New College, Oxford

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	New College
	Established:	1379
	University:	University of Oxford
	Address:	Holywell St Oxford, OX1 3BN, UK
	Telephone:	+44 1865 279555
	Website:	www.new.ox.ac.uk
	Student Union/JCR website:	jcr.new.ox.ac.uk
	Admittance:	Men and women

Location

New College occupies a large area of land situated just to the North of the High Street towards its Eastern end. The main entrance is on Holywell street and there is also an exit onto New College Lane. New is bordered by Hertford, All Souls & St Edmund Hall. It is approximately 5 minutes from the Exam Schools (most humanities lectures) and 10 minutes from the centre of town and the science area.

Accommodation

New accommodation is good, for undergraduates this means a decent size of room though they can vary massively from palatial sets to some slightly poky ones, in first year everyone pays the same and they are randomly allocated, 2nd and 3rd year are done by a reversing random ballot (not dependent on first year). Nearly all are en-suite, most are well furnished with a few having double beds, sofas and fridges people have left. Internet access and cleaner once a week come as standard. New has a reputation for terrible food but this has been improving over the past year. There are NO cooking facilities for first years, and 2nd years normally must trade a kitchen for an en-suite; you are only allowed a fridge (which you can bring or can be rented from college) and kettle in your room.

First years are housed in the New Buildings which make up the row of buildings along Holywell Street (only accessible internally), including the main entrance and the front of the college. After first year it is much more spread-out, but no college accommodation is more than a five-minute walk from college. A fair few people can live in for all three years, but while all second and fourth years are guaranteed a room most people must find private accommodation for their third year

Grads and 4th year undergrads are housed together. The two main sites are:

The Sacher building

• a 60s building in college which was refurbished after a fire and is therefore quite nice
• also houses the MCR, which has a TV, a bar and a tendency to supply free food (e.g. free brunch on Sunday morning, free tea and cakes on Saturday afternoon)
• has a computer room

Weston Buildings

• by the college sports ground (a few minutes' walk from the main college site)
• you live in really nice houses in small groups; better than the Sacher building

Social Spaces

College life is as social as you make it. There are quiet places if you need to study, such as the Library, but the bar and JCR provide social/meeting places all year round, and the lawns become the top chill-out or pretend-to-revise spot in the summer.

Library and Computing

The college Library is open 08:30 to 00:00 every day during full term, and operates a reduced opening time during the vacations. The JCR has been pushing to get a 24 hour library. There is an ethernet point in every bedroom, and the college has a dedicated computer room as well as three computers in the JCR. It also operates several wifi spots (including the JCR and the Library) accessible with your computing username.

Welfare

The college has an extensive Welfare system, including the chaplain, the college nurse, two fellows (the Cox & Salvesen fellows) who are typically in their late 20's and have a dedicated welfare role, and the JCR welfare team, which includes the President and the Male and Female Welfare officers.

Atmosphere

New College is generally fairly relaxed and friendly. There are plenty of open spaces and the college itself is as pretty as any other, particularly on a sunny, clear morning. There's no particular widespread political bent or additional academic pressure. It's a large college, so there are plenty of people around, but not so many that you won't know who most people are by the end of your first year, certainly in your own year.

Facilities

In addition to the standard JCR, bar, library and computer room, New College has a large hall that provides breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times. Both formal and informal hall occur every day, except on Fridays, where formal hall is replaced by Guest Night, an event that alternates between MCR and JCR attendance. Guest Night costs about £10 but has superior food, and is a well-attended occasion, with tickets being highly sought after and selling out quickly each fortnight. It's also worth noting that despite New's kitchen reputation, the food at breakfast and lunch is generally good, with more choice available at lunch than at dinner.

New College also has a band room, a soundproofed underground room that's recently had some money put into it - a new, gigantic Marshall amp and a better drum kit being the main acquisitions. The band room is free for anyone to use, and the equipment gets used for open mic nights and similar events.

Student-eye view

For a student's take on the pros and cons of New College relative to other Oxford Colleges feel free to check out this page on the JCR website http://jcr.new.ox.ac.uk/access/whynew/ (details accurate as of January 2012).