Oxford graduate applicants 2009/2010

*Fra*

I think we all are packing our stuff now.
This is a list of essentials I collected from different sites:

- sub fusc basics (shirt, skirt/trousers, ...)
- nice dresses for evening events
- a good rain jacket
- warm things you can wrap around your neck/head
- bomb-proof gloves
- a good lock for bicycle
- xmas light - halloween costumes (?)
- printer and ink (is this really that expensive?)
- books you can't live without

unless you already have it, you could just buy the lock when you buy your bike. definitely get loads of costumes if you can...lots of "bops" where everyone dresses up. for sub fuscs, you need a white shirt and a dark suit/ skirt, black shoes and socks....most stores have a great deal for hood, mortar board and white bowtie.

i usually take a lot of clothes with me and then get all the other stuff from cheap stores around town...argos is pretty good for kitchen appliances etc..

Reply 1882

*Fra*

chochu444

definitely get loads of costumes if you can...lots of "bops" where everyone dresses up

This sounds unbelievable to me.... Is this a tradition? I've never heard of costume parties apart from Halloween

QUOTE]most stores have a great deal for hood, mortar board and white bowtie.

I read about Varsity shop. Is it a good one?

Reply 1883

*Fra*

This sounds unbelievable to me.... Is this a tradition? I've never heard of costume parties apart from Halloween

QUOTE]most stores have a great deal for hood, mortar board and white bowtie.

I read about Varsity shop. Is it a good one?

well, you will have to believe it, or wait till you see it for yourself! Almost every other week they have "themed parties" at colleges, although i dont know how much grad colleges keep up with the undergrads. Some of the bops I remember include, in addition to Halloween, superheroes, 60s, theme america and rocky horror.

i dont exactly know which one is the best for sub fuscs but there are a bunch who specialize in it so I doubt there would be much difference between them.

Reply 1884

*Fra*

Talking about sub fusc, I have this big doubt: do I need to wear formal black trousers like these or may I go with something like this or like these?

Reply 1885

*Fra*

Talking about sub fusc, I have this big doubt: do I need to wear formal black trousers like these or may I go with something like this or like these?

I don't know the exact answer to your question but I would advise getting a formal pair, just in case. Keep in mind that you need to wear these for your exams as well, and I would rather not have to worry about the appropriateness of my clothes right before I sit for an exam. Everything in England and particularly at Oxford, in my experience, is ultra-formal, so I would rather be safe than sorry.

Reply 1886

hobnob

14

*Fra*

Talking about sub fusc, I have this big doubt: do I need to wear formal black trousers like these or may I go with something like this or like these?

Any of those will be completely fine. Basically, as long as they're dark and free of obvious holes, stains and/or embellishments, all trousers are OK for subfusc.

Reply 1887

hobnob

14

chochu444

I don't know the exact answer to your question but I would advise getting a formal pair, just in case. Keep in mind that you need to wear these for your exams as well, and I would rather not have to worry about the appropriateness of my clothes right before I sit for an exam. Everything in England and particularly at Oxford, in my experience, is ultra-formal, so I would rather be safe than sorry.

I wouldn't call it "ultra-formal", really. As I said, as long as they're plain dark trousers, no-one will care what sort of trousers you wear. Subfusc isn't really that big a deal. The only rules are:
1. Shoes, trousers / skirts and jackets have to be dark
2. Shirts and bow-ties have to be white
3. If you wear tights, they must not be tan (oddly enough, that's the only rule they seem to be fussy about :s-smilie:

)
If I were you, I'd choose clothes which fulfil those criteria and feel reasonably comfortable.

Reply 1888

hobnob

I wouldn't call it "ultra-formal", really. As I said, as long as they're plain dark trousers, no-one will care what sort of trousers you wear. Subfusc isn't really that big a deal. The only rules are:
1. Shoes, trousers / skirts and jackets have to be dark
2. Shirts and bow-ties have to be white
3. If you wear tights, they must not be tan (oddly enough, that's the only rule they seem to be fussy about :s-smilie:

)
If I were you, I'd choose clothes which fulfil those criteria and feel reasonably comfortable.

As I said, i wasn't sure about sub fusc specifically...thanks for clearing that up. I just wanted to be on the same side.

