Choosing an Oxford College
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Yeah of course but in my opinion it's just better to apply to a less well known college that's right for you to begin with because your near guaranteed an interview. Not all good applicants who deserve a place get pooled or allocated to other colleges, only perhaps the very best of the maybes. Most important when choosing a college is to pick one that's academically right for you, and secondly make sure it's not hugely popular in your course/in general because although it may be an aim that everything eventually balances out it's not right to believe that that happens in every case in reality. That said if your completely passionate about a very well known college, it's worth applying there but if you don't really mind, I'd go for one of the less popular ones.
so are you saying that the risk an applicant takes by applying to a well known college is facing the chance that they may not be interviewed at all? I think that's a fair point if that's the case, although I dont think that happens very much in Cambridge, so sounds like it's more common at Oxford to be rejected without interview.
KerriT
I had an awful fourth interview at St. Hugh's (applied to Keble) it was late, the tutors weren't paying any attention to what I was saying and I lost the thread of what I was saying, they were absolutely awful. My other three interviews were interesting and quite fun in a weird way, but that fourth one was hideous torture and totally mismanaged (the room was a tip, one interviewer spent the entire time trying to open her bottle of water, lots of other things). It was obvious they weren't interested in me and didn't even give me a chance to show myself. Nevertheless, the three "proper" interviews all wanted to see my potential to come up with examples and expand upon ideas from extracts I had seen, discussing definitions, what interests me etc.
chrissy909
I agree...I chose completely the wrong college and only had one really pointless 10 minute interview - they hadn't read my personal statement or essay before the interview and were totally unprepared. I ended up having to analyse masks (so random) with virtually no questions on my essay/p.s./history in general.
You've gotta find out which colleges are right for you and the professors that work there and what they specialize in!
You've gotta find out which colleges are right for you and the professors that work there and what they specialize in!
Another point is that people have very varied interview experiences accross colleges. This makes it likely that if you applied to such a college and had that kind of experience you would be less likely to get in, and it happens when people get pooled too, so I dont think the pooling system does even out the differences. I know other people who had really bad interviews too, its up to whatever set of people interview you first, and depending on where you apply they will be different - so even if you look to see that they are interested in your area of say history, there is still a huge element of luck in the process which means it is not uniform or equal.
No, unless you don't get past the initial stage of passing the BMAT, LNAT or HAT at Oxford you will get interviewed no matter what college, but it's unrealistic to rely completely on pooling or being sent to another college if your good enough. Magdelen college (ox.) for example, is very good at passing on good students to other colleges while Pembroke - where I had my awful interview as described above, only sent on 1 person for a second interview for my subject. I didn't research my college well enough, clearly I wasn't the type of applicant they were looking for and my interview was a complete shambles where I pretty much felt rejected from the get go. It just seems that you'd heighten your chances by applying to a less well known college to begin with where at your first, and only guaranteed interview (for most subjects) to have a greater chance of being offered a place as there are usually less applicants per place.
~Bex~
What's everyone's opinions on Selwyn? Is it really that far away from the centre? That's the main thing that worries me. (Thinking of applying there for philosophy for 2007 entry)
It's not very far from the centre at all...10 minute walk? From what I remember anyway...
And if you do Philosophy you'll be at the Sidgwick site for lectures...which is a couple of minutes walk from Selwyn. So it's well located.
Hi, I'm stuck between applying to Christ Church and Corpus Christi, Oxford, for English. My school wants me to select a college that suits my character soon. How do you work out what type of applicant the colleges are looking for? As far as I can see, most of them make a point of saying they aren't looking for a special stereotype.
I saw a lot of advice about not applying to Christ Church in the course of reading this thread, as it's a popular college, but the ratio statistics claim that Corpus is the more popular one for English. The average ratio for English is 3.8. The ratio for Christ Church is 3.6 and the ratio for Corpus Christi is 4.6. Would it really be that wise to apply to Corpus Christi, then?
I'm mainly concerned about how friendly Christ Church is. I went there over the Easter holidays myself, and I really liked it, but I didn't see Corpus so I can't say if I would. Corpus's alternative prospectus appears to be really friendly though, and I really like the idea of college parents, something that I don't think Christ Church has... Would it be safe to say that most colleges are pretty friendly regardless of size?
