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What are the students at Oxford like?

Do they have preconceptions/prejudices against Northerners?
Are the majority 'rah'?
Do people from different social classes mix?
Do private/state schools mix?
Is there a lot of sexism?
Please give me honest answers!

No
No
Yes
Yes
No

May I ask what's prompted such questions? Are you worried about applying and not fitting in? :hugs:

Reply 3

natninja

Original post by Wilde Child

Hello, I'm at Oxford so I'll give you my take on it:

No
No
Yes
Yes
Depends... Some people would have you believe yes to further their own agenda and in certain social circles there is... There is some in the higher echelons of the Oxford Union, a bit in some sports and a lot in the elite drinking societies (but those are something that the average student will never ever even come into contact with).

Reply 4

Wilde Child

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

May I ask what's prompted such questions? Are you worried about applying and not fitting in? :hugs:

Thanks. And yeah I'm from the Manchester area with quite a heavy accent. My friends who went to interviews (in upper sixth) said that they were the only ones they'd heard with a northern accent. Thinking of applying but think I might put the interviewers off.

Reply 5

Wilde Child

Original post by natninja

Thanks! Er, are the drinking societies only for the invited or? Also is there snobbery? Please, please be truthful. Also I'm going on the open days in June so I can gain a greater insight.

Reply 6

natninja

Original post by Wilde Child

Thanks! Er, are the drinking societies only for the invited or? Also is there snobbery? Please, please be truthful. Also I'm going on the open days in June so I can gain a greater insight.

Well to be perfectly honest there are really not many people involved in them, chances are you'll never meet anyone who is (unless you end up at St. Benets...) and yeah they are invite only. There isn't really much snobbery generally (if any, it's mostly directed against people from affluent/privately educated backgrounds and mostly dies out completely by the end of first year). Though if you end up mixing with OUCA (our delightful conservative association, you are likely to encounter some level of twattishness...). By and large though, I'd imagine it's much like most other unis in terms of that sort of thing.

Reply 7

NinjaNerdfighter

Original post by Wilde Child

Not normally. There are occasional jokes about the North but there are occasional jokes about people from the South too.

No. At least, not that I've met

I think so, although you don't generally go around asking about what class people are/how much money they have so it's hard to know exactly what class people are in.

Another thing that doesn't often get discussed but of the schools I know friends went to there is a reasonable mix of state and private

I haven't experienced any sexism whilst here

What are you thinking of applying for and which colleges would you like to look at?

Reply 8

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by Wilde Child

You won't put the interviewers off at all! They're not there to judge your accent (and nothing wrong with a heavy Mancunian accent anyway!): they're there to judge your intelligence and academic potential, as well as suitability for the course and the Oxford tutorial system.

Glad you are going to an open day. Try not to be put off by any loud ****wits you might meet, who may say things that intimidate you. The overwhelming majority of the knobs get weeded out at the interview stage, so you don't end up having to deal with them :biggrin:

Reply 9

nexttime

Original post by Wilde Child

See the admissions stats - about 10% are from the North, with more from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Midlands etc, plus all of the internationals (about 17% of undergrads, much higher proportion of grads) - there is a good mix of accents if that is your thing :wink:

Also of note is the relatively high success rate of those who apply from the North, in case that was a concern of yours.

Oxford students are pretty southern and are pretty middle-class which can provide a mild culture-shock. For example, getting asked what school you're from can seem pretty bizarre to anyone from a state comp like I was! For some people that attend Oxford that's a normal conversation starter and you get used to it, and even the poshest, most sheltered students are still overwhelmingly very nice! I really wouldn't have any concerns - definitely come to the open day.

And just a final, more depressing note: if you were hoping to get away from southerners, i hope you weren't intending on applying to any other university inside the top 30 - even places like Durham, Manchester the most common accent probably places somewhere in Kent.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 10

Wilde Child

Original post by nexttime

Thanks! Though under no uncertain terms am I trying to get away from Southerners haha! I was just worried about them perhaps not 'accepting' Northerners and whatnot. Are students friendly with everyone or are they quite cliquey? Also, what is there to do on an evening in and outside of the university? Sorry for the barrage of questions haha. :rolleyes:

Reply 11

Wilde Child

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

Thanks a lot! What sort of people do you socialise with, if you don't mind me asking? Is it cliquey?

Reply 12

nexttime

Original post by Wilde Child

Its just like any other setting where everyone's new really - everyone is anxious about whether they will fit in, everyone is worried about whether this or that particular aspect of their social background will impact on what people think of them. But also everyone is interested in meeting new people and no one really care where you're from (even if it is the first question for small talk purposes!). I found everyone very friendly and whilst of course people form friendship groups, everyone also has a common interest in academia and learning and in terms of meeting people i could relate to it was like nothing i'd experienced before. That's even more noticeable if you join societies (which you should definitely do). Meeting new people was one of the best parts of Oxford for me tbh.

Reply 13

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by Wilde Child

Thanks a lot! What sort of people do you socialise with, if you don't mind me asking? Is it cliquey?

I had a real mix of friends from different backgrounds and areas of the UK, including a friend from Shropshire and one from Mirfield, which is near Leeds. My two best friends were from the West Midlands. It was nice in the long summer holiday because it meant I could travel around with the country seeing people and go on a little jaunt of the UK! :awesome:

I had a mixture of male and female friends and whilst they were all pretty much "better off" than me (I come from quite a poor family), it was never really an issue. And the one time it became an issue with someone, I just told my tutor about it and he dealt with the matter very quickly. So tutors do take stuff like bullying or anti-whatever jokes seriously :yes:

As for cliquey-ness, basically what nexttime said. Almost everyone comes to Oxford not really knowing anyone else and so people are very much willing to mix in, especially in the first term. There are some groups which are a bit cliquey (rugby groups and chapel choirs are the two examples I'd think of), but not in a way that they are rude to others or not open to others if they want to join :nah:

Reply 14

Estreth

Don't be put off applying because you're from Manchester! I'm from Manchester too and, truth be told, it is relatively uncommon to hear a pronounced Northern accent at Oxford, but then it is in London too. No tutor will give a damn about your accent. Apply!!