From The Student Room Wiki

TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Oxford > Jesus College, Oxford

---

	Visit our discussion forum.
	Jesus College
	Established:	1561
	University:	University of Oxford
	Address:	Turl Street,
	Telephone:	+44 1865 279700
	Website:	www.jesus.ox.ac.uk
	Student Union/JCR website:	jcr.jesus.ox.ac.uk
	Admittance:	Men and women.

Jesus College is one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is one of the three colleges situated on Turl Street (the other two being Lincoln and Exeter. Jesus College is commonly referred to as "The Welsh College", since its establishment by Hugh Price was intended to increase the number of Welsh students at the University.

Contents 1 Location 2 Accommodation 3 Social Spaces 3.1 JCR 3.2 Bar 4 Clubs and Societies 5 Library and Computing 6 Welfare 7 Atmosphere 8 Facilities 8.1 Sports 9 Money Matters 9.1 Hardship Fund 9.2 Scholarships and Prizes 9.3 Academic Funds to Support Your Study 9.4 Travelling for Study ... and for Pleasure 9.5 Sports and Music 9.6 Food Costs 10 Student-eye view

Location

Jesus college has a central location on Turl Street (in between Broad Street, and High Street and backing on to Cornmarket). This makes access to all deparments, as well as shops, very easy. The College flats are located at 121-125 Woodstock Road (around 20 minutes walk) and Cumberland Road (around 30 minutes walk into Cowley).

Accommodation

• Jesus college provides accomodation for the entire duration of your course, both for undergraduates and for graduates.
• In the first year of undergraduate studies students are accomodated on 11 of the 19 staircases in college or in the Ship Street houses directly outside college (literally 10m across the street). These vary from the oldest rooms in Staircase III, which are small but have character; to the various "sets" (two bedrooms with a shared study/lounge and bathroom) in 2nd quad, and the largest most modern rooms in Staircases XVIII and XIX.
• First year students can only stay in college for full term with a few days at either end. Vacation Residence is refused to all students at the end of Michaelmas (as all beds are needed for interviewees) and is charged at conference rates over the Easter Vacation
• Size of rooms varies from about 4.5 x 4.5m in Ship Street to double that size in Staircase XIX.
• Rooms on Staircase 6, 7, 8 and 19 share a bathroom between two people. 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 also share a large sitting room (which means the bedroom is relatively small). On Staircase 3, 12, 13 and 18 there is nearer to 1 shower for 4 people (one shower on Staircase 3, and 13, several showers in separate cubicles in one room in Staircase 18.
• Rents in college are about £850 for full term

• In subsequent years students enter the flat ballot for any of the 67 college flats. Flat leases are around £1000 per term for 40 weeks, allowing students to stay from the Saturday of minus 1st week (the last in September) until the first week in July.
• Most 2nd year students live at Stevens close - a block of 36 flats on the Woodstock Road (about 1.5 miles away from college, opposite St. Hugh's and near to the science area). These flats accommodate 3 people each, with a shared kitchen and dining area, as well as bathroom. They vary in whether the kitchen is open plan or separate and whether there is a bath or shower but are otherwise uniform.
• 8 further flats are next door but one to Stevens close at 121 Woodstock Road. These also house 3 people per flat, but are slightly nicer!
• The majority of finalists then live at the 'Barts' flats, found 2 miles east of Oxford on the Cowley Road. This is also where a number of graduate flats are found. The flats here are more spacious, with more storage, and all house 4 people. The "Leoline Jenkins" flats are on a single floor, while "Hazel Court" is made of 10 houses with bedrooms on the lower 2 floors and then a large kitchen and lounge on the upper floor. The college sports pitches are also found at Barts.
• Bart's is around 30 minutes walk from Oxford so it's well worth having a bike!
• Graduates also live in the flats at Barts, and married couples can apply for places in Thelwall House.

Social Spaces

JCR

The Jesus JCR is one of the newest and nicest in Oxford having been completely redone since 2000. It contains lots of very large comfy armchairs (perfect for watching Neighbours) a large wall-mounted TV with Sky (which is projected onto the projector for football matches and DVD nights), a pool table, computers with internet access (but very little else - just for email checking), a Playstation, vending machines and - of course - the JCR hatch, run by the lovely Val Monday-Friday where she sells toast, tea and coffee, and confectionary all paid for by Bod Card. Daily papers are provided in English, as well as French, German and more recently Spanish and Italian.

Bar

The Jesus Bar (4th Quad) was refurbished in Summer 2007 and is situated in 3rd Quad under the library. Drinks are standard student prices (~£1.80 for a pint) and the bar is a decent size for every night apart from possibly Fridays - when literally the entire college falls upon it.

Clubs and Societies

Jesus College tends to be a jack of all trades but master of none. Everybody does a bit of everything, but outstanding achievements at a college level are rare (which is not to say that Jesubites don't do exceptionally in their own right - current Jesubites hold Blues or Half-Blues in Trampolining, Korfball, Rugby, Rowing, Gymnastics, Swimming and Skiing, play in OUPhil, OUO and OUSinfoniette and sing in Schola, as well as being lead members of the Union). Notable exceptions are the Men's and Women's rugby teams - mentioned below. However the have-a-go atmosphere does mean that college teams are very much come-one-and-all, and enthusiasm is often the most important thing!

