Changing Oxford college

I've got an Oxford offer to start a master's later this year but I'm very unhappy with the college I've been allocated to. I don't think it's a good fit for me and believe I'd be unhappy there. I don't meet the usual requirements for migration (eg access requirements, funding from another college). Is there any way I can appeal the decision or try to get to a different college? I don't want to put my uni offer at risk but am very unsure about accepting the college. I've seen a post about someone who joined mid-year and called up colleges to check for spaces, but don't know if this would work having already received an offer from a college. Any kind of advice much appreciated!

Reply 1

Stiffy Byng

19

Original post by Anonymous

I've got an Oxford offer to start a master's later this year but I'm very unhappy with the college I've been allocated to. I don't think it's a good fit for me and believe I'd be unhappy there. I don't meet the usual requirements for migration (eg access requirements, funding from another college). Is there any way I can appeal the decision or try to get to a different college? I don't want to put my uni offer at risk but am very unsure about accepting the college. I've seen a post about someone who joined mid-year and called up colleges to check for spaces, but don't know if this would work having already received an offer from a college. Any kind of advice much appreciated!

Why look a gift horse in the mouth? Your (non) problem is an extreme First World Problem. Postgraduate places at Oxford are rare and valuable things, and you have one.

The best Oxford college is almost invariably the one which you are a member of. Things only become more tricky if you are lucky enough to belong to more than one college.

Join your college with an open mind. Most people like their colleges. If you really don't like your college, you don't have to spend much time there. You may be taught in any of the colleges or at the faculty.

Right now, there are many people who did not obtain offers who would give a lot to be in your position.

Reply 2

xyz1234567

10

It is very unlikely that a migration would be allowed on grounds of you just having decided in advance that you don’t like the college.

Why are you so sure that you would be unhappy there?
Bear in mind that most of the stereotypes of what colleges are like are made up. And that the college experience for graduate students is often totally different from that for undergraduates.

Reply 3

Stiffy Byng

19

Poor old Sir Keith Thomas is a member of four colleges, and they're all rubbish: Balliol, St John's, Corpus, and All Souls. I can say with confidence that each of those colleges is rubbish because I'm not a member of any of them. That's how it works. I think that my daughter's college is a rubbish college. My daughter thinks that her dad's college is a rubbish college. And so on, and so forth. Just don't get me started on Brasenose.

Reply 4

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

I've got an Oxford offer to start a master's later this year but I'm very unhappy with the college I've been allocated to. I don't think it's a good fit for me and believe I'd be unhappy there. I don't meet the usual requirements for migration (eg access requirements, funding from another college). Is there any way I can appeal the decision or try to get to a different college? I don't want to put my uni offer at risk but am very unsure about accepting the college. I've seen a post about someone who joined mid-year and called up colleges to check for spaces, but don't know if this would work having already received an offer from a college. Any kind of advice much appreciated!

Which college, and what about it makes you feel that you'd be unhappy there? At its core, a college is little more than a collection of students with access to an MCR and a dining room, so you don't really know how much you'll love it until you find out what the other postgrad students are like. If you don't get on with them then you'll end up hanging out with people in your department.

Sure, some colleges are older/newer, have better/worse accommodation, have a good/bad boat club, and a stack of other features, but those are all tiny details that don't have that much impact on the overall experience.

Changing Oxford college

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