Oxford 2014 Freshers Chat Thread

I shall! I'm hoping to get the holiday grants as well - they basically pay you over the vacations so you don't have to get a temp job! Although you could do both I guess..

£6k tuition for me, £4k from Oxford a year, £8k from SF - after accommodation, food etc I should be £2k in profit a year (Y)

The trick is find some "work" you can only do in Oxford and you'll find they will happily pay for you to live there for a large chunk of summer & pay you for the pleasure. Most tutors will sign off anything remotely related to your studies, so worth a shot.



I forgot about the fee waiver. Overall it's probably a more generous package than in my day if you factor that in. Have you looked at the Moritz-Heyman Scholarship if that's potentially applicable?

I suspect you'll save even more than you expect to once you've figured out all the extra grants etc you can get. Chances are you'll never have to pay for a book or a holiday for the next 4 years. Oxford really is a great place to be if you're from a normal financial background. I almost wish I was going back now...

That would be nice, I'll have to hunt around for internships or summer schools etc! UNIQ would be fun

The Moritz-Heyman Scholarship looks great, I fit some criteria but not all - and it's mainly for STEM subjects so I'm not holding out much hope!

It would be nice to go abroad somewhere, haven't been on holiday in years! Greece would be helpful and enjoyable.

I thought you hated it there? :P

I never did it, but everyone I know who did enjoyed it.



I'd still try- last year they struggled to fill them.



It's all in the wording Lucilou. I wasn't much of a fan of the people generally. Oxford can be quite a tough atmosphere to deal with, especially if the College you're in isn't great. I did my undergrad at Brasenose back in the days when the pastoral care was shocking and the atmosphere very much one of sink or swim. Things are far better now I understand, but people in that kind of atmosphere don't tend to be as fun or happy as you'd hope and I didn't enjoy it at times.

Postgrad I found the people much better- different College, different ethos.

The Uni itself and the courses I loved. Just the people mixed with the atmosphere in my undergrad College I wasn't a fan of. So I guess partial hate is the best way of putting it!

If none of that makes any sense at all I can post photos of what I roughly mean, but hopefully it makes some vague sense?

I never got to go as a student, so it'd be nice to go as a helper

It's automatic consideration so we shall see!

I can imagine some people aren't great.. Everyone I've met from Univ is lovely so hopefully it'll be okay..
Pastoral care seems pretty good there also, but who knows.

I thought you were at Worcester for undergrad?
Where did you do your postgrad?

If I survive the four years - I'll be impressed!

If you wouldn't mind posting a few photos that would be great! I'm an international student (post-graduate, actually) and people dress very informally in my part of the country. I know my college's formal dinners are jacket and tie for men and clothing of "commensurate formality" for women, which means "no jeans" and not much else to me.

Hi, I was just wondering of anyone had had any confirmation by Oxford that they are going to receive the Oxford bursary? I have checked on the website and I am eligible but there is nothing on my SF form about it?

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Hi, I was just wondering of anyone had had any confirmation by Oxford that they are going to receive the Oxford bursary? I have checked on the website and I am eligible but there is nothing on my SF form about it?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Have you looked at the Moritz-Heyman Scholarship if that's potentially applicable?

That would be nice, I'll have to hunt around for internships or summer schools etc! UNIQ would be fun

The Moritz-Heyman Scholarship looks great, I fit some criteria but not all - and it's mainly for STEM subjects so I'm not holding out much hope!

The MH Scholarship isn't applicable.



Despite the scholarship being aimed at STEM students, it really doesn't seem to have worked out that way due to not finding enough people who suitably fit the criteria, the majority of fellow scholars that I know are art students

And being a UNIQ mentor is amazing, 100% recommend it.

Out of interest what in simple terms is the process through which they allocate them exactly? I was doing postgrad at the time when they started up so never really came across anyone in receipt of it.

According to this, they look at quite a range of factors. I'm not sure about the actual process but there is a year-round MH Scholarship team who presumably work on it. I'm not sure though

In terms of the actual receipt of the scholarship, the potential scholars just get sent a letter asking whether they're willing to commit to the scholarship (in terms of volunteering hours/doing an internship).

According to this, they look at quite a range of factors. I'm not sure about the actual process but there is a year-round MH Scholarship team who presumably work on it. I'm not sure though

In terms of the actual receipt of the scholarship, the potential scholars just get sent a letter asking whether they're willing to commit to the scholarship (in terms of volunteering hours/doing an internship).

My bad. They used to have a few industry scholarships in my time which you had to expressly apply for, so I assumed it would be the same process.



From my experience of Univ via an ex boyfriend, it was a reasonable mix. There will be some people who you don't like (as a girl I'd advise you to be VERY wary of any sports team etc who try to invite you to meals/events/out in the first few weeks as often it's just the years above sharking on the freshers- not heard Univ is bad for it though, just keep it in mind). I'd be surprised if your experience is as mixed as mine. Stuff like pastoral issues/welfare has improved radically even in a few years.



No I was at Brasenose then shifted over to Pembroke. Mainly went for the change in culture because my funding luckily wasn't linked to a particular College, and generally it was a lovely College.



Very few people don't make it, and the ones that don't are more often in things like Chemistry/Maths/Compsci. Asides from mods in 2nd year Classics is quite a steady pace work/pressure wise from everyone I knew who did it, and none of them felt like it was something they couldn't cope with. Just do do work in first year despite the lack of exams- you'll thank yourself in hilary of second year when your michaelmas 1st year notes are actually borderline useable!

I have heard of sharking.. It's definitely - interesting..

I'm mainly worried about the language learning but it should be okay if I knuckle down

I guarantee you there will be one guy wearing a shark fin at your first bop. It's almost a given at Oxford... Most people honestly aren't creeps or like that, there just tend to be 1 or 2 who you can generally spot a mile away. You don't seem like the kind of girl who would, but just don't get a rep or anything in freshers' for getting with random people. I knew a few people who were genuinely lovely who struggled to shift the reputation and thus attracted more of the same when they didn't want it. Just worth making life easier if you know what you mean?



Which are you going to be learning? Greek presumably? They are generally pretty supportive for that I think. I'd advise teaming up with your fellow Classicists to work through some of the tute preparation for the first few weeks if you're worried, as it can be quite reassuring (and a nice way to get to know people/build up a good working relationship). Also worth keeping an eye out for theologians- a lot of them will know/also be learning Greek and are usually keen to help/be helped by people outside their subject.

And being a UNIQ mentor is amazing, 100% recommend it.

The number of events depends on the societies you join and the college you're at. It can be very frequent if you want or, for some people, never at all. Buying is likely to end up much cheaper than renting. There are a number of places to get dinner suits in Oxford. For £400, you'd probably be looking at Moss, Austin Reed, or even somewhere like Ede & Ravenscroft. London is only an hour away on the train; if that's nearby enough, you've got almost limitless choice. The biggest reason for buying now instead of waiting til you reach Oxford would be to get a good deal in the sales.



I can't offer any particular advice, except to say that the Ballroom Emporium just past Magdalen Bridge is always worth a look.