Oxford Physics Students and Applicants

Hi you all,

Which Oxford college do you think is best for Physics? e.g. tradition, tutors (friendly, wide interests), specializations, annual intake, graduate community, etc. Location is not that important for me.

I have pretty much made up my choice by now, but I still would like to know what you think.

Reply 1

tagzt

4

Definitely merton, its the best college for every single subject (including those it doesn't offer)

Reply 2

way2go

OP

tagzt

Definitely merton, its the best college for every single subject (including those it doesn't offer)

Any more serious replies?

Reply 3

hitchhiker_13

11

The Donald Rumsfeld soundbite of the week?

Reply 4

way2go

OP

hitchhiker_13

The Donald Rumsfeld soundbite of the week?

Never heard of that college :confused:

[offtopic]Yeah, nice signature, isn't it. I am not a Donald Rumsfeld fan, but this is a very fine and funny statement, which applies to many things in life. That's why I loved it from the start.[/offtopic]

Reply 5

4Ed

15

merton is definitely cool (havent been to the grounds, but know a few people there)

look for the colleges with loads of phys lecturers and tutors.

Reply 6

way2go

OP

4Ed

merton is definitely cool (havent been to the grounds, but know a few people there)

look for the colleges with loads of phys lecturers and tutors.

Thanks for the reply, but I don't neccesarily agree with you on the last part about "loads of...". It's better to have just two or three tutors/lecturers, rather than six such as at Hertford. I don't think that such a large amount of tutors will benefit the personal relationships between tutor/lecturer and student.

Reply 7

Veedy

way2go

Thanks for the reply, but I don't neccesarily agree with you on the last part about "loads of...". It's better to have just two or three tutors/lecturers, rather than six such as at Hertford. I don't think that such a large amount of tutors will benefit the personal relationships between tutor/lecturer and student.

Maybe not, but the number of tutors usually reflects the reputation of that college in that subject

Reply 8

tagzt

4

way2go

Any more serious replies?

yeh sorry i'll be serious. i think university college, keble and christ church all have very good reputations for physics. but with a science subject the bulk of the work is done in lectures is it not? if that's true then the college you choose you really doesn't make too much of a difference as the work is done centrally.

and just because a college has a large number of tutors doesn't necessarily make it great for that subject. a college with 2 tutors but a good reputation will send students out to other colleges with the best tutors for the respective field.

Reply 9

Alexander

12

Isn't it true that the colleges which offer the most places in a particular subject tend to be considered the "best" e.g. Corpus offers nine places for Classics.

However isn't the main practical result of a college being best at a subject that it's more difficult to get in?

Reply 10

Radagasty

Well... I have an acquaintance who will be starting a PhD in physics at University College in April. He got a scholarship from UC, and, from what he's told me, UC is quite good for physics, although I suppose for grad. studies, college choice matters less.

Reply 11

Veedy

Alexander

Isn't it true that the colleges which offer the most places in a particular subject tend to be considered the "best" e.g. Corpus offers nine places for Classics.

However isn't the main practical result of a college being best at a subject that it's more difficult to get in?

Well it usually ends up that way. Hertford for geography has 10 places, and probably the best reputation for geography. As a result, it receives 40-50 applicants per place each year usually, so it is the most difficult geography college to get into on the basis of applicant figures alone

Reply 12

Lucy

Veedy

Well it usually ends up that way. Hertford for geography has 10 places, and probably the best reputation for geography. As a result, it receives 40-50 applicants per place each year usually, so it is the most difficult geography college to get into on the basis of applicant figures alone

On a side note, my friend who applied there for geography didn't get in :frown:

Worcester only has two fellows for medicine (my course) but like tagzt explained before they send out students to different colleges (oo fun :biggrin:

!) for specific tutorials and specialised medical tutors come into Worcester to teach :smile:

Reply 13

Veedy

Lucy

On a side note, my friend who applied there for geography didn't get in :frown:

Worcester only has two fellows for medicine (my course) but like tagzt explained before they send out students to different colleges (oo fun :biggrin:

!) for specific tutorials and specialised medical tutors come into Worcester to teach :smile:

Sorry to hear about your friend, :frown:

, do you know where he/she will go now?
Your right about the fellows thing. I think you go to other colleges mostly when you choose options- you go to whoever is the specialist in the optional module you choose but it probably happens for structured modules as well, though I don't know.

Reply 14

Lucy

Veedy

do you know where he/she will go now?

Most likely to be Bristol - it's a shame because she really enjoyed her experience at Ox when she went down for her interviews. It also came as a bit of a shock because for the past few years a geography student from our school has always gone to Hertford - very bad idea to get your hopes up because of past experiences!

Reply 15

Mr Nonsense

13

I thought that there are enough of us now who are going to be applying for Physics at Oxford (for 2010 entry) that we could have our own thread here to discuss applications, preparation, PAT, etc.

So are you guys doing anything to prepare for PAT / applications over the summer holidays? Reading any good books?

So who have we got?
Mr Nonsense (Lincoln)
zafaru123 (open application)
calvinuk (Exeter maybe?)
Mighty Grandiose Noble Knight (Trinity)
Draconis (St Catherine's)
lucky_lettuce (Braesnose)
caroline147 [& Philosophy] (Balliol / Braesnose)
shamrock92 [& Philosophy] (college?)
and I've-already-got-my-place Lifesharker (Jesus) <---- go to for help :yep: