University of Oxford
Oxford
St Catherine's College (St Catz) (Oxford) Students and Applicants
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University of Oxford
Oxford
Eau
Stupid question: do you get to keep your stuff in your room during holidays?
No. But the majority of rooms have locker assigned to that room and you can leave stuff in there. International students also get to leave some stuff in a storage room somewhere (I can't remember where- you'll have to ask housekeeping when you get here).
mikeyT
No. But the majority of rooms have locker assigned to that room and you can leave stuff in there. International students also get to leave some stuff in a storage room somewhere (I can't remember where- you'll have to ask housekeeping when you get here).
My room doesn't have a locker assigned so they assigned me another locker in a different staircase, I think even if you don't get one if you complain enough they'll find you one :P Alternatively there are often a few relatively small but unused lockers drifting around that you can claim.
mikeyT
No. But the majority of rooms have locker assigned to that room and you can leave stuff in there. International students also get to leave some stuff in a storage room somewhere (I can't remember where- you'll have to ask housekeeping when you get here).
Wait are you saying you have to move your stuff every few months?
Eau
What's wrong with keeping it in the room?
The rooms are used for various reasons during the vac.
At Christmas, most of the rooms will be used for interview candidates.
At Easter and in the summer, the rooms are used for conference guests. The students who stay on for revision, exams or study have to move to non ensuite rooms.
As I said earlier, there is storage available for internationals. And you'll find out more when you get here.
Also you get free holiday accomodation and food if you stay over the holidays to work (as in a job in college like portering, working in hall or technical stuff for conferences like setting up projectors 
) so if you're in a non-ensuite room can keep everything in all year then. (most 1st years do get a non-ensuite room anyway so won't get moved out if you decide to stay in the holidays)
Don't stress about it though, the lockers are about 6ft tall and you can shove quite a lot into them, and most people take stuff like clothes, books, laptop home with them anyway so it isn't really an issue
) so if you're in a non-ensuite room can keep everything in all year then. (most 1st years do get a non-ensuite room anyway so won't get moved out if you decide to stay in the holidays)Don't stress about it though, the lockers are about 6ft tall and you can shove quite a lot into them, and most people take stuff like clothes, books, laptop home with them anyway so it isn't really an issue
Just a quick question - is there anyone here who has an offer for English starting this autumn at St. Catz? I haven't received a reading list yet, and I'm just a bit antsy because one friend received her list (albeit for a different college) ages ago. I understand they will do things differently from college to college, but it's probably due to the fact that I actually applied to Corpus and was accepted at St. Catz, so now I'm thinking stupid things like, "I bet they've forgotten they gave me an offer." 
Can anyone put my mind at ease?
Can anyone put my mind at ease?
Hi guys. I want to apply to St Catherine's College for entry in 08 to do Law. The college really appeals to me, the modern college with a big undergraduate take really reaches out to me. Is anyone currently studying Law here? What is it like? Also what grades do you guys have for GCSE's and A lvls and in what subjects? Thanks
I just thought I'd drop a post in here since I will be at St Catz as a first year.
I was there last year for a while then dropped out due to ill health - so I shall be that one random first year who can turn up in a Catz jumper!
Oh I'll feel so cool.
Anyway - I'm on the CompSci course - so if any of the other compsci's are around - feel free to drop me a note!
Also, for all I wasn't there very long - Catz is excellent and the food is the best!
I was there last year for a while then dropped out due to ill health - so I shall be that one random first year who can turn up in a Catz jumper!
Oh I'll feel so cool.
Anyway - I'm on the CompSci course - so if any of the other compsci's are around - feel free to drop me a note!
Also, for all I wasn't there very long - Catz is excellent and the food is the best!
Hey!! I'm applying to St Catz this year for PPE.. I was wondering..
what do you think about Catz? How would you describe it, the people there, the atmosphere? Casual, relaxed, stressful, enthusiastic, passionate, overtly academic?
Does anybody know anyone doing PPE there and how it is?
Any other reasons why you chose/like the college?
As many as opinions as possible would be great... Thanx! 
ps. PERSONAL opinions.. have read a lot on the college already and it's pointless reading the same stuff over and over again..
PLEASE ANSWER :P
what do you think about Catz? How would you describe it, the people there, the atmosphere? Casual, relaxed, stressful, enthusiastic, passionate, overtly academic?
Does anybody know anyone doing PPE there and how it is?
Any other reasons why you chose/like the college?
As many as opinions as possible would be great...
Thanx! ps. PERSONAL opinions.. have read a lot on the college already and it's pointless reading the same stuff over and over again..PLEASE ANSWER :P
That's a difficult question to awnser... I'd ignore everyone who parrots on about the 'relaxed and friendly' atmosphere etc. etc. etc... That's not actually Catz's reputation, that's what they say about *themselves* in their advertising, which is purely down to the fact that it's a modern college physically.
The JCR IS a friendly and relaxed place in terms of its members, but then I've yet to come across any in Oxford that isn't.
