Oxbridge - what is it really like?
I’m in Year 12 and considering applying to study Classics at either Oxford or Cambridge. I think the courses sound really interesting, but I’ve been hearing a lot of scare stories about the academic pressure and exams in particular. I know that highly prestigious universities like these are obviously very high pressure, but how extreme is the stress level? I’ve heard of people having to go to hospital with stress- related conditions after 2 weeks straight of 3 hour exam papers… this sounds really drastic and I don’t want to put myself in a position where I am this stressed. I do consider myself a self- motivated and driven person, but I’m not sure if it’s realistic for me to be able to cope in a university like Oxford/ Cambridge. Does anyone have experience of what the reality of the stress is like?
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Original post by Anonymous
I’m in Year 12 and considering applying to study Classics at either Oxford or Cambridge. I think the courses sound really interesting, but I’ve been hearing a lot of scare stories about the academic pressure and exams in particular. I know that highly prestigious universities like these are obviously very high pressure, but how extreme is the stress level? I’ve heard of people having to go to hospital with stress- related conditions after 2 weeks straight of 3 hour exam papers… this sounds really drastic and I don’t want to put myself in a position where I am this stressed. I do consider myself a self- motivated and driven person, but I’m not sure if it’s realistic for me to be able to cope in a university like Oxford/ Cambridge. Does anyone have experience of what the reality of the stress is like?
Where are you getting this nonsense from? No-one who has actually been to Oxford or Cambridge is saying this is the reality. The are really not significantly different to what you are going to get at Imperial or UCL. if you've focussed on your A levels sufficiently well to get A*A*A or thereabouts, then it's just the next step. It's not incredibly pressured, there are as many or more student societies etc as any other uni.
Anyway, it's you that controls your stress levels, you can hype yourself up anywhere you like, or manage things wherever you like.
Reply 2
Oxbridge courses can be challenging because they only have eight week terms, but the students I know manage to cope very well with the coursework and still have time for uni sports and societies.
Reply 3
As others have said, most students at Oxford and Cambridge deal with the workload and still have lots of fun. You should expect to work 35 to 40 hours a week during full term, but that leaves plenty of time to rest and play.
I can assure you that the stress experienced by undergraduates is nothing compared to the stress of professional life.
I can assure you that the stress experienced by undergraduates is nothing compared to the stress of professional life.
Reply 4
Yesterday, my daughter finished the third of her three public exams in Honour Moderations, the first year exams taken by law students at Oxford. She had a paper on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the ninth week of term. She is tired but happy, and went punting with her college lawyer cohort after the final exam. She will have a chilled-out Trinity Term (she is, in Oxford parlance, "Trinifree").
Her next public examinations will be Schools: seven papers taken over two weeks in the summer of 2027.
When I read Modern History at Oxford several decades ago, I did Prelims, three exams taken at the end of the first term, and then Schools: ten papers over five days at the end of the third year, two papers a day. It was fine. The history course has changed since then.
Undergraduates usually take one or more Collections (practice exams set by their college) each term. These are for monitoring purposes only. Collections are not university exams and the results don't influence the student's degree classification.
Her next public examinations will be Schools: seven papers taken over two weeks in the summer of 2027.
When I read Modern History at Oxford several decades ago, I did Prelims, three exams taken at the end of the first term, and then Schools: ten papers over five days at the end of the third year, two papers a day. It was fine. The history course has changed since then.
Undergraduates usually take one or more Collections (practice exams set by their college) each term. These are for monitoring purposes only. Collections are not university exams and the results don't influence the student's degree classification.
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 5
I went to Oxford and found it very difficult to stay on top of things AND have extracurriculas / a social life. It's not uncommon for people to 'rusticate' i.e take a year out because of the stress. I actually know one person who transferred out to another university because she couldn't take it.
I was doing a life science degree and felt overwhelmed by the amount of work we were given + the high expectations. I say this as someone who was smart, but struggle with executive function and having realistic standards for my work.
If you do go to Oxbridge, I recommend the following:
- Over the Summer, consider how you are going manage your time. Habit trackers like Hanitica, project management software such as Trello
- Consider how you are going to keep notes. Most of us used Onenote to import the slides and then write text next to it / drae by the slides additional notes
- Have realistic standards for your work: you are going in likely being a big academic fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. You are going to find the work difficult as it's meant to push you, but DON'T spend all your time doing it. Do it to a standard you can accept and make sure to look after your mental health by doing other things
- Don't do what I did and just shut yourself away when you're done working as you're knackered. If i had my time over again i'd have pushed myself to meet more people even when i didnt feel like it.
