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Oxford 2011 Freshers Chat Thread

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I just saw that I had an email from my college, got really excited, opened it, read it and felt like an idiot:
'It is very important that we are able to correspond with you by email over
the summer months. If the email address to which this message has been sent
will not be valid throughout the summer and until the beginning of October,
please reply with an alternative email address.'
It wasn't quite as interesting as I had hoped... :colondollar:
Does anyone know if you can choose to stay in college accommodation over the holiday periods? (Trinity in particular)
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
Does anyone know if you can choose to stay in college accommodation over the holiday periods? (Trinity in particular)


You mean the vacation before Trinity (i.e. Easter)? Yes, you can ask for vacation residence, but it's not really given except for finalists who want to revise over the holidays - in your first year you don't need to, and I wouldn't if I were you. You need to pay a higher rate than usual, plus of course by then you'll want the break! If you're an international student and you think you'll have problems with planes etc, remember you can stay in accomodation for free until the thursday after term officially ends, if that helps. Either way, I don't know if it's the same for all colleges, so you might need to ask your accomodation office.
Original post by Incarnadine91
You mean the vacation before Trinity (i.e. Easter)? Yes, you can ask for vacation residence, but it's not really given except for finalists who want to revise over the holidays - in your first year you don't need to, and I wouldn't if I were you. You need to pay a higher rate than usual, plus of course by then you'll want the break! If you're an international student and you think you'll have problems with planes etc, remember you can stay in accomodation for free until the thursday after term officially ends, if that helps. Either way, I don't know if it's the same for all colleges, so you might need to ask your accomodation office.


Ah sorry, I meant Trinity College, but thanks for the info :smile:

So I guess it's not really done...

Are first years allowed to help with interviews? (Haha I must come across as really wanting to avoid home =S)

And from my extensive stalking of the Current Oxford students thread I seem to recall that you did brilliantly in your exams...well done :biggrin:
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
Ah sorry, I meant Trinity College, but thanks for the info :smile:

So I guess it's not really done...

Are first years allowed to help with interviews? (Haha I must come across as really wanting to avoid home =S)

And from my extensive stalking of the Current Oxford students thread I seem to recall that you did brilliantly in your exams...well done :biggrin:


Oh haha sorry, yeah, you'll get that confusion a lot :tongue: No, you aren't I'm afraid (I wanted to too!), at least not in Catz, and I imagine it'll be the same in most places. You'll be too busy undeservedly panicking about collections for the first time. :wink: And, seriously, you'll be very tired!

Heh... thanks, but I honestly don't know how it happened :biggrin:
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
Ah sorry, I meant Trinity College, but thanks for the info :smile:

So I guess it's not really done...

Are first years allowed to help with interviews? (Haha I must come across as really wanting to avoid home =S)

And from my extensive stalking of the Current Oxford students thread I seem to recall that you did brilliantly in your exams...well done :biggrin:


A lot of 1st years at Hilda's helped out with interviews.. but priority is given to 2nd years. It will honestly vary from college to college.
Reply 2206
Avatar for jenny18
jenny18
Hiya,

This is a general question to everybody who has their reading list for any subject, and English ones especially. There are 37 different things on my reading list, not counting the ten which are suggested as useful wider reading and i'm worried that I won't finish them all. What sounds reasonable to have read before October?

80%? 90%? 75%?

What do people think? Obviously all of them is the ultimate goal, but I am trying to be realistic here as well.

Thank you.
Original post by jenny18
Hiya,

This is a general question to everybody who has their reading list for any subject, and English ones especially. There are 37 different things on my reading list, not counting the ten which are suggested as useful wider reading and i'm worried that I won't finish them all. What sounds reasonable to have read before October?

80%? 90%? 75%?

What do people think? Obviously all of them is the ultimate goal, but I am trying to be realistic here as well.

Thank you.


It depends how big the items are. If it is lots of fairly small books, aim to read as many as possible, if they are all massive, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but still see what you can get through.
Reply 2208
Avatar for JF24
JF24
2
People making their way through reading lists (again, particularly English!), what detail are you going through on your first read? Notes on each chapter, some jottings in the margin, or just some reflections after finishing each book?

Clearly the former would be preferable - but may not be practical given the volume and time! What's the best thing to do?
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 2209
Avatar for jenny18
jenny18
Original post by JF24
People making their way through reading lists (again, particularly English!), what detail are you going through on your first read? Notes on each chapter, some jottings in the margin, or just some reflections after finishing each book?

