not enjoying oxbridge?

Lots of people don't. Personally I found last term a bit **** (and have written it off), but I'm enjoying it a lot this term.

hi, is there anyone in oxbridge who isn't enjoying it? if so, why?

I don't think everyone enjoys everything 100%. It's possible to hate some aspects but love others. I do know people who hate their course but enjoy everything else, etc.

I enjoy everything but the work. That isn't to say that I 'hate' the work though, but I just don't like it. I've met many others in a similar situation.

I love everything about it, other than what I'm actully here for - the academic side - the course, the work, the degree.

I'm sick of having to teach myself everything - essentially in theology the whole degree is self taught, and there some things I just can't teach myself, and so I hit a dead end. While some lectures are excellent, most are uninspiring, some little more than rough outlines of the set texts, whithout any real explanation of the core concepts, and some aren't relevant to the exam questions at all. The supervision system is hugely overated - while you can pick up some very interesting insights from an expert in the field - you still have to have produed the 3000 word essy beforehand, and so still are by and large, teaching yourself - the supervision revolves around the essay you produced.

I can't help but think if I'd gone to another university I could be looking at a 2.1, maybe even a first - I used to be a really good student, gaining the highest A level mark out of my college year group of 700 - and now I just feel stupid all the time, because everyone else seems to understand the set texts and I just can't. I've always been driven by academic ambition - I've now lost that completely and I'm just hoping I pass this year - I'll be thrilled with a 2.2. Any interest I had in my subject has long since died.

God what a depressing post-sorry about that! It's a shame, because I'm happy with all the other aspects of my time here - the social life, the extra curriculars, and I love the collegite system, and have a really nice year group in my college. I just feel a bit at sea most of the time.

I love everything about it, other than what I'm actully here for - the academic side - the course, the work, the degree.

I'm sick of having to teach myself everything - essentially in theology the whole degree is self taught, and there some things I just can't teach myself, and so I hit a dead end. While some lectures are excellent, most are uninspiring, some little more than rough outlines of the set texts, whithout any real explanation of the core concepts, and some aren't relevant to the exam questions at all. The supervision system is hugely overated - while you can pick up some very interesting insights from an expert in the field - you still have to have produed the 3000 word essy beforehand, and so still are by and large, teaching yourself - the supervision revolves around the essay you produced.

I can't help but think if I'd gone to another university I could be looking at a 2.1, maybe even a first - I used to be a really good student, gaining the highest A level mark out of my college year group of 700 - and now I just feel stupid all the time, because everyone else seems to understand the set texts and I just can't. I've always been driven by academic ambition - I've now lost that completely and I'm just hoping I pass this year - I'll be thrilled with a 2.2. Any interest I had in my subject has long since died.

I'm not a fan of the college and I find the amount of work to be quite demanding, but I guess I do find my course interesting which is a major advantage. Sometimes I really wish I was at a less high pressure institution though. Also I feel like I'm wasting a lot of the advanatages I have being at Cambridge because I haven't got any good friends so I'm not doing much socialising/ going to May Balls etc.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you are a perfectionist, and that you aren't used to people being better than you academically. I don't mean either of those things in a harsh way -- the first is not a bad thing per se, and the second is a value-neutral fact.

I found the best way of coping with the academic side of Cambridge was (1) to prioritise socialising and extra-currics (except in exam term), as if you prioritise work it could, potentially, take up all your time (2) to expect to be below average academically, although (hopefully!) not right at the bottom.

I would agree that by no means all lectures are any good or relevant to the exams (in fact, in my first two years I don't think it'd have had any adverse affect on my exam results if I hadn't attended a single lecture). And indeed, the supervision system isn't always superb, but it's better than 12-person seminars. The teaching yourself point is true, but it is directed self-teaching, and working directly for the exam isn't so hard if you have past papers (certainly some of them change amazingly little from year to year).

Also, do you really have to produce 3000 word essays in first year? Back in my first year I was writing around 1500 words a week, albeit with other bits of work as well. In final year, when my weekly essay was essentially my only work, I was writing around 2500 words. I don't think I ever had a supervisor complain that my essays were too short.