Jesus is an enthusiastic rowing college, generally with around 3 women's and 4 men's crews. The boat club bought a new boat in 2007. Rowing is very social within college so lots of people get involved whether they're any good or not! (The ChristChurch Novice regatta in Michaelmas term is especially good for this). The college also fields teams in men's and women's football; men's and women's rugby (The women having come 2nd in cuppers in 2006/7 and won in 2007, and the men having reached the final), women's and mixed hockey, mixed lacrosse, badminton, pool and tennis in the summer. The college owns Oxford's only grass hockey pitches (which are right next to the 3rd year Barts flats) and has a membership with Iffley gym and the Rosenblatt swimming pool.

Jesus college chapel choir is one of the most notable non-auditioning choirs in Oxford, maintaining a standard akin to many auditioning choirs. There are no choral scholars - and the choir regularly reaches over 35 members for normal services. Recent tours have been to St. David's in Wales, a residency at Portsmouth Cathedral, and a tour to Rome (singing at St. Peter's and St. Maria Maggiore). In 2008 the choir will tour Paris.

Library and Computing

The Library and Computer room are both open 24 hours a day via the college swipe card. The Library is separated into the Lower Library (housing Law books), the Periodicals Room, the Science library (on 1st floor) and the Upper Library (housing books on languages, music, history etc). There's generally space for everyone, apart from in Trinity Term when the finalists jealously guard their spots - you have been warned!!

The computer room is underground in 3rd Quad and has around 25 machines, all with Microsoft Office and internet access. This is divided into two rooms, one of which gives Graduates priority. There are two fast double-side laser printers (Bellini and Picasso) and a scanner, and soon to be a colour laser printer too. Printing is paid for on battels.

Welfare

Atmosphere

Facilities

Sports

Jesus is well provided with sporting facilities, including the only grass hockey pitch in Oxford. The main playing fields are situated directly adjacent to the flats in Cowley, and are used for hockey, football and rugby, as well as cricket and tennis. The college also rents Badminton and Squash courts on St. Cross Road and provides students with membership to Iffley Gym. The college boathouse, from where the numerous rowing squads train is situated on the Isis river. Recent rowing achievements include two sets of "Blades" in 2006 - by the Men's Second eight in Torpids, and the Women's Second Eight in Summer Eights.

Money Matters

Hardship Fund

Jesus offers a number of automatic Access Bursaries based on house hold income as calculated by your LEA.

Jesus College Access Bursary Residual Household Income £500 per year Up to £17,500 £350 per year £17,501 - £22,499 £200 per year £22,500 - £37,425

Also available are the Jesus College Bursaries (£1000 in first year plus £500 in each subsequent year; in addition to University bursaries) for students who have written proof that they have been granted partial (but not full) tuition fee remission by their LEA.

Scholarships and Prizes

Undergraduates: Jesus College offers an extensive range of Scholarships (worth £300 a year), Exhibitions (worth £225 a year) and Prizes (books worth up to £150) to reward academic distinction and progress at undergraduate level.

Academic Funds to Support Your Study

There is a generous Book Grant scheme worth up to £150 per year to help undergraduates and graduates buy books in connection with their studies. Undergraduates must buy the first £25-worth of books themselves after which college will refund 50% of all books bought.

For example, Sankey Scholarships help to meet the expenses of being called to the Bar and funding is available to help with the costs of medical electives. Graduates receive assistance with research expenses such as attendance at conferences of up to £760 per year. A full list is available here: http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/undergraduateprizelist.php

Travelling for Study ... and for Pleasure

The College makes many awards for academic travel and expeditions. For instance the Charles Green Studentship: http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/charlesgreenstudentship.php and the McKenna award: http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/mckennaaward.php There are also funds to help with non-academic travel. The Dodd Fund provides a range of grants to undergraduates to travel abroad in the vacation for purposes not connected with their studies.

Sports and Music

The Vaughan Thomas fund (http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/notices/vaughanthomas.php) is also available to help with the cost of e.g. Music lessons (although free singing lessons are provided to all members of the choir). The college is also willing to reimburse members the cost of sports equipment and subscription to University teams .

Food Costs

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available in the College dining hall (except for dinner on Saturday). Average costs are £1.32 for continental breakfast and £1.90 for lunch or the first sitting of dinner, which are both on a self-service basis. The second sitting at dinner ('formal hall') costs £3.00 for a set three-course meal. A Hall Charge is made to cover overheads for meal service in Hall. The cost is £43.18 per term for those living in College and £21.59 for those not living in College. Students are not obliged to eat in Hall. The cost is charged via a swipe card on a pay-as-you-go basis, and paid off once a term.

Student-eye view

The college has a well-earned reputation as being one of the friendliest colleges in Oxford, possibly owing to its small geographical size: meaning that students quickly get to know one another upon their arrival in Oxford. The college also has a reputation for being rather apolitical, and uninterested in the workings of the Oxford Union although the 2007 MT President Elect, Emily Partington, is a Jesus student.

Participation in extra curricular activities is thriving, although no particular activity attracts a majority of the student population. In Arts, the annual Turl Street Arts Festival, in which Jesus combines with Lincoln and Exeter for a week of music, drama and art during 5th week of Hilary Term is of particular note. Especially worth seeing is the Turl Street Evensong, in which the three chapel choirs - all notable in their own right - join to form one 70-singer-strong choir. Although the college does not award choral scholarships the Chapel Choir is well-attended by enthusiastic college members and others. The choir is non-auditioning for college members, and is run by the organ scholars. Recent choir tours have been to Wales (2005), Portsmouth Cathedral (2006) and Rome (2007), during which time the choir sang in S. Peter's Basilica and Santa Maria Maggiore, amongst other churches.