Is it better to go to Oxford for undergrad or postgrad?

This is nonsense tbh. I know of one guy who did law at a London uni that's so far from Russell Group you'd need an A-Z to find it.

He ended up at Oxford doing a BCL

I've always wanted to go to Oxford. It's been my dream since I was younger. I got excellent GCSE grades and I'm predicted excellent A Level grades. I've done reading across many subjects (I was hoping to study philosophy or law).
I'm in Year 12 so I will have to apply soon, but I'm having second thoughts about if I even want to go to Oxford for undergrad. It's obviously incredibly hard and I don't even know if I'll be able to get in! And even if I do, the workload is insane and I will be working more than having fun, which is a part of the uni experience for me.

However, every time I think about not applying it fills me with sadness. I was considering to go to Oxford for postgrad. Is that a good idea? Essentially my question is whether going to Oxford for postgrad is just as prestigious as going for undergrad?

Depends on the competitiveness of the course in question. Just because it is anecdotally possible doesn't make it likely. Of course, a brilliant student from a mid to low ranked undergraduate programme can go to Oxford for graduate study. But the question is whether the chances (conditional on an average student from that programme) are good.

It really depends what you want to do career wise.

Id say the thing with post-grad is your probably going to look to specilise more and what if Oxford doesnt offer what your looking for?
(When I was looking at masters I crossed Oxbridge off the table as they didnt offer some of the academic things I was looking for).

I wouldnt say its better or worse to go at undergrad or postgrad, its about picking the path that most suites your needs.

If you want to go & have the opportunity at undergrad then I recommend applying, there is no guarantee the opportunity will come around again.

As a current Oxford Student, the idea we don't have fun is such rubbish. Oxford has lots of fun societies to get involved in (no matter your interest in drinking) and lots of people to socialise with. That's balanced with an incredibly compressed courseload, sure, but I find that going 9am to 6pm with a break for lunch and a break for JCR tea means my evenings are free for whatever mischief I wish to get up to. I usually find myself working 10-5 on the weekends as well, but that's because I've been a bit slack during the week.

This does depend on course, naturally. I'm a Mathematician, and our course load is admittedly less than say, a Chemist, or a Classicist, but that doesn't stop them from having fun either!

There is also something to be said for the fact that doing your undergrad at Oxford makes it miles easier to get in on a masters here (not sure about DPhil.) Getting on the masters (where the course is not integrated) is basically a question of getting a first. I had a friend who missed out on a first and ended up heading up to St Andrews for the masters, and is coming back this year for his DPhil.

If you have any questions, feel free to fire them my way!

Hi. I’m a bit confused. So are you saying that as along as I get a first, I have a decent shot at getting into a masters programme at Oxford (I’m an undergrad at St Andrews at the moment)? Will those who went to Oxbridge have an advantage over other non-Oxbridge undergrad students?

What I meant was that a first from Oxford will probably get you onto an Oxford Masters. You should still apply though, St Andrews is a good uni.

Tbh if you're an *average* student why are you applying to Oxford in the first place?

Oh I see. Thanks for the clarification.

So does the admissions team priorities Oxbridge students over others?