I'm also curious as to how cosmopolitan the colleges are. Is the intake of international students similar across all Oxford colleges, or do some have slightly more? I made a wild guess that Christ Church would have more international students in terms of numbers (don't know about percentages), simply because it has more students in general.
Edit: And now someone has just recommended me a whole other list of colleges that didn't include Christ Church and Corpus. Hmm.
I saw a lot of advice about not applying to Christ Church in the course of reading this thread, as it's a popular college, but the ratio statistics claim that Corpus is the more popular one for English. The average ratio for English is 3.8. The ratio for Christ Church is 3.6 and the ratio for Corpus Christi is 4.6. Would it really be that wise to apply to Corpus Christi, then?
I'm mainly concerned about how friendly Christ Church is. I went there over the Easter holidays myself, and I really liked it, but I didn't see Corpus so I can't say if I would. Corpus's alternative prospectus appears to be really friendly though, and I really like the idea of college parents, something that I don't think Christ Church has... Would it be safe to say that most colleges are pretty friendly regardless of size?
I'm also curious as to how cosmopolitan the colleges are. Is the intake of international students similar across all Oxford colleges, or do some have slightly more? I made a wild guess that Christ Church would have more international students in terms of numbers (don't know about percentages), simply because it has more students in general.
Edit: And now someone has just recommended me a whole other list of colleges that didn't include Christ Church and Corpus. Hmm.
well, i think the main thing here is college size, corpus is v small and chirst church a large one. do you mind a small college where you might not get on with many people (though im sure you will!)? or do you want a bigger college. i looked at corpus briefly when choosing and found it attractive (but small, i really think you need to see corpus you have picked 2 extremes).
im sure lots of people will say don't look at the ratios , they're both high and anywhere for eng is v competitive. however how many students do each take for your subject? corpus is small but if there are quite a few english students there it could outbalance a large christs with few english (i have no idea how many they take).
you can't really say if a college matchs your character TBH.
im sure lots of people will say don't look at the ratios , they're both high and anywhere for eng is v competitive. however how many students do each take for your subject? corpus is small but if there are quite a few english students there it could outbalance a large christs with few english (i have no idea how many they take).
you can't really say if a college matchs your character TBH.
Corpus takes in 5 or 6 students and Christ Church 10 every year.
When I visited Oxford for a short while, I didn't get to see Corpus, and definitely won't get another chance before I apply, so I think I'll have to make do. I personally like having a lot of space, but I'm also the type who opens up easier when there are less people around.
I may have to reconsider other options and redo my list of colleges at this rate.
What is it like to walk or bike to town/the library in winter from a more distant college like LMH or St Hugh's? I'm guessing there's snow and possibly ice (two things we don't get where I live), and am wondering if the 15 minute walk or the 5 minute bike ride is a nuisance or something you get used to - maybe even enjoy! Especially if you did some shopping.
When I visited Oxford for a short while, I didn't get to see Corpus, and definitely won't get another chance before I apply, so I think I'll have to make do. I personally like having a lot of space, but I'm also the type who opens up easier when there are less people around.
I may have to reconsider other options and redo my list of colleges at this rate.
What is it like to walk or bike to town/the library in winter from a more distant college like LMH or St Hugh's? I'm guessing there's snow and possibly ice (two things we don't get where I live), and am wondering if the 15 minute walk or the 5 minute bike ride is a nuisance or something you get used to - maybe even enjoy! Especially if you did some shopping.
don't think the journey is too bad. remember that most colleges will make you live away from the main college in your 2nd year so you'll have to bike then.
also i know a couple of people at more distant colleges like st hughs and some (not all) found it a bit isolated. by this i mean they found when bops etc were going on more central colleges sometimes mixed a bit more, whilst the distant ones missed out slightly. one girl did feel a bit isolated but this is just one case, she also found as she was doing history and so spent most time in the library/college she found it harder to mix as she was at a more isolated college. science students who spent more time in the central department didn't have this problem. however i think its how much intergration you're willing/can do.
also i know a couple of people at more distant colleges like st hughs and some (not all) found it a bit isolated. by this i mean they found when bops etc were going on more central colleges sometimes mixed a bit more, whilst the distant ones missed out slightly. one girl did feel a bit isolated but this is just one case, she also found as she was doing history and so spent most time in the library/college she found it harder to mix as she was at a more isolated college. science students who spent more time in the central department didn't have this problem. however i think its how much intergration you're willing/can do.
windsong
Corpus takes in 5 or 6 students and Christ Church 10 every year.
