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Choosing an Oxford College

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To what extent is it true that Balliol is the most international college? Would it be much different at Christ Church or Magdalen? Are those two quite international in their own right?

Between Christ Church and Magdalen, what would be the best place for a ambitious, studious PPEist looking to a future in politics, getting involved in debate and the Oxford Union? Would anyone have any thoughts on the tutors at either college in regards to someone looking to drop economics and go Pol-Phil?
Reply 1841
Avatar for Bezzler
Bezzler
1
Original post by desertfox
To what extent is it true that Balliol is the most international college? Would it be much different at Christ Church or Magdalen? Are those two quite international in their own right?

Between Christ Church and Magdalen, what would be the best place for a ambitious, studious PPEist looking to a future in politics, getting involved in debate and the Oxford Union? Would anyone have any thoughts on the tutors at either college in regards to someone looking to drop economics and go Pol-Phil?


You already asked this, and we already answered! Getting involved in the Union is entirely irrelevant to college choice, since it's not a college thing. You can be ambitious and studious wherever you go - nobody's going to force you to do anything. How "international" a college is shouldn't matter; all will have provisions for international students and will have plenty of them. All of these things will vary on a year-by-year basis anyway, as the social dynamic will depend a lot on the people who get in with you, which nobody can predict!

As for tutors, the only tutor I know at any of the colleges you mentioned is Bob Hargrave at Balliol, who tutors philosophy and is the stereotypical nutjob but awesome philosopher. At any rate, you'll probably have tutorials at different colleges at various points anyway.
Original post by desertfox
To what extent is it true that Balliol is the most international college? Would it be much different at Christ Church or Magdalen? Are those two quite international in their own right?

Between Christ Church and Magdalen, what would be the best place for a ambitious, studious PPEist looking to a future in politics, getting involved in debate and the Oxford Union? Would anyone have any thoughts on the tutors at either college in regards to someone looking to drop economics and go Pol-Phil?


The proportion of internationals per college is not published, so it will be very difficult to find out and almost certainly varies year on year anyway.

Stereotypically union hacks go to Christchurch. I do not know if this is based on truth at all.

Now i think you have got about as much as you can from this thread! I assume you have posted on the ChCh, magdalen and balliol threads?
hey guys, I'm gonna apply in 2012 for maths, unless 'the other place' ends up being really good when I visit this saturday, and I've narrowed my choice down to three colleges

Balliol
most central
according to some students there who showed us around, they give you lots of money, and when you spend it all they give you more money
expensive?
left-wing reputation? socialists and left wingers irritate me

Trinity
also really central
you can see out into the world
reputation for food, and i love food
expensive?
small, and i'm not sure if i want a small college

Worcester
still quite central, close to most places, but a 5 minute walk is 5 times longer than a 1 minute walk if you know what i mean
massive grounds
you get kitchens!
cheaper?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by dnumberwang
left-wing reputation? socialists and left wingers irritate me


And we were getting on so well! :cry2:
:tongue:

EDIT: Oh, and I believe that St. John's has the most money. You can find the college endowment figures under the particular colleges on Wikipedia, not sure if there's a page collating them.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by anyone_can_fly
And we were getting on so well! :cry2:
:tongue:

EDIT: Oh, and I believe that St. John's has the most money. You can find the college endowment figures under the particular colleges on Wikipedia, not sure if there's a page collating them.


haha sorry :tongue:
Ah well, I'm sure you're not one of those really annoying socialists who go on and on about 'the rich', capitalism, blah blah

I'm not sure how it affects us anyway tbh
Original post by dnumberwang
hey guys, I'm gonna apply in 2012 for maths, unless 'the other place' ends up being really good when I visit this saturday, and I've narrowed my choice down to three colleges

Balliol
most central
according to some students there who showed us around, they give you lots of money, and when you spend it all they give you more money
expensive?
left-wing reputation? socialists and left wingers irritate me

Trinity
also really central
you can see out into the world
reputation for food, and i love food
expensive?
i've heard it has the most money
small, and i'm not sure if i want a small college

Worcester
still quite central, close to most places, but a 5 minute walk is 5 times longer than a 1 minute walk if you know what i mean
massive grounds
you get kitchens!
cheaper?



Yeah st johns is the richest and you get kitchens at most colleges, most colleges are quite central, i.e. st johns is right next to balliol, all similarly priced and they all have decent food. Take a look at st johns new kendrew quad which is by far the nicest place to stay in any of the colleges and you should be able to in your third year :smile:
Original post by dnumberwang


Balliol
most central
according to some students there who showed us around, they give you lots of money, and when you spend it all they give you more money
expensive?
left-wing reputation? socialists and left wingers irritate me


Coming from the college that threatened to charge all new students £500 when they arrived last year? http://oxfordstudent.com/2010/11/27/balliol-plans-new-student-top-up-fee/ It didn't happen (thankfully), but i find it hard to believe they throw money out left and right given their "financial predicament' and that all staff are on a pay freeze atm.
Original post by dnumberwang


Balliol

left-wing reputation?


