Truth about College rumors? Help (n defend ur college?)

Hey,
I'm applying to read Economics and Management in 2006 and I have been collection information on Colleges... :tsr:

For all you poor souls who are in the same boat (there there, we will pull through this) let us just think that this isn't even the worst bit.
For those currently studying in Oxford or had experiences with the college selecting process, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Also, please be patient with us, remember how hard it was for you to choose a college (or if you are incredibly smart, then maybe it wasn’t.) and put yourselves in our situation (again! I’m sorry!).

Oh yea, I know that a lot this information wouldn't be accuate (hence the reason they are rumors...) so could you guys give more info please? I'll update it once I have more information. Information on other colleges not mentioned are also welcomed - I Will add them. :biggrin:

Anyways enough said this is a list of colleges that i collected Info on:
Balliol - Apparently lots of Left wingers

Brasenose

Christ Church - Posh (apparently) very big, very rich... internationally well known. I think they also have quite impressive music achievements.

Exeter - Apparently it's nice, heard a lot of students defending (and selling it)...a lot of college pride? High % of state school (for those like me, they are those who paid for their secondary education and got proper classrooms and working lamps! GASP!) intake, but are apparently all nice people. Accommodation not offered/rarely offered beyond first year. (Assuming the state schoolers will have no problem finding a place to stay~ lol only kidding)

Hertford

Jesus- General welsh reputation. Apparently it's also very withdrawn, they form strong friendship groups within the college...Oh yea Good reputation for being generous with grants and having good food. (And you know food rules all!)

Keble - Some modern accommodation, most of the college is beautiful

Lincoln – Lincolnites are very close with each other, reserved.

Merton - Top of the league (academically-wise), very rich, quite competitive. Oh yeah, apparently once you get in there they do expect you to work very hard in order not to let the college name down... but as a existing student said - it is possible to juggle work and play.

New - Apparently (and i'm only saying apparently) it's more male-orientated - i.e. they favour guys more. I don't know how much truth that holds. Others (in this post) say that most sexism is gone now, but you can judge that yourself. Expect from that there is nothing wrong with it. It's a big college, and because this group tend to form in the college (saw on the alternative prospectus). Personally I think it’s one of the most beautiful colleges in Oxford (Magdalen College is the other one of course, but sadly they don’t offer Economics and Management.)

St Catherine's

St Edmund Hall

St Johns – Very good academically, richest (apparently they own a few villages in Oxfordshire as well as a massive piece of land in Oxford!). Apparently also more male -orientated (my teacher told me, she went to oxford, don't know how much truth that holds, I mean she is not exactly of 21st Century.) Don’t take much into that, many people here dismissed the idea and I myself also think of it as a little farfetched (P.S. My teacher’s daughter applied and didn’t get in, do you think she was a little biased with that comment :biggrin:

?). Also I think it would be worthwhile to note that it is the most competitive college in Oxford - 12:1

St Peter’s Friendly College. Probably less facilitated than some others, referred themselves as the Oxford underdog (awww~)

Wadham - Politically involved, left wing.

They are the shortlist that I got for Economics and Management...
Other colleges are either too far from the town centre or didn’t offer my course. I also eliminated those, which are in the bottom 10 in the Norrington Table, not saying that they are not good, but I really had too much Colleges in the end and I need to get down to ½ of the original 30. The ones in BOLD Italics I can't find any information on, people help!!!

Other Colleges

Magdalen Super beautiful college which has probably the best view in Oxford (Deer park people! Real Deers!) Strong sports teams (defending cuppers champions in Tennis, water polo, croquet etc... for full list see Page 6 summary by Elles). Are apparently very proud of themselves (Nice way of putting it...) but why shouldn't they be? I say this again - They have real Deers! :biggrin:

By the way, I realised that my poor spelling has annoyed many and I am terribly sorry for that. I hope this Revised Version is slightly better. For those of you who had the patience to look up on my previous post to find out my English Language grade – please, I don’t know how I got the grade either, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the money I gave to the examiner secretly… (Jokes, jokes please don’t sue me!)

Reply 1

d750

8

Traum

Jesus- General bad reputation, apparently it's very insulated...

But presumably a good reputation among environmentalists?

Reply 2

Traum

OP

d750

But presumably a good reputation among environmentalists?

really? see thats why i post these threads! Why is that anyway? i'm interested to know - am strong environment supporter...

Reply 3

RxB

1

Hertford: not spelled Hertfort, despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary

Reply 4

Traum

OP

RxB

Hertford: not spelled Hertfort, despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary

Ouch, got caught about my bad spelling... plenty more where that comes from~lol

Reply 5

Hoofbeat

14

Traum

Lincoln - Lincolnians are v close with eachother...

