Self Catering Opportunities at Oxford

I'm currently in Year 12 and really want to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but my only reservation is that I'm a really fussy eater and if I went I would need to be self catered, are there any colleges which allows you to go completely self catered?

I'm at Cambridge, and the quality of your kitchen really varies. Some colleges provide you with little more than a mircowave, others, like mine (Newnham), has an oven in the kitchen (and if not, you're given access to the nearest one with an oven should you so need it). Most appear to have hobs at least. Just check the accommodation of the colleges that interest you.

Thank you! That makes me much happier

I'm currently in Year 12 and really want to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but my only reservation is that I'm a really fussy eater and if I went I would need to be self catered, are there any colleges which allows you to go completely self catered?

I applied for Oxford for 2015 entry with this exact issue. Some colleges can, some really really can't! I think in general, your catered hall is pay as you go, so you don't lost money by self catering and you can go grab a meal when you need to. I'd suggest narrowing down colleges first by course (as they don't offer all courses - also knock out mature student colleges etc) and then by how well you can be catered for. Look around on the student room wiki pages at colleges (very useful!). Often the newer colleges do better because they were build more recently it seems? But take a look at everything (if you're applying for a common course that's offered in lots of places this will take a while) to find somewhere you're happy with. Don't worry yourself too much with location - even the "further out" ones are only a 10-15 minute walk from the town centre!

Then if/when you go visit on open days this summer, have your narrowed down list at the ready (hopefully it's really short by now, because you don't have all that much time!) and try and get to see as many of those colleges as you can, and ask students about the catering facilities if you want more information.

I'm currently in Year 12 and really want to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but my only reservation is that I'm a really fussy eater and if I went I would need to be self catered, are there any colleges which allows you to go completely self catered?