Why did YOU choose Oxford or Cambridge over the other?

Original post by Blutooth

But to be fair, people might just be voting based on 1 or two stand-out colleges. When you see the aerial views of Oxford and Cambridge it really puts it into perspective how much more objectively magnificent Oxford is.

https://kayjayaitch.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/cambridge-aerial.jpg

Aerial views are all very well, but do you have a private helicopter to get about? No, me neither :wink:

Reply 762

Blutooth

16

Original post by jneill

Aerial views are all very well, but do you have a private helicopter to get about? No, me neither :wink:

I take part in gliding as a sport and we do take flights over Oxford. The aerial views are to help people get a better sense of perspective.

Reply 763

Doones

Original post by Blutooth

I take part in gliding as a sport and we do take flights over Oxford. The aerial views are to help people get a better sense of perspective.

Ha. Fair play to you :smile:

Reply 764

nulli tertius

With regard to architecture, Oxford architecture is much more public. Much more of it can be seen from the street. Cambridge architecture is more private. With the exception of the Backs, it can really only be best appreciated from within the colleges.

That is probably to do with Oxford being the much more important City in the life of the nation. It stands upon a much more important road; the London, Oxford and Milford Haven (A40), rather than the Cambridge, Ely and King's Lynn (A10). It has a cathedral and has been down the centuries much more important in the life of the Church. Oxford built for outward show, and Cambridge didn't.

Reply 765

Cambridge simply has a reputation for mathematics that oxford doesnt, so wisely or not, i didnt even consider oxford

Reply 766

ianuam

6

I'm doing a PhD, so it was a case of the supervisor-topic 'fit'. That and the supervisor at Oxford already had 7 graduate students, ha

Reply 767

I chose Oxford for all these reasons:
- I know that I wanted to study straight Biology, and all those extra modules in Natural Sciences at Cam didn't appeal to me. I just wanted to get stuck in with Biology.
- I'm from Birmingham and used to Big cities, so Oxford instantly appealed to me as it had much more going on in terms of nightlife/bars and restaurants/shops/cultural places etc. Cambridge is much smaller, and when I visited recently it was far too quiet and mundane for me.
- the aura and atmosphere of Oxford is just much more exciting then that at Cambridge.
- As I'm from Birmingham, Oxford is much closer then Cambridge, and you are able to better access the western half of the country from Oxford, which is convenient for me.
- Oxford is more famous and far more prestigious. Yes, they're both highly respected universities, but the name and brand of Oxford carries more weight. All my family abroad instantly recognised Oxford, and Cambridge is just generally not as recognised. The same story with the U.S. as well.
- Oxford has an amazing scholarship for undergraduates from a background similar to mine, and it fully paid for tuition fees and a grant on living expenses. Cambridge didn't offer this.
- when I visited the university, the students seemed much more laid back, generally intelligent and 'cooler' then at Cambridge, where I saw a lot of nerds and geeks.
- the Arts scene is much more varied, active and larger at Oxford them at Cambridge and this appealed to me as I love going to gigs/art galleries/ museums.
- Although Cambridge has a better reputation for Sciences, as I consider myself artsy as well as scientific, Oxford seemed to offer the best of both worlds.
As you can see from these points, Oxford is the place for me. It just rules way more then Cambridge.

Reply 768

dennismubaiwa

5

I chose Cambridge because:

1. I'm on an Access course and only Cambridge allowed applications after the 15th of October. After 7 years away from education, I needed some time to get back into the swing of things and the usual deadline would have been too early.
2. Cambridge has mature student colleges which admit undergraduates. Socially, I felt I'd be more comfortable there.
3. Oxford's PPE favors A-level Maths, which I wasn't keen on doing alongside my Access course. I chose to apply for Cambridge's HSPS instead. I know it's not essential, but my situation (no predicted grades, average GCSEs) meant that my application would have been far weaker without it.
4. I went to Cambridge and spent a few days there as a shadow. It was a great experience. I met some interesting, disappointingly normal people - none of them in red chinos, tweed jackets and popped-up collar polo shirts (not that there's anything wrong with that, but you hear of the stereotypes and wonder if you'd hypothetically 'fit in').
5. I liked the smaller, more intimate feel of Cambridge.
6. Prestige was a factor, but between the two, we're splitting hairs; the portmanteau exists for a reason. Unlike the above poster, all my family abroad know Cambridge and many of them take/have taken Cambridge International exams.
7. There was an outreach officer who visited my HE college. She had the most formidable intellect of anybody I'd ever met. I still wonder if she's actually real. Long story short, I was so inspired by her that I decided to apply there.
8. To be fair, since I applied after the 15th of Oct, the choice was made for me.

