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Choosing an Oxford College

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What is Brasenose like, quite right-wing? And is it generally a popular choice for applicants?
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
Do you have any other criteria that might help narrow it down? Though a good consideration of all the colleges that offer your subject is no bad thing! :biggrin:

Yeah, that's an Idea..

Ummm, no, not many unusual criteria I don't think...
I guess the most important things for me are good food, accommodation and library.
I'm not terribly bothered about good college bar/ party reputation.

Original post by Gome44
I would say Merton fits that pretty well


I do really like the look of Merton, I have to say. I'm a bit intimidated by its academic reputation though... need I be, as someone who's probably an average oxford applicant in terms of grades?


Original post by nexttime
Oxford's a great place for those who want both a functioning city and being close to the countryside.....

...

I'm going to specifically suggest Merton + Christchurch (close to ChCh meadow), LMH (Uni Parks and river).

The Walking Club do free walks every weekend plus trips away - worth looking into if you do get in!


I'll happiliy take greeness instead of 'nature nature'. Your description makes it sound pretty ideal overall. My knowledge of the area surrounding Oxford is limited, so i'm grateful for your testament to the surrounding prettiness

The same with 'the overwhelming characteristic is nerdiness and there are lots of introverts everywhere'. This is slightly what I had hoped...

What with the walking club.. man i'm gonna be upset when i get rejected pre-interview :frown: I need to stop getting so involved in the idea of going
Original post by nexttime
The Walking Club do free walks every weekend plus trips away - worth looking into if you do get in!


I was thinking of getting involved with the Walking Club and also the Nature Conservation Volunteers group - they both do some really interesting things! Caving Society also looks cool but I think that might be going a bit far...
Original post by Historandpliny
Any colleges particularly suited to your classic english student introvert who likes nature, old buildings and walks and who doesn't much like sports/ interaction...?


Magdalen has large grounds, old buildings (after first year) and is easy to hide away in.
Original post by simbasdragon
What is Brasenose like, quite right-wing? And is it generally a popular choice for applicants?

I want to do English, anyone know?
Original post by BJack
Magdalen has large grounds, old buildings (after first year) and is easy to hide away in.


Ahh nice I've checked it out and it has deer so I'm also pretty sold on magdalen

Original post by simbasdragon
I want to do English, anyone know?


the stats from 2013 suggest that its the most oversubscribed college for english, with only 8 % getting offers for that college as their first choice, but with something like a further 20 % who put is first getting offers from other colleges. theres some interesting stats for all colleges if you google oxford college sucess rates. From the short time I spent there on the open day i would say that it lloooed pretty great for english, and i wouldmt have necessarily said it seemed terribly right wing
Original post by simbasdragon

I'm also interested in Worcester, what are its stereotypes and how oversubscribed is it? Just interested.


The Woosta stereotype is work a bit hard, party really really hard :tongue: It's pretty oversubscribed though it's no longer THE most oversubscribed college :nah:
Original post by Historandpliny
Any colleges particularly suited to your classic english student introvert who likes nature, old buildings and walks and who doesn't much like sports/ interaction...?


St Hugh's?
Not quite 'old' buildings since it's Victorian but it's pretty much its own quiet park and has huge grounds so you can go for a walk whenever you want. It's a bit further away from the city centre than most colleges so you can also take a walk there if you want :tongue:
The library is meant to be really well stocked since it used to be a women's college, so it has lots of books since they weren't allowed into the central university library, meaning that you'll have more than enough books for your studies and leisure.
Reply 4528
Avatar for Erason
Erason
Okay, so stuck in my college choice for PPE here, anyone have any advice?

I'm thinking either Magdalen, New or Lincoln. I'll explain my reasoning :smile:

I'd like a old, central, beautiful college, so obviously all three fit into that. What I'm really unsure about is atmosphere and size. I'd like it to be really friendly, and crucially, as someone who can't drink alcohol for medical reasons, where social life doesn't revolve around alcohol. Which is why I'm stuck between going for Large (New), bit smaller (Magdalen) or much smaller (Lincoln). I quite like traditions, but don't want too much public schoolness, so maybe not Magdalen? Anyone have any comments about the atmopshere of these three colleges, which one they felt was best? Cheers!
Original post by Historandpliny
Ahh nice I've checked it out and it has deer so I'm also pretty sold on magdalen



the stats from 2013 suggest that its the most oversubscribed college for english, with only 8 % getting offers for that college as their first choice, but with something like a further 20 % who put is first getting offers from other colleges. theres some interesting stats for all colleges if you google oxford college sucess rates. From the short time I spent there on the open day i would say that it lloooed pretty great for english, and i wouldmt have necessarily said it seemed terribly right wing


So do you think it would be a bad idea to apply to Brasenose with lower GCSE's?
(Original post by Historandpliny)
Ahh nice I've checked it out and it has deer so I'm also pretty sold on magdalen

the stats from 2013 suggest that its the most oversubscribed college for english, with only 8 % getting offers for that college as their first choice, but with something like a further 20 % who put is first getting offers from other colleges. theres some interesting stats for all colleges if you google oxford college sucess rates. From the short time I spent there on the open day i would say that it lloooed pretty great for english, and i wouldmt have necessarily said it seemed terribly right wing



Original post by simbasdragon
So do you think it would be a bad idea to apply to Brasenose with lower GCSE's?


