[AnimalSpirit]

(Original post by nexttime)
Its only once you think about it that you realize its true though. I assure you, other colleges will be similar, otherwise other college bars would be buzzing all the time, and they very much are not! Teddy Hall's bar isn't even open some days

Also, if certain people in the JCR had heard you say that they would be tearing your face off right now. To suggest that the only way to have fun is to get drunk is absurd and kind of sad.

Coming from a culture like mine, that is not so absurd - I'm in no way saying that getting drunk is the only way to have fun. Only that (and again based on my experience in Denmark) the drinker/non-drinker-ratio is an indication of the general festiveness.. But then again, that's why I asked the question initially - to get an idea of the norm in Britain/Oxford..

Would you say that the people who drink tend to be more social than the people who don't?

[dbmag9]

(Original post by nexttime)
Well that's the thing though - you just see the drinkers so much more it hard to forget that there are 300 undergrads at Merton. If all of them got drunk on a regular basis, imagine how over-crowded/messy every JCR event would be! Your figure of 10% is 9 people in your year - the Chinese contingent you never ever see could almost make that themselves. Plus i'm not counting people who turn up to things, have 1 drink to fit in but otherwise remain sober. 50% drink more than that on a regular basis. I still think that's about right. At least for my year.

I take your point, but I'm still not sure it's as much as 50% - there are only 5 or 6 people at most in my year that I don't know at least a bit, and of the people I know there honestly aren't that many I can think of who don't drink. On reflection 10% was a low estimate, but I'd still say the actual figure was closer to 10 than 50.

EDIT: And because I have nothing better to do with my life, I went through a list of people in my year; out of 87, I tagged 56 as definite drinkers, 10 as people I know drink but not much and 3 as non-drinkers, leaving 18 I don't really know about (though I've seen quite a few of those clubbing, and I'm pretty sure they were drinking at the time). So 25% probably sounds reasonable.

(Original post by AnimalSpirit)
Would you say that the people who drink tend to be more social than the people who don't?

I'd answer yes, but with a very big caveat that that's essentially because you don't really get big drinkers who aren't social. I have friends who don't drink (or don't drink much) who still have awesome social lives, sometimes even extending to clubbing, which I certainly wouldn't fancy doing sober.

[SamF1992]

(Original post by dbmag9)
Really? That's nothing like the case from what I see of first/second-year undergrads; I'd put it at 10% or so for us. On that topic I should mention that the JCR consciously tries very hard to make freshers' week awesome for non-drinkers as well as drinkers, and to avoid dividing the groups up as much as possible - for instance the first night for us was a combined one to G&Ds and the Duke of Cambridge (a cocktail bar), which are across the (narrow) road from each other, which I think worked pretty well.


We have four bops a term (as many or more) than any other college, our bops go on until 2am (two hours later than most colleges) and are in a better venue (ask the Catz students we keep up), our Entz budget is around £4000 a term, which doesn't include events like Mertonbury (£1000 spent on Pimm's and strawberries), May Morning (£250 on cava and smoked salmon for breakfast) and others. Merton make up about a quarter of the crowd in Junction (a club) on any given Thursday, and there are Mertonians in pretty much any society you care to name. Please don't try to accuse us of not having fun, it just means we're less likely to invite you.

On the bops part, that's less than Wadham, we have 5 a term, so your statement is slightly inaccurate

[dbmag9]

(Original post by SamF1992)
On the bops part, that's less than Wadham, we have 5 a term, so your statement is slightly inaccurate

Meh, fair enough. What time do yours finish?

[nexttime]

(Original post by SamF1992)
On the bops part, that's less than Wadham, we have 5 a term, so your statement is slightly inaccurate

Still 5 in Trinity?

[flywithemma]

(Original post by nexttime)
Still 5 in Trinity?

we (Keble) only had one in Trinity

(Original post by SamF1992)
On the bops part, that's less than Wadham, we have 5 a term, so your statement is slightly inaccurate

does five bops a term not get a bit repetitive/dull?

[nexttime]

(Original post by flywithemma)
we (Keble) only had one in Trinity

does five bops a term not get a bit repetitive/dull?

Yeah we only get two. Some colleges ban all entz in trinity supposedly

re: boring, if you're into that sort of thing (as i used to be), then no. Just like going clubbing 4 times per week, its new and exciting and so many people do it. But give it a couple of years, and hell yes its so boring. People retain some loyalty to bops but even those become not worth staying up so late for.

[Starkadder]

Hi all,

Just a quick Q:

I am currently holding an offer to start a senior status law degree next year and have been awarded an academic scholarship by my college.

Does this mean I wear the commoners or the scholars gown? I just wasn't sure if the scholars gown is only for those who have scholarships in light of their performance in prelims or just any scholarship from their college.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Starkadder.

[Incarnadine91]

(Original post by Starkadder)
Hi all,

Just a quick Q:

I am currently holding an offer to start a senior status law degree next year and have been awarded an academic scholarship by my college.

Does this mean I wear the commoners or the scholars gown? I just wasn't sure if the scholars gown is only for those who have scholarships in light of their performance in prelims or just any scholarship from their college.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Starkadder.

Scholar's gown, as far as I know. You do see a few freshers wearing them and it's usually because they hold scholarships like yours.

[Starkadder]

(Original post by Incarnadine91)
Scholar's gown, as far as I know. You do see a few freshers wearing them and it's usually because they hold scholarships like yours.

Thanks very much!
S.

