Yet another College DiIlemma

Hi all,

I am applying to maths this year and have (almost) settled on Oxford over Cambridge due to environment, application process and proximity to home, but haven't chosen a college. So far I've narrowed it down to:

Balliol
Brasenose
Keble
Magdalen
St Anne's
Trinity
Wadham
Worcester

My priorities are a friendly environment, 2nd year accomodation either in college or not too far out and having a gym somewhere nearby/access to univeristy gym not too far away. I'm not very politically minded and like to go out quite a bit. I also prefer pure maths to applied.

Any advice or information on the colleges and choices appreciated! Thanks and sorry to spam you with another college question!

Emj

I went to both Worcester (undergraduate, BA), and Wadham (postgraduate, MSt)...

Worcester is so so so beautiful, and I can only speak fondly of my experience there. The college really comes into its own during Trinity term, and when summer has reached is zenith. Lake, grounds, quad - it really has it all. Politically, the student community is rather reserved, though it has the typical mix of liberal and conservative types which means that you can find your group. Do note, however, that it is rather understated - meaning that political conflicts rarely, if ever, reach a climax. From this perspective, it might be a little dull, but this aspect makes it a very friendly college. I went out a lot, used the college gym, and stayed in college accommodation on site during all three years of my bachelor's degree - all of which I thoroughly enjoyed and can recommend.The gym isn't as large as some college's, but it has most of what you might need.

Wadham is also beautiful, though less so than Worcester. In terms of politics, the student population is much more liberal, and perhaps the most leftist of all the colleges at Oxford (and Cambridge?). This is very much reflected in the college literature - prospectuses, letters from the Warden, etc etc. If that's your scene, and you want to engage with LGBTQ+ activism and so forth, then this is definitely the college for you.

Thanks for you reply! I have heard only good things about Worcester, so maybe that's the one! I was wondering what you think of Brasenose and Balliol? Just from seeing the colleges those two seemed like my favourites.

Hi all,

I am applying to maths this year and have (almost) settled on Oxford over Cambridge due to environment, application process and proximity to home, but haven't chosen a college. So far I've narrowed it down to:

Balliol
Brasenose
Keble
Magdalen
St Anne's
Trinity
Wadham
Worcester

My priorities are a friendly environment, 2nd year accomodation either in college or not too far out and having a gym somewhere nearby/access to univeristy gym not too far away. I'm not very politically minded and like to go out quite a bit. I also prefer pure maths to applied.

Any advice or information on the colleges and choices appreciated! Thanks and sorry to spam you with another college question!

Emj

Brasenose is really pretty, great location if you're thinking of studying history - the rad cam history faculty library is right there!

Balliol is nice too.

The thing with those colleges is that they get really busy with tourists in summer, cos they're very central. Something to bear in mind.

Hi all,

I am applying to maths this year and have (almost) settled on Oxford over Cambridge due to environment, application process and proximity to home, but haven't chosen a college. So far I've narrowed it down to:

Balliol
Brasenose
Keble
Magdalen
St Anne's
Trinity
Wadham
Worcester

My priorities are a friendly environment, 2nd year accomodation either in college or not too far out and having a gym somewhere nearby/access to univeristy gym not too far away. I'm not very politically minded and like to go out quite a bit. I also prefer pure maths to applied.

Any advice or information on the colleges and choices appreciated! Thanks and sorry to spam you with another college question!

Emj

emjb2 is planning to study Maths (!). Balliol and Brasenose are both centrally located and each has Tutors for Pure Maths, Applied Maths, and Statistics.
Our quota is 6 students a year while Balliol's website says they admit between 5 and 8. As a subject, Maths ranks all candidates in the same way and the highest ranked applicants are interviewed and offered places - so there is no advantage applying to any particular college. In terms of undergrads, the two colleges are the same sized: at the last census (December 2017), Balliol had 366 undergrads and Brasenose 365. Balliol has about 100 more graduates (359 versus 242).

Here are some recent blogs by Brasenose Maths students which may be helpful.

https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1812-student-blog-summing-up-maths-at-brasenose
https://insidebrasenose.org/profiles/maths/

Tourists - there are plenty of tourists during the summer but they only get to look around at certain times (eg Sunday afternoon at weekends).