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Oxford 2011 Freshers Chat Thread

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Original post by Abyss of Stars
So. Reading list wise. I've seen quite a few mathematicians/scientists talking about finished problem sheets, but has anyone actually finished a reading list?? And if not, how are you feeling? Confident that you've done enough, or are you panic reading through this last week??

Personally...panic reading. But also i'm having to work out what I know about each author which is terrifyingly little!!!:s-smilie: how's everyone getting on?

English at Lincoln by the way.
:rolleyes:


Don't panic about the reading list! Nobody will have read all of it. Obviously try and read as much as possible but you'll have plenty of chance to read up on them when you get there. :smile:
Original post by Abyss of Stars
So. Reading list wise. I've seen quite a few mathematicians/scientists talking about finished problem sheets, but has anyone actually finished a reading list?? And if not, how are you feeling? Confident that you've done enough, or are you panic reading through this last week??

Personally...panic reading. But also i'm having to work out what I know about each author which is terrifyingly little!!!:s-smilie: how's everyone getting on?

English at Lincoln by the way.
:rolleyes:


I've got through a fair few books, so am guessing I'm going alright, although I just found out which authors I'll be doing this term so can actually focus on reading them, rather than just guessing which texts would be most useful to have read first!

Or maybe I'm just convincing myself I've read enough to justify the fact I've spent time helping my close friends pack for uni (there's nothing like leaving much later than almost everyone else!) and going to London :rolleyes:
Original post by Abyss of Stars
So. Reading list wise. I've seen quite a few mathematicians/scientists talking about finished problem sheets, but has anyone actually finished a reading list?? And if not, how are you feeling? Confident that you've done enough, or are you panic reading through this last week??

Personally...panic reading. But also i'm having to work out what I know about each author which is terrifyingly little!!!:s-smilie: how's everyone getting on?

English at Lincoln by the way.
:rolleyes:


I've read 5 books, including 3/5 of the books I have to write 750 word reports on...it's going to be a busyyy week, but I should be okay.

There's another book I really should have read on the list too (but I stupidly thought it was less pressing than the others because I don't have to write anything on it...) which will probably be more use than all the other ones I've read as it's about the theory of history rather than a specific topic. So yeah, I'll have to race through that on the journey down to Oxford/in any spare Freshers moments, urgh :colondollar:
8 days :sexface:

:devil:
Original post by Nag o ma Scylla
Our freshers' t-shirts are £11, and we had to pre-order ... I haven't bought one!

I'm going to buy a scarf instead :colondollar:


Yeah, I didn't bother with one of those either! My aunt insisted on buying me a college hoody though.
I really need to start learning some Latin :s-smilie:
:sexface:

Spoiler

Original post by Oh I Really Don't Care
One week - hope you'll excited.

First thing's first: if you have not completed the material do not panic in the slightest. For the past two hundred years this will have been the case; in fact, your tutors usually tell you to either hand them next week (as they know you won't have completed them) or not at all. The material is actually not needed before you start; everything you are tested on is from lectures that proceed from the basics and logically progress.

Secondly; stop worrying, this will be an excellent time of your lives.


Thank you. I hoped this would be the case. Though I'm sure I'll worry until the day I actually start! At least my bicycle is ready now, new tyres and panniers! I'll just cycle around, running away from work.
I think I would actually prefer having my balls hit with a mallet to reading 136 pages of this dire Constitutional Law textbook. Why does everything have to be over-complicated?
Original post by micky022
I think I would actually prefer having my balls hit with a mallet to reading 136 pages of this dire Constitutional Law textbook. Why does everything have to be over-complicated?


Sympathy - I remember thinking very much the same about Constit when I started. It'll get more interesting when you do lectures and get your teeth into some cases, promise. Which textbook have you got? Tbh so long as you have a vague idea of what's going on before you get there I wouldn't worry about the detail too much.
Original post by Festina lente
Sympathy - I remember thinking very much the same about Constit when I started. It'll get more interesting when you do lectures and get your teeth into some cases, promise. Which textbook have you got? Tbh so long as you have a vague idea of what's going on before you get there I wouldn't worry about the detail too much.


It's the Turpin 'Law in Context: British Government and the Constitution' book. I think it may have been written primarily as an instrument of torture. It buries its points under layers of extra facts, political essays and papers, and words. Even Ralph Miliband gets a paper used!

Ralph Miliband is a crap writer, as an aside. And thanks, I was beginning to doubt the fun of the Law course :tongue:
Original post by micky022
It's the Turpin 'Law in Context: British Government and the Constitution' book. I think it may have been written primarily as an instrument of torture. It buries its points under layers of extra facts, political essays and papers, and words. Even Ralph Miliband gets a paper used!

Ralph Miliband is a crap writer, as an aside. And thanks, I was beginning to doubt the fun of the Law course :tongue:


Hmmm, have never read it...and now never will :tongue: doesn't sound like you need to do any more than read through it and get a general idea, proper constitutional law is more fun than that!
Original post by Festina lente
Hmmm, have never read it...and now never will :tongue: doesn't sound like you need to do any more than read through it and get a general idea, proper constitutional law is more fun than that!


I'd not recommend it either :tongue: Apparently my moderations are in Hilary, what does this mean for my workload in Michaelmas and Hilary? Hilarious?

(That was a horrible pun, and I am so, so sorry to you all)
Original post by micky022
I'd not recommend it either :tongue: Apparently my moderations are in Hilary, what does this mean for my workload in Michaelmas and Hilary? Hilarious?

(That was a horrible pun, and I am so, so sorry to you all)


:rofl:
The learning curve is pretty steep. But everyone is in the same boat and everyone gets through it - by the end of Hilary you'll be ready for the exams. And then you get Easter vacation pretty much free, and a glorious Trinity term :smile:
Original post by Festina lente
And then you get Easter vacation pretty much free, and a glorious Trinity term :smile:


You make it sound so nice!
Original post by micky022
I'd not recommend it either :tongue: Apparently my moderations are in Hilary, what does this mean for my workload in Michaelmas and Hilary? Hilarious?

(That was a horrible pun, and I am so, so sorry to you all)


As far as I observed, the lawyers found it hard in Hilary and then lorded it over us all come Trinity, when we were panicking and they had it all over and done with. So it's not such a bad deal.
EXETER people! I hope some of you will know this sine I, er, can't be bothered to go through all the piles of paper ¬¬

What time are we allowed to arrive and start moving our stuff in?
I've realised I much prefer reading classical historians to modern ones; it's rare to hear a modern historian completely lay into a statesman/general etc. for being pitifully and contemptibly unmanly.
i caught up with the latest univ challenge today. i'm not nearly as good as those guys, of course, but i knew 10-15%, i'd say. my inner geek is wishing my college participated right now :biggrin:
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AAfc
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On a less Geeky note is anyone else scared that the freshers week wont live up to the hype and that ours will be 'dead' so to speak
Original post by AAfc
On a less Geeky note is anyone else scared that the freshers week wont live up to the hype and that ours will be 'dead' so to speak


I can assure you that no JCR committee wants your week to be 'dead'.

Yes you will probably be set some work. Yes you may have some more formal aspects.

But yes you will have some great nights out.

We've spent a lot of time trying to come up with a great freshers week - balancing mandatory college meetings, day time social events and nights out/bops. I can't believe other committees haven't put the same effort in.

What may differ from other universities is that it is full on academically come the Monday of 1st Week.

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