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Choosing an Oxford College

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Original post by BJack
The closest you'd come to sharing a room in any college is having a set, i.e. separate bedrooms with a shared living space for two people.


To me a 'set' means 3 or more rooms to yourself. Just thought i'd say in case someone sees the word 'set' and thinks it always means sharing...
Reply 1921
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BJack
19
Original post by nexttime
To me a 'set' means 3 or more rooms to yourself. Just thought i'd say in case someone sees the word 'set' and thinks it always means sharing...


Yes, you're right. I should have said a shared set rather than just a set.
are we allowed to eat at other colleges? like if I want to eat with my friend who lives at a different college?
Original post by desy.kris
are we allowed to eat at other colleges? like if I want to eat with my friend who lives at a different college?


Of course guests are allowed - as long as you have someone to let you in and pay for you!
lol so basically if I don't have a friend at college X, I can't go and eat there? :P

is Oriel awesome? anybody from Oriel here?
Reply 1925
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Haeron
Original post by pudsey_h11
Hi :smile:
was just wondering is there any colleges that can guarantee you will have your own single room? I really don't like the idea of sharing!
Also any colleges with a higher proportion of ensuites? not essential for me but would be nice maybe in 2nd/3rd year??
I'm looking into Merton and maybe Baillol, but i don't really mind which college, would just like some information on it!!


Magdalen is single rooms for all. I don't think all 2nd years get ensuites (I do cause I'm a muso :colondollar:) but I'm pretty sure you do in 3rd year.

Also, on a more general college note, I literally chose the night before by choosing one with 3-year accommodation that looked nice in the Unofficial Prospectus...
Reply 1926
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Bezzler
1
Original post by Haeron
Also, on a more general college note, I literally chose the night before by choosing one with 3-year accommodation that looked nice in the Unofficial Prospectus...


And let that be a lesson to all prospective candidates, because without due thought you might make the same mistake and end up at Magdalen like poor Haeron did... :p:
Reply 1927
Avatar for BJack
BJack
19
Original post by Haeron
Magdalen is single rooms for all. I don't think all 2nd years get ensuites (I do cause I'm a muso :colondollar:) but I'm pretty sure you do in 3rd year.

Also, on a more general college note, I literally chose the night before by choosing one with 3-year accommodation that looked nice in the Unofficial Prospectus...


Very few second years have en suite rooms and only about half of the third years do, but the second year en suite rooms went perhaps surprisingly late in the ballot (they're just outside of college walls, which I think puts a lot of people off) so you should be able to get an en suite room in second and third year if you want, if that's what really matters to you.
Original post by Bezzler
And let that be a lesson to all prospective candidates, because without due thought you might make the same mistake and end up at Magdalen like poor Haeron did... :p:
Want to tell me why I should apply to Merton, rather than Magdalen? :wink:
Reply 1929
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Bezzler
1
Original post by fluteflute
Want to tell me why I should apply to Merton, rather than Magdalen? :wink:


Well for starters, you won't have to live in the Waynflete, or deal with some of the rudest porters in Oxford (and that's from personal experience).
Original post by Bezzler

Original post by Bezzler
Well for starters, you won't have to live in the Waynflete, or deal with some of the rudest porters in Oxford (and that's from personal experience).
Merton doesn't have deer though :wink:

What are the good things about Merton (rather than just compared to elsewhere)?
Reply 1931
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chiny94
8
Hello, i have been to the open day today in oxford and i loved it so much,
so i am thinking of applying there next year if i can (i.e. with good BMAT foundation) but i don't really have much knowledge into the uni's colleges
and there are just too many to choose from. I've been to various colleges
today and i particularly loved Queen's college and Magdalen college! But
i was just wondering, is there any colleges that intake more med students
then other colleges? Or are there better colleges known good for medicine
in oxford? (i heard Brasenose intake more than other colleges for med
students but are there any more?...)

p.s. this might be such a stupid question but are there ANY colleges to be cautious with for medicine?

Thanks!!! :biggrin:
Reply 1932
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JGR
9
Original post by desy.kris

Original post by desy.kris
lol so basically if I don't have a friend at college X, I can't go and eat there? :P

is Oriel awesome? anybody from Oriel here?

