if I got in. I had achieved all of my grades except for A-level maths which I am going to do over the summer.. I'm an offer holder for E&M..
    At least I only have to pass the mathematics course and not achieve a certain grade - UCL wanted me to get 12 (A*) as a condition for my offer there.
Sign in to Reply
Share this discussion:  
Article updates
Moderators

We have a brilliant team of more than 60 volunteers looking after discussions on The Student Room, helping to make it a fun, safe and useful place to hang out.

Reputation gems:
The Reputation gems seen here indicate how well reputed the user is, red gem indicate negative reputation and green indicates a good rep.
Post rating score:
These scores show if a post has been positively or negatively rated by our members.