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Can't afford to pay the expensive international fees at Oxford...

I'm so conflicted right now - I keep doubting myself whenever I made the choice of accepting the offer from Oxford.
As an international student, I am immensely grateful to receive an offer from this prestigious institution. I understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain maximum exposure to world-renowned scholars in my field, however, my family will be impoverished and debted once I accepted the offer. Imagining the possibility of my mother doing multiple part-time jobs at once, and the living expenses of the entire household being reduced just because of me is unbearable. 44240 pounds per annum (excluding living costs) is nearly unreachable, even with a 25000-pound scholarship from my home government.

If I didn't go to Oxford, I would resort to a medicine degree in my country of residence. The tuition fee is significantly lower, and medicine is highly regarded by the community so career prospects are much brighter than that of a biochemistry degree at Oxford indeed. However, choosing this option is also difficult as I really love Oxford and would definitely want to pursue 4 of my early adult years at this beautiful city.

TLDR My family would become impoverished due to the expensive required fees for Oxford once I decided to go to Oxford. However, in both financial ability and career prospects-wise, choosing medicine in my hometown is a better option, but I still don't want to give up on Oxford. What should I do?
If it is not affordable then do not go, simples.
Reply 2
Well, they check via a financial declaration to make sure that you can afford it before they let you enrol. So if you can't afford it, they'll withdraw the offer anyway.

They pretty much consider EVERYONE for scholarships - have they offered any?
(edited 9 months ago)
Ask to defer and if they say yes, explore other external scholarships.

As above, if you ultimately can't afford it, there's not really much decision to be made.
i would do the medicine degree in your hometown because life would be better during and after your university years.
Reply 5
Original post by Anonymous
I'm so conflicted right now - I keep doubting myself whenever I made the choice of accepting the offer from Oxford.
As an international student, I am immensely grateful to receive an offer from this prestigious institution. I understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain maximum exposure to world-renowned scholars in my field, however, my family will be impoverished and debted once I accepted the offer. Imagining the possibility of my mother doing multiple part-time jobs at once, and the living expenses of the entire household being reduced just because of me is unbearable. 44240 pounds per annum (excluding living costs) is nearly unreachable, even with a 25000-pound scholarship from my home government.

If I didn't go to Oxford, I would resort to a medicine degree in my country of residence. The tuition fee is significantly lower, and medicine is highly regarded by the community so career prospects are much brighter than that of a biochemistry degree at Oxford indeed. However, choosing this option is also difficult as I really love Oxford and would definitely want to pursue 4 of my early adult years at this beautiful city.

TLDR My family would become impoverished due to the expensive required fees for Oxford once I decided to go to Oxford. However, in both financial ability and career prospects-wise, choosing medicine in my hometown is a better option, but I still don't want to give up on Oxford. What should I do?

If it is going to impoverish your family, and your career prospects would be better by studying medicine back home, then I don't really see the benefit of going to Oxford. Having "Oxford uni" on you CV might be great, but I don't think sacrificing being a doctor is worth it. You could always visit Oxford for holidays, and maybe also practice there or somewhere else in the UK once you quality as a doctor.
Reply 6
If it was me, I would not put my family through poverty so I could go to Oxford, especially if medicine in your country has good career prospects and would allow you to have a good standard of living after you graduate.
yes indeed the expensive tuition fees and living expenses are something that nearly every international student can relate to :s-smilie:
but if going to Oxford results in your family being impoverished and you are well-off after studying medicine in your home country, probably you should consider withdrawing your offer :frown:
I'm so sorry for this - there're so many talented ppl who are limited by financial constraints...

p.s. are you possibly from Asia? Asians generally treat medicine highly because of how it brings high income :biggrin:

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