As regards the ultra-formal comment, I was referring to England and Oxford more so than sub fucs. I have found that everything has to be "by the book" with very little leniency or leeway from "the system" in England as opposed to the US where I found most things in the system "negotiable". Obvious generalizations, I know, but that's just my limited experience.

Reply 1889

threedaystar

WetMyWhistle

Is anyone here planning on attending the International Graduate Student Orientation on 30 September? I fly in early that morning, but I wanted to try and make the afternoon meet-n-greet session. Will I be seeing any fellow TSRs there? :smile:

I'll be there! :biggrin:

I am flying in on the 27th (so as long as I am not crumbling under jet lag) I'll be trying to do all the orientation things.

Reply 1890

WetMyWhistle

Thanks for all the advice on buying/borrowing books! When I saw the massive reading list and made a few calculations, I was about ready to cry. But thanks for putting my mind at ease. I'm fairly sure I'm the only one from my study at my college, so I'll try my college's library first.

If you go here: http://solo.ouls.ox.ac.uk/ you can see if the books you need are available in Oxford, and in which libraries.

Reply 1891

chochu444

As I said, i wasn't sure about sub fusc specifically...thanks for clearing that up. I just wanted to be on the same side.

As regards the ultra-formal comment, I was referring to England and Oxford more so than sub fucs. I have found that everything has to be "by the book" with very little leniency or leeway from "the system" in England as opposed to the US where I found most things in the system "negotiable". Obvious generalizations, I know, but that's just my limited experience.

Do you mean academic wear in Oxford, or the dress code for balls or something?! :confused:

Because you may just be seeing people being either a. more likely to conform to a particular unspoken dress code through, say, peer pressure and not wanting to look different; and undergraduates generally ceasing every opportunity to dress up nicely...

Reply 1892

Athena

Do you mean academic wear in Oxford, or the dress code for balls or something?! :confused:

Because you may just be seeing people being either a. more likely to conform to a particular unspoken dress code through, say, peer pressure and not wanting to look different; and undergraduates generally ceasing every opportunity to dress up nicely...

I was actually talking more about everything "systemic" rather than just clothes. I found everything to be "by the book" rather than "hands on" in England. My experiences with customer service (business enterprises) and college officials/administrators have led me to this belief. Because of this "formal" nature of most things English, I was suggesting that perhaps it would be safer to go with formal clothes as well, but hobnob set me straight and said that people aren't particularly fussy about sub fuscs, so i guess my comments are not relevant here anyways.

Reply 1893

chochu444

I was actually talking more about everything "systemic" rather than just clothes. I found everything to be "by the book" rather than "hands on" in England. My experiences with customer service (business enterprises) and college officials/administrators have led me to this belief. Because of this "formal" nature of most things English, I was suggesting that perhaps it would be safer to go with formal clothes as well, but hobnob set me straight and said that people aren't particularly fussy about sub fuscs, so i guess my comments are not relevant here anyways.

Not related to your post but: sub fusc :pinch:

No extra s. Sub fuscs does not exist as a word, because sub fusc is (really) a Latin descriptive meaning dark - so your sub fusc are your dark, exam-wear-suitable clothes. You can't pluralise it, and no one at Oxford ever will and people will inwardly judge you for getting it wrong! Just as people will judge me in Cambridge if I talk about quads rather than courts :p:

I still don't understand what you mean about everything being formal in England (I think you'll have to give some examples), as while paperwork etc (if that's what you mean by formal, standardised...) is a big thing in the UK, you'll probably find Oxford is, to a greater extent than at most other universities, a place where administration and academic staff will bend the rules for you, arrange things at short notice and generally let you get away with murder, provided you are nice to them and don't cause trouble the rest of the time :p:

Reply 1894

Angelil

19

Paperwork is an even bigger thing here in France :pinch:

Tis the bane of my life :frown:

Reply 1895

Athena

Not related to your post but: sub fusc :pinch:

No extra s. Sub fuscs does not exist as a word, because sub fusc is (really) a Latin descriptive meaning dark - so your sub fusc are your dark, exam-wear-suitable clothes. You can't pluralise it, and no one at Oxford ever will and people will inwardly judge you for getting it wrong! Just as people will judge me in Cambridge if I talk about quads rather than courts :p:

