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Cambridge or Oxford for History and Politics?????

I definitely prefer Cambridge as a town/city (much quieter, fewer cars etc). However I saw Oxford at the open day far more recently and found some colleges (merton, magdalen) I really love. When I went to the Cambridge open day (last year now...) I didn't have such a clear idea of what I was looking for in a college so now have little idea of where I'd apply to if I chose Cambridge (this is putting me off the idea). Specifically I'd be looking for a college with a fair amount of green space (where you can actually sit...), decent music/drama societies, some kitchen access (even if this is just a shared kitchen) across all years, and architecture on the older side. Compared to Oxford this info seems far less accessible online for Cambridge so wd appreciate if someone cd send a link/provide info themselves? :smile:

As regards the courses themselves... it's very mixed. From the paper info I've found on department websites a few differences have stuck out to me:

- Cambridge has more lectures/week than Oxford
- Cambridge allows you to take 4 papers/term compared to Oxford where you can do 7. Is the Oxford course broader then? Is the workload more intense as a result of more papers?
- Cambridge gives much less choice in politics papers compared to Oxford (particularly in 2nd yr). Again, does this make the Cambridge course narrower (to clarify, this would be a negative)?
- Counterpoint to the above two: From their descriptions the Cambridge papers seem broader and more interdisciplinary than Oxford's (e.g. The Twentieth-Century World as opposed to European and World History 4). So is there little difference in the range of content covered overall? I'm worried that if I went for Cambridge I'd miss out on the sociology/economics-centred side of things offered in some of the Oxford politics papers - does Cambridge integrate these elements into its papers?
- Generally, the Cambridge papers sound more structured (references to "parts" of each paper) as opposed to Oxford where things seem more independently-led and based around specific text analysis rather than a more holistic analysis of things. The Cambridge papers also seem more modern? As in a little more critical of established thinking. I'd be interested to know if there's any substance to all this, or if it's just coming from how the course info's presented by each department..... :/
- Finally, the Cambridge course seems to have more unity/overlap between the two subjects than Oxford's? I say this because of Cambridge's course info being on 1 website (as opposed to Oxford's which separates info between departments) and the compulsory papers focusing on both subjects. Again, is this actually the case?

I'd appreciate any advice about further differences that I haven't mentioned!!!

Reply 1

Original post
by unfortunatesnail
I definitely prefer Cambridge as a town/city (much quieter, fewer cars etc). However I saw Oxford at the open day far more recently and found some colleges (merton, magdalen) I really love. When I went to the Cambridge open day (last year now...) I didn't have such a clear idea of what I was looking for in a college so now have little idea of where I'd apply to if I chose Cambridge (this is putting me off the idea). Specifically I'd be looking for a college with a fair amount of green space (where you can actually sit...), decent music/drama societies, some kitchen access (even if this is just a shared kitchen) across all years, and architecture on the older side. Compared to Oxford this info seems far less accessible online for Cambridge so wd appreciate if someone cd send a link/provide info themselves? :smile:
As regards the courses themselves... it's very mixed. From the paper info I've found on department websites a few differences have stuck out to me:
- Cambridge has more lectures/week than Oxford
- Cambridge allows you to take 4 papers/term compared to Oxford where you can do 7. Is the Oxford course broader then? Is the workload more intense as a result of more papers?
- Cambridge gives much less choice in politics papers compared to Oxford (particularly in 2nd yr). Again, does this make the Cambridge course narrower (to clarify, this would be a negative)?
- Counterpoint to the above two: From their descriptions the Cambridge papers seem broader and more interdisciplinary than Oxford's (e.g. The Twentieth-Century World as opposed to European and World History 4). So is there little difference in the range of content covered overall? I'm worried that if I went for Cambridge I'd miss out on the sociology/economics-centred side of things offered in some of the Oxford politics papers - does Cambridge integrate these elements into its papers?
- Generally, the Cambridge papers sound more structured (references to "parts" of each paper) as opposed to Oxford where things seem more independently-led and based around specific text analysis rather than a more holistic analysis of things. The Cambridge papers also seem more modern? As in a little more critical of established thinking. I'd be interested to know if there's any substance to all this, or if it's just coming from how the course info's presented by each department..... :/
- Finally, the Cambridge course seems to have more unity/overlap between the two subjects than Oxford's? I say this because of Cambridge's course info being on 1 website (as opposed to Oxford's which separates info between departments) and the compulsory papers focusing on both subjects. Again, is this actually the case?
I'd appreciate any advice about further differences that I haven't mentioned!!!
Have u looked at what the lecturers themselves have specialised in within the subjects? Because when it comes to tutorials and reasons this can come to play and help u further enjoy the subject. But I have to say Cambridge

Reply 2

Original post
by ruv1mb0
Have u looked at what the lecturers themselves have specialised in within the subjects? Because when it comes to tutorials and reasons this can come to play and help u further enjoy the subject. But I have to say Cambridge

I've looked at college lecturers for Oxford as I had narrowed it down to a couple. With Cambridge there's still so many to choose from so idk where to start. Is there a database w lecturer info for cam? Also why wd u say Cambridge? Thx for the response

Reply 3

Heyy, I mainly say Cambridge because I feel they take more of an interdisciplinary approach to subjects and base student picking of of the passion they seem to have because of the heightened use of the tutorial system than Oxford. On the notion of lecture data base…. I haven’t found one particularly but I feel YouTube suffices for this deficit. I mainly pick Cambridge myself because no other uni offers hsps so I feel my answer may not be the best BUTTT the students themselves are very nice fun lovely people from my encounters at the open day!

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