American VSP that's super confused

Hello, I'm a Visiting Student from the US, but was advised to ask questions on this forum for more relevant answers. I got accepted into a program at Mansfield, and was ecstatic for the opportunity until this week. Since then I've heard nothing but bad things about Mansfield, how they're lacking in resources for students and extremely far behind other schools, how the Crypt cafe is garbage and other things that put it at the bottom of the college tier list.
I have frankly no clue how much the college you're in matters. Do people identify more with their college or Oxford as a whole? I'll be taking tutorials with my college tutors, so I get the impression it's the former.
Also, how bad is Oxford with nickle and diming? I heard that financial support is atrocious at Mansfield, and that they tend to charge the most for meals. I'm planning on skipping meals and formals to make up the costs, even though I know this will be horrible for my health. In America my college offers a meal plan that allows unlimited access to dining halls and the fact Oxford doesn't have a similar program is frankly absurd to me. How do students even get by?
I don't know if my paranoia is just from having no one to turn to and scouring Quora of all places for answers but I would really like it if someone explained why I'm being delusional. Hearing all this slander online makes me terrified, when just a week ago I was the happiest I'd been in a while.

Hello, I'm a Visiting Student from the US, but was advised to ask questions on this forum for more relevant answers. I got accepted into a program at Mansfield, and was ecstatic for the opportunity until this week. Since then I've heard nothing but bad things about Mansfield, how they're lacking in resources for students and extremely far behind other schools, how the Crypt cafe is garbage and other things that put it at the bottom of the college tier list.
I have frankly no clue how much the college you're in matters. Do people identify more with their college or Oxford as a whole? I'll be taking tutorials with my college tutors, so I get the impression it's the former.
Also, how bad is Oxford with nickle and diming? I heard that financial support is atrocious at Mansfield, and that they tend to charge the most for meals. I'm planning on skipping meals and formals to make up the costs, even though I know this will be horrible for my health. In America my college offers a meal plan that allows unlimited access to dining halls and the fact Oxford doesn't have a similar program is frankly absurd to me. How do students even get by?
I don't know if my paranoia is just from having no one to turn to and scouring Quora of all places for answers but I would really like it if someone explained why I'm being delusional. Hearing all this slander online makes me terrified, when just a week ago I was the happiest I'd been in a while.

Hello, I'm a Visiting Student from the US, but was advised to ask questions on this forum for more relevant answers. I got accepted into a program at Mansfield, and was ecstatic for the opportunity until this week. Since then I've heard nothing but bad things about Mansfield, how they're lacking in resources for students and extremely far behind other schools, how the Crypt cafe is garbage and other things that put it at the bottom of the college tier list.
I have frankly no clue how much the college you're in matters. Do people identify more with their college or Oxford as a whole? I'll be taking tutorials with my college tutors, so I get the impression it's the former.
Also, how bad is Oxford with nickle and diming? I heard that financial support is atrocious at Mansfield, and that they tend to charge the most for meals. I'm planning on skipping meals and formals to make up the costs, even though I know this will be horrible for my health. In America my college offers a meal plan that allows unlimited access to dining halls and the fact Oxford doesn't have a similar program is frankly absurd to me. How do students even get by?
I don't know if my paranoia is just from having no one to turn to and scouring Quora of all places for answers but I would really like it if someone explained why I'm being delusional. Hearing all this slander online makes me terrified, when just a week ago I was the happiest I'd been in a while.

Teaching is delivered centrally for lectures and classes, and it wouldn't be a constituent of the university if it wasn't delivering appropriate tutorials for students. The academics there are still full members of the university department.

Pretty sure most colleges at Oxford charge per meal or have meal plans where the cost is similar...?

I've been told on good authority before in many ways the colleges are glorified halls of residence. They just have some additional pastoral functions and you have tutorials in them too.

I think you're making the colleges out to be something they aren't. The university still has separate academic departments where most teaching is delivered, where academics are based themselves.

