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How much does college matter in job prospects, etc.?

I filed an open application, and was assigned to St Anne's - which, obviously, doesn't have the reputation of Merton or Balliol.

1. If I get in, will being in a less competitive college affect my future job prospects? For example, my friend told me that Blackstone is recruiting on the Oxford campus; do they only take applicants from the top couple of colleges, or have more slots for the top colleges, etc.?

2. Is the level of instruction lower at the less competitive colleges? Does that explain the lower Norrington Table ranking, or is that because of the, on average, lower quality of students?

3. Is course instruction limited to the college. For example, I applied for PPE; am I allowed to take courses at other colleges?

Thanks!

Reply 1

thomasjtl

9

Everyone will sit the same exams, and the degree is granted by the university of oxford, not your college.

In your first year, you'll have most of your tutorials and essays set by tutors in your college; some are better than others, but this will vary between subjects as well as colleges- don't think that because merton is top of the norrington table that means it's PPE tutors are therefore some of the best.
In subsequent years, you'll mostly have tutorials with tutors who specialise in the topics you're studying- if your college tutors teach them, you'll probably have tutes with them, otherwise they'll arrange tutorials with tutors in different colleges.

In none of the job application forms that i've filled out have i been asked with college i'm at- i've just selected oxford university from the list.

Reply 2

Cirsium

19

Just to reiterate what tjtl has said for reassurance's sake a) recruitment is uni-wide b) very few employers will know what colleges mean, c) while the level of in-college tutoring varies based on subject (e.g. sciences it's often 100% centralised vs e.g. English where it may be 75% in college) there's nothing to say it's not as good at college A as B

In short: you have nothing to worry about!

Reply 3

gruffyddd

1

Your degree will only state Oxford on it, and as everyone sits the same exams, a 1st from Merton is identical to a 1st at Oriel. Even if employers were bothered about colleges you could argue that the student at Oriel must've put in more self study to achieve his 1st. However the differences in colleges rankings are so minor anyway I wouldn't worry about it. Oxford is Oxford!

Reply 4

hobnob

14

gruffyddd

Your degree will only state Oxford on it, and as everyone sits the same exams, a 1st from Merton is identical to a 1st at Oriel. Even if employers were bothered about colleges you could argue that the student at Oriel must've put in more self study to achieve his 1st. However the differences in colleges rankings are so minor anyway I wouldn't worry about it. Oxford is Oxford!

Actually the certificate does state which college you were at. I agree that it's nothing to worry about, though; no employer would be silly enough to pick a former student of College A over an equally qualified former student of College B, purely because College A is a bit further up in the Norrington Table.

Reply 5

Angelil

19

The Norrington Table seems a pretty fickle thing anyway. A college that's top of it one year is not necessarily top again the next year, so it would be pretty silly to make judgments based on that.

Reply 6

Cirsium

19

Angelil

The Norrington Table seems a pretty fickle thing anyway. A college that's top of it one year is not necessarily top again the next year, so it would be pretty silly to make judgments based on that.

Hehe well technically not true since Merton ALWAYS comes top... but other than that :wink:

Reply 7

hobnob

14

Bekaboo

Hehe well technically not true since Merton ALWAYS comes top... but other than that :wink:

Actually no, it used to be St John's that always came top, but they seem to have fallen behind over the past couple of years - slackers. :wink:

Reply 8

Huw Davies

11

Merton is at the top because more of its students get firsts; not the other way around. So there's no reason why an employer would care about college over degree classification or any other factor, as we sit the same exams.

College ranking varies hugely in any case from year to year (other than a fairly stable top few and a fairly stable bottom few); it is probably more a consequence of selecting more academically-talented applicants and working them harder than of teaching them better.

You can get a first from any college and it's pretty much down to you whether you do or not.

Reply 9

tinypony

Huw Davies

Merton is at the top because more of its students get firsts; not the other way around. So there's no reason why an employer would care about college over degree classification or any other factor, as we sit the same exams.

College ranking varies hugely in any case from year to year (other than a fairly stable top few and a fairly stable bottom few); it is probably more a consequence of selecting more academically-talented applicants and working them harder than of teaching them better.

