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oxbridge atmosphere

People have stereotyped oxbridge as being snobbish and full of geeks.
People who are there now or hav visited what is the actual truth?
What is the atmosphere like??
I am considering applying but i also want to hav a gd time whilst studying!
is oxbridge just like any other uni student life ie. drinking partying at least 3 x a week!?
What is the nite life like at these unis?? many bars/clubs

i just want to be proved wrong about the whole stereotypical view!

Reply 1

CamSPSer

I have just personally managed to sober up and I know a lot of people with awful hangovers today. I think I average going to the college bar 4 or 5 nights a week (though I don't always drink) and certainly find time to get all my work done and have a good time and spend lots of time rowing.

Nightlife is what you make of it, there are some clubs which aren't all that brilliant! A lot of drinking takes place in your college bar but there are plenty of opportunities to sample all the top cambridge pubs

As with all these things though there are plenty of people who never leave their room while there are others who seem to be in a permament state of inebriation, just like any other university

Reply 2

Willa

11

oxbridge is great, because not only can you be as ridiculously stereotypical as you want as a student in general (which, sadly, means drinking a lot), you can also get away with discussing something intellectual in your spare time without being shot down. so you've got the best of both worlds.

Reply 3

HannahZ

4

There are some geeks and some snobs (but you will find that at lots of the top unis). The vast majority of the students at Oxford and Cambridge are varying shades of normal.

Reply 4

chocolatecheese

10

I had the same feeling as you before i went and visited, and i am pleased to say it was nothing like the stereotype image i had of it before i went...its not full of snobs, super geeks etc like i assumed it would be. everyone is really nice and down to earth.
You might come across some not so nice characters on open days and interviews, but from my experiences, these are the ones who dont get in :smile:

my advice.....APPLY! :biggrin:

you will love it and really enjoy it! (well....thats my opinion :smile:

)

Reply 5

zulu

OP

yeah i'm up 4 applying now!
lol cheers ppl

Reply 6

Guy01

1

there is bound to be some snobbish people and geeks. they're everywhere. i've been told i'm one of them..who really cares? :rolleyes:

Reply 7

FadeToBlackout

15

This really has been said so many times before, but you get out of Oxbrdge what you put in. If you want to stay in your room and study the whole time (and I know of people who do!) then that's OK- in the same vein, if you want to go out every night and get bladdered then no one will care- apart from your tutor and DoS! As you would expect, most people are somewhere in the middle, maybe going out after handing in an essay to celebrate, or on someone's birthday, or whatever.

The college bar is perhaps the hub of going-out kind of social life in college. People tend to gather there, and then move out to clubs and so on, or just stay around until last orders then go to someone's room and just chill. In fact, I'm not really into going out clubbing, because they are too packed, too loud and too expensive, so I prefer to just meet people and relax.

Like I say, there are extremes of attitudes here. If you want to go out every night, then I can guarentee that there will be people for you to go with. If you want to spend every evening in the library until midnight, then you won't be alone in that either.

Reply 8

lady_daisychain

2

My friend is doing her first year at Oxford and hates the ubiquity of snobs there... yet... because there are so many socs and clubs you can join, you will always find at least 1 person who shares similar interests, which will help you survive.

top unis like LSE have (if im not mistaken) just as good, if not better, resources and teaching in some subjects. the only advantage oxbridge has is prestige, so its bound to attract the odd snob here and there.

Reply 9

thorondor

7

blokky

People have stereotyped oxbridge as being snobbish and full of geeks.
People who are there now or hav visited what is the actual truth?
What is the atmosphere like??
I am considering applying but i also want to hav a gd time whilst studying!
is oxbridge just like any other uni student life ie. drinking partying at least 3 x a week!?
What is the nite life like at these unis?? many bars/clubs

i just want to be proved wrong about the whole stereotypical view!

The snobbish stuff is nonsense. Of course you'll get some prats who are snobbish at Oxbridge, but i'm sure you'd get the same at any uni. And they're not 'geeks', they are people who are enthusiastic and interested in a subject, that's why Oxbridge is so good, you'll be surrounded by other people who are dedicated and keen about their subject, just as much as you will be, since if you weren't keen you'd never get in! This makes for a good learning environment.

The problem is that Oxbridge has a reputation for accepting a stereotypical snobbish, eton educated person (a stereotype i would like to make very clear i do not believe to be true at all), an unfair and very innaccurate view, which is not helped by the media. This reputation has been carried forward from many many years ago. The problem is that this then puts people off, especially state school pupils, so you end up with mainly private schoolo applicants applying and getting in, and so Oxbridge continues to keep its reputation of accepting what many believe to be 'snobs' from private schools. It is a vicious cycle that is damaging to the universities. The problem is people can't be bothered to actually look at the situation properly, they form judgements based on rumour and half-truths and stereotypes that no longer apply in reality. I've heard boys at my school say they wouldn't apply to Oxford because it's full of snobs. This is nonsense, they haven't even looked at a prospectus let alone visited the place. The sooner some people, including aspects of the media, stop being so narrow-minded and ignorant, the better.