When I visited Oxford for a short while, I didn't get to see Corpus, and definitely won't get another chance before I apply, so I think I'll have to make do. I personally like having a lot of space, but I'm also the type who opens up easier when there are less people around.
I may have to reconsider other options and redo my list of colleges at this rate.
What is it like to walk or bike to town/the library in winter from a more distant college like LMH or St Hugh's? I'm guessing there's snow and possibly ice (two things we don't get where I live), and am wondering if the 15 minute walk or the 5 minute bike ride is a nuisance or something you get used to - maybe even enjoy! Especially if you did some shopping.
When I visited Oxford for a short while, I didn't get to see Corpus, and definitely won't get another chance before I apply, so I think I'll have to make do. I personally like having a lot of space, but I'm also the type who opens up easier when there are less people around.
I may have to reconsider other options and redo my list of colleges at this rate.
What is it like to walk or bike to town/the library in winter from a more distant college like LMH or St Hugh's? I'm guessing there's snow and possibly ice (two things we don't get where I live), and am wondering if the 15 minute walk or the 5 minute bike ride is a nuisance or something you get used to - maybe even enjoy! Especially if you did some shopping.
If you go to LMH you definitely get used to the extra time to get into town. At night it is a bit worse for girls, you have to be careful on a long walk home - but that is true anywhere I guess. Shopping for food can be a bit annoying if you like cooking rather than eating in hall.
One good thing is though that during the day the fastest way to get into town on foot is to walk through the university parks, which I must say is really lovely. I virtually lived at my ex gf's in my final year, and I loved walking through the park every morning. It gave me a whole different perspective on Oxford, some of my fondest memories, because north oxford and the parks is the greenest area of ox. I had my happiest year as a result. I think there are downsides to LMH, but that is defn a unique good point. There are other colleges close to the park, St Annes, Keble, Mansfield... but non of those force you to walk through the parks everyday, which is very rewarding but something students wouldnt bother to do normally. Still if you are a bike person, you cannot cycle through the park, so it makes no difference to being somewhere like St. Annes, except to take five more mins.
I had a lot of tutorials at Corpus Christi, it was a cute college, smaller than mansfield in size, but with a slightly larger student population. It is right next to the other CC though, so I imagine there is socialising between the two.
This is probably my last concern - like I said earlier, I like the idea of college parents. I just read this article, which says that college parents are a University-wide scheme, contrary to my expectations. Does this mean that every college has the college parenting system, or was that a generalisation on the article's part? (I'd be delighted if all colleges do! 
)
)windsong
This is probably my last concern - like I said earlier, I like the idea of college parents. I just read this article, which says that college parents are a University-wide scheme, contrary to my expectations. Does this mean that every college has the college parenting system, or was that a generalisation on the article's part? (I'd be delighted if all colleges do! )
)Mansfield does.
It hardly ever snows in Southern England - cold winds and rain are more of a problem.
When you do choose a college, check where the second and third years live, as many of the colleges have annexes so you might have to get used to cycling anyway even if you choose a central one. Suddenly thought - I don't know what international students do about bikes as you can't take them home during vacations.
When you do choose a college, check where the second and third years live, as many of the colleges have annexes so you might have to get used to cycling anyway even if you choose a central one. Suddenly thought - I don't know what international students do about bikes as you can't take them home during vacations.
Yesterday I met a friend who was trying to choose a college using the university prospectus. She didn't seem to know that there were other sources of information available. In case you are in the same situation, there's lots of other info out there.
Don't forget, some subjects are only available at certain colleges.
