University of Oxford

I never even thought of applying to Oxford; I thought there was no point. That was until a week before the deadline when people at a debating competition talked about it and told me to apply. Up until starting, I really didn’t want to go—my plan was to drop out after a term if I hated it! I’m just so thankful I decided to do it anyway despite being nervous. Immediately I realized that most people around me were lovely and just as nervous as I was—I’ve made amazing friends so far. Oxford is a university town which I love because everything and everyone is so close—it really makes you feel like part of a community. The work itself is challenging but interesting, and the most important part is you’re never alone while doing it; everyone else is going through it with you. I’ve loved my time here so far, and I’m so grateful for being told to apply.

Really amazing teaching and fellow students. Lots of personal support. Course (PPE) is flexible and exciting. Cant recommend it enough

i was a little intimidated by oxford at the start, but it has been kind to me. it is so much more diverse than i expected and only getting better. terms being so short is hard, but pastoral care is excellent - my tutors really look out for me. the standard of teaching is brilliant and i feel inspired in my subject.

The best university in the whole world. I don't understand why this university hadn't been rated as N1 in QS ranking.

So far, my time here has been great. The lecturers and tutors are equally amazing an I never have to hesitate to reach out if I have a question. The campus itself is beautiful and very practical with a lot of green space.

The workload for my course averaged to doing 1.5 essays a week. We usually would be doing two modules at any one time, frustratingly these would not necessarily align with the lecture schedule so the primary focus is on research and working out the topic yourself. We got to choose two optional modules and 1 mini-option (mini-disseration topic choice in Jurisprudence) so a lot of the course is mandatory courses. Amazing facilities and opportunities throughout.

It was very busy. All day long were back to back talks and workshops. In the evenings there were social activities organised by my college, like drinking games and movie nights. We were set work on Thursday of Freshers Week that was due in just a few days later, so we had very little spare time. It was a little bit stressful at times but enjoyable at other times. Each college provides its own accommodation. The rooms at University College Oxford (aka Univ) are incredibly varied. Some rooms are very small but some are like hotel rooms. The same price is charged for every room as they are randomly allocated. It is also quite common for people to have small bedrooms and large shared studies with another students. There are plenty of libraries within colleges and around the city. My college had two 24/7 libraries that were great places to work. Tutorials and classes usually take place in tutors office or classrooms in various colleges which are usually decent spaces. Each college has its own common room which are more commonly used than the student union. These common rooms vary in size and quality depending on the college but Univ have a very nice and newly refurbished one. The tutorial teaching is the best part about the course. Tutors often give very detailed feedback on written work and talk to us about the content in very small groups. We had to write many essays but it was a really good way of making sure we learnt the content and improved our writing skills. The city is amazing. There is so much to do around Oxford. Everything is very close together and virtually nothing is more than a 15 minute walk away. We have a lot of cool pubs, and clubs. There is an Alice and Wonderland themed jazz bar that did karaoke nights. Christmas markets would pop up in the winter in the city centre and there were plenty of shops around.

It was jam packed with activities and introductions. There was a great mixture of introducing academics and socialising. The nights out were really fun and the academic introductions were informative. We all live in our respective colleges. Your room depends on your year and at some people's colleges it depends on how well you do academically. My rooms at LMH have all been big, clean and with a piano as I'm a Music student which has been incredible. We have an incredible array of academic texts in the libraries. The libraries are vast and beautiful. The sports centre is very strong and has everything you could need. Oxford doesn't have a shared space like a student union that we all use so that would be nice. The Music course at Oxford is good because there is a lot of choice on what you can study within the course from the beginning. The lecturers are all world class and very passionate. I love the excitement that they bring to the topics we learn about. The city is very beautiful. Oxford is very small so I enjoy that you can walk from one end of the city centre to another in about 45 minutes. There are a lot of tourists but it adds to the bustling nature of the city.

It was fun, and a good opportunity to meet lots of new people. There was a variety of social activities both in and out of college, and also lots of workshops for our subject and general university guidance. Beautiful rooms and most of us had en-suite bathrooms. The food in college was also mostly good, and there was a variety for different dietary needs. The university libraries are world-class, and earth college has its own library. The English faculty library is modern and airy, although it could do with more workspaces with plugs for laptop chargers. The flexibility was the best element, as you could study largely what you were interested in, within the historical parameters of the course structure. The lectures were also interesting, although we're not always directly relevant to the work we were doing with our tutors. The city is beautiful, and has an excellent variety of independent restaurants and cafes, making good food very affordable. Westgate is a good centre for shopping, and the Covered Market is unusual.

Exciting and exhausting, I made good friends within college but didn't meet many people in the wider university. The best nights were when we had a college event, such as a bar night, where we got to know our peers, followed by bigger university wide club nights. I was living in a college owned house with 8 other people. I had access to a kitchen and shared a bathroom with 2 others. My room had a nice view but was a little cold. College has two big libraries for students. I also had access to many others libraries in the city. College has sports fields a 10 minute walk away. Tutorials were held in tutor's offices in college. Tutorials meant we had an opportunity to ask questions about lectures. Most learning was independent, we were expected to spend many hours each week consolidating knowledge. I lived a 5 minute walk from the city centre, I would walk in almost every day, to go to lectures or shop for groceries which was convenient. There were plentiful social opportunities e.g walk around the meadows, brunch dates or pub nights