Clearly the former would be preferable - but may not be practical given the volume and time! What's the best thing to do?


Notes wise, reflections at the end of the book. Sometimes ibdo reflections for individual poems, but sometimes more generally. Most vigorous note taking comes for the old English textbooks. Learning a new language takes more concentration!!!!

My tutors have asked for mini essays. I might...try one tonight...oooo errrr terrifying!!!!!!!!:eek::eek:
Original post by JF24
People making their way through reading lists (again, particularly English!), what detail are you going through on your first read? Notes on each chapter, some jottings in the margin, or just some reflections after finishing each book?

Clearly the former would be preferable - but may not be practical given the volume and time! What's the best thing to do?


I've been making a few key notes from the introduction, odd thoughts/quotes from the text and then any little bits at the end. For poetry I've been underlining quotes in the books if I can. 2 - 4 pages of notes per text so far, depending on how long it is.
Original post by zigzog7
Just checking that all Wadham peeps got the email today, check spam filters and junk mail just in case. It contains a link to lots of useful information.

Cheers for this zigzog, i'll be passing it on :rolleyes:
Honestly though, I'm so glad I'm not getting a reading list til after results because every time something to do with university happens (like buying a ballgown!) I get this little stab of fear :frown:
Original post by frequent_flyer
Cheers for this zigzog, i'll be passing it on :rolleyes:
Honestly though, I'm so glad I'm not getting a reading list til after results because every time something to do with university happens (like buying a ballgown!) I get this little stab of fear :frown:


Yeh, glad I'm not getting one yet either. Wish this last 3 weeks would hurry up.
Good old fear and crippling self doubt!

The run up to results day sure is fun :P
Original post by 04ghicks
Good old fear and crippling self doubt!

The run up to results day sure is fun :P


I've taken to screaming "LET ME IN OXFORD" randomly when the doubt overflows :biggrin:

My family think I'm going crazy (and I probably am).

I'm just tired of qualifying "I'm going to Oxford" with "grades permitting" :colondollar:
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
I've taken to screaming "LET ME IN OXFORD" randomly when the doubt overflows :biggrin:

My family think I'm going crazy (and I probably am).

I'm just tired of qualifying "I'm going to Oxford" with "grades permitting" :colondollar:


Its always awkward when I bring up Oxford, usually goes something like this:

So where are you going to uni?
Sheffield or Oxford, grades permitting.
Oh, Oxford? That's quite good!
Yeah but I don't think i've got in, I did really bad in maths.
Oh shut up you'll be fine!
No im not even being a nerd who goes crazy at an exam when it'll turn out they got 100%, I added up what I thought I got in the exam and I didnt get what I needed, and the marks that I didn't get weren't "I think thats wrong" marks, they were "I have not put an answer there marks".
*Awkward depressing silence*
I just hate waiting for anything like this. It was the same with my exams, I felt ready to take them all in early May, and having to stew over revision for another month was infuriating. I was really pleased with how my exams turned out, yet I can just overthink and overthink results, and work up a disaster in my mind. Still, I did the same after my HAT and my interview, which both went pretty well.

Gardening and reading is keeping me nice a stable.
Reply 2217
Avatar for dbmag9
dbmag9
15
Original post by deFossard
Gardening and reading is keeping me nice a stable.

You old man. :p:

It is quite nice not having to worry about results. Every so often I remember that I'm starting in two months and get all excited. :awesome:

That said, you'd think I could find more to pass the time in Berlin than hang around permanently on TSR. Have been attempting to read Crime and Punishment on my Kindle, which is what passes for culturedness with me.
Original post by dbmag9
You old man. :p:

It is quite nice not having to worry about results. Every so often I remember that I'm starting in two months and get all excited. :awesome:

That said, you'd think I could find more to pass the time in Berlin than hang around permanently on TSR. Have been attempting to read Crime and Punishment on my Kindle, which is what passes for culturedness with me.


Lucky you, I do think applying after results can be a great relief. I wouldn't have minded if we still had to do the extra term for Oxford or Cambridge applications.

Gardening is bloody good fun! I've made a great big vegetable patch and I'm building new paths and walls all around.
I'm a big gardener, but my family has just moved to a one bedroom flat in a block of flat that does have a shared garden, but not one I can actually garden in. :frown:

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