You can get a first from any college and it's pretty much down to you whether you do or not.

I know someone who was told by the Merton warden that he: "could have got a higher first". I think Merton is starting to expect all of its students to get a first, in order to keep the apparent reputation stemming from the Norrington table.

Reply 10

username138106

If you go to ChCh/Magdalen, you'll get more of a chance of jobs from your mates when you get out. Less so St. Anne's.

Reply 11

Huw Davies

11

As a medic I've never paid much attention to how recruitment for non-NHS jobs works, but how dependent is it on this sort of direct "jobs-for-the-boys" networking over the more public presentations\drinks\etc. events, internships, interviews, and so forth?

Reply 12

Wangers

16

Huw Davies

As a medic I've never paid much attention to how recruitment for non-NHS jobs works, but how dependent is it on this sort of direct "jobs-for-the-boys" networking over the more public presentations\drinks\etc. events, internships, interviews, and so forth?

I suppose it may depend on who your tutor knows - to a small extent - ie you might get a heads up abut training programs etx or soon to be open vaccancies. The only time when your tutor can definatly make a significant difference is when you're having work published....

Reply 13

me_lht

OP

Are the tutors at St Anne's of much lower quality than at, say, ChCh or Merton? Even though St Anne is ranked 15 on the Norrington Table, is it actually considered lower within the university?

Reply 14

hobnob

14

me_lht

Are the tutors at St Anne's of much lower quality than at, say, ChCh or Merton? Even though St Anne is ranked 15 on the Norrington Table, is it actually considered lower within the university?

Of course not. :rolleyes:

Reply 15

Wangers

16

me_lht

Are the tutors at St Anne's of much lower quality than at, say, ChCh or Merton? Even though St Anne is ranked 15 on the Norrington Table, is it actually considered lower within the university?

Think about it, everyone has access to the UL, which is undeniably world class. you can ask questions two to one for 2/3 times a week with someone that could have written the books you use, and everyone in the University takes the same Finals papers. Barring exceptional circumstances, I don't think you could blame getting a Turd on anything but your own considerable ineptitude. The oppotunity is as good as you make it.

Reply 16

ravenous_soup_dragon

9

me_lht

Are the tutors at St Anne's of much lower quality than at, say, ChCh or Merton? Even though St Anne is ranked 15 on the Norrington Table, is it actually considered lower within the university?

Why on earth would they be? For some subjects St. Anne's has tutors that are world renowned in their fields. One of our law tutors has an amazing human rights reputation and I actually picked St. Anne's because the law tutors are so good. Anyway, you are rarely taught by tutors in your college - they all specialise in different topics and share tutorial groups with other colleges. For instance, I have tutorials at Harris Manchester and Somerville and only will be taught by a tutor here next term and possibly in Trinity.

Anyway, it's ridiculous to say that one college is academically 'better' than another. Some of the lawyers in my year may be better than some at Christ Church or Merton, and some may be worse - that's just the way it is. As loads of people have pointed out, very few employers even know, let alone care that there are different colleges, unless they've been to Oxbridge themselves.

Reply 17

the_alba

12

me_lht

2. Is the level of instruction lower at the less competitive colleges? Does that explain the lower Norrington Table ranking, or is that because of the, on average, lower quality of students?

Would just like to say - GOD, NO. The college a tutor ends up teaching at is completely random. College jobs come up infrequently and all of them, whether it's Merton or St Peter's, get dozens of brilliant academics applying. I don't know what your subject is, but two of the very best scholars in my field teach at St Anne's. I went to a more famous college (St John's), but the people who taught me there weren't nearly as impressive.

St Anne's is a marvellous college. You're very lucky to be going there. And if it's city jobs you're after - you wont be at any disadvantage, so don't worry.

Reply 18

immediate_escape

1

If you have a first from Merton, surely it's the same as a first from St Hilda's!

Reply 19

Elles

17

Hmm, people you meet (/"network" with) & certain opportunities that come your way might be college related.

But there's no real way of forecasting how these might work out for College X,Y or Z in advance... :p:

How much does college matter in job prospects, etc.?

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