I've never heard anything like this about Mansfield in my time at Oxford - I think people just like to exaggerate things online! Mansfield also have the highest UK state school admission of any college in Oxford, so I do wonder if some of this bizarre criticism is motivated by classism. In any case you'll have a great experience at Oxford whatever college you're at, which ones are better or worse comes down to personal preference rather than any college being objectively terrible in the way you describe.

Meal prices do look a little steep compared to other colleges but from the sounds of the website you're likely to have access to cooking facilities (oven, stove, fridge/freezer etc) in your accommodation so simply cooking for yourself is an easy way to avoid overspending on food - though worth going to a formal at least once for the experience if you can afford it, it should still be cheaper than a meal out in most restaurants. In Oxford you are pretty connected to your college but also to the University as a whole - you have college tutorials but there are also lectures and other classes in your department, there are student societies at a college level but also at a university level you can join etc.

I honestly wouldn't worry. Be proud of your achievement and remember how excited you were to go to Oxford, I really don't think Mansfield is anything like how these people make it sound!

Why does Mansfield charge so much for meals compared to other colleges? Do you think I could change colleges if it's a major burden to my health/finances?

Hello, I'm a Visiting Student from the US, but was advised to ask questions on this forum for more relevant answers. I got accepted into a program at Mansfield, and was ecstatic for the opportunity until this week. Since then I've heard nothing but bad things about Mansfield, how they're lacking in resources for students and extremely far behind other schools, how the Crypt cafe is garbage and other things that put it at the bottom of the college tier list.
I have frankly no clue how much the college you're in matters. Do people identify more with their college or Oxford as a whole? I'll be taking tutorials with my college tutors, so I get the impression it's the former.
Also, how bad is Oxford with nickle and diming? I heard that financial support is atrocious at Mansfield, and that they tend to charge the most for meals. I'm planning on skipping meals and formals to make up the costs, even though I know this will be horrible for my health. In America my college offers a meal plan that allows unlimited access to dining halls and the fact Oxford doesn't have a similar program is frankly absurd to me. How do students even get by?
I don't know if my paranoia is just from having no one to turn to and scouring Quora of all places for answers but I would really like it if someone explained why I'm being delusional. Hearing all this slander online makes me terrified, when just a week ago I was the happiest I'd been in a while.

At my current college (Cornell) people identify more with their department than the college itself. For example business students will tell others they're in Dyson, not that they're just Cornell students. I'm assuming Oxford is the same with people culturally/academically relying on their colleges more than the school itself.

People always trash talk other Colleges and are hyperbolic about whatever issue they have a particular focus on. Think of it like NFL, loads of trash talk from other teams, and even their own fans about every team whether it's Kansas City Chiefs or the Cincinnati Bengals (for what it's worth, the best team!). I'm sure if you looked on Quora you could find all sorts of trash talk about Mahomes and build up a really poor profile of him, but back in the real world ....!

No Colleges are financially dramatically different to any others as far as student costs are concerned. Funding for students in the UK falls into a pretty narrow band (the wealthy funding parent is more or less a myth, and very rare) and all Colleges fit within that band. Some make a little more on rents and less on food, others vice versa, but it all balances out. In terms of funds, some are richer than others, but the richer ones are the ones with enormous estate costs because they live in buildings older than many countries! Their money doesn't necessarily go on students.

The US funding system for tertiary education is fundamentally different to the UK because your approach to philanthropy is very different.

Do you think it'll really be as much of a shock as the internet makes it out to be then? I'm still excited to go I'm just worried that they don't seem to have the same level of services for students from what I've heard

Do you think it'll really be as much of a shock as the internet makes it out to be then? I'm still excited to go I'm just worried that they don't seem to have the same level of services for students from what I've heard

bro dw, people are just saying that lol. Well done for getting into Oxford. The colleges are not really much more than where you get meals from and where your dorm is.