I think in in summation, the reasons I applied to Cam were circumstantial. The way things worked out just skewed me towards Cambridge.

Reply 769

ValarMorghulis

2

Applying to Oxford this year (hopefully) because:
• Not as much pressure to get high UMS.
• I can't study Physics on its own at Cambridge, and NatSci doesn't really appeal to me.
• I'm not entirely sure that this is true, but Oxford apparently puts slightly more emphasis on GCSE grades than Cambridge (which suits me fine).

Otherwise I'd probably apply to Cambridge instead because it's a beautiful place and I'm much more comfortable navigating my way around (since I've been there more often).

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Reply 770

Original post by tkb661998

\
- Oxford is more famous and far more prestigious. Yes, they're both highly respected universities, but the name and brand of Oxford carries more weight

lol no

Reply 771

Original post by HeavisideDelts

lol no

Lol yeah. They're both pretty much equal in the UK, but abroad Oxford IS more prestigious and famous to the average person. It's just a fact, even a YouGov poll proved it! Deal with it.

Reply 772

Original post by tkb661998

Lol yeah. They're both pretty much equal in the UK, but abroad Oxford IS more prestigious and famous to the average person. It's just a fact, even a YouGov poll proved it! Deal with it.

you care about what the average person thinks of your degree..ok then odd!

Abroad, to the employers and intelligent people know cambridge has a better reputation. i dont care what some random person off the street thinks of my degree, if you do then LOL

Reply 773

Original post by tkb661998

Lol yeah. They're both pretty much equal in the UK, but abroad Oxford IS more prestigious and famous to the average person. It's just a fact, even a YouGov poll proved it! Deal with it.

and you're studying biology, a science. To anyone anywhere that is far more prestigious at cambridge (as bio natsci) than at oxford. if youre doing a non-arts subject at oxford then its not on the same level as arts. likewise if youre doing a non-science subject at cambridge...its simply not on the level of those doing the sciences

Reply 774

Original post by HeavisideDelts

you care about what the average person thinks of your degree..ok then odd!

Abroad, to the employers and intelligent people know cambridge has a better reputation. i dont care what some random person off the street thinks of my degree, if you do then LOL

I was just pointing out that universally Oxford is more prestigious in Cambridge. In regards to you saying that Cambridge has a better reputation to employers, that's utter rubbish. Even though I'm an Oxford patriot, I'm not stupid enough to think that one is more attractive to the other for employers/ academics. They're both equal in that respect, and both are seen as highly academic and prestigious institutions to both employers and academics.

Reply 775

Original post by tkb661998

I was just pointing out that universally Oxford is more prestigious in Cambridge. In regards to you saying that Cambridge has a better reputation to employers, that's utter rubbish. Even though I'm an Oxford patriot, I'm not stupid enough to think that one is more attractive to the other for employers/ academics. They're both equal in that respect, and both are seen as highly academic and prestigious institutions to both employers and academics.

nope. for sciences cambridge is seen as more respected, and for arts oxford is. simples

Reply 776

Original post by HeavisideDelts

nope. for sciences cambridge is seen as more respected, and for arts oxford is. simples

Ugh your incompetence frustrates me :/ that's a tired and outdated stereotype. It's not the case now! If that was true, why is Oxford currently producing more highly rated scientific research then Cambridge? When Cambridge is supposedly better for sciences? Stick to current opinions.

Reply 777

Banana00

Original post by jneill

Aerial views are all very well, but do you have a private helicopter to get about? No, me neither :wink:

Well said!

I chose Cambridge because I prefer the more 'quirky' look of it - the colleges are all quite different and easily distinguishable, however with Oxford, everything looks very samey. Samey is fine and Oxford is a beautiful city as well, but I just prefer Cambridge and the fact that it has more of a 'town-y' feel.

I think part of it is also something you can't really explain; you just happen to prefer one over the other even if you aren't really sure why.

For me, I absolutely feel head-over-heels in love with Emmanuel College, Cambridge. It is just so beautiful and that's really why I prefer Cambridge.

Reply 778