English Applicants 2015

Thank you very much for your reply. May I ask why you would go to UCL instead?(Since Oxford is one of the best univesities in the world) . I read that Goldsmiths offers a good program too. I was also wondering if students study grammar.

No problem. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

My best friend from school ended up reading English at UCL, and we visited each other fairly often, so I had a reasonable glimpse of both courses. Both feature tutorials, Old English and Linguistics units, etc. (however, if your main interest is in linguistics, you would probably prefer a different course). You will write twice as many essays at Oxford, which means that you become pretty good at cranking them out, but I would have rather had the extra time to be a little more thoughtful about what I was writing. Overall, academically, they're fairly similar. UCL seems a little more inclined towards experimentation; I found Oxford quite rigid. Both departments have some pretty big names on staff and strong alumni links. There are frighteningly clever and frighteningly stupid students on both courses. If you graduate from either with good grades, you will generally have little trouble getting a job in your chosen field. Oxford does have the bigger overall brand name if you want to go into a different field or work abroad. In a nutshell, I would say that Oxford produces better academics, but UCL produces better writers.

The pastoral support seems far stronger at UCL than at Oxford. I can't count how many times Oxford threatened me with academic probation after a close relative died. The tradition and Harry Potter antics get old very fast (it may have helped if I had been at a more liberal college), and there was always an attitude hanging over everything, that we were so very blessed to be studying at this sacred institution. Oxford is also a rather boring city, and, outside of student theatre, there is next to no arts scene. Oh, and tourists everywhere, all the time. They take photos of you on your way to exams, they interrupt you reading in Christ Church Meadow to ask for admissions tips. London is a much more interesting place to be, though there is less of a community feeling. It's hard to pinpoint in a quick post, but the atmosphere just seemed more pleasant at UCL. FWIW, my friend, who was initially crushed by her Oxford rejection, ended up loving her course, whereas my college friends and I all graduated with at least a moderate distaste tor Oxford. I haven't been back since I left. Being a student there is very different to arriving at interviews with Bambi eyes and dreams of swirling gowns. I like your sense of humour

This is, of course, just my opinion. I am sure somebody else would say exactly the opposite. If you can, it's best to visit and decide for yourself

No problem. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

My best friend from school ended up reading English at UCL, and we visited each other fairly often, so I had a reasonable glimpse of both courses. Both feature tutorials, Old English and Linguistics units, etc. (however, if your main interest is in linguistics, you would probably prefer a different course). You will write twice as many essays at Oxford, which means that you become pretty good at cranking them out, but I would have rather had the extra time to be a little more thoughtful about what I was writing. Overall, academically, they're fairly similar. UCL seems a little more inclined towards experimentation; I found Oxford quite rigid. Both departments have some pretty big names on staff and strong alumni links. There are frighteningly clever and frighteningly stupid students on both courses. If you graduate from either with good grades, you will generally have little trouble getting a job in your chosen field. Oxford does have the bigger overall brand name if you want to go into a different field or work abroad. In a nutshell, I would say that Oxford produces better academics, but UCL produces better writers.

The pastoral support seems far stronger at UCL than at Oxford. I can't count how many times Oxford threatened me with academic probation after a close relative died. The tradition and Harry Potter antics get old very fast (it may have helped if I had been at a more liberal college), and there was always an attitude hanging over everything, that we were so very blessed to be studying at this sacred institution. Oxford is also a rather boring city, and, outside of student theatre, there is next to no arts scene. Oh, and tourists everywhere, all the time. They take photos of you on your way to exams, they interrupt you reading in Christ Church Meadow to ask for admissions tips. London is a much more interesting place to be, though there is less of a community feeling. It's hard to pinpoint in a quick post, but the atmosphere just seemed more pleasant at UCL. FWIW, my friend, who was initially crushed by her Oxford rejection, ended up loving her course, whereas my college friends and I all graduated with at least a moderate distaste tor Oxford. I haven't been back since I left. Being a student there is very different to arriving at interviews with Bambi eyes and dreams of swirling gowns.

This is, of course, just my opinion. I am sure somebody else would say exactly the opposite. If you can, it's best to visit and decide for yourself

I put UCL down on a whim - after reading this, I'm quite glad I did, so thank you. Waiting to hear back from Oxford whether I have an interview or not, I have to unconditional offers in the bag (Durham and York, two great unis), and then I'm waiting to hear from UCL and Oxford.

If you have any more insights then please let me know - I'm going to base a lot of my decision-making on post-offer open days, but this post was hugely eye-opening.

Your choices are the same as mine were, plus Bristol

Reading that post back, I may have been a bit grumpy that day! There certainly was a lot to enjoy about Oxford too, but I suppose I was trying to say that it wasn't the 'automatic' choice that I understood it to be at the time. It sounds like you have the right idea. As above, do feel free to PM me if there're anything further you'd like to know - I generally try and avoid making too much personal opinion/identifying information public. Best of luck with your applications!