The Student Room Group

Oxford VS UCL

Hey everyone,

I find myself facing a pretty tough choice these days: Oxford VS UCL
Now first of all to my general situation: I am an international student and have applied to both for deferred entry to do a gap year and received offers from both (Oxford E&M, UCL Econ L100). Rejected from LSE. Waiting for Warwick. Oxfords conditions are pretty manageable, UCLs are pretty tough.
Now my priorities:
- As an international student I like being around open minded British people (sorry UKIP) and other international students (Ok well apart from the occasional weird Asian who is in a happy relationship with his Maths textbook).
- I love learning languages (currently speak English, Russian, German & going to pick up Spanish in my gap year) and would really enjoy continuing Spanish and Russian at uni.
- I would very much like to spend at least some time outside Europe.
- I enjoy a good night of clubbing/ Frat-style house parties and prefer that to hanging out in a pub.
- I really like Economics but more in the Freakonomics sense than in the pure econ sense. Never really learned about management so dunno whether or not I am going to enjoy that.
- Career wise I would like to go into Venture Capital/ if needs be IB ...
- Opportunities to learn new coding languages (know my bit of C++ & Java) are appreciated.
- Enjoy going to the gym and martial arts

Ok now that you got an idea of what I am like, which uni would suit me better? Or is it a tie? I have personally never been to UCL, which is why I am asking.

Cheers
Freddakis
Reply 1
No problems regarding employment opportunities, although UCL does have the London advantage for IB. London is also very multicultural, perhaps more suited to what you want.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 2
Original post by econam
No problems regarding employment opportunities, although UCL does have the London advantage for IB. London is also very multicultural, perhaps more suited to what you want.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Cheers for the quick reply.
Which econ course is better? And what is the social life in Oxford like?
Reply 3
Personally, I would choose UCL over Oxford any time. But that's just my opinion.
If I were you, I would definitely take the Oxford offer! It's one of the best universities in the world and it would give you an advantage when looking for jobs because you came from Oxford. (I've spoken to employers at IB about this.)

Plus London is super expensive.

The Oxford nightlife isn't actually that bad either - it's much better than Cambridge.
Reply 5
Original post by SiminaM
Personally, I would choose UCL over Oxford any time. But that's just my opinion.


Why is that? Just because London's awesome? Are the people attending the uni any different?
Reply 6
Original post by strawberrysnow
If I were you, I would definitely take the Oxford offer! It's one of the best universities in the world and it would give you an advantage when looking for jobs because you came from Oxford. (I've spoken to employers at IB about this.)

Plus London is super expensive.

The Oxford nightlife isn't actually that bad either - it's much better than Cambridge.


Yeah I mean carreer wise the choice is pretty clear- Don't think any1 even knows UCL back home...

But what are the people like? Specifically what are the girls like (now I've said it)?

And what course is better for graduate studies specifically in the US?

Thanks so much :wink:
Reply 7
Original post by Freddakis
Cheers for the quick reply.
Which econ course is better? And what is the social life in Oxford like?


Both are extremely strong econ courses - I'm not sure about the management aspect of the Oxford course though. I can't really comment on the social life at Oxford either as I have never experienced it.

In my opinion I don't think I could turn down a offer from Oxford:smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 9 years ago)
At Oxford you'll never really be alone because of the college system. It's also a much safer city.
Original post by SiminaM
Personally, I would choose UCL over Oxford any time. But that's just my opinion.

That's the silliest opinion I have come across today and it just makes you sound bitter.
Original post by InadequateJusticex
That's the silliest opinion I have come across today and it just makes you sound bitter.


Oh why you sound so sweet. My opinion. Get over it.
Original post by SiminaM
Oh why you sound so sweet. My opinion. Get over it.

Oh apologies, I had no idea you're not allowed an opinion on an opinion..if I wasn't over it I'd have explained why I didn't like it but I didn't, so please. :rolleyes:
Original post by Freddakis
Why is that? Just because London's awesome? Are the people attending the uni any different?


This is my BIASED opinion:

I honestly don't know much about Oxford. But I've heard that the university year is much shorter, with more and longer holidays, which means you'll have less time to study and it will be harder.

