[asar]

Let's post a bit of small talk! Else, everyone else will think all Mertonians are at the libary, having showers and sleeping there and all.

What is it like to live in one of Merton's houses in second year?

[tbtommyb]

Do you just automatically get your room when you turn up, or do they send you stuff after you make you offer?

[wilbur]

(Original post by burntgorilla)
Do you just automatically get your room when you turn up, or do they send you stuff after you make you offer?

You'll be allocated a room before you come up, but usually you'll only find out which room when you arrive. They're all of roughly the same standard in 1st year though, so no need to worry. Most of the stuff college will send you beforehand will be administrative, e.g. university/'bod' card, medical details, university contract, privacy policy, etc.

[kiry]

(Original post by angelsarmiento)
Let's post a bit of small talk! Else, everyone else will think all Mertonians are at the libary, having showers and sleeping there and all.

What is it like to live in one of Merton's houses in second year?

Second year is in Holywell as decided by a ballot which just happened this last weekend for us (87/89 for me ). You can choose to go in a group or as an individual with most opting for a group of varying sizes. For 3rd year the ballot is reversed so if you come bottom second year (like me) you should hopefully get a palace in the third year in college to make up for it. As to the actual second year rooms I think they are relatively standard although they do have a fair variety. The major thing appears to be that two of the houses do not have kitchens and so if your unlucky you end up in one of those houses. Also, you will be the first year in which college has decided to mix male/female and subjects together.

[henryt]

Yay. I love Merton already!! I've got some old friends there, and they say it's totally cool, and it's soo pretty.

[tbtommyb]

(Original post by Megsy)
Kiry, 87/89 is awesome! all the second year accommodation is roughly the same, but third year rooms have a huge difference. Anyone in 2nd year who has a tiny room has it because they wanted to live with specific friends. I was 27th or something, so I'm probably going to stay in Holywell next year as well.

So is it only in third year that you'd have a chance of getting a room actually in one of the quads?

[asar]

I have to admit my room in the interviews was spectacular. I really, really didn't want to leave! I was in Rose Lane and had a sitting room with a huge heater, two leather(y) minisofas, a desk and chair, a small table and a huge bookshelf with drawers. The room was huge, 5x5 approx. Then, I had a much smaller sleeping room. It was also en-suite with a gleaming new bathroom and it had a FANTASTIC view!

Gosh I miss it... I just watch the pictures I've got longingly.


Now, on the boring stuff....

(Original post by wilbur)
Most of the stuff college will send you beforehand will be administrative, e.g. university/'bod' card, medical details, university contract, privacy policy, etc.

If they send all this by snail mail I'm doomed. I recently ordered a set of PDA stylii from the UK by post and they took three months to arrive. Well, at least they did arrive... but my anger was heightened by finding by the abundant seals that it had spent one month SIX BLOCKS AWAY. It's always the same with anything that gets to the Mexican Postal Service.

[tinypony]

If they send all this by snail mail I'm doomed. I recently ordered a set of PDA stylii from the UK by post and they took three months to arrive. Well, at least they did arrive... but my anger was heightened by finding by the abundant seals that it had spent one month SIX BLOCKS AWAY. It's always the same with anything that gets to the Mexican Postal Service.

lol! I had that problem when I was in Mexico. At least soon you'll be back in the UK

[heliotrope]

(Original post by burntgorilla)
And are the rooms in Merton Street nice? It seems all the male first years go there.

That seems a really inane question.

merton has single sex accomodation!? why?

[WokSz]

I really want to apply to Merton but the whole reputation of the University scares me. Is anybody doing PPE there?

[tinypony]

I lived in Merton Street 21, it was quite nice. It was an en-suite.

[wilbur]

(Original post by heliotrope)
merton has single sex accomodation!? why?

Not for much longer... The college recently decided to mix first year accommodation by subject and gender.

[tbtommyb]

I know that term starts on the 7th october this year (why a sunday?), but when would most people come up? Do they arrive on that sunday, or is it the start of all the freshers' stuff? I know it's a while away but my parents are talking about booking stuff already (I need to get a ferry over).

[kiry]

(Original post by burntgorilla)
I know that term starts on the 7th october this year (why a sunday?), but when would most people come up? Do they arrive on that sunday, or is it the start of all the freshers' stuff? I know it's a while away but my parents are talking about booking stuff already (I need to get a ferry over).

