Merton College (Oxford) Students and Applicants

On the subject of applying to Merton, I hope the OP finds this relevant, are you at a significant disadvantage if you apply to Merton because they only take a very small number of undergraduates per year? I know there's a weird type of pooling system in place at Oxford, but still.

As for horror stories about people being kicked out for doing badly in Collections or Mods or whatever, they're largely unfounded. In fact, Merton is one of the most lenient colleges, as far as I can see, in that respect. A girl in the year above me doing Maths got a Pass in Mods, and college were really lovely about it. They said that she could take a year out, and reapply for another course at Merton, and continue doing Maths if she was unsuccessful, or just continue with the course as normal. My tutors were much more concerned at tackling the problem, rather than kicking her out to keep rankings high, as some of the other colleges may well have done.

Aw, I thought this was about Paul Merton. Darn.

Wait, she got a pass in mods, and that was grounds to make her reapply? Medic exams are different to mods so I dont quite know the score, but from what Id heard I thought mods were just a hoop to jump through and the vast majority just pass the things.

On the subject of applying to Merton, I hope the OP finds this relevant, are you at a significant disadvantage if you apply to Merton because they only take a very small number of undergraduates per year? .

Wait, she got a pass in mods, and that was grounds to make her reapply? Medic exams are different to mods so I dont quite know the score, but from what Id heard I thought mods were just a hoop to jump through and the vast majority just pass the things.

eeerrrmmm... I think at most colleges (or at least my own) there would be absolutely no consequences for someone who only passed their mods. I think it says something about Merton that you thought they were being leniant by allowing her to stay. The policy at my own college is that all you have to do is pass and even if you fail mods/prelims you get a chance to resit.

I was also helping with the Open Days, if any of you remember a slightly excitable dark-haired Mathematician...!

oh... i remember you ... henry, of course, by slightly excitable u mean very enthusiastic...

i went on thursday morning for physics, hope you remember me, i asked you where the toilet was after the brief tour with you two and you pointed it out to me, its like a maze btw.

I was also helping with the Open Days, if any of you remember a slightly excitable dark-haired Mathematician...!

You weren't helping out at interviews last December, were you? I saw someone on the "these are the interview helper people" sheet and thought "he's from TSR"...it might have been you.

Yes! I was helping primarily with Maths people, though I did play a large amount of Monopoly and Giant Jenga!!

You showed me to my room and we talked about vegetables

Oh - yes! I remember you! Do you think we've persuaded you to apply?

Just to second henryt - doing well in the Norrington Table doesn't make Merton a bad place to be. Some people at other colleges seem to assume that Merton's finals results could only have been achieved either by everyone there being really boring and/or competetive to start off with, or by college cracking the whip until we all submit to life as academic hermits.

In fact, lots of people at Merton didn't know about its reputation before they applied, and chose it for totally arbitrary reasons like good food or location (I have to admit I was slightly swayed by the cobbles...) - so none of them arrive with a burning desire to tread the competition underfoot and give up life outside the library. More than one person in my year failed their Mods/Prelims, and college let them resit without any problem. I can't speak for every subject, but the English tutors never put pressure on us about results, and were always understanding if people had problems with work.

The only evidence I saw of a push for good exam results was the number of revision classes we were given in Trinity (I am a finalist, currently having a mental breakdown waiting for results to come out). They were all optional though, and we were very very grateful that we had so much help from our tutors when we wanted it. What's more, they were constantly telling us to make sure we took time off to relax and have fun - somehow, being advised to go for a 'jolly' walk to the Trout for lunch because it was such a nice day, 3 days before our first exam, didn't strike me as fitting with the Merton stereotype. But that's not really surprising, because I've always thought the stereotype was rubbish.

Also, the success rate of applicants to Merton is no different to that at any other college - only Magdalen, that I know of, has significantly more applicants per place than anywhere else.

Henry, I suppose you have guessed who I am pretty easily...

im not that sure whether to apply to ox or cam anyway... so,