- ALWAYS be applying for internships in the Summer. In the current job market, you need that competitive edge when there's a saturation of graduates. This is another thing i didn't do as. i wanted to relax after university.
I was doing a life science degree and felt overwhelmed by the amount of work we were given + the high expectations. I say this as someone who was smart, but struggle with executive function and having realistic standards for my work.
If you do go to Oxbridge, I recommend the following:
- Over the Summer, consider how you are going manage your time. Habit trackers like Hanitica, project management software such as Trello
- Consider how you are going to keep notes. Most of us used Onenote to import the slides and then write text next to it / drae by the slides additional notes
- Have realistic standards for your work: you are going in likely being a big academic fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. You are going to find the work difficult as it's meant to push you, but DON'T spend all your time doing it. Do it to a standard you can accept and make sure to look after your mental health by doing other things
- Don't do what I did and just shut yourself away when you're done working as you're knackered. If i had my time over again i'd have pushed myself to meet more people even when i didnt feel like it.
- ALWAYS be applying for internships in the Summer. In the current job market, you need that competitive edge when there's a saturation of graduates. This is another thing i didn't do as. i wanted to relax after university.
Original post by Bibisharp7
I went to Oxford and found it very difficult to stay on top of things AND have extracurriculas / a social life. It's not uncommon for people to 'rusticate' i.e take a year out because of the stress. I actually know one person who transferred out to another university because she couldn't take it.
I was doing a life science degree and felt overwhelmed by the amount of work we were given + the high expectations. I say this as someone who was smart, but struggle with executive function and having realistic standards for my work.
If you do go to Oxbridge, I recommend the following:
- Over the Summer, consider how you are going manage your time. Habit trackers like Hanitica, project management software such as Trello
- Consider how you are going to keep notes. Most of us used Onenote to import the slides and then write text next to it / drae by the slides additional notes
- Have realistic standards for your work: you are going in likely being a big academic fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. You are going to find the work difficult as it's meant to push you, but DON'T spend all your time doing it. Do it to a standard you can accept and make sure to look after your mental health by doing other things
- Don't do what I did and just shut yourself away when you're done working as you're knackered. If i had my time over again i'd have pushed myself to meet more people even when i didnt feel like it.
- ALWAYS be applying for internships in the Summer. In the current job market, you need that competitive edge when there's a saturation of graduates. This is another thing i didn't do as. i wanted to relax after university.
I was doing a life science degree and felt overwhelmed by the amount of work we were given + the high expectations. I say this as someone who was smart, but struggle with executive function and having realistic standards for my work.
If you do go to Oxbridge, I recommend the following:
- Over the Summer, consider how you are going manage your time. Habit trackers like Hanitica, project management software such as Trello
- Consider how you are going to keep notes. Most of us used Onenote to import the slides and then write text next to it / drae by the slides additional notes
- Have realistic standards for your work: you are going in likely being a big academic fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. You are going to find the work difficult as it's meant to push you, but DON'T spend all your time doing it. Do it to a standard you can accept and make sure to look after your mental health by doing other things
- Don't do what I did and just shut yourself away when you're done working as you're knackered. If i had my time over again i'd have pushed myself to meet more people even when i didnt feel like it.
- ALWAYS be applying for internships in the Summer. In the current job market, you need that competitive edge when there's a saturation of graduates. This is another thing i didn't do as. i wanted to relax after university.
Your advice is very helpful for potential applicants/Freshers to read, but I think it is important to rescale your opening comments.
It is relatively 'uncommon' for people to 'rusticate' (take year out) for stress in as much as it's nowhere near say, one student per course. And I don't deny that you knew one person that dropped out because of the stress/workload. However, you probably had a circle of a lot of people you 'knew'. The stats for dropping out from Oxford and Cambridge actually stack up very well with other competitive universities, Imperial, UCL, etc.
If you go lower down the university rankings, dropping out becomes more and more common, where students can't keep up, weren't prepared to leave home etc.
The fact is there is a whole additional level of support at Oxbridge, not just at University level (relatively distant) but also in College (much closer and more tailored/flexible to individual needs). So while the work is hard and intense, the support generally matches it.