Rant over :smile:

I'd say social life at Oxbridge is just as good if not better than elsewhere. Sure, it may not have loads of huge nightclubs like London and other big cities, but students don't just sit down for a cup of tea each evening and play croquet! There are hundreds of societies and clubs for a huge range of sports and interests. I believe each college has its own bar, not to mention there are plenty of other places around the the two cities. And from what i've been told by some undergraduates at Oxford, they go drinking a lot more than 3 times a week :wink:

Reply 10

White_redrose

1

notyourpunk

I have just personally managed to sober up and I know a lot of people with awful hangovers today. I think I average going to the college bar 4 or 5 nights a week (though I don't always drink) and certainly find time to get all my work done and have a good time and spend lots of time rowing.

Nightlife is what you make of it, there are some clubs which aren't all that brilliant! A lot of drinking takes place in your college bar but there are plenty of opportunities to sample all the top cambridge pubs

As with all these things though there are plenty of people who never leave their room while there are others who seem to be in a permament state of inebriation, just like any other university

Nicely put. :-)

Reply 11

kizer

15

Just to put a bit of varsity rivalry in this thread.. students at both unis are broadly similar, however Oxford, being larger, has a more varied/better club scene if that's what you're in to. Both have great pubs though.

Reply 12

Helenia

20

notyourpunk

I have just personally managed to sober up and I know a lot of people with awful hangovers today. I think I average going to the college bar 4 or 5 nights a week (though I don't always drink) and certainly find time to get all my work done and have a good time and spend lots of time rowing.

I wonder who some of them might be? :wink:

But banter aside, what he said. There are better places for clubbing but you won't go without just because you're at Oxbridge.

Reply 13

chocolatecheese

10

Just thought that i'd mention another point :smile:

.....
You will find snobs at many top uni's not just Oxbridge. Out of the 6 i visited, 3 were far more full of snobs than Oxford, and then the other 3 including Oxford didn’t really have that many at all :smile:

So just beware, that other top uni's attract snobs to...

Reply 14

CamSPSer

Helenia

I wonder who some of them might be? :wink:

But banter aside, what he said. There are better places for clubbing but you won't go without just because you're at Oxbridge.

I have total memory loss from two nights in a row and got up the next day and felt fine(one of those days still pissed I think)! I got an early night last night with no alcohol and woke up this morning with the most god awful headache, sore throat.

The moral of the story is that getting legless is good

Reply 15

CamSPSer

chocolatecheese

Just thought that i'd mention another point :smile:

.....
You will find snobs at many top uni's not just Oxbridge. Out of the 6 i visited, 3 were far more full of snobs than Oxford, and then the other 3 including Oxford didn’t really have that many at all :smile:

So just beware, that other top uni's attract snobs to...

Yup, there are tonnes of people who are similar to those here who do not get into oxbridge and go to bristol, durham etc.

Reply 16

eleri

5

kizer

Just to put a bit of varsity rivalry in this thread.. students at both unis are broadly similar, however Oxford, being larger, has a more varied/better club scene if that's what you're in to. Both have great pubs though.

I've heard (and this really is just what I've heard, I've only been to Cambridge once or twice) that Oxford has a lot more life in it because there's so much more to the city than just the University. Whereas Cambridge is much more focused on the University, and the town itself isn't very lively, so out of termtime it's dead.

Anyone have any idea if this is actually true?

Reply 17

mikeyT

2

eleri

I've heard (and this really is just what I've heard, I've only been to Cambridge once or twice) that Oxford has a lot more life in it because there's so much more to the city than just the University. Whereas Cambridge is much more focused on the University, and the town itself isn't very lively, so out of termtime it's dead.

Anyone have any idea if this is actually true?

Oxford is a university built around a city and Cambridge is a city built around a university. So Oxford has a lot more to offer.

Reply 18

thorondor

7

notyourpunk

Yup, there are tonnes of people who are similar to those here who do not get into oxbridge and go to bristol, durham etc.

I'd say some of the worst snobs are actually rejected by Oxbridge. I've read lots of posts on here about people who have a snobbish classmate who always said they'd get into Oxbridge and got turned down in the end.

Reply 19

eleri

5

alexanderw

Oxford barely has more. Cambridge is closer to London.

No it's not, it's almost exactly the same distance, takes about the same amount of time by train, and it's actually quicker to get there from Oxford by road. And how is that relevant to the atmosphere in the cities themselves?

oxbridge atmosphere

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