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Asians at Oxbridge

Are there many south asian people (ie Indian, Pakistani, Bandladeshi) at oxbridge? My secondary school is like 60% asian!, so it would be weird if i went to oxford or cambridge and i was the only one.

also is there a Hindu society or Indian society or something?

Reply 1

hobnob

14

swirley

Are there many south asian people (ie Indian, Pakistani, Bandladeshi) at oxbridge? My secondary school is like 60% asian!, so it would be weird if i went to oxford or cambridge and i was the only one.
Well, there are south Asian people at Oxford, but definitely not 60% - probably closer to 6 - and as far as I know, most of them are postgraduates. There are societies, though, and if you count in people of south Asian origin, the figures won't be quite as dismal.

Reply 2

henryt

17

I'm half Indian - and I've got an offer! Does that count?! To be honest, I really doubt you'll be the only one, but then I really don't think it would really matter even if you were - people who are open-minded, which is the large majority, shouldn't care. Also, I've just pulled up the 2005 stats for Oxford, and there were 6 Bangladeshis, 75 Indian, 13 Pakistani, 28 other asians and 70 white and asian, so you're not going to be the only one!

Reply 3

Apagg

13

Half the Cam economists are Asian - which includes Chinese. I'd say there's a good amount of south Asians in the uni, so don't worry.

Reply 4

sjuthani

6

Which one are you talking about? Oxford has significantly fewer south-asians than Cambridge. I don't find it a problem in the slightest, but I can see why it might put some people off.

Reply 5

Flower404

henryt, i was wondering where you got those stats from? if they're from a website, it'd be great if you could post the link :smile:

just curious.

and i agree that it shouldnt really matter im sure there are plenty of people you'll get on with whether they be fromt he same background or different.

for me, my school went from about 80% white in years 7 to 11, to about 70% asian in the 6th form! i'm happy whichever way.

Reply 6

blissy

15

Yes, quite a number of asians at Cambridge at least. Both postgraduates and undergraduates. There is most definitely a HinduSoc at Cambridge (my friend had a position in the society). Maybe that's just my perception though because my friend was on the HinduSoc and so I socialised with a lot of asians.

Anyway, I can objectively say you won't be the only one!

Reply 7

shady lane

16

At Oxford you can find all of the Asians at The Bridge on Thursday nights.

When I was there, I only saw 3 Asians (Indian/Pakistani/etc) at Magdalen. If there were others I guess they just never ate in hall.

Reply 8

thefish_uk

14

blissy

Yes, quite a number of asians at Cambridge at least. Both postgraduates and undergraduates. There is most definitely a HinduSoc at Cambridge (my friend had a position in the society). Maybe that's just my perception though because my friend was on the HinduSoc and so I socialised with a lot of asians.

Anyway, I can objectively say you won't be the only one!

There's an IndiaSoc as well... they had a ball last term in fact. You will find a great variety of people (at least in Cambridge!) and also you will find that pretty much everyone is very tolerant.

Although you will find the numbers a lot less than what you are used to! I came back home to Brum at the end of Mich term with one of my friends in college who happens to be of Asian descent. As we entered Birmingham she looked out of the window and commented "Wow, there are actually coloured people here!"

Reply 9

weeniebellini

Totally unrelated to the subject...sorry, but wow its Fish on TSR! well I never!

Reply 10

thefish_uk

14

rowenapackersuperstar

Totally unrelated to the subject...sorry, but wow its Fish on TSR! well I never!

Yes... Yes it is. Hi there Rowena!

Get a room. :p:

shady lane

At Oxford you can find all of the Asians at The Bridge on Thursday nights.

When I was there, I only saw 3 Asians (Indian/Pakistani/etc) at Magdalen. If there were others I guess they just never ate in hall.

Lol

To the OP, you'll probably be lucky to find any Asians interested in "Desipowerchat"...

Reply 13

yusufu

16

Pretty Boy Floyd

Lol

To the OP, you'll probably be lucky to find any Asians interested in "Desipowerchat"...

I disagree.

Reply 14

Drogue

19

swirley

Are there many south asian people (ie Indian, Pakistani, Bandladeshi) at oxbridge? My secondary school is like 60% asian!, so it would be weird if i went to oxford or cambridge and i was the only one.

*Loads*. Though mostly they're British but of South Asian origin. You won't be the only one by a mile. Admittedly far less than 60%, but more than the UK average. Really the beauty, to me, of Oxbridge is that there's such a mix. There were a few non-British people at my school, but the way that people mix so well at Oxford has been a revelation to me. There are cliches of East Asian and South Asian people, but most people, wherever they're from, end up with friends from everywhere.

swirley

also is there a Hindu society or Indian society or something?

There's probably about 20-30 of them that relate to South Asian society. From religious ones (Hindu and Jainism societies come to mind), to cultural ones (one per country), then music ones, Bollywood societies, etc.

Reply 15

henryt

17

Neatori

henryt, i was wondering where you got those stats from? if they're from a website, it'd be great if you could post the link :smile:

just curious.

This was for Oxford. http://www.oxfordopportunity.com/adstats.pdf

Reply 16

fundamentally

15

henryt

I'm half Indian - and I've got an offer! Does that count?! To be honest, I really doubt you'll be the only one, but then I really don't think it would really matter even if you were - people who are open-minded, which is the large majority, shouldn't care. Also, I've just pulled up the 2005 stats for Oxford, and there were 6 Bangladeshis, 75 Indian, 13 Pakistani, 28 other asians and 70 white and asian, so you're not going to be the only one!

You can probably double the numbers to get the real figures. The fact that Oxford discriminate against Asians is well know and so many of us did not put down our ethnicity. A lot of us either refused to answer or deliberately put down something misleading.

I am Asian and Scottish and decided to put down Scottish as ethnicity solely because of my fears about discrimination at admission. I don't look or sound Asian. Some of the comments that I have heard from tutors who dont know about my mixed ethnicity have made me glad that I did not admit to Asian ancestry.

Reply 17

hobnob

14

fundamentally

You can probably double the numbers to get the real figures. The fact that Oxford discriminate against Asians is well know and so many of us did not put down our ethnicity. A lot of us either refused to answer or deliberately put down something misleading.

Sorry, but that's complete nonsense. I agree that those questions are awkward and can be confusing, but they're only used for statistics like the one henryt posted. The people who actually handle your application won't see which box you ticked. As for Oxford discriminating against Asians, did you look at admissions statistics? The success rates for Asians aren't much lower than the general success rate - the real reason why there are so few of them at Oxford is that few apply - perhaps because they mistakenly believe they'll be discriminated against.

Reply 18

Apagg

13

fundamentally

You can probably double the numbers to get the real figures. The fact that Oxford discriminate against Asians is well know and so many of us did not put down our ethnicity. A lot of us either refused to answer or deliberately put down something misleading.

I am Asian and Scottish and decided to put down Scottish as ethnicity solely because of my fears about discrimination at admission. I don't look or sound Asian. Some of the comments that I have heard from tutors who dont know about my mixed ethnicity have made me glad that I did not admit to Asian ancestry.

Surely they'd notice at interview? Though Oxford doesn't interview all applicants, I suppose

Reply 19

Alan Smithee

hobnob

the real reason why there are so few of them at Oxford is that few apply - perhaps because they mistakenly believe they'll be discriminated against.

Or they're confident enough in themselves that they don't feel they need an Oxbridge education.

Asians at Oxbridge

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