University of Oxford

Oxford is not what I expected it to be. It was my biggest dream to end up at Such an institution but I have come to find that it is full of flaws that I could have easily avoided if I had chosen to go to another university. It has old, outdated traditions, the workload is unrealistic and the students can be just as bigoted as you might imagine. It's got beautiful buildings but what's the use when all you can do is work all day every day.

Oxford has a reputation so large it is in hindsight no surprise that it does not live up to it. To be fair, how could it? Stunning buildings, volumes of wealth, cutting edge research and a long list of esteemed alumni swathe the university in an aura of prestige, cultivated ceaselessly by medias from buzzfeed to the telegraph. However, the experience of the university leaves much to be desired. For one thing, the Hogwartian appeal of the rooms is restricted to a very narrow percentage of students in the older colleges, with the 'archetypical' rooms being utilised mainly for guests and the overly privileged SCR. In truth, this is probably just as well, for as many students 'fortunate' enough to have balloted for older rooms will tell you, such accommodation is synonymous with mold, cracking plaster and asbestos. Tutorials, forwarded by the university as the justification of the 'higher bracket' fees are more often than not an hour of lethargic silences filled by nervous vague interjections and awkward admissions of missed deadlines, from both the equally overworked students and tutors. This is a pessimistic portrayal of the famous university, perhaps overly so. However, it is necessary to highlight the many, oh so many, flaws and drawbacks of attending the 'most' 'renowned' institution for higher education in the World.

Being at Oxford has certainly been an interesting experience so far. There are some distinct positives, but also an array of negatives. Whilst the buildings are often beautiful, they are often completely or majorly inaccessible. Having tutorials (lessons with 2-4 students) is often helpful in terms of providing an opportunity for students to ask questions and get feedback, but the quality is heavilu dependent on the tutor you just so happen to be assigned to. Our student union as a building is, in my opinion, underused; whilst some campaigns and societies may use it occasionally, it certainly isn't a social hub. Our officers there work hard and do implement positive changes, but our SU seems more political than social to me. The facilities in terms of the books we have access too (there has never really been a need to buy a book for my course) are fantastic but honestly I find the lack of accessibility, appropriate welfare support, and inclusion outweigh this type of thing.

Actual educational services are quite rubbish. Department often relies on students being smart themselves and hence spends less than ideal amount of resources on teaching. Sometimes the university feels like a quite expensive library membership. The workload is not organised adequately (aka 8 weeks terms are designed to provide academics with a chance to actually work in their fields, but that negatively reflects on the quality of education delivered to students).

As a member of the Queen’s College, Oxford, I’ve been lucky enough to have been given accommodation for all three years of my degree and this has been great as it’s relieved the stress and pressure of looking for somewhere myself.

Oxford has such a large reputation it's no wonder it cannot possibly live up to it. It is at the forefront of research but lags behind woefully on teaching. Lectures are often given without passion and seem to be cobbled together hastily. Great libraries, some lovely people nice buildings but unless you are very rich or a genius you will find the Oxford experience wanting...

Very stressful as expected Amount of work between courses is very different and this puts strain on friendships Gymnastics club is really good Tutors and lecturers aren’t as good as you would expect for a university with such an academic reputation

Opportunity to be taught be world class academics but slow to embrace new technology in learning. Sports facilities are ok but could definitely be better.

Opportunity to be taught be leading academic but slow to embrace new technology in teaching. Sports facilities are ok but could definitely be a lot better.