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Choosing an Oxford College

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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?


Teddy Hall has a large number of undergraduates (about 400), but it's relatively small so it could possibly feel claustrophobic sometimes. Queens is also quite small, with only 100 undergraduates in each year. Teddy Hall is known for being relaxed and generally quite friendly.

I don't think you'd have much problem with your accent at Oxford. There are people from all walks of life and only a minority of students would really have an issue with it at all :smile:
Quick question; which colleges would you recommend for rowing and engineering?
Could you please rank for me (your opinion of course!):

Top 5 Rowing colleges
1
2
3
4
5


Top 5 engineering colleges
1
2
3
4
5

Do any of your suggestions offer a particularly good combination of rowing and engineering?

I'm willing to put in the time to research the colleges just need someone to point me in the right direction please! thanks! :smile:
Reply 1862
Avatar for BJack
BJack
19
Presumably you can get some indication of current rowing strength by checking the results of Summer Eights when they finish tomorrow.
Reply 1863
Avatar for hobnob
hobnob
14
Traditionally, the colleges with a particularly 'boaty' reputation are Oriel and Pembroke, but I don't really see why your college's rowing reputation would matter all that much, to be honest...:erm: I mean, it really depends on your ability as a rower. If you're a really strong rower, you'll probably want to row at university-level anyway, and if you're not quite of that standard, then it'll only be a matter of whether you can get on the first VIII with relatively little effort or whether it's more of a struggle, at the end of which you might still start out on the second VIII because there are too many others to compete with who are as good as / better than you. Either way, you'll always have ways of challenging yourself according to the level you're at, whether it's by trying to get on one of the university boats or by trying to push your college back into the first division for the first time since 2002, or whatever.
Reply 1864
Avatar for Budgie
Budgie
12
It's very difficult for anyone to rank colleges academically for individual subjects. People tend to only have a vague idea of which academics are where for their own subject, and even then will rarely have a good idea of how good a particular academic is at teaching. Most people will only have experienced the teaching inside their own college and perhaps at a couple of others and in the department.
Reply 1865
Avatar for JWR189
JWR189
Oriel is pretty good at both. I don't know about Pembroke, but I imagine ChCh are decent at engineering too.
Very hard to call on both accounts... firstly, from an academic point of view, your choice college often has significantly less impact on your course of study than you might expect. I have all but one of my tutes at various other colleges/locations - St Catz, Hildas, Balliol, the faculty etc. So should I expect to deviate from my college's general results? Do I gauge it on the results of these other colleges? Impossible to say. You must also remember that while tutors do have some degree of choice in their teaching, they do still have to observe the outlines from the overall faculty, and (attempt to) make their tutes correspond to lectures received by everyone in your year.

It's not a useless criterion - some colleges accept students for subjects in which they have no staff and then send you elsewhere, which is not ideal, but that's as far as it goes really. More useful would probably be how close the college is to the faculty.

As for rowing, it really depends on your background, and what you're looking to get out of it. If you're already rather experienced, it's quite possible, as Hobnob said, that you'll want to bypass collegiate rowing and instead try for the lightweights or blues, representing the university. However, if you're new to it and just looking for a college where there are reasonable opportunities to row, you'll be fine at anywhere reasonably sized - so barring PPHs and some smaller graduate colleges. Other than those, pretty much every college has a thriving boat club. Colleges like Christ Church, Pembroke and Oriel do consistently well, but generally attract a number of experienced rowers, so unless you're particularly good, it's unlikely that you'd find yourself in the college's 1st VIII. On the flipside, at one of the less "acclaimed" boat clubs, you may well find it easier to join the higher crews, but are unlikely to find yourself in the top divisions. The competitions are still good though, and there are plenty of opportunities to win things whatever your division.

Sorry this answer probably isn't all that satisfying, but it does reveal an important, and positive point - that the differences between colleges aren't that fundamental in a lot of respects, so you really can just pick one you like the look of/enjoy x aspect of etc. without worrying too much that you've missed something crucial :smile:
(edited 12 years ago)
As others have said about 'best rowing college', it depends on what you mean. For instance, Merton had the most boats competing of any college for all 3 mens regattas this year... but the 1st boat is 29th on the river, behind Christchurch and Pembroke's second 8s!

