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Join The Student Room TodayBe part of the UK's largest and fastest growing student community. It's free to join and a lot of fun - Get inspired, express your ideas, interact and share St John's College, OxfordFrom The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Oxford > St John's College, Oxford
LocationSt John's is very conveniently located on St Giles in the centre of Oxford, although in spite of its town centre location, the quads and gardens are very peaceful. It's a two-minute walk from Sainsbury's Local, and about three minutes to Cornmarket Street, which is the main shopping area in Oxford. This also means very quick access to the main libraries and of course to Oxford's plethora of coffee shops! AccommodationSt John's has some of the best accommodation in Oxford, but only if you don't mind the ugly 60s architecture of the Thomas White building. Rooms in the old quads are generally very sought after. Graduate students are mostly housed along St. John Street (former residence of Radiohead's Thom Yorke), in gorgeous four story Georgian townhouses. Rooms vary massively in size - some being absolutely enormous, some less so. The price of accommodation doesn't vary much, however, and those in the largest rooms (usually won by virtue of JCR / MCR roles) do not pay very much more than those in the smallest. St John's accommodation costs are virtually unmatched by any other college - just one of the benefits of going to a wealthy college. Social SpacesLibrary and ComputingThe main college library is stunning, with beautiful views of the Italian Renaissance Canterbury Quad on one side, and of the Great Lawn and gardens on the other. The library is open between 8am and midnight Monday - Saturday, and 10am - 11pm on Sunday during termtime. It's reasonably well stocked for English, Modern Languages and Classics, and most undergrad Physics and Maths students say they rarely need to venture outside of college for reading material. One of the advantages of SJC's wealth though, is that students can request books to be added to the collections via their tutors. It's the perfect place to go for quiet study, writing and / or revision, but not much good for research purposes - for that, it's down St Giles and then left for the Bodleian! In addition to course books, the John's Library also has a collection of old and rare manuscripts, exhibited on a regular basis. To gain access to these books, you'd usually need a tutor's permission and a legitimate research purpose, as they are quite fragile and valuable. There's also a Law Library next to the main one, with an extensive collection of books for Law Students, who never have to venture far for reference material. WelfareAtmosphereThe atmosphere of St. John's is friendly, relaxed, and open, with just the right balance of studiousness and a sense of fun. There are always opportunities to meet new people and make new friends, whether at lunch in hall, in the student bar, or in the JCR or MCR. We boast by far the best snowmen in winter too. The President of the College is very welcoming, and when he invites students into his house for events, he always makes a point of talking to everyone. St John's being one of the more 'academic' colleges, a certain amount of competitiveness and academic pressure is in the air, but not to an unhealthy extent. FacilitiesThe JCR is extremely active, and has its own TV channel ([1]) - the only college to have one. The MCR is fantastic - an all-new building with lots of facilities - two enormous TVs with plenty of seating, a pool table, a computer room, a kitchen, an unlimited supply of college wine, and a chilling out space which always stocked with the newpapers of the day (well, the Guardian at least). There are squash courts and a gym for everyone's use (including tutors - so watch out). ChoirIn addition to the 8 choral scholars the choir has open auditions for the remaining places. The standard is towards the upper end of mixed chapel choirs in Oxford - you don't necessarily have to have had singing lessons or to have had any formal examinations in singing. The main thing is good and accurate sight-singing. There are two services (Wednesday and Sunday) with a rehearsal of 90 minutes beforehand, and free formal afterwards on Sunday. You are paid £4 per service. Student-eye view |
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