I already read something like that somewhere else but how is this leftist attitude expressed? Do they actually prefer people who are politically active & left?! If not, how are they able to maintain that reputation??
Original post by Phia7
I already read something like that somewhere else but how is this leftist attitude expressed? Do they actually prefer people who are politically active & left?! If not, how are they able to maintain that reputation??


Its self-perpetuating - left-wing applicants hear about the reputation, so apply there. There is no systematic bias.

Balliol actually has a relatively low maintained-sector intake, which is unusual for college with such a reputation (compared to Wadham, which is more know for its liberal-ness than Balliol, and Kings Cambridge). Nevertheless, the reputation continues.
Reply 1850
Avatar for FridayS
FridayS
Original post by la-dauphine
Oh, I know. But seeing as we don't have any statistics for Oxford, I was using Cambridge's to point out that there are some consistently oversubscribed colleges. I saw something on Balliol's website from a few years ago announcing that they were the most popular college in that year, so I was hoping that someone would have some more solid information. It's difficult to talk to Oxford students/offer holders about tactics because they'll usually say "just pick the college you like best", but I like lots of colleges and it could mean the difference between at worst an offer or a rejection, or at best going to a college I like or a college I hate. I was specifically wondering how popular colleges like Lincoln & Jesus are compared to New, Brasenose and Oriel.


Most of the time the colleges which were undersubscribed the previous year are the ones that get oversubscribed the year after - because people think like you and apply statistically. This might be one of the reasons why these statistics are hard to find about oxford?
Look at the colleges you're thinking of - look at their location, their size - if you;re into that kind of thing what they look like (new, old etc)... chances are that you'll find one you prefer over the others :smile:
You might end up at a college you havent chosen anyway because of oxford's system - but you're very unlikely to get a 'college you hate'! In the end im sure you're gonna be grateful to get into OXFORD in the first place - no need to be picky. Everyone ALWAYS says their college was the best one - whether they picked it or not :P
Hope this helps :smile:
Original post by FridayS
Most of the time the colleges which were undersubscribed the previous year are the ones that get oversubscribed the year after - because people think like you and apply statistically. This might be one of the reasons why these statistics are hard to find about oxford?
Look at the colleges you're thinking of - look at their location, their size - if you;re into that kind of thing what they look like (new, old etc)... chances are that you'll find one you prefer over the others :smile:
You might end up at a college you havent chosen anyway because of oxford's system - but you're very unlikely to get a 'college you hate'! In the end im sure you're gonna be grateful to get into OXFORD in the first place - no need to be picky. Everyone ALWAYS says their college was the best one - whether they picked it or not :P
Hope this helps :smile:


The Cambridge one has patterns though, eg Clare is consistently much more oversubscribed than Homerton. Maybe Oxford doesn't want people to choose tactically so that's why they haven't published those statistics. I'm still stuck between two or three colleges so I think I'll just have a look round and choose on that basis, but Balliol's popularity has definitely put me off (I found an article on the website from a couple of years ago naming it as the most oversubscribed college for that year)! A girl from my school was forced to apply to New College, Cambridge because the awful headteacher at the time refused to help her if she applied to a more popular one :eek: and even though she's really glad to go to Cambridge and experience such amazing teaching, she doesn't spend much time in college because she isn't very keen on the buildings, atmosphere etc. I like most of the colleges at Oxford though and nearly all of them have pretty old bits, so I wouldn't complain too much!
Reply 1852
Avatar for BJack
BJack
19
Original post by la-dauphine
A girl from my school was forced to apply to New College, Cambridge because the awful headteacher at the time refused to help her if she applied to a more popular one :eek:


Do you mean New Hall? (Now Murray Edwards.)
Yes, it is a little worrying when school teachers refuse to help their students aim for the top because they have some silly idea(s) about the application process.
Reply 1853
Avatar for Bezzler
Bezzler
1
Original post by BJack
Do you mean New Hall? (Now Murray Edwards.)
Yes, it is a little worrying when school teachers refuse to help their students aim for the top because they have some silly idea(s) about the application process.


My instinctive thought was Newnham, but New Hall/Murray Edwards would also make sense.
Original post by BJack
Do you mean New Hall? (Now Murray Edwards.)
Yes, it is a little worrying when school teachers refuse to help their students aim for the top because they have some silly idea(s) about the application process.


