Oxford PPE senior status limited college choice

If you somehow have the £20k per year fees to do a second BA in a subject that isn't even a specialist subject that prepares for a specific profession or vocation, then it really doesn't matter what college you end up in.

Choosing a good college always matters, as it is defines the atmosphere and surroundings in which one is going to spend quite some time. And because as you say there's an extra £20k per annum, it matters an awful lot. Regardless of that, if I posted this question, then perhaps I did care. Why bother replying in an old empty thread if you cannot say anything meaningful?

P.S. If your attitude is 'I have loads of money ergo I need not care how to spend them" is precisely the attitude which prevents some people from getting those £20k in the first place.

Hi everyone!

I am applying to read PPE at Oxford next year, and because this is my second BA I can start my studies from Year 2. The thing is that only very few colleges accept senior PPE students and that does not include my favourite Magdalen and CH CH.

This is the list of colleges that do accept mavericks like me:

Balliol
Corpus Christi
Harris Manchester
Keble
Lincoln
Mansfield
Merton
Oriel
Pembroke
Regent’s Park College
St Anne’s
St Catherine’s
St Edmund Hall
St Hugh’s
St Peter’s
Worcester

Out of these I only find appealing Balliol, Worcester and perhaps Oriel. Which one should I choose? I'd love to go to Worcester but I read somewhere that this is the most applied to college in Oxford, and I would not want to be redirect to Regent’s Park , Mansfield, or god forbid Manchester.

Thank you in advance!

Worcester isn't the most applied to college - Brasenose (which doesn't offer senior status PPE) has held that position for the past few years. It definitely ranks as one of the more popular colleges though. That said, if you like it, go ahead and apply anyway. It really is a beautiful college, and the formals are excellent.

Balliol is traditionally very well known for PPE, and has received the highest number of applicants in the past three years (https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate/additional-info/college-success-rates?wssl=1).

You seem to prefer older, grander colleges - what about Merton or Keble?

Around 25% of students end up at a college they didn't apply to (I was one of them), so do bear in mind that being re-allocated is a very real possibility.

Oh, so there are sensible and polite people on this forum! Many thanks, @mishieru07 ! I realise that there is a chance of being re-allocated, that is why I was rather apprehensive about applying to Worcester, as I mistakenly thought it one of the most popular colleges. Balliol is nice, but too informal. Worcester in that regard is more appealing as it has a nice lake and is more traditional.

Indeed, the grandeur of those buildings attracts me very much. I would happily apply to Merton, but the joke goes that they'll work you to death and then complain that your corpse is slacking off As far as Keble is concerned, I love its architecture, but not the choice of colour.

What was your initial choice? Were you disappoited that you did not get into your chosen college? Thanks again, by the way, for your meaningful response.

Worcester IS one of the more popular colleges, it just isn't the most popular! However, as mentioned in my previous post, if you like it, just apply.

I actually think Merton's reputation is somewhat exaggerated, and it really depends on your tutors. For example, I personally think the tutors for my subject (Law) were fairly strict as compared to many other subjects at my college - they had higher expectations for weekly work/ collections. I would encourage you to consider Merton - it really ticks a lot of your boxes.

I applied to Jesus but ended up at Brasenose (ironically, due to the oddities of the Law pooling system, I went from a less popular college to a more popular one). I'm very happy with how things turned out though - I had a great time at Brasenose. The vast majority of people do come to love their college, regardless of whether they picked it or not.

Merton is indeed nice, and perhaps the most beautiful out of my list. But I have recently discovered that I am essentially an aquaman - I really like water and would want a college that has some sort of a pond (they'd kill me for this at Woosta ).
I found the thread about Worcester beign the most applied to college... and it was in 2007) The year before that it was Balliol, and the year after - Magdalen. So no logic there, it fluctuates every year.

Oh wow! Who would not be happy to wake up a few yards away from the Radcliffe Camera every morning? I am surprised and quite happy that things turned out that way for you

Incidentally, why did you decide to apply to Jesus in the first place?

There is some fluctuation but based on the statistics (https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate/additional-info/college-success-rates?wssl=1), certain colleges consistently attract more applicants (e.g. Worcester, Brasenose, Balliol). That said, it sounds like you have your heart set on Worcester so just apply there and good luck!

My school (international) has a policy of allocating colleges to Oxbridge applicants to ensure that we don't end up competing for the same subject at the same college. In fact, they originally allocated me to St Hugh's and I was a bit sad when they changed it to Jesus because I like green leafy spaces (quite grateful I ultimately didn't end up at Hugh's though because I'm really lazy haha).

Oh, St.Hugh's is so far away from the city centre that it is more like a Summertown college. It's lovely, but spending 30 minutes just to get to the centre and back does not help considering overall shortage of time for Oxford students)

I am actually quite grateful to you for suggesting Merton, as I was unconsciously put off by the "Work hard, -P̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶ha̶r̶d̶-, Work hard and die" stereotype, which turns out to be false.
I am considering Merton now as well (ha ha nice procrastination, huh?) as it is quite close to the Meadows and the river as well. It is small and beautiful, and is in the centre as opposed to Worcester. Plus Worcester has got the least Harry Potter-like dining hall that is actually white! Quite disappointed about that

All colleges are "good colleges", even your maligned Harris Manchester. Two years is not "quite some time" either for that matter.

If you have that much money then even if you end up in a college you dislike, you can just cozy up to some rich students from another college and spend all your time going to their halls and events as a guest, and live out of college in luxury accommodation.

Thus, the point stands. Also the comment was meaningful if you were capable of letting go of your schoolchild mentality of ranking things against each other when the differences are fractions of percentage points or endowment levels which are irrelevant to you as an undergraduate.

But go off, I guess.

Hello my dearest lounger,

I've just realised that I did not share the news with the good people of this forum. You, as far as I remember, were deeply touched by my query regarding the choice of an Oxford college, or rather by the horrific privileges that such a choice entails in today's unequal society. Taking into account your willingness to help others and your manifest quality of being happy for other people's successes, I assume you will be elated at the news of the success of my application to Oxford. Moreover, since you were so keen to calculate the shameless amount of money that I had spent on my previous degree, I thought it would further make you even happier to know that the degree in question was awarded to me by the University of Cambridge. A truly Oxbridge chap, innit? Anyway, I genuinely thought you would be happy to know. I hope you won't loose too much sleep over it, or that at the very least your sedatives are strong enough to make you forget about such a flagrant case of injustice.


P.S. Oh, and I was accepted by the very college I had applied to. Don't cry too much

Mate did you actually just revive a 3-month dead thread to gloat to one stranger over the internet? I've seen a fair bit of pettiness around here but this really takes the cake.

P.S. *lose not loose