But look at Somerville stats for English!

... In answer to your next question, I have no idea.
Original post by simbasdragon
So do you think it would be a bad idea to apply to Brasenose with lower GCSE's?


I also have no clue,id imagine lower gcses are fairly irrelevant if you tick all the other boxes but then again I have absolutely no idea, so id rather not say...

to be honest even the college success rates are confusing me.
Original post by Historandpliny
I also have no clue,id imagine lower gcses are fairly irrelevant if you tick all the other boxes but then again I have absolutely no idea, so id rather not say...

to be honest even the college success rates are confusing me.


I also find it all quite confusing, hence why I'm asking here haha. Do you know anything about the atmosphere of Brasnose?
If your college requires you to live away in your second year, is that seen as a bad thing from a students perspective?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by simbasdragon
I also find it all quite confusing, hence why I'm asking here haha. Do you know anything about the atmosphere of Brasnose?


GCSE profiles of applicants applying to Brasenose for English and invited to interview at Oxford were as follows:

10A* 10A* 10A* 10A* 10A* 10A*-1A 10A*-1A 10A*-1A-2B 10A*-2A 10A*-2A 10A*-2A-1C 11A* 11A*-1A 11A*-1A 11A*-1A 11A*-1A 11A*-1A 12A* 12A* 1A*-2A-1C-2D 2A*-1A-6B-1C-1D 3A*-5A-2B 3A*-6A-1B 3A*-7A-1B 4A*-4A-1B 4A*-4A-2B 4A*-6A-1B 5A*-3A-1B 5A*-5A-1B 5A*-6A 5A-6B 6A*-1A-1B 6A*-3A 6A*-3A 7A*-2A 7A*-2A-2B 7A*-3A 7A*-3A 7A*-4A 7A*-4A 7A*-4A-2B 7A*-5A 8A*-1A-1B 8A*-2A 8A*-2A 8A*-2A 8A*-3A 8A*-3A 8A*-5A 9A*-1A 9A*-1A 9A*-2A 9A*-2A 9A*-2A 9A*-2A 9A*-2A-1B

For a sense of what the atmosphere is like, take a look at our TSR wiki page:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Brasenose_College,_Oxford which includes a section of English blogs:


https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1405-happy-un-birthday-alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1324-playwright-david-edgar-hosted-as-visiting-professor
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1284-possible-worlds
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1275-a-miniature-triumph
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1247-creative-translation-at-brasenose
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1242-spring-back-on-the-farm
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1063-acts-of-desire
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/971-debut-novels-by-brasenose-alumni
http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/961-brasenose-welcomes-vanessa-redgrave-as-visiting-professor

You may also be interested in the drama and arts section.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by simbasdragon
I want to do English, anyone know?


We replied earlier to the query about atmosphere.

The "political climate" changes in all the colleges as about a third of the undergraduate body turns over each year. In 2014-15, all three student union sabbaticals were elected from Brasenose - a few years back, there was not much interest in student politics. This year - who knows! We'll have to see what happens. One of the good things about the college system is that even a single student can influence the scene - after all, you are 1 of around 365 rather than 1 of around 18,000 students. So to a considerable extent, the atmosphere and political climate is what you and your fellow students choose to make it.
Why don't people just make an open application if they can't decide on a college..?
Original post by Mystery.
Why don't people just make an open application if they can't decide on a college..?


Because they might still have a preference (e.g. an old, central college) but can't decide within that preference. You can't send in an open application and say "...but I don't want to go to St. Catherine's or St. Anne's or Somerville".
Reply 4538
Avatar for ylmdk
ylmdk
Is it correct to infer that oversubscribed colleges have better students since weaker candidates are pooled?
Original post by ylmdk
Is it correct to infer that oversubscribed colleges have better students since weaker candidates are pooled?

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THESE GRAPHS TOO SERIOUSLY. CORRELATION != CAUSATION.

This method isn't perfect but could rank the colleges in terms of the percentage of applicants who apply to the college who get into the college as a proxy of oversubscription and percentage of applicants who apply to the college who get into the university as a proxy of candidate strength (it's a pretty terrible analysis because the two categories are not independent at all but it's all that we've got). Because I have no life, I made a graph for you.

Draw from this what you will but since the general trend is that colleges that accept a lower proportion of applicants to the college also generally accept a lower proportion of applicants to the university, I think this means that the quality is fairly homogeneous (but again any conclusion from this data probably isn't very good).

Edit: Maybe a better measurement of how good quality applicants are is the ratio between the university acceptance rate and college acceptance rate (since if a college has a high university acceptance rate relative to its college acceptance rate that suggests it has better candidates?). If you plot that vs competitiveness then you get a positive correlation... possibly suggesting that the more popular colleges have better applicants but honestly I'm not convinced that this is statistically meaningful.
(edited 8 years ago)

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