Info for Oxbridge, there's:
1. Main univeristy prospectuses
2. Main university websites.
3. Each faculty/department has it's own website listing all the staff, which college they belong to and their research interests. It also tells you about the course details and research projects in the department. (Note that if you select certain options you may be tutored by someone at another college.)
4. Each college produces it's own prospectus - e-mail the admissions secretary. They may also be able to send you specific course information for that subject and that college. Some also have information about accommodation.
5. Each college has its own website with photos and virtual tours. Sometimes they have course information on the web and info about the tutors.
6. Each college has its own JCR website - The JCR stands for Junior common room - the undergraduate sudent association. This will tell you something about the non-academic, social and informal side of the college.
7. The student union websites - OUSU and CUSU
In addition to the official sources there are also the unofficial sources. Each university has an alternative prospectus produced by the students and available from the OUSU or CUSU. See their websites. Some colleges have thier own alternative prospectuses - see links below or try the college JCR website.
Cambridge alternative prospectus
Cambridge College alternative prospectuses
Oxford alternative prospectuses - see thread
Oxford alternative prospectus
If you just want bare facts, there are also admissions statistics available on the web. You can find out the proportions of people from different school backgrounds and numbers doing each subject, ratios of applicants per place and numbers pooled etc.
Totally confused? Then all that you may just want to back to the ordinary prospectus, it's simpler.
Don't forget, some subjects are only available at certain colleges.
Info for Oxbridge, there's:
1. Main univeristy prospectuses
2. Main university websites.
3. Each faculty/department has it's own website listing all the staff, which college they belong to and their research interests. It also tells you about the course details and research projects in the department. (Note that if you select certain options you may be tutored by someone at another college.)
4. Each college produces it's own prospectus - e-mail the admissions secretary. They may also be able to send you specific course information for that subject and that college. Some also have information about accommodation.
5. Each college has its own website with photos and virtual tours. Sometimes they have course information on the web and info about the tutors.
6. Each college has its own JCR website - The JCR stands for Junior common room - the undergraduate sudent association. This will tell you something about the non-academic, social and informal side of the college.
7. The student union websites - OUSU and CUSU
In addition to the official sources there are also the unofficial sources. Each university has an alternative prospectus produced by the students and available from the OUSU or CUSU. See their websites. Some colleges have thier own alternative prospectuses - see links below or try the college JCR website.
Cambridge alternative prospectus
Cambridge College alternative prospectuses
Oxford alternative prospectuses - see thread
Oxford alternative prospectus
If you just want bare facts, there are also admissions statistics available on the web. You can find out the proportions of people from different school backgrounds and numbers doing each subject, ratios of applicants per place and numbers pooled etc.
Totally confused? Then all that you may just want to back to the ordinary prospectus, it's simpler.
Hi, I am hoping to apply to Oxford in October to read English and Modern Languages, but am completely stuck as to which college to apply to! I have narrowed it down to around 15...
I'm looking for a college that isn't too small, that has a good social life, with lots to get involved in and is reasonably near to the city centre. I guess I'm asking a lot!!? I don't know if any particular colleges spring to mind...?
Thanks
Jo
I'm looking for a college that isn't too small, that has a good social life, with lots to get involved in and is reasonably near to the city centre. I guess I'm asking a lot!!? I don't know if any particular colleges spring to mind...?
Thanks
Jo
JoannaRowley
Hi, I am hoping to apply to Oxford in October to read English and Modern Languages, but am completely stuck as to which college to apply to! I have narrowed it down to around 15...
I'm looking for a college that isn't too small, that has a good social life, with lots to get involved in and is reasonably near to the city centre. I guess I'm asking a lot!!? I don't know if any particular colleges spring to mind...?
Thanks
Jo
I'm looking for a college that isn't too small, that has a good social life, with lots to get involved in and is reasonably near to the city centre. I guess I'm asking a lot!!? I don't know if any particular colleges spring to mind...?
Thanks
Jo
Teddy Hall (St Edmund Hall)
The fact that you are polish and female impacts not one bit on whether Gonville and Caius is a good college. If you like it then apply there. Equally I think non-english applicants are recommended to do an open application rather than apply to a college
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/more.html
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/more.html
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