UCL vs Oxford for Politics

Hi all,
wanted to reach out into the amorphous internet blob and see if anyone out there has the answers I don´t. I am currently on a gap year teaching in Spain but have been accepted into both Oxford and UCL next year: History and Politics at Wadham in Oxford and Euorpean & International Social & Political studies for UCL. I wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with either course who could give me some insight into what they are like. Then also if anyone else had to make a similar decision, what you did, why you decided that, if you regret it etc, etc.

Another important thing for me is that having spent a year abroad I want to keep up my Spanish. In UCL that would be incorperated into the course but at Oxford I would have to make time for that myself. Alongside other extracurriculars, do you think it is feasible to keep up studying a language whilst at Oxford, just because obviously it has a reputation for how intense the workload is. Any information in general about the Univerities would be great as well, I what to hear it from the horses mouth rather than "About Us" webpages. Things like expenses, nightlife, mental health support, how easy it is to support a part time job etc- ANYTHING YOU CAN GIVE ME! This has been driving me crazy and I would really appreciate any advice :smile:

))))))

Hi! I had a friend studying incorporated Spanish at UCL and her course there was really good, she was in a different situation to you but began there as a complete beginner and was past A level Spanish ability in 3 months. With the question of could you keep it up on your own at Oxford, there's a number of things you could do...

1.

Make time in your day to study it- This would be challenging to stay motivated, but watching a show in Spanish for 10 minutes every day, studying verb tables and practising speaking!

2.

Make friends at university who have the language in common with you! For me, I went to Manchester uni which is really multicultural so I was able to practise a lot of my speaking with friends from all over the world who spoke Spanish with me.

3.

Joining a society at uni- societies are social clubs where activities and events are run, I expect you'll have no trouble finding a Spanish society or Languages society at least!

Reply 2

mamamiax

OP

3

Original post by Yipiyap_Brooke

Hi! I had a friend studying incorporated Spanish at UCL and her course there was really good, she was in a different situation to you but began there as a complete beginner and was past A level Spanish ability in 3 months. With the question of could you keep it up on your own at Oxford, there's a number of things you could do...

1.

Make time in your day to study it- This would be challenging to stay motivated, but watching a show in Spanish for 10 minutes every day, studying verb tables and practising speaking!

2.

Make friends at university who have the language in common with you! For me, I went to Manchester uni which is really multicultural so I was able to practise a lot of my speaking with friends from all over the world who spoke Spanish with me.

3.

Joining a society at uni- societies are social clubs where activities and events are run, I expect you'll have no trouble finding a Spanish society or Languages society at least!

Thank you so much for your comment this has been really helpful- especially the stuff about hwow intensive the language learning is at UCL. You've also inspired me to look into the Oxford Spanish society stuff <3

Reply 3

olivier_

12

Heya, congratulations on your offers :smile:

UCL is known to be really good for politics, and of course Oxford teaches great theoretical politics! From what I heard they both have their strengths, I'd say the esps would be more interesting for the liberally minded / people interested in international relations on top of political theory, whereas history and politics is more focused on the west, but it does have optional modules in international relations just more from a domestic perspective. Also remember half the course is history, so if you like your history this would be a great pick in that respect. In term of your Spanish and part time work:

•

Spanish: As the post above said, there's language societies so if you consistently turn up that would be one way to expose yourself to it whichever uni you end up choosing. Worth looking into how regularly they run events, and what kinds of events (is it cultural workshops, language lessons or socials? run entirely in spanish or in english?) they run.

•

Workload: There's lots of rumours about Oxford but the stuff about workload is 100% true from my experience. Just take the number of essays per term and already there's a huge difference.

•

Expenses: Both very expensive... make sure you sign up to student discount apps like Student Beans and UniDays, and make full use of the uni-subsidised cafe's and bars where you get cheaper rates. I'm guessing London is probably more expensive but again the student union cafes/restaurant/bars have good rates and part time jobs usually pay more (London living wage+).

•

Nightlife: Way better in London, where there's something for everyone. 2-3 really popular clubs and pubs near campus if you just wanna be where all the students are, but there's also themed clubs, cute jazz bars, gigs, arcades, flat parties, gallery openings, raves... you name it.

