Oxford or Cambridge Law

Hi there, anon

So whether to choose Oxford or Cambridge for law?

Firstly, there will be very few ( if any) people on tsr who have been to both Oxford and Cambridge ( although there is a mum whose son has studied at both unis)

Those who are students or graduates of either uni will tell you theirs is the best! So that won’t help you decide.

You say you don’t mind either way about the courses, yet surely this is the most important consideration, surely? The Oxford course studies Roman law so if you are not interested in this then Cambridge is the better bet. I would seriously recommend you look carefully at the different elements of each course before you choose.

Both unis offer incredible opportunities.

As for happiness, that’s hard to measure isn’t it? There will be some people who are very happy at Oxbridge, others who may find it hard to cope with the pressure. Certainly life’s what you make it. If you are outgoing, with a sunny nature you will be happy at either uni. If you are the moaning minnie type who sits in their room all day and complains about everyone and everything,of course you will be unhappy.

I told my elder son ( who went to Oxford) not to sit in his room all day. He must have taken my advice, because he ended up being a bnoc ( big name on campus, ie in top ten most famous people at Oxford). When I came to visit, we couldn’t walk down the street without him being hugged by someone!

As far as the other facilities are concerned, I would imagine they are exactly the same. The only difference is the small scale lessons are called tutorials at Oxford and supervisions at Cambridge.

Oxford is a larger city and has more to it, I feel, however that is only because I am so familiar with it. Both have unusual social events you wouldn’t get anywhere else (corpus tortoise fair, anyone?). The balls are superb and yes, there are nightclubs too!

As for which has the lower acceptance rate, neither. Both are hard to get into. After all these are two of the leading universities in the world! Many apply to Oxbridge law purely for the prestige, not for the love of the subject. These people will soon be winkled out at interview stage, if not before?

It is hard to recommend a college to you, as all of them offer excellent tuition, good facilities, a welcoming atmosphere and friendly students.

I recommend looking at my how to choose an Oxford and Cambridge college ( Oxford demystified) chapters. Both contain videos from each college for you to look at.

As dr Scott of Clare college says, you need to go with your intuition or gut feeling. When you have looked at the video, can you imagine yourself living there for three years?

Also if you really can’t decide after that, you can always make an open application and your college will be chosen for you.

I like oriel and Exeter colleges in Oxford but then they are my sons’ colleges, so I am biased! No choice is a bad choice.

Looks like you need to get researching!

I'm afraid that's incorrect. Roman Law is studied in Cambridge - in fact, it's the very first thing you study!