Reply 7
In my cohort at Wadham in the 80s, one of the English students dropped out at the end of the first year. She regrets this now. Another English student rusticated at the end of the second year, and tragically took his own life. Note that English is the lowest intensity course (or was then), so it wasn't the course that claimed that poor man's life. Suicide rates at Oxford and Cambridge are not elevated, as some suggest. They tend to be lower than the rate at other universities.
In my daughter's current cohort at St Peter's, one student is considering rusticating after two terms.
I felt a lot of stress during the Hilary Term of my final year. I went home most weekends, and took up running. By Easter, I was fine.
In my daughter's current cohort at St Peter's, one student is considering rusticating after two terms.
I felt a lot of stress during the Hilary Term of my final year. I went home most weekends, and took up running. By Easter, I was fine.
Reply 8
Original post by threeportdrift
Your advice is very helpful for potential applicants/Freshers to read, but I think it is important to rescale your opening comments.
It is relatively 'uncommon' for people to 'rusticate' (take year out) for stress in as much as it's nowhere near say, one student per course. And I don't deny that you knew one person that dropped out because of the stress/workload. However, you probably had a circle of a lot of people you 'knew'. The stats for dropping out from Oxford and Cambridge actually stack up very well with other competitive universities, Imperial, UCL, etc.
If you go lower down the university rankings, dropping out becomes more and more common, where students can't keep up, weren't prepared to leave home etc.
The fact is there is a whole additional level of support at Oxbridge, not just at University level (relatively distant) but also in College (much closer and more tailored/flexible to individual needs). So while the work is hard and intense, the support generally matches it.
It is relatively 'uncommon' for people to 'rusticate' (take year out) for stress in as much as it's nowhere near say, one student per course. And I don't deny that you knew one person that dropped out because of the stress/workload. However, you probably had a circle of a lot of people you 'knew'. The stats for dropping out from Oxford and Cambridge actually stack up very well with other competitive universities, Imperial, UCL, etc.
If you go lower down the university rankings, dropping out becomes more and more common, where students can't keep up, weren't prepared to leave home etc.
The fact is there is a whole additional level of support at Oxbridge, not just at University level (relatively distant) but also in College (much closer and more tailored/flexible to individual needs). So while the work is hard and intense, the support generally matches it.
To clarify - rusticate is not dropping out it's just taking a year out partway through the course and then re-entering where you left off. I don't have the stats for rustication or dropping out - but it is likely less common then I made it out to be.
Reply 9
I will say that from shared experience, the support you receive can vary between colleges as there are university resources you can rely on, and also college pastoral care. I went to Trinity college and can say that their support was very good.
Reply 10
Too much emphasis on the negatives here! I have a son at Oxford, loves his subject with a passion and reads constantly and voraciously. Now in final year, his tutors have been surprised throughout his course by how much he has read. He also has had ridiculous amounts of fun and friendship and had copious musical experiences of a level he never dreamed of. His cousin, coincidentally, is reading the same subject at Cambridge. Reads a bare minimum and did nothing at all over the summer. She has discovered a new hobby, become devoted to it, as well as much socialising and other extra-curriculars. She seems pretty relaxed about academic achievement and steps it up a bit when she finds a topic she is more interested in.
Honestly I think all the talk about pressure creates pressure. My sister and I read the same subject at Oxford and obtained the same degree class. She remembers huge anxiety and pressure. I worked steadily but by no means excessively and had the time of my life.ää
Honestly I think all the talk about pressure creates pressure. My sister and I read the same subject at Oxford and obtained the same degree class. She remembers huge anxiety and pressure. I worked steadily but by no means excessively and had the time of my life.ää
@elilast recently(ish?) graduated from Oxford classics and might be able to offer some advice 
Reply 12
Original post by Anonymous
I’m in Year 12 and considering applying to study Classics at either Oxford or Cambridge. I think the courses sound really interesting, but I’ve been hearing a lot of scare stories about the academic pressure and exams in particular. I know that highly prestigious universities like these are obviously very high pressure, but how extreme is the stress level? I’ve heard of people having to go to hospital with stress- related conditions after 2 weeks straight of 3 hour exam papers… this sounds really drastic and I don’t want to put myself in a position where I am this stressed. I do consider myself a self- motivated and driven person, but I’m not sure if it’s realistic for me to be able to cope in a university like Oxford/ Cambridge. Does anyone have experience of what the reality of the stress is like?