•

Mental health: Centralised system not so good but almost every society has a "wellbeing rep" that you can talk to, and there's also societies and student run groups that focus on mental health - goes for both unis

•

Part time job: Part time jobs are banned in the term time at Oxford unfortunately, on the basis that the academic workload is high. You can still have a job in the summer holiday. No restrictions at UCL, but my advice is to apply early because cafe/bar jobs around campus get very popular very soon

(edited 1 month ago)

Original post by mamamiax

Thank you so much for your comment this has been really helpful- especially the stuff about hwow intensive the language learning is at UCL. You've also inspired me to look into the Oxford Spanish society stuff <3

No worries at all! Buena suerte! :smile:

)

Reply 5

mamamiax

OP

3

Original post by olivier_

Heya, congratulations on your offers :smile:

UCL is known to be really good for politics, and of course Oxford teaches great theoretical politics! From what I heard they both have their strengths, I'd say the esps would be more interesting for the liberally minded / people interested in international relations on top of political theory, whereas history and politics is more focused on the west, but it does have optional modules in international relations just more from a domestic perspective. Also remember half the course is history, so if you like your history this would be a great pick in that respect. In term of your Spanish and part time work:

•

Spanish: As the post above said, there's language societies so if you consistently turn up that would be one way to expose yourself to it whichever uni you end up choosing. Worth looking into how regularly they run events, and what kinds of events (is it cultural workshops, language lessons or socials? run entirely in spanish or in english?) they run.

•

Workload: There's lots of rumours about Oxford but the stuff about workload is 100% true from my experience. Just take the number of essays per term and already there's a huge difference.

•

Expenses: Both very expensive... make sure you sign up to student discount apps like Student Beans and UniDays, and make full use of the uni-subsidised cafe's and bars where you get cheaper rates. I'm guessing London is probably more expensive but again the student union cafes/restaurant/bars have good rates and part time jobs usually pay more (London living wage+).

•

Nightlife: Way better in London, where there's something for everyone. 2-3 really popular clubs and pubs near campus if you just wanna be where all the students are, but there's also themed clubs, cute jazz bars, gigs, arcades, flat parties, gallery openings, raves... you name it.

•

Mental health: Centralised system not so good but almost every society has a "wellbeing rep" that you can talk to, and there's also societies and student run groups that focus on mental health - goes for both unis

•

Part time job: Part time jobs are banned in the term time at Oxford unfortunately, on the basis that the academic workload is high. You can still have a job in the summer holiday. No restrictions at UCL, but my advice is to apply early because cafe/bar jobs around campus get very popular very soon

AHHH TYSM. There is so much detail there i can’t tell you how helpful that is. You’ve cleared up the doubts I had about whether the workload is was people say it is (it is) and the like course differences. I’m going to go and visit both the Unis soon to get a feel for them so i’ll keep in mind all of what you said when I go. Thanks again :smile:

Reply 6

epad

8

Oxford will be a dramatically better uni experience (I did my undergrad at Cambridge and my MA in London so I've seen both). The university is essentially a campus with a city attached and the colleges give you a smaller social hub that will be the focus of your life.

In London, after your first year, you'll end up living in a random suburb with three friends and commuting 1hr+ to lectures. London is a bad place to go to uni, and there's no comparison to Oxford/Cambridge. Nightlife is also arguably better in Oxford because there are substantially more student events, unless of course you have the money to go to London clubs routinely.

The workload is definitely higher at Oxford but not unmanageable. You should also be aware of the dramatic gap in prestige that may have a knock on effect on the rest of your life. That's not a reason to go somewhere you'll be unhappy, but think very, very carefully before you turn down the opportunity.