Ummmm I think you mean LincolNITES grrrrrr!!! :mad:

Sorry I also really don't see the point of this thread? :confused:

Most of your facts are wrong too...where did you come up with all of these 'rumours'

Reply 6

Trier

1

Well, perhaps you could change St Johns from being quite rich to richest. :smile:

As for Keble, rooms aren't particularily large, but seem to be some of the best appointed in Oxford(after all, the college does pull in the conference trade).

Reply 7

Monii

1

i didn't wanna start a new thread and this seems as an ideal place for my question: Is Merton really that academic? (I know its first place in the Norrington table). Is the workload there much heavier there everywhere else? And for admissions - would they mind my lack of A-level Maths (i'm doing an equivalent of AS) for Econ + Management?

I really like this college - but if its focus on academics is not exagerrated, it will put me off...

Reply 8

WhatFreshHell?

2

Traum

Exeter - Apparently it's nice, heard alot of students defending (and selling it)...alot of college pride?

Well, you're right, it is nice!

I think the things you say about colleges being male-orientated don't really apply nowadays; I think whatever sexism there is must be dying out by now. It's been about five - ten years since women started outstripping men in exams, after all, so most stereotypes have been challenged and disproven.

Everyone on these boards says "pick the college you like best, that's all that matters". I would just urge one word of caution. I think, if you feel you aren't a particularly strong candidate (i.e. maybe your GCSEs are quite weak, or whatever), then it's not a great idea to apply to one of the uber-competitive colleges (magdalen, new, merton, chch...). THere's nothing to say that someone who applies to, say, St Catz can't get into Magdalen, but I think that the whole experience of being interviewed in Oxford is so intimidating, that if you applied to one of the really scarily competitive colleges it might freak you out slightly more.
(To anyone who takes this too seriously: I don't know terribly much about this, I'm just making the point which I think makes sense!)

Also, if you're applying for Economics & Management, I don't think Exeter's that competitive for it; I met a guy applying for that at interview who had made an open offer and been allocated to Exeter, suggesting there's fewer applications that usual there. But those figures probably fluctuate quite a lot year on year...

Reply 9

Trier

1

WhatFreshHell?

Everyone on these boards says "pick the college you like best, that's all that matters". I would just urge one word of caution. I think, if you feel you aren't a particularly strong candidate (i.e. maybe your GCSEs are quite weak, or whatever), then it's not a great idea to apply to one of the uber-competitive colleges (magdalen, new, merton, chch...). THere's nothing to say that someone who applies to, say, St Catz can't get into Magdalen, but I think that the whole experience of being interviewed in Oxford is so intimidating, that if you applied to one of the really scarily competitive colleges it might freak you out slightly more.
(To anyone who takes this too seriously: I don't know terribly much about this, I'm just making the point which I think makes sense!)

Also, if you're applying for Economics & Management, I don't think Exeter's that competitive for it; I met a guy applying for that at interview who had made an open offer and been allocated to Exeter, suggesting there's fewer applications that usual there. But those figures probably fluctuate quite a lot year on year...

Yes, I think that is generally a good idea.

However, obviously when I decided to apply for history at Keble, which was only about 3 applicants to a place, everyone else decided to follow and it jumped up to 5/6 applicants to a place :rolleyes:

Reply 10

d750

8

Traum

really? see thats why i post these threads! Why is that anyway? i'm interested to know - am strong environment supporter...

Sorry, I was just joking. It was just because you said it was very "insulated".

On a more helpful note, it has a good reputation for being generous with grants and having good food.

Reply 11

SpyMaster

Traum

I got 10 A* 2 As (1 for english Language, another for DT)... fanx 4 you help, but didn't they say GCSE grade don't matter?

How on earth can someone who writes like that get an A for english (sic) Language ?

.

Reply 12

WhatFreshHell?

2

Stop being such a snob!!

Reply 13

Hash

SpyMaster

How on earth can someone who writes like that get an A for english (sic) Language ?

.

What you do in the exam room doesn't necessarily reflect on how you write on internet forums (and vice versa) :rolleyes:

Reply 14

Traum

OP

SpyMaster

How on earth can someone who writes like that get an A for english (sic) Language ?
.

I actually find that quite insulting, but i must agree with you - quite rightly so, i often wondered how i got that too~lol

Hoofbeat

Ummmm I think you mean LincolNITES grrrrrr!!! :mad:

Sorry I also really don't see the point of this thread? :confused:

Most of your facts are wrong too...where did you come up with all of these 'rumours'

I didn't "come up" with any rumors, the point that they are "rumors" is because i saw and heard them from other people (either from my friends who went/are/applied to Oxford or from online forums like TSR... yes i know i'm sad..)

