Choosing an Oxford College

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I am a reapplicant for PPE, got rejected by Merton post interview.
Therefore I won't apply to Merton again and now I am not sure which college to choose. Can anybody help? :smile:

I was thinking about LMH, Pembroke, St Anne's, University and St. John's..
Most important to me is accommodation for all three years and this is what all these colleges do (at least I think so).
Apart from that I would like to have at least some other internationals around - not that I wouldn't talk to British people I'm just afraid that they don't like me because I'm international :biggrin:

And it would just be good not to be the only international applicant..
What do you think?

You can see the number of international students per college here (set rows to college and columns to domicile and switch to a three year average to smooth out the data). There is some variation but most of the colleges have a good number of international students (~20 a year sounds like a rough average) so I wouldn't worry about that. And British people will not dislike you because you're international! I'm at St Anne's so if you've got any specific questions about it then you're welcome to ask. It's a very nice college but then again so are all of them!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4641

Fullofsurprises

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

My choice would be for SPC, purely because I can't ride a bike and thus LMH is too far, and I dunno much about Teddy Hall.

Did you get to see the bar at St. Peter's? Tiz very nice (and I barely drink alcohol) :awesome:

That's true actually, they do have a nice bar.

It's nice that you checked them out anyway, despite your abstinence. :teehee:

Reply 4642

Fullofsurprises

Original post by scblx

I am a reapplicant for PPE, got rejected by Merton post interview.
Therefore I won't apply to Merton again and now I am not sure which college to choose. Can anybody help? :smile:

And it would just be good not to be the only international applicant..
What do you think?

What nationality are you, if you don't mind being asked? Honestly, Oxford is generally very cosmopolitan, most non - Brits have few problems finding people to relate to, regardless of college choice.

Reply 4643

scblx

Original post by Fullofsurprises

What nationality are you, if you don't mind being asked? Honestly, Oxford is generally very cosmopolitan, most non - Brits have few problems finding people to relate to, regardless of college choice.

Oh I don't mind, I'm German. :smile:

Reply 4644

Fullofsurprises

Original post by scblx

Oh I don't mind, I'm German. :smile:

Are you applying to do postgrad work? Anyway, there isn't a specific policy against being friendly to Germans in any of the colleges, you will be relieved to hear. :smile:

Reply 4645

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by Fullofsurprises

That's true actually, they do have a nice bar.

It's nice that you checked them out anyway, despite your abstinence. :teehee:

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Reply 4646

scblx

Original post by Fullofsurprises

Are you applying to do postgrad work? Anyway, there isn't a specific policy against being friendly to Germans in any of the colleges, you will be relieved to hear. :smile:

I am applying for undergrad (again :biggrin:

) PPE

Hahaha that's great :biggrin:

Reply 4647

personage

Original post by scblx

I am applying for undergrad (again :biggrin:

) PPE

Hahaha that's great :biggrin:

have a look a LMH's new website. It has a short film which gives you a good impression of the college. Lot of interest in it this year due to new buildings and new principal.

Reply 4648

Rhaenys10

Is Christ Church oversubscribed for English and Modern Languages?

Reply 4649

BioOx

Original post by Rhaenys10

Is Christ Church oversubscribed for English and Modern Languages?

Not at all. Nobody applies there since it does not offer that course :tongue:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate/additional-info/college-success-rates?wssl=1

Reply 4650

Rhaenys10

Apparently, it does. Thanks for the stats though :wink:

http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/admissions/english-and-modern-languages

Reply 4651

scblx

I was just wondering, is there any college particularly popular among reapplicants? Would it be sensible to go for a less popular college than the year before?

Reply 4652

such_a_lady

Original post by scblx

I was just wondering, is there any college particularly popular among reapplicants? Would it be sensible to go for a less popular college than the year before?

Don't worry about how popular the college is - just choose one that you like the look of :smile:

it won't really make a difference!

Reply 4653

Camilli

I've forgotten-- are you staying at Magdalen?

Reply 4654

Nojoud

Hi All,

Please I need some advice!

What Oxford college is best for studying the Msc in refugee and forced migration!
I'm from Sudan and am aiming for the best college for selecting this in my application..

Below are the oxford colleges that offer this Master program:

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Blackfriars

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Campion Hall

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Exeter College

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Green Templeton College

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Harris Manchester College

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Regent's Park College

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St Anne's College

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St Antony's College

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St Catherine's College

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Which one is best you think?
I look forward to coming back to this forum some time in mid-year and share my story of being selected for a full-funded scholarship!
Yes Indeed :wink:

Thanks all
Nojoud

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4655

OxFossil

Original post by Nojoud

•

Blackfriars

•

Campion Hall

•

Exeter College

•

Green Templeton College

•

Harris Manchester College

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Regent's Park College

•

St Anne's College

•

St Antony's College

•

St Catherine's College

•

•

•

•

•

Which one is best you think?
I look forward to coming back to this forum some time in mid-year and share my story of being selected for a full-funded scholarship!
Yes Indeed :wink:

Thanks all
Nojoud

Hello Nojoud,

As I am sure you appreciate, every college is academically excellent.

So your choice will be, like any other student, very much down to your personal needs - what things count as most important to you. All I would add is that I have worked as a lecturer for PG courses on population studies at another Russell Group university. Our students were predominantly from Africa and in the UK for the first time. Based on that experience, if I were in your situation, I would try to choose the college that offers the most sociable experience, where it would be easiest to mix with other mature students from overseas. That might mean:

= a postgraduate college rather than one that includes both post- and under- graduates
= a large PG college rather than a small one
= a college that offers accommodation on site rather than in dispersed college-owned houses or through the PG accommodation service

But others might disagree. Good luck.

Reply 4656

personage

Dear Nojoud,

I totally agree with Oxfossil and his/her three criteria. I'd particularly point you in the direction of Lady Margaret Hall. A large, friendly, forward-looking college with brand new accommodation for PG students (opened last year). But this is just a suggestion, and it really depends on what lights your candle when it comes to life/study criteria.

http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/Graduates.aspx

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4657

Camilli

Also bear in mind that the colleges will have next to no impact on your course of study. That becomes the faculty/department's job to coordinate. At the post-grad level, colleges are mostly for social/housing facilities.

Speaking of which-- who seems to put the bulk of first-year PGs in one or two nice places instead of flinging them all over the suburbs?

LMH got mentioned above (again). I'm thinking that Lincoln, Merton, and Pembroke have a lot going on that front. Balliol, perhaps. Any other ideas? Am I misreading these candidates?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4658

nulli tertius

Original post by Camilli

I would say St Antony's or perhaps Wolfson.

Although teaching will be organised departmentally, it is helpful to have some people in college with interests in the broad area. It can be isolating if everyone else in college wants to talk about dissection or investment banking (Green Templeton, I'm thinking of you)