In terms of the college itself, I wouldn't describe it as the most student-friendly college... Facilities are generally rather poor. In order to pay for anything (including washing machines and even vending machines for some insane reason) you have to use a prepaid 'girovend' card which you upload money onto. (You can pay in cash in some places such as the bar and in hall, but it's more expensive.) This wouldn't be too much of a problem if it weren't for the fact that you can only upload £50 at a time; if you're short of cash and just need £2 to do your washing, or even 30p to buy a Mars bar, it's £50 or nothing, which really can cause problems. Additionally, there are very specific times during the day (and not at all on Sundays) when you can actually put money on your card even if you do have enough; the cashier is frequently away from her desk and the queue is often so long some people have to come back the next day.
We are very lucky to have a college gym onsite, especially one that's open 24 hours, so you can work out at night if you want. It's not exactly high tech; the machines are a little rusty, but it does the job and is more than most colleges have. (Though not all)
One thing about Catz that is difficult to really understand until you've been there (and which is definitely not friendly or relaxing in terms of atmosphere) is that there is very little indoor space; apart from the main JCR (and the offices and SCR which don't really feature much for undergraduates) all staircases open out directly onto the quads outside. The JCR itself has a tiled and often sticky floor, and is very large, which makes it feel rather cold at times. There isn't really any decent cafe area where you can get a coffee; the 'buttery' is only open for two ridiculously short times a day, and would probably be put to shame by the average tea room in an oil rig... There are no comfy sofas, just a large vault like room, empty but for a big tv and lots of institution-like chairs. The place warms up quite a bit during episodes of 'neighbours' and 'the simpsons' etc, when there are more people in there, but otherwise it's a rather hostile room to sit in. It's not the sort of place you'd feel comfortable reading a book, for instance.
The mobile phone reception in college is very poor; around half of student rooms are without any reception at all.
Finally, with some exceptions, a lot of the non academic staff are very rude to students; you will be frequently reminded that as an undergrad you are at the very, very bottom of the pile. In short, be prepared for bespectacled receptionists to look down their noses at you if you go into the office for anything, or to be shouted regularly at for walking down a recently cleaned floor, getting in people's way, asking the lodge for favours, looking shifty, breathing, etc.
Anyway, the above is why I (personally) feel that Catz, although not without its charms, is not a particularly friendly or 'relaxing' college, and certainly doesn't deserve to be singled out for being either. If anyone can give *specific* examples of why the place IS friendly or relaxing, please do post them; I'm not out to badmouth the college, but I do feel that prospective students be informed of the reality of college life (good and bad) rather than the idealistic propoganda the college spews out, and for some reason people seem to assimilate without really thinking about it.
The JCR IS a friendly and relaxed place in terms of its members, but then I've yet to come across any in Oxford that isn't.
In terms of the college itself, I wouldn't describe it as the most student-friendly college... Facilities are generally rather poor. In order to pay for anything (including washing machines and even vending machines for some insane reason) you have to use a prepaid 'girovend' card which you upload money onto. (You can pay in cash in some places such as the bar and in hall, but it's more expensive.) This wouldn't be too much of a problem if it weren't for the fact that you can only upload £50 at a time; if you're short of cash and just need £2 to do your washing, or even 30p to buy a Mars bar, it's £50 or nothing, which really can cause problems. Additionally, there are very specific times during the day (and not at all on Sundays) when you can actually put money on your card even if you do have enough; the cashier is frequently away from her desk and the queue is often so long some people have to come back the next day.
We are very lucky to have a college gym onsite, especially one that's open 24 hours, so you can work out at night if you want. It's not exactly high tech; the machines are a little rusty, but it does the job and is more than most colleges have. (Though not all)
One thing about Catz that is difficult to really understand until you've been there (and which is definitely not friendly or relaxing in terms of atmosphere) is that there is very little indoor space; apart from the main JCR (and the offices and SCR which don't really feature much for undergraduates) all staircases open out directly onto the quads outside. The JCR itself has a tiled and often sticky floor, and is very large, which makes it feel rather cold at times. There isn't really any decent cafe area where you can get a coffee; the 'buttery' is only open for two ridiculously short times a day, and would probably be put to shame by the average tea room in an oil rig... There are no comfy sofas, just a large vault like room, empty but for a big tv and lots of institution-like chairs. The place warms up quite a bit during episodes of 'neighbours' and 'the simpsons' etc, when there are more people in there, but otherwise it's a rather hostile room to sit in. It's not the sort of place you'd feel comfortable reading a book, for instance.
The mobile phone reception in college is very poor; around half of student rooms are without any reception at all.
Finally, with some exceptions, a lot of the non academic staff are very rude to students; you will be frequently reminded that as an undergrad you are at the very, very bottom of the pile. In short, be prepared for bespectacled receptionists to look down their noses at you if you go into the office for anything, or to be shouted regularly at for walking down a recently cleaned floor, getting in people's way, asking the lodge for favours, looking shifty, breathing, etc.
Anyway, the above is why I (personally) feel that Catz, although not without its charms, is not a particularly friendly or 'relaxing' college, and certainly doesn't deserve to be singled out for being either. If anyone can give *specific* examples of why the place IS friendly or relaxing, please do post them; I'm not out to badmouth the college, but I do feel that prospective students be informed of the reality of college life (good and bad) rather than the idealistic propoganda the college spews out, and for some reason people seem to assimilate without really thinking about it.
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