WhatFreshHell?

Well, you're right, it is nice!

Also, if you're applying for Economics & Management, I don't think Exeter's that competitive for it; I met a guy applying for that at interview who had made an open offer and been allocated to Exeter, suggesting there's fewer applications that usual there. But those figures probably fluctuate quite a lot year on year...

Hey, should i take that as a personal invitation for me to apply to Exeter? It was on top of my list anyway, it's not too big, not to high on the table, but not too low either. It's central... and the people~ they seem alright :biggrin:

Is it true that there are lots of conservatives there though? And apparently they have more people from private schools (saw on alternative prosp.)

Monii

i didn't wanna start a new thread and this seems as an ideal place for my question: Is Merton really that academic? (I know its first place in the Norrington table). Is the workload there much heavier there everywhere else? And for admissions - would they mind my lack of A-level Maths (i'm doing an equivalent of AS) for Econ + Management?

I really like this college - but if its focus on academics is not exagerrated, it will put me off...

Ello, protential Eco n management friend for next year~ Maths is important. I have been to 2 other opening days (LSE and Warwick) and they both emphasised on maths. However Oxford don't often play by the rules, so i suggest that you check with them before applying... If you mean that you don't have Maths A-level, but say IB in maths or something, i'm sure it's fine.

d750

Sorry, I was just joking. It was just because you said it was very "insulated".

On a more helpful note, it has a good reputation for being generous with grants and having good food.

Am totally humiliated, how dare you~ :p:

Don't trick gullible poor souls like moi~ Should i assume that you go/applied to/went to Jesus?

Reply 15

Little Kitten

WhatFreshHell?

I think the things you say about colleges being male-orientated don't really apply nowadays;

Well, having said that, Oriel still does have votes on whether or not to revert to being an all-male college every so often, so I don't know what that says about them...

Traum

really? see thats why i post these threads! Why is that anyway? i'm interested to know - am strong environment supporter...

Umm, I don't think you support the environment in the same way they do...

Reply 16

Traum

OP

Little Kitten

Well, having said that, Oriel still does have votes on whether or not to revert to being an all-male college every so often, so I don't know what that says about them...

Umm, I don't think you support the environment in the same way they do...

All good, Oriel doesn't do my subject... but before i looked up the subject thing Oriel was actually quite high on my list... oh don't i always choose the good ones.

And, should i be scared... what sort of environment things do they do? I mean if it's like going around hugging trees then hey, i'll fit right in... :biggrin:

Reply 17

Little Kitten

Traum

Hey, should i take that as a personal invitation for me to apply to Exeter? It was on top of my list anyway, it's not too big, not to high on the table, but not too low either. It's central... and the people~ they seem alright :biggrin:

Is it true that there are lots of conservatives there though? And apparently they have more people from private schools (saw on alternative prosp.)

Exeter is a good college. As far as the people go, yes there is a significant private school intake, but somehow we end up with all the nice ones - no-one is overly rah or snobbish or conservative; because it's a relatively small community everyone seems to get on well together. It's very harmonious. The only thing to remember about Exeter is that around 1/3 of undergraduates have to live out in any given year because accomodation isn't exactly abundant. But you will live in college in your first year so you make friends with everyone etc., so if it's not high priority then do apply. Because it's nice. :smile:

Reply 18

Little Kitten

Traum

And, should i be scared... what sort of environment things do they do? I mean if it's like going around hugging trees then hey, i'll fit right in... :biggrin:

Err, no. Umm, how can I put this delicately? They have strong Welsh roots...

Think sheep..

Reply 19

Traum

OP

Little Kitten

Exeter is a good college. As far as the people go, yes there is a significant private school intake, but somehow we end up with all the nice ones - no-one is overly rah or snobbish or conservative; because it's a relatively small community everyone seems to get on well together. It's very harmonious. The only thing to remember about Exeter is that around 1/3 of undergraduates have to live out in any given year because accomodation isn't exactly abundant. But you will live in college in your first year so you make friends with everyone etc., so if it's not high priority then do apply. Because it's nice. :smile:

The accommodation thing? No it's not really a big problem, 'cause you see, i live in Milton Keynes. So (and God forbid!) had i really nowhere to turn to in oxford, i can aways (Shock Horror!) come home...

Which college are you at? And what are you reading?

Truth about College rumors? Help (n defend ur college?)

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