UCL is a top university worldwide and in the UK it's right below Oxbridge and Imperial/LSE for some courses. I can't see how much better Oxford can be. Prestige matters a lot, which I find a bit unfair since Oxford is an older university and I also think that a lot of this reputation comes from the fact that the admission process is much more demanding and there is less direct competition for Oxford, as undergrads can't apply to both Oxford and Cambridge. Yes, they do get some of the best candidates, but this year I've seen people rejected by Imperial/LSE and accepted at Oxford, which leaves me wondering...

I don't like the town-ish aspect of Oxford. This is 100% personal, I love big cities. And UCL is right there, in the middle of London. Granted, the costs are higher but I'm from another country and getting to Oxford will be more expensive and time consuming than getting to London, so the money argument isn't that important to me.

The people... no ideea. Both unis are full of international students. But Oxford has a reputation for posh people... Still, not the most important factor when deciding between unis. Both are very big and there will be many types of people.
Original post by SiminaM
x

There is so much ignorance in your post :facepalm:

I honestly don't know much about Oxford. But I've heard that the university year is much shorter, with more and longer holidays, which means you'll have less time to study and it will be harder.

The holidays are longer for a reason; they expect you to do most of your work during christmas, easter and summer. I'd prefer shorter terms myself, as I find it easier to revise when I don't have lectures. Each to their own.

UCL is a top university worldwide and in the UK it's right below Oxbridge and Imperial/LSE for some courses. I can't see how much better Oxford can be. Prestige matters a lot, which I find a bit unfair since Oxford is an older university and I also think that a lot of this reputation comes from the fact that the admission process is much more demanding and there is less direct competition for Oxford, as undergrads can't apply to both Oxford and Cambridge. Yes, they do get some of the best candidates, but this year I've seen people rejected by Imperial/LSE and accepted at Oxford, which leaves me wondering...

I...I don't even know where to start with this. UCL is a top university, but please get it out of your head that it's even close to being on par with Oxbridge. The admissions process is demanding, yes, but that's not why it has such an amazing reputation. I believe it's more the other way round: It has an amazing reputation so they need a demanding admissions process to get the best of the best. You're probably right in saying that the volume of applicants for UCL is higher than for Oxford or Cambridge separately, but honestly, that means **** all - no doubt the quality of oxbridge applicants is greater. To say that it's harder to get into UCL is just absolutely retarded, I hope that's self-explanatory enough for you for the reasons I've stated. The reason why you can't apply to both is because they know that if you're good enough to get an offer from one, you'd most likely get an offer from the other as well. As it is, they get enough applicants. LSE/Imperial are ***** sometimes, and Durham as well, as I read somewhere on here that if they have a feeling you're good enough for Oxbridge they'll reject you since they know they will be put as your insurance and they don't like that. So being accepted at oxford and not Imperial/LSE is not indicative of anything.

The people... no ideea. Both unis are full of international students. But Oxford has a reputation for posh people... Still, not the most important factor when deciding between unis. Both are very big and there will be many types of people.

When I went there for my interview, I'm not going to lie, I expected a lot of people to conform to the stereotype of rich *****. But the people I encountered were some of the most intelligent, down-to-earth bunch of people I've met. I was very shocked.

And lastly
I honestly don't know much about Oxford.

Why are you even posting when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about?
"I...I don't even know where to start with this. UCL is a top university, but please get it out of your head that it's even close to being on par with Oxbridge"

Is that some kind of joke? UCL has beaten Oxford in the QS ranking. It lingers around Columbia and Yale in the Times ranking. For those who contend that rankings are none-sense and money does the talking, then the UK government has clearly decided UCL to be a more worthwhile investment than Cambridge, considering the last REF. Oh but wait, the UK government with its highly specialized advisors, and the various global rankings for whom certitude regarding university quality is literally the only reason they could be economically viable, all these organizations pale in comparison to your educated opinion.

I could see a case for UCL being decidedly lower than Oxbridge in terms of reputation among non-academics, but in terms of research and teaching. You know, what Universities do, "not even close" is not even close to being the correct relative measure of quality between Oxbridge and UCL. Did UCL reject you or something? SiminaM, by all means keep the notion in your head that UCL is on par with Oxbridge, assuming you are interested in what the available evidence would suggest.
Lmao in all of this the poor guy's question went unanswered
Reply 16
Guy is kinda stupid too. You can't compare UCL with Oxford. That's like comparing UCLA to Harvard. Also, UCL is in central London which is a junkyard, there's many people with degrees there, but the quality they put out is just horrible. UCL will not give the same quality aspects as Oxford. Oxford is way more know too, so It's kinda dumb why even question the case.

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