Merton College- Is it really where fun goes to die?

Hi, I am considering applying to Merton College for an undergraduate degree. I have visited the college and love the buildings, location, and history behind it, but am worried about its reputation being "where fun goes to die". Is this just a comedic stereotype or is there truly a lack of socialising and group events?

Reply 1

The_Lonely_Goatherd

I wasn't at Merton (I was at Worcester from 2007-2010) but my friends at Merton had plenty of fun! LMH was the place where fun went to die when I was at Oxford. The whole "fun goes to die" thing is more often than not an exaggeration for any college (Merton included!), so I wouldn't worry about that at all :nah:

Reply 2

Stiffy Byng

It's a false stereotype. At Oxford, every college enjoys dissing every other college, and some colleges have particular reps attached to them. Each tale grows in the telling.

For example, everyone at Oriel is supposed to be a Tory, everyone at Christchurch is supposed to be an Etonian whose family owns Warwickshire, everyone at Wadham is supposed to have blue hair, facial piercings, a fake northern accent, and ninety seven gender identities, everyone at Worcester is supposed to be a Maoist, everyone at St Peter's is supposed to be drunk or stoned 24/7, everyone at Balliol is supposed to have three brains, everyone at Queen's is supposed to be a Northern Chemist, and so on, and so on. It's mainly just banter, although some of the stereotypes can to some extent become self -fulfilling prophecies. Merton is as much fun as any other college, which is to say, plenty of fun.

Reply 3

elilast

Merton *is* a pretty academic college, but they definitely still have fun! I’ve heard good things about the bops there (though did not attend myself).