Oriel is a rather nice college, going by how it's been for me so far...
Shortlisting for medicine is dealt with centrally by the faculty, and they co-ordinate the interview process across the colleges, so it doesn't matter which college you choose as far as odds of getting a place go. Just choose one you like the look of; you may get allocated to another college anyway, so don't stress too much over it.

http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs/bmat-gcses-and-short-listing/how-do-you-short-list-for-interview

Also http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs ("which college should I apply to")

" The college to which an applicant applies has no bearing on their chances of gaining a place: the ratio of interviews to places is the same across all the colleges (so colleges with large numbers of places see more applicants at interview). Every applicant is interviewed at two colleges, helping to ensure that the strength of each college's cohort of applicants is very similar.

In fact, around a third of the successful applicants are placed at a college other than the one they originally selected on their UCAS form.

If an applicant doesn't have a strong view about a particular college, we encourage them to make an 'open' application that allows us to assign them to a college based on the numbers of available places and the number of applications; around 20% of our applicants choose to do this each year. This is designed to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to compete for the available places. However, if they have decided that one particular college appeals to them - perhaps because of its location or its facilities - then they should specify that college on application form."

:sheep:
Reply 1934
Avatar for Bezzler
Bezzler
1
Original post by fluteflute
Merton doesn't have deer though :wink:

What are the good things about Merton (rather than just compared to elsewhere)?


Meh, people at other colleges can walk into Magdalen and see the deer if they want, and it's a novelty that wears off very quickly, after a couple of weeks it's kind of irrelevant.

Merton has the Time Ceremony, which is easily the most awesome tradition anywhere. And you can't take part if you're not at Merton. Also we have reasonably good, and pretty cheap, hall food. You have accommodation for all years of your course, including awesome houses on Holywell Street, all of which now have kitchens. We always do well academically with excellent tutors, but we have what is generally recognised to be one of, if not the, best welfare provisions in all of Oxford, with more elected peer supporters than any other college. We also have some of the best bops, which are at our sports pavilion so can go on until 2 o'clock (later than practically any other college which has bops not in clubs) and we're getting a brand new sound system for it for next term. Do I need to go on?
Reply 1935
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BJack
19
Original post by Bezzler
Meh, people at other colleges can walk into Magdalen and see the deer if they want, and it's a novelty that wears off very quickly, after a couple of weeks it's kind of irrelevant.

Merton has the Time Ceremony, which is easily the most awesome tradition anywhere. And you can't take part if you're not at Merton.


You can say that about pretty much anything in Oxford. Meh, people at other colleges can walk around backwards getting drunk if they want, and it's a novelty that wears off very quickly.
Reply 1936
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Bezzler
1
Original post by BJack
You can say that about pretty much anything in Oxford. Meh, people at other colleges can walk around backwards getting drunk if they want, and it's a novelty that wears off very quickly.


Well not really; the deer park is there all year round, if you went round it every day you'd get bored of it quite quickly. The Time Ceremony only happens once a year and is so surreal that even on the second or third time it's still weird. And, like I said, it's only open to Mertonians, whereas anyone can go to see the deer park.
Reply 1937
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Haeron
Oh, and Magdalen was top of the Norrington Table last year, btdubz. The Time Ceremony's ridiculous.
Reply 1938
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Bezzler
1
Original post by Haeron
Oh, and Magdalen was top of the Norrington Table last year, btdubz. The Time Ceremony's ridiculous.

For the first time in ages. We're going to get it back. And what's "ridiculous" about the Time Ceremony?! It's AWESOME and AMAZING and BRILLIANT and many other wonderful adjectives. You cannot understand just what it's like without experiencing it.

It's particularly bizarre sober.
Original post by chiny94
Hello, i have been to the open day today in oxford and i loved it so much,
so i am thinking of applying there next year if i can (i.e. with good BMAT foundation)...


The BMAT is taken AFTER applying. You have to decide to apply before you know the result!

Original post by chiny94
But i was just wondering, is there any colleges that intake more med students
then other colleges?


Brasenose and St Anne's are the most with 8 (although Brasenose and Pembroke have their tutorials together, which makes 12 people (3 groups of 4 usually) ). It doesn't really make much difference though - although your college medics are likely to become some of your closest friends, you will have plenty of central teaching to meet people from other colleges.

Original post by chiny94
Or are there better colleges known good for medicine
in oxford?


The majority of teaching is centralized for medicine, and what is not centralized is largely self-motivated, so college teaching matters less than you might think. Nevertheless, certain colleges do offer far more tutorials than others. Christchurch, Magdalen and Hertford seem to work their students pretty hard (that i know of), giving 4, 5 or more tutorials per week, whilst others only do 2, not even teaching anatomy at all!

Whichever you end up at though, there will always still be space for the lazy slackers and space for the crazily hard-working, so i wouldn't worry too much about this.

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