Hi -
I'm a classics first year at Oxford, with pretty major mental health problems (depression, anxiety) that make my working abilities a lot more difficult. I've found that while in first term I had a lot of lectures, a lot of them were optional, and not going didn't impact my course terribly; I had one tutorial a week in my first term and a Latin class every morning (I was doing elementary Latin; people who already had an ancient language to A Level standard only had two class); I also had a philosophy seminar every two weeks. There's an essay a week, but you usually only do 7 per term (I got first week off in first term, and second week off in second term). If you contact your tutors, they're usually fine giving you an extension - I did my third week essay in eighth week, for example! The number of language classes drops significantly for trinity term, too
example schedules, based on what i had:
MT (first term)
M: 10am Latin (1h), 11am lecture (1h) [i usually missed that lecture]
T: 10am Latin (1h), 11am lecture (2h), 2pm tutorial (2h) [the lecture this day was kind of important but i still ended up missing it a couple times because it was a pretty stressful day; it's all recorded so i can watch it over the summer holidays (15 weeks) before my mods in HT year 2
; i also missed one tutorial because my brain hates me and they were all really nice about it and it was no trouble - i caught up with one of my tutors the following monday]W: 10am Latin (1h), 3pm lecture (1h) [this was the lecture i went to the most but i still missed a few]
T: 10am Latin (1h), 12pm lecture (1h), once every two weeks: philosophy seminar (90m) [my philosophy seminar and my lecture clashed so i missed that lecture series but i got notes off my friends but i also never needed it, so]
F: 10am Latin (1h), 11am lecture (1h), 12pm lecture (1h) [these lectures were on opposite sides of oxford, so i usually missed the 11am one]
Additional work: small amounts of Latin work every day (a handful of sentences to translate); a presentation for the tutorial every week (of about 5 minutes, based on powerpoint slides and some research (they give you a bibliography); an essay every week but we have 9 days to write it (2000 words)
HT (second term)
M: 9am Latin (1h), 12pm Latin (1h)
T: 9am Latin (1h), 2pm tutorial (2h30m)
W: 9am Latin (1h)
T: 9am Latin (1h), [once every two weeks] 11:15am philosophy seminar (1h30m), 3:15pm Latin reading (1h)
F: nothing
Additional work: small Latin tasks (sometimes it's literally just "read this page in the textbook"), a presentation for some tutorials (not all), prep translation for the reading (you're not really given an amount you have to translate but as long as you've done a bit it's fine)
My advice is mostly stay on top of the language work and you'll be fine!! If you need an extension to do an essay every tutor I've had is very accommodating, but they're also not very difficult essays, and you're given bibliographies - the presentations are pretty much small summations of the essay topic, and are always linked! (In Hilary Term, the presentation was just literally the essay question). I've only struggled due to my many disorders as opposed to the workload - though I will say to stay on top of the basics of the language at least because I got 25% on my collection (beginning of term exam to check up on you) (pass mark was 40%, class average 57%) but no one was upset at me for it and i had a conversation with my tutor and she was really good at accommodating and finding better ways for me to learn!! But if this doesn't sound like what you wanted, then at least you know? Obv you won't have the same schedule as me because it's dependent on tutors and colleges, but that's what mine looked like
Reply 13
Original post by BetaVersion2.9
Oxbridge courses can be challenging because they only have eight week terms, but the students I know manage to cope very well with the coursework and still have time for uni sports and societies.
Agree! And 8 week terms also mean longer holidays. I was always shattered (sure, essay crises, but also sport and socialising) at the end of each term, but always went up a week early as it was just so great. The most stressed people were those who had obviously been stressed at everything their whole lives: GCSEs they revised 8 hours a day for months, A levels 10 hours, so when they were surrounded by bright people they didn’t enjoy it - they had to work all God’s hours to still NOT COME FIRST!
Reply 14
Original post by Anonymous
I’m in Year 12 and considering applying to study Classics at either Oxford or Cambridge. I think the courses sound really interesting, but I’ve been hearing a lot of scare stories about the academic pressure and exams in particular. I know that highly prestigious universities like these are obviously very high pressure, but how extreme is the stress level? I’ve heard of people having to go to hospital with stress- related conditions after 2 weeks straight of 3 hour exam papers… this sounds really drastic and I don’t want to put myself in a position where I am this stressed. I do consider myself a self- motivated and driven person, but I’m not sure if it’s realistic for me to be able to cope in a university like Oxford/ Cambridge. Does anyone have experience of what the reality of the stress is like?