[KingMessi]

Would it be bad for me to email my tutors and ask for a reading list? I'm feeling rather listless at the moment, not to mention worried about keeping up. That, combined with the fact that a lot of colleges seem to have had them, make me think that it might be an idea to ask?

[MrCarmady]

(Original post by KingMessi)
Would it be bad for me to email my tutors and ask for a reading list? I'm feeling rather listless at the moment, not to mention worried about keeping up. That, combined with the fact that a lot of colleges seem to have had them, make me think that it might be an idea to ask?

you'll get one at the end of august anyway, i would suggest not seeming too sycophantic (even though i understand you're just bored due to the gap year thing).
anyway, i already gave you a few reading pointers, no?

[KingMessi]

(Original post by MrCarmady)
you'll get one at the end of august anyway, i would suggest not seeming too sycophantic (even though i understand you're just bored due to the gap year thing).
anyway, i already gave you a few reading pointers, no?

True, you did. I just feel - as you've surmised - quite bored, and feel like with only three months to go I should be preparing. I guess I'll leave it and just keep reading randomly.

[dbmag9]

(Original post by Starkadder)
Hi all,

Just a quick Q:

I am currently holding an offer to start a senior status law degree next year and have been awarded an academic scholarship by my college.

Does this mean I wear the commoners or the scholars gown? I just wasn't sure if the scholars gown is only for those who have scholarships in light of their performance in prelims or just any scholarship from their college.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Starkadder.

Probably scholars' gown; if you're really concerned you could email the college to make sure, but I've never noticed anyone checking anyway to be honest.

(Original post by KingMessi)
True, you did. I just feel - as you've surmised - quite bored, and feel like with only three months to go I should be preparing. I guess I'll leave it and just keep reading randomly.

Read interesting things, read classics, read contemporary literature, read foreign writings in translation (or not in translation), read porn, read whatever you want; you'll find yourself missing the time you used to have to read freely soon enough.

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by Starkadder)
Hi all,

Just a quick Q:

I am currently holding an offer to start a senior status law degree next year and have been awarded an academic scholarship by my college.

Does this mean I wear the commoners or the scholars gown? I just wasn't sure if the scholars gown is only for those who have scholarships in light of their performance in prelims or just any scholarship from their college.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Starkadder.

You can wear a scholar's gown or you can wear your BA gown. If you do that, you don't have to wear sub-fusc but when others wear sub-fusc, you must wear your hood.

[Starkadder]

(Original post by nulli tertius)
You can wear a scholar's gown or you can wear your BA gown. If you do that, you don't have to wear sub-fusc but when others wear sub-fusc, you must wear your hood.

I can wear the robes from my first degree ? I had been under the impression that as I was effectively reading for a second undergraduate degree (albeit accelerated), that I have to wear undergraduate robes?

Taken from Wikipedia:

"Graduate students who do not already have an Oxford degree wear a black lay-type gown that is a full-sized version of the commoner's gown, reaching to the knee. However, they are not worn by graduates of other universities who are reading for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, who wear a commoner's or scholar's gown as appropriate."

I have the option to pick up some robes from my current institution on the cheap - but it's a limited time option!

S.



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Frey]

(Original post by KingMessi)
Would it be bad for me to email my tutors and ask for a reading list? I'm feeling rather listless at the moment, not to mention worried about keeping up. That, combined with the fact that a lot of colleges seem to have had them, make me think that it might be an idea to ask?

OH MY GOD ME TOO! The lady at St Johns is actually getting really pissy because the Oriental faculty haven't done anything about it yet, though oriental students (like english I think) are meant to get their lists first! AHH!

[Frey]

Is it okay to go to other people's lectures? I understand maybe not going to small intense langauge classes and that sort of thing, but aside from that, is it generally okay?

[medbh4805]

Is £30 a reasonable weekly going out budget in Oxford, or would I need more (to go out say twice a week)? How does predrinking work at Oxford - do people just go sit in their pantries(?) for a while, or is that even allowed?

[dbmag9]

(Original post by Starkadder)
I can wear the robes from my first degree ? I had been under the impression that as I was effectively reading for a second undergraduate degree (albeit accelerated), that I have to wear undergraduate robes?

Taken from Wikipedia:

"Graduate students who do not already have an Oxford degree wear a black lay-type gown that is a full-sized version of the commoner's gown, reaching to the knee. However, they are not worn by graduates of other universities who are reading for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, who wear a commoner's or scholar's gown as appropriate."

I have the option to pick up some robes from my current institution on the cheap - but it's a limited time option!

S.

Ooh, forgot you had the added complication of a degree already. Regulations are all online and findable through a bit of Googling, but it might be simplest to email someone at your college to check what you'll need to wear when, though as I said nobody really checks these things anyway. I'm pretty sure that for any occasion where your gown has to be an Oxford one (matriculation, I think?) the scholar's gown should be fine, though.

(Original post by Frey)
Is it okay to go to other people's lectures? I understand maybe not going to small intense langauge classes and that sort of thing, but aside from that, is it generally okay?

Yeah, should be. You might find yourself with rather less free time (or inclination) to do it once you get here though.

(Original post by medbh4805)
Is £30 a reasonable weekly going out budget in Oxford, or would I need more (to go out say twice a week)? How does predrinking work at Oxford - do people just go sit in their pantries(?) for a while, or is that even allowed?

Depends how much you go clubbing and where you go, to be honest. We tend to predrink in the college bar (powerpints ftw) or in someone's room, or for bops there's a free pre-bop in the JCR. As with about half this thread, it'll depend on your college, your accomodation, your friends, your location etc..