Oxford Life

Hi all,

I've recently considered the possibility of going to Oxford next year but am slightly worried that I wouldn't fit in there! If anyone could honestly help me with some queries I have that would be great!

1) Are the people very stuck up? - some say this is a problem!
2) Are you expected to get involved in Oxford traditions and feasts etc?
3) Is it hard to date at Oxford?
4) is the nightlife scene good or are most people more quiet?

Thanks

Reply 1

MexicanKeith

12

Original post by Arisapo

Hi all,

I've recently considered the possibility of going to Oxford next year but am slightly worried that I wouldn't fit in there! If anyone could honestly help me with some queries I have that would be great!

1) Are the people very stuck up? - some say this is a problem!
2) Are you expected to get involved in Oxford traditions and feasts etc?
3) Is it hard to date at Oxford?
4) is the nightlife scene good or are most people more quiet?

Thanks

1) no more than in other places
2) To some extent, for example academic dress (sub fusc) is compulsory for most university formal occasions. Most colleges will also have formal hall multiple times each week (this is less a 'feast' and more a normal three course meal). There are also ball each summer, which you can turn up to if you like (they are normally quite expensive)
3) again, no more so than other places
4) nightlife is alright, there are some clubs and plenty of people go to them, so if you like going clubbing, you'll get plenty of chance

Reply 2

OxFossil

19

Original post by Arisapo

Hi all,

I've recently considered the possibility of going to Oxford next year but am slightly worried that I wouldn't fit in there! If anyone could honestly help me with some queries I have that would be great!

1) Are the people very stuck up? - some say this is a problem!
2) Are you expected to get involved in Oxford traditions and feasts etc?
3) Is it hard to date at Oxford?
4) is the nightlife scene good or are most people more quiet?

Thanks

If you want some wild generalisations, these would be mine:

1. Most people seem able to find a social group in their college that they feel comfortable in and Oxford students seem no more or less friendly than anywhere else. Social norms and backgrounds are decidedly middle class, and liberal with regards to sexuality.

2. and 4. How far you want to engage with traditions, clubbing, midnight feasts and jolly wheezes is entirely up to you - it's there if you want it, but no-one will look askance if you don't.

3. As I recently found to my cost, if one is told that a lady has "come out", it no longer means that she has been presented at court, and it may be inadvisable to refer to her as a "deb".

Reply 3

nexttime

22

Original post by Arisapo

Hi all,

I've recently considered the possibility of going to Oxford next year but am slightly worried that I wouldn't fit in there! If anyone could honestly help me with some queries I have that would be great!

1) Are the people very stuck up? - some say this is a problem!
2) Are you expected to get involved in Oxford traditions and feasts etc?
3) Is it hard to date at Oxford?
4) is the nightlife scene good or are most people more quiet?

Thanks

1) No. Most people are fairly middle-class in background but you'd have to go a fair way down the university league tables before that isn't the case. Remember that private schooled kids are the minority at Oxford, not the state schooled ones (not that you can reliably tell who is who).
2) Feasts lol.
Yes kind of but its fun and you mostly don't have to if you don't want to. Having a three course waited meal in a grade 1 listed medieval building for £4, and having the option to do that 6 days per week day in term time... difficult to see that as a bad thing.
3) No. For most people: you have a lot more independence than before, and are around people with far more similar interests than before. Oxford is also a very nice city.
4) Depends where you're from and what you want. It doesn't have the massive clubs of London, but i actually much preferred its student focus and its far more affordable for a student.

Oxford Life

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