Nonsense. And even the medics survive just fine (one even got a first class degree AND a rowing blue) - the classicists have it easy. I mean, I would find it impossible, but if you’re into classics, happy days. 2 essays and a supervision or 3 a week. Long holidays, great accommodation with subsidised food 3x a day. And if you don’t want all the exams at the end (sensible!) choose Cambridge - tripos exams break it down (though sure, exams are never fun), so no ‘finals’ where everything turns on c.2 weeks after 3 years.
Reply 15
Original post by Bibisharp7
To clarify - rusticate is not dropping out it's just taking a year out partway through the course and then re-entering where you left off. I don't have the stats for rustication or dropping out - but it is likely less common then I made it out to be.
Well at Cambridge you get rusticated (temporarily sent down) for doing something wrong (I heard of a pyromaniac rusticated for a year to get treatment). Something like 99% of students complete their degree - some subjects 100%. And the collegiate system is so much easier to deal with than moving to a big city/non campus university.
Reply 16
At Oxford rustication can be used as a disciplinary sanction but it is also used for welfare reasons. Not many students rusticate.
Reply 17
Lots of good advice here, particularly the subject specific reply from aaaaaaaaaaa2006, and from Bibisharp7.
You are very sensible to be considering how the Oxford/ Cambridge systems might affect you. However, stress /pressure affect different people differently. And be mindful that the information you seem to be getting (including on this site, and from me!) is personal anecdote.
If you want to know actual rustication rates- which do not directly correlate with stress because there are a range of reasons why people rusticate- search What do they Know for Oxford, and you will find percentages for subjects and year of Matriculation. Numbers for classics seem low. As a STEM parent (I am anon to protect my student's privacy) I can say that for at least 1 STEM subject, they have reported that rustication is not uncommon at all, and Oxford's own stats support that.
You started by writing that the courses sound really interesting- hold on to that thought, see if you can attend an open day, and good luck with whatever you decide.
You are very sensible to be considering how the Oxford/ Cambridge systems might affect you. However, stress /pressure affect different people differently. And be mindful that the information you seem to be getting (including on this site, and from me!) is personal anecdote.
If you want to know actual rustication rates- which do not directly correlate with stress because there are a range of reasons why people rusticate- search What do they Know for Oxford, and you will find percentages for subjects and year of Matriculation. Numbers for classics seem low. As a STEM parent (I am anon to protect my student's privacy) I can say that for at least 1 STEM subject, they have reported that rustication is not uncommon at all, and Oxford's own stats support that.
You started by writing that the courses sound really interesting- hold on to that thought, see if you can attend an open day, and good luck with whatever you decide.
Reply 18
Cherwell reported a rustication rate of 4% in February 2024.
https://www.cherwell.org/2024/02/05/its-not-whether-you-rusticate-its-where-suspension-of-studies-at-oxford/
I gather that at Cambridge "intermission" is the term for a voluntary absence from the university. Rustication is the term for a disciplinary suspension. At Oxford, the term suspension is used for a voluntary absence, but most people refer to this as rustication.
https://www.cherwell.org/2024/02/05/its-not-whether-you-rusticate-its-where-suspension-of-studies-at-oxford/
I gather that at Cambridge "intermission" is the term for a voluntary absence from the university. Rustication is the term for a disciplinary suspension. At Oxford, the term suspension is used for a voluntary absence, but most people refer to this as rustication.
Reply 19
Original post by Anonymous
Too much emphasis on the negatives here! I have a son at Oxford, loves his subject with a passion and reads constantly and voraciously. Now in final year, his tutors have been surprised throughout his course by how much he has read. He also has had ridiculous amounts of fun and friendship and had copious musical experiences of a level he never dreamed of. His cousin, coincidentally, is reading the same subject at Cambridge. Reads a bare minimum and did nothing at all over the summer. She has discovered a new hobby, become devoted to it, as well as much socialising and other extra-curriculars. She seems pretty relaxed about academic achievement and steps it up a bit when she finds a topic she is more interested in.
Honestly I think all the talk about pressure creates pressure. My sister and I read the same subject at Oxford and obtained the same degree class. She remembers huge anxiety and pressure. I worked steadily but by no means excessively and had the time of my life.ää
Honestly I think all the talk about pressure creates pressure. My sister and I read the same subject at Oxford and obtained the same degree class. She remembers huge anxiety and pressure. I worked steadily but by no means excessively and had the time of my life.ää
I agree. My daughter is having a blast at Oxford. I had a blast at Oxford. Most of my friends who were at Oxford had a blast at Oxford (ditto Cambridge). It is of course possible to be stressed and unhappy anywhere.
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