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Picking colleges is easy,but how do people decide between Oxford and Cambridge?

i suppose the thing is then, do some stuff and see which oxford colleges take your fancy. go down and visit, say hi etc, and see if one blows you off your mind.
that sounds oasisy, but i make no apologies. sorry.

Reply 101

vellerindombur

OP

I've visited and none of them is as good a fit for me as John's seems to be, but there are several I do like. Keble is very nice. balliol is not fantastic looking but the turos are super and Christ Church has an amazing art collection and an apparently fantastic tutor. But in addition to picking the right college/university I also would really like to get an offer so I have to be careful where I apply.

Reply 102

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

vellerindombur

I've visited and none of them is as good a fit for me as John's seems to be, but there are several I do like. Keble is very nice. balliol is not fantastic looking but the turos are super and Christ Church has an amazing art collection and an apparently fantastic tutor. But in addition to picking the right college/university I also would really like to get an offer so I have to be careful where I apply.

Maybe you need to write out the things you liked about Johns and then see which Oxford colleges fulfil those criteria.

Reply 103

El Stevo

11

why do you like johns?

Reply 104

vellerindombur

OP

The three fellows I met were amazing. I like its size and position and its library. I just got a bit of a tingle.

Reply 105

Narcissus

Well I ask you again - surely your university life is most focused and based around your college - so why not apply to John's? (Though have you looked at its Oxford namesake, good for English, good college too?)

Reply 106

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sTe\/o

16

vellerindombur

It was then that I realised that my dilemma stemmed from the fact that I really like St John’s in Cambridge but in general I prefer Oxford.

It's a little known fact that the famous chant, "I'd rather be at Oxford than at Johns", has been corrupted over hundreds of years; it was originally "I'd rather be at Oxford and at Johns". The full chant, "I'd rather be at Oxford and at Johns, Cambridge", was too cumbersome and never really took off.

:rolleyes:

I think you should choose your university first and your college second. You may not even get your first choice college - how would you feel then?

Reply 107

Cirsium

19

H&E

Well why call it thread whoring? Thread jacking/napping I'd understanding. But it's not like we're selling it off on street corners.

*shrugs* it's an expression, but not one that i coined. Thinking about it it is a tad weird.

Reply 108

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sTe\/o

16

Bekaboo

*shrugs* it's an expression, but not one that i coined. Thinking about it it is a tad weird.

The term "rep whoring" is sometimes used on these forums. Maybe you got the words mixed up and invented a new one? :p:

Reply 109

ProzacNation

sbailey

The term "rep whoring" is sometimes used on these forums. Maybe you got the words mixed up and invented a new one? :p:

I think the word 'whore' can be used to service (excuse the pun) any expression: so someone who has many aquanitences is a 'friend-whore' someone who eats a lot of chocolate is a 'chocolate whore' and someone who sells sex for money is just a 'whore'.

Mmm.

Reply 110

visesh

17

How is whore not censored in text, but "Acaila's Hugwhores" in signatures is?

Reply 111

Narcissus

sbailey

It's a little known fact that the famous chant, "I'd rather be at Oxford than at Johns", has been corrupted over hundreds of years; it was originally "I'd rather be at Oxford and at Johns". The full chant, "I'd rather be at Oxford and at Johns, Cambridge", was too cumbersome and never really took off.

:rolleyes:

I think you should choose your university first and your college second. You may not even get your first choice college - how would you feel then?

I take the opposite view :eek:

Find the college at which you think you'll really enjoy yourself and apply; if you get pooled then everyone mostly ends up loving their college anyway :p:

I guess I'm willing to take risks.

Reply 112

ProzacNation

vellerindombur

The three fellows I met were amazing. I like its size and position and its library. I just got a bit of a tingle.

Hmm, see 'tingle' is a very good sign - for getting in. At least it seemed that people who clicked with their college got in and those who chose randomly didn't. But this is obviously totally anecodtal since there are plenty of people who put in open offers, were interviewed or move to/by other colleges and others who didnt really care where they got in in the first place who got in. Also, I felt a tingle with my college, got in, but havent actually had the best time there which has meant that the university became much more important. So I *can* see both sides of the argument.

Overall youre right and should probably go with the university. People always say, 'oh college is where you spend most of your time etc etc etc' but to be honest if thats totally true youre doing something wrong: university isnt about moving from your room to the bar and back throughout the day. The whole point of a university is that it has *so* much to offer whereas colleges will probably be fairly generic (within reason), each consisting of a fairly wide mix of people.

Reply 113

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sTe\/o

16

Narcissus

I take the opposite view :eek:

Find the college at which you think you'll really enjoy yourself and apply; if you get pooled then everyone mostly ends up loving their college anyway :p:

I guess I'm willing to take risks.

It's not really a question of taking risks; we just have different priorities. If I had preferred the look of my course at Oxford or liked the city more, I would not have chosen Cambridge simply because there was a college there I really liked. I think you would always be thinking "what if?", and perhaps regret the decision. The fact that many people don't get accepted by their first choice college was just something I threw in for good measure. :smile:

Reply 114

vellerindombur

OP

What college are you at please, ProzacNation?

Reply 115

El Stevo

11

why not go to johns at oxford? - a bit like having hovis best of both but with uni...

Reply 116

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sTe\/o

16

El Chueco

why not go to johns at oxford? - a bit like having hovis best of both but with uni...

Why St John's Oxford? Because it has the same name? It's not even in name of the same Saint. :p:

Cambridge: St John the Evangelist, Oxford: St John the Baptist.

Admittedly, St John's Oxford is almost as rich, but I don't know whether the two St John's colleges are particularly similar beyond that. AFAIK St John's Oxford has a rep for being intensely academic, whereas St Johns Cambridge is pretty average academically but very good at sports.

Reply 117

El Stevo

11

sbailey

Why St John's Oxford? Because it has the same name? It's not even in name of the same Saint. :p:

Cambridge: St John the Evangelist, Oxford: St John the Baptist.

yes. but please bear in mind the suggestion was a tad tongue in cheek.

sbailey

Admittedly, St John's Oxford is almost as rich, but I don't know whether the two St John's colleges are particularly similar beyond that. AFAIK St John's Oxford has a rep for being intensely academic, whereas St Johns Cambridge is pretty average academically but very good at sports.

there's prolly very little in common between them. personally, johns @ ox isn't my kettle of fish but johns at cam looked fair ok. one of my reasons for choosing ox is that i never got a tingle anywhere in cambridge, but oxford was electric. that i decided to do maths and not engineering also influenced my decision.

Reply 118

Narcissus

sbailey

It's not really a question of taking risks; we just have different priorities. If I had preferred the look of my course at Oxford or liked the city more, I would not have chosen Cambridge simply because there was a college there I really liked. I think you would always be thinking "what if?", and perhaps regret the decision. The fact that many people don't get accepted by their first choice college was just something I threw in for good measure. :smile:

ok true, but isn't the title of this thread about deciding between Ox and Camb? If you've found a good college for you, why shouldn't that decide the university?