Reply 7

olivier_

12

In response to the post above, while it's valuable advice from an ex-cambridge student's perspective, I feel obliged to bring it back to the fact that "uni experience" is different for everyone and what makes it "better" is totally subjective. For example, many of my friends went to boarding school which was a very similar experience to Oxbridge, from the layout of the campus to the social life and the vibe of the people there. Often boarding school is highly romanticised ("dark academia" in social media language), but life can be pretty tough if you don't fit in or feel like you have to keep up a façade when you're surrounded by the same-ish people, grand indifferent buildings and not much distraction. For them, they felt trapped as they endured the 5 years at school, and coming to London was liberating. If life gets tough on campus, you can venture out and spontaneously go to the theatre on a Thursday evening, or take an early morning walk along the Thames to the City and see the flurry of crisp suits and the smell of coffee beans, and you can feel that in the grand scheme of things your problem isn't the end of the world, you have the whole world in front of you in fact. Again, this is just one perspective, which my friends happened to lecture to me in drunken passion :smile:

The only objective fact I'll mention is that student nights are plenty and cheap in London too, from £1 in Heaven to £3-6 for sports nights, plus free themed events in the student bars. From my knowledge (and I have been to both universities) wherever you go some people have a great time, while a handful are actually depressed and sometimes even drop out. It's really about what you're looking for!

Edit: Also, master's is a VERY different experience to undergrad in general.

I agree with the post above that you should really take the time to think about this and compare your options so you don't regret in the future!

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 8

Picnicl

15

UCL ranks better than Oxford for research in Politics and the only reasons people think Oxford must be better is because so many prime ministers went there, Oxford Union debates, and because it's Oxford. Oxford's not even top 10 in the UK for research in Politics either and Cambridge is ranked even worse than Oxford for it. Oxbridge becomes a perpetuation - it gets entrants with the highest average grades, regardless of the quality of the tutors there, because they're not 'bad' for any subjects, because it's so famous and because much of the old architecture looks nice.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 9

Stiffy Byng

14

I studied Modern History at Wadham College, Oxford. Afterwards I studied law in London, where I still live and work.

Much as I admire UCL, I think that the undergraduate experience at Oxford is a special experience, and worth having.

Oxford colleges are nothing like boarding schools, and Oxford is not full of generic poshos. "Saltburn" is tosh. Oxford undergraduates are expected to work hard, but an essay a week is hardly slavery, and there is plenty of time for partying, sport, music, drama, politics, journalism, learning a language, and what not. The social life is good in the colleges and in the city. Oxford pre-dates its university. It has a huge car factory. It's not just a university town.

The tutorial system is a great way to learn. Engaging in intellectual single combat with a first rate scholar is fun. The beauty of the libraries and the place in general is an aid to study. Oxford is imbued with a centuries old spirit of learning and of having fun.

Wadham is a college which inspires love in its members. The college meant and still means a huge amount to me and the dear friends whom I met there, and still party with years afterwards.

Go to Wadham - you will love it. Maybe do postgrad at UCL - it's a great place too.

Reply 10

thegeek888

18

Original post by mamamiax

Hi all,
wanted to reach out into the amorphous internet blob and see if anyone out there has the answers I don´t. I am currently on a gap year teaching in Spain but have been accepted into both Oxford and UCL next year: History and Politics at Wadham in Oxford and Euorpean & International Social & Political studies for UCL. I wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with either course who could give me some insight into what they are like. Then also if anyone else had to make a similar decision, what you did, why you decided that, if you regret it etc, etc.
Another important thing for me is that having spent a year abroad I want to keep up my Spanish. In UCL that would be incorperated into the course but at Oxford I would have to make time for that myself. Alongside other extracurriculars, do you think it is feasible to keep up studying a language whilst at Oxford, just because obviously it has a reputation for how intense the workload is. Any information in general about the Univerities would be great as well, I what to hear it from the horses mouth rather than "About Us" webpages. Things like expenses, nightlife, mental health support, how easy it is to support a part time job etc- ANYTHING YOU CAN GIVE ME! This has been driving me crazy and I would really appreciate any advice :smile:

))))))

Go to Wadham College, Oxford!!! :smile:

Also, I recommend you have a read of the Wadham College page on The Oxford Alternative Prospectus website:
Wadham College - Oxford University Alternative Prospectus (oxfordsu.org)

UCL vs Oxford for Politics

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