If you do mean in terms of the quality of the 1st boat (as i suspect), remember that all college first boats train very hard, 8+ times a week. At the top level, the boats are dominated by university-level rowers who often have decades of experience. The finishing order of summer eights is here http://www.atm.ox.ac.uk/rowing/eights/e11end.html, if you really want.
Reply 1868
Avatar for JGR
JGR
9
The majority of engineering lectures, labs, classes, etc happen at the department anyway, so it doesn't really matter which college you go to, as long as it's not too far from the Keble Road triangle.
I can't really comment about rowing, not having tried it or paid it much interest.

I hear the Oriel is indeed good at that sort of thing though, and we seem to do well enough at Engineering. Dr. Hamilton tutors here, as will Dr Huber (when he returns from sabbatical), both of whom are excellent tutors.
Reply 1869
Avatar for Elles
Elles
17
Re. checking the finishing order - I wonder how current an indication it gives though, with the nature of bumps racing? :tongue:

A college can have a a few years of awesome crews who are never going to go Head because of their starting position based on poorer/unlucky (!) preceding years & vice versa gains of some excellent years can be easily lost...


I guess I should check that order & hope it's not too painful for us! :wink:
Well, as a rower myself, the there are three main rowing colleges, who will always be at the top: Pembroke, Oriel (Scum) and Christchurch. Out of those, the only logical choice is Christchurch XD.
Original post by Achajecki
Well, as a rower myself, the there are three main rowing colleges, who will always be at the top: Pembroke, Oriel (Scum) and Christchurch. Out of those, the only logical choice is Christchurch XD.


By "always" you of course mean "since 2008", when Balliol were head of the river, right? :wink:
Original post by nexttime
By "always" you of course mean "since 2008", when Balliol were head of the river, right? :wink:

Sometimes colleges get lucky XD
I've enjoyed browsing some of this thread (emphasis on 'some' because 92 pages is a bit off-putting haha), I think there have been a lot of interesting things discussed here about the collegiate system, and individual Oxbridge colleges too.

I intend to apply to Oxford for an undergraduate degree in Law for 2012/13, and I've been researching the colleges recently. Based on this research, my two favourites would be St. John's and then New. I was wondering if anybody could give me some insight into which to choose? As I say, I am applying to study law (perhaps with French law too). I am also Muslim and therefore do not drink alcohol so anything regarding the bar scene of a college is not really relevant to me. Another thing is that I would very much like to keep costs down.

Thank you in advance :smile:
Original post by Unconventional.
I've enjoyed browsing some of this thread (emphasis on 'some' because 92 pages is a bit off-putting haha), I think there have been a lot of interesting things discussed here about the collegiate system, and individual Oxbridge colleges too.

I intend to apply to Oxford for an undergraduate degree in Law for 2012/13, and I've been researching the colleges recently. Based on this research, my two favourites would be St. John's and then New. I was wondering if anybody could give me some insight into which to choose? As I say, I am applying to study law (perhaps with French law too). I am also Muslim and therefore do not drink alcohol so anything regarding the bar scene of a college is not really relevant to me. Another thing is that I would very much like to keep costs down.

Thank you in advance :smile:


For Law either would be a great choice, New would edge it for me because they have
Susan Bright who is an amazing lecturer and tutor and I think it is a beautiful college (though not as gorgeous as mine, naturally), but it's all subjective of course! Good luck :smile:
Reply 1875
Avatar for AVFC127
AVFC127
Does any of the colleges offer en suite accomodation for 1st years?

Thanks.
Original post by AVFC127
Does any of the colleges offer en suite accomodation for 1st years?

Thanks.


Keble probably has the most en-suites. Usually 2nd or 3rd years get the en-suites in colleges where there aren't many.
Original post by AVFC127
Does any of the colleges offer en suite accomodation for 1st years?

Thanks.


I think almost every first year in New College in Oxford gets an ensuite and the small number that don't have to share a bathroom with no more than three others.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by AVFC127
Does any of the colleges offer en suite accomodation for 1st years?

Thanks.


A lot of colleges have the option of paying more for better (usually en-suite) accommodation. This information will be available on their websites.
Is there any chance of Christ Church getting a 24 hr library?

It looks wonderful, but the terrible opening hours for the library is one of the factors holding me back.

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