I still don't understand what you mean about everything being formal in England (I think you'll have to give some examples), as while paperwork etc (if that's what you mean by formal, standardised...) is a big thing in the UK, you'll probably find Oxford is, to a greater extent than at most other universities, a place where administration and academic staff will bend the rules for you, arrange things at short notice and generally let you get away with murder, provided you are nice to them and don't cause trouble the rest of the time :p:

well, me foreign so me no no englis! i mean, if people want to judge me for not knowing the correct plural for a word I have never heard before, so be it..i don't care much for such people anyways. that said, i do appreciate your letting me know...i will definitely keep that in mind (because its not that I enjoy being ridiculed :P)

examples of formal england:

1. I ordered a phone online...they sent me the wrong order...i called them to get them to send me the correct one...they made me wait a month because they said that their manager was on holiday and no returns for that price could be processed without his explicit approval, even when they admitted they had made a mistake. It cost me about 20 quid to sort the matter out and I ended up buying a different phone. They did give me 5 quid extra for my troubles...

2. I was at Oxford a couple of weeks ago and asked to see the college quad while I was there. I produced my old bod card and also had my acceptance letter from the college at hand (coincidence) but they kept insisting that the college was closed. Only when I repeatedly explained that I had come from a different country did they agree to call someone at the Admissions office and then let me see the gardens.

3. My visa in the US was expiring so I needed to get my UK visa and leave the country asap. I needed an identical financial document from both my funding Foundation and the college. I emailed both officers in the same email. I had what I needed from the US Foundation the next morning. Even though this was an urgent immigration matter, I was repeatedly told by Oxford that they couldn't expedite the document but could not give me a reason as to why that was so. Given my dire situation, I went on to request my Foundation to vouch for me to expedite the documents. The Grants Manager confirmed both the validity and the need for the said document directly to the college but i was still refused...I ended up having to wait two more weeks for the document. In the meantime, I was almost out of status in the US so I had to fly out to my college and pay a substantial amount to apply for an extension of stay.

4. The same Grants Manager of the international foundation also called the college on my behalf to assure the college that I had been approved enough funding to cover my housing..they were in the process of sending the letter to the college. the college refused this as evidence of funding and so didn't place me in the waiting list for housing...I ended up having to get private accommodation.

Perhaps these are just a few stupid examples but my educational experiences at Oxford have been VASTLY different from that in the US, where basically everything is conducted on the basis of reason rather than convention. I just find England, and Oxford, to be way more formal than the US, and my undergraduate college. This is as much as I am willing to discuss this issue though, so my apologies in advance if you do not find my argument agreeable.

Reply 1896

swiftuk

Sounds like you need to be more organised.

The reasoning behind not accepting a phone call will be the same as anywhere...that it could be anyone phoning at all.

It's interesting - I go on US messageboards and have a number of North American postgrad friends ( :biggrin:

two thanksgiving meal times :wink:

), and they've only ever seemed to complain about what the rest of us complain about.

Reply 1897

swiftuk

Sounds like you need to be more organised.

The reasoning behind not accepting a phone call will be the same as anywhere...that it could be anyone phoning at all.

It's interesting - I go on US messageboards and have a number of North American postgrad friends ( :biggrin:

two thanksgiving meal times :wink:

), and they've only ever seemed to complain about what the rest of us complain about.

haha, well i guess the fact that i went to a small liberal arts college might have made things largely different for me, thus biasing my expectations elsewhere.

it had nothing to do with my organization, btw; the timeline of events (application, funding, visas, immigration status)
in the uk and the us were beyond my control.

These phone calls were backed with scanned copies of the documents in question and emails from listed official email addresses.

as regards the system itself, i forgot to add that while all 800 numbers (customer service) are free in the US, I found that you actually had to pay more than the normal price to call customer service. Case in point, 12 dollars to call the Visa section.

all this aside, i still love oxford and am excited to attend. i was just making an observation based on personal experience; people don't have to agree with me if they have felt otherwise. sorry for dragging the conversation somewhat off-topic.

Reply 1898