Weeks start on a Sunday so its the beginning of 0th week. For us this year we started on Monday but a lot of people (unexpectedly) arrived the day before. Basically the colleges have to try and stagger arrivals so everyone from every college doesn't arrive the same day and make Merton street impossible to get into. Aside from that you won't do a great deal the first day but you are expected to be there for registration etc.

[invicta]

does ne1 have any pics of merton? the internet jsu seems 2 have pics of ChCh and all souls...

cheers

[tbtommyb]

Use this:

http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/merton/

[Elbow]

Kiry: 87-89 is EXACTLY where you want to be in the 2nd year room ballot. I was 87th, lived in an attic in 3 Holywell in 2nd year (not too bad, has a shower and kitchen, just not with my friends - but friends are easily accessible) and had a four-room monster in St Albans Quad in 3rd year, with views over both Merton Street and Christchurch Meadow. I agonised between that and a three-room beastie in Mob Quad - when else does one get the chance to live in a 14th Century quad for 70 quid a week (or whatever it is now)? Tough decision, heehee... It comes to something when you have to decide between being woken up by chapel bells or birdsong. You very quickly forget any of the privations of 2nd year (which aren't much now anyway since Manor Place isn't undergrad accommodation any more) when you move into your suite with windowseats and armchairs and vast expanses of views....

[No, you won't know who I am, I'm a rather decrepit grad student now.]

Potential applicants: Do come to Merton. I picked it by utter random and am still amazed at my luck. The work - well, I don't honestly know how much other people doing my subject (medicine) at other colleges do, but you're more likely to be aware of what people doing other subjects at Merton are doing; this is likely to be a similar amount to yourself. Meanwhile, when it comes to exams you'll find yourself very grateful that you've had lots of tutorials and written lots of essays - eg for medicine, some colleges don't even have anatomy tutorials when a third of our first year mark is based on anatomy. You might be annoyed at the time but we do well at exams for a reason - and it's not because we're "geeky" or whatever, it's because we're well taught. Merton won't let you fail through lack of teaching, but it can't and won't make you work, it's just then up to you if you don't do as well as you'd hoped.

People with offers for next year - lucky you. Anyone thinking of applying, do it. I had no better reason than that it's pretty, though....

(Waxed a bit lyrical there, I apologise, I'm just prone to getting sentimental in my old age)

[wilbur]

(Original post by Elbow)
Kiry: 87-89 is EXACTLY where you want to be in the 2nd year room ballot. I was 87th, lived in an attic in 3 Holywell in 2nd year (not too bad, has a shower and kitchen, just not with my friends - but friends are easily accessible) and had a four-room monster in St Albans Quad in 3rd year, with views over both Merton Street and Christchurch Meadow.

Swish. Those St. Alban's sets are lush, but I did reasonably well in the room ballot (25th) so I guess I can forget it...

[asar]

Well, I'm not studying there yet, but I'm practically sure each meal has a cost around 2.20 pounds and you only pay for what you eat. I was concerned about that too, in the sense that my stomach doesn't seem to like the British way of cooking too much :-S (in the interviews I resorted to eating only side dish, salad and maybe a cracker, and then before going to bed, at the "Mexican" dinner time, I'd have grapes from the supermarket).

Nevertheless, college food should be healthier than most things bought outside, and better than at other colleges. They've got a well-stocked salad-biscuits-and-cheese bar, a vegetarian option, cooked vegetables with the meal and nice servings. You can see the menu on the JCR website. And the breakfast during the interviews was very well done, with awesome tea and great croissant-y stuff, although it'll be hard to get used to Continental breakfast coming from a country where everyone has full cooked breakfasts daily.

[sixthirtythree]

(Original post by jakey111)
OK Mertonians, I need to pick your brains for a second!
I want to apply to Merton college to do English Lit & Russian but I'm aware that it's not self-catering in the accomodation there and you have to eat from the canteen. I know this is stupid but I've got issues about eating from there everyday in case it's unhealthy, I'd feel much more comfortable buying my own food...lol. If I have eat from wherever there, A) will it be healthy? and B) do you pay for what you eat, or is it a fixed charge ?? please reply to this because i'm seriously not joking, thanks guys xx

You can choose to live in a house with a kitchen in years 2 and 3, and there is a kitchen in year 1...it's just there's like 2 kitchens between 90 of you.

So it can be self catering.