Yes, knew it was something like that :smile: Ugh I know, it's really annoying when teachers think they know everything about the admissions process!
Original post by la-dauphine
Yes, knew it was something like that :smile: Ugh I know, it's really annoying when teachers think they know everything about the admissions process!


That's better than our teachers - ours tell eveyone to apply for Napier University Edinburgh as an insurance place. We get hour-long talks in assembly from Napier people (and no talks from other universities). Even people with five As get told to apply for Napier, it's really frustrating! :smile:
Original post by anyone_can_fly
That's better than our teachers - ours tell eveyone to apply for Napier University Edinburgh as an insurance place. We get hour-long talks in assembly from Napier people (and no talks from other universities). Even people with five As get told to apply for Napier, it's really frustrating! :smile:


:eek: We have talks from and an open day at our local university but that's definitely excessive!
Reply 1857
Avatar for Willa
Willa
11
Goodness me. At what point did my thread defect to the dark side?

...how times have changed.
Original post by la-dauphine
I'd recommend:

*Balliol (great bar; JCR pantry; relaxed atmosphere; centrally located and near supermarkets)

*New (fairly large in numbers; you can walk on most of the lawns; 90% of students have en-suites; one of the most beautiful bars in Oxford with several 'rooms' on different levels, regular quiz nights, a big screen, free pizza/ice cream/ other nice food nights, sofas, a pool table, & arcade games; excellent bops; common room with plasma screen, sofas, Sky TV, computers/printers, daily newspapers, a chocolate machine, giant jenga and another pool table; a lavish white-tie ball every three years; thriving music and sports scenes)

*St Catherine's (largest undergrad college; very friendly and sociable; cheap college bar with entertainment, serves snacks during the day; Sky TV in the JCR, with DVD player and newly installed sound system; private dining room for hire with a TV so you can have your own mini cinema for a night; good facilities; 3 computer rooms; relaxed atmosphere; about halfway down the Norrington Table)

*St Edmund Hall (fairly central; 'party college' with great bops and the biggest dancefloor in Oxford apparently; the bar actually looks like a pub; friendly atmosphere; near the bottom of the Norrington Table)

*St Peter's (right in the middle of Oxford; extremely sociable; very active JCR with regular entertainment events; JCR has leather sofas, a free foosball table, ping-pong table, quiz machine, pool table and arcade machines; near loads of eateries as well as Odeon and 2 theatre houses; close to Oxford coach station, 2 taxi ranks and all the major bus stops on the High Street; very new bar; near the bottom of the Norrington Table)

*Wadham (central position close to Turl St; inclusive reputation; on-campus pub; great common room with arcade games, Sky TV, sandwich bar, a pool table and giant leather sofas; student plays in the theatre every week; fortnightly bops; free all-day music festival called Wadstock; only college with a mixed JCR and MCRL friendly and relaxed atmosphere; about halfway down the Norrington Table)

I don't actually go to Oxford - these are taken from the Oxford College pros and cons page on TSR. Hope it helps :smile: Tbh most colleges will have a good social scene and a lot of them are handily located!



Wow thanks for a list ! :smile:
I'm torn between Queens and Teddy Hall.

I don't want a too 'gossipy' college, I'm a girl who gets along more with guys. Somewhere fun and entertaining, easy to meet new people.
Which one would be better for me?
Also I'm from America, I heard people at oxford are very..cold due to our accents?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by kamrynsays
Wow thanks for a list ! :smile:
I'm torn between Queens and Teddy Hall.

I don't want a too 'gossipy' college, I'm a girl who gets along more with guys. Somewhere fun and entertaining, easy to meet new people.
Which one would be better for me?
Also I'm from America, I heard people at oxford are very..cold due to our accents?


I've heard good things about both Queens and Teddy Hall :smile:
And I'm afraid level of gossip will only be determined by who starts in your year really, absolutely no way of predicting that! From what I can see, years vary quite a lot. Also, pretty much everywhere I've been has been friendly and a good mixture of people, so whoever you get on with best, you'll find someone. Fun and entertaining plus easy to meet people probably means you want somewhere with a good JCR/bar. In which case (not knowing much about those facilities at Queens or Teddy Hall), I would recommend Brasenose since I'm biased. Our JCR and bar are both amazing and recently refurbished, plus we are right in the centre of town and have accomodation for all years of your degree in college or basically next door which is so good for everyone being around! Really means lots of mixing between the years as well.
And I wouldn't worry about your accents, we love them! I have a friend from America on my course, and also Brasenose and a couple of other colleges (I think maybe Magdalen and Corpus) has a scheme set up so that we have quite a few people over from Stanford every term to study some subjects. So we are used to all sorts of Americans here all the time!

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