Studying at Oxbridge

Agreed, you need to hear specifically from those with recent postgraduate experience of the particular subject you're interested in

If you want info on postgrad then I would specify that. A relative did vet med at Cambridge and it was no more taxing than anywhere else. They went to Bristol first to do Zoology.

Personally, I found that the sheer workload didn’t leave me as much scope to go into depth as my friends at other unis. I really envied their seminars, lecture series allied to specific modules, and the way they could consolidate their learning with coursework, rather than working towards a battery of exams at the end of four years.

I’m also a bit unsure why you’re more likely to meet people who share your passion and enthusiasm at Oxbridge. Friends and colleagues from other unis were equally invested in their chosen subjects and, I feel, many had achieved a greater depth of learning than I had because they had more time to assimilate the material (and received better teaching, but I think I got quite unlucky on my course).

Honestly, you'd be better off haunting some current postgraduate student forums, most people here will have relatively outdated experience.

Post grad is likely to be quite different from undergraduate, though. I dated a postgraduate whilst I was an undergraduate and he seemed to have much less structure in his week, although I was humanities and he was STEM so that probably made a significant difference as well.

I left Oxford with a double first. It’s hard to say if it was more difficult as that was my only experience of university. I worked quite hard but I’ve certainly worked longer hours since. I can’t remember having an awful lot of fun, but that’s not what the taxpayers were paying for.

DS recently completed degree at Cambridge. It was brutal in terms of the volume of work required and the standard he had to achieve.

He loved his time there and has gone on to get an enviable job.

To be fair, your experience was 20 years ago. I think there have been huge pastoral care improvements put in place since then.

I did an arts/humanities subject at Cambridge. The reading lists were brutal and I probably pulled an all-nighter once every other week in order to keep up (and probably weekly in my final year). Also somehow managed to do a lot of extra curricular stuff (student politics etc) and socialise too and somehow got a 2:1. I would be absolutely shattered at the end of each term though.
The teaching was of varied quality and the style of learning was very much "figure it out yourself and don't expect any help". I remember I once genuinely didn't understand an essay question I had been set at the beginning of a new course and emailed the supervisor for clarification. The email that came back was pure vitriol and I felt so small and ashamed. Some of the tutors were pretty mean, looking back on it, and my self esteem was in shreds when I left.
I did, however, leave with the most wonderful group of friends a girl could ever wish for. We are still a tight group 20 years later. That aspect was, frankly, idyllic.
I would urge anyone considering Oxbridge to think long and hard about it. On one level it was an amazing and mind-broadening experience. but I also felt like I had been chewed up and spat out. Brutal is the right word for it and I think there are a lot of world class universities in the UK that quite frankly offer more constructive learning environments.

Most sites say he revealed his affiliation during a student debate when he was already there.

I’ve just read the wiki page on Nick Griffin. How did he get into Cambridge when he was registered as NF?

Absolutely this. I think it’s pretty general knowledge that he’s highly intelligent. Cambridge doesn’t just ‘give’ people degrees.

No-one can 'easily' achieve a 1st. The academic level at Oxbridge is usually higher (depending upon the subject) but you have to work hard wherever. Also university education is more than your final degree classification.

This was my experience. Hard work, very hard, but a brilliant time. Plus I have access to the University library forever.

In reply to the question, this is 20 years ago but I was torn between Oxford/Durham for languages. After a 2-day open day I decided not to apply to Oxford. At the time the French dept at Durham was top in the country (so I would say I did a "difficult" degree) but honestly I was put off by so much 1 to 1 attention. The college I looked at was mostly 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 tutorials and I was much more suited as an introvert to 6-person seminars and 30-person lectures.

IOW you know nothing about it. I had a fabulous time and it was anything but either of those things. And no, I came from State education.

Yes, what is it you want from these threads, OP?

This. Plus, he went to Oxford, not Cambridge 🤓

/keeping very quiet about Nick Griffin

This is your third thread about the same thing. What is your skin in the game here? Are your DC applying?

I have a ds at Oxford, currently 3rd year. He has not found it exclusive or narrow! He is studying a STEM subject has a huge range of courses to choose between so much so that he is only taking 1 paper in common with another friend studying the same degree.
He has not found it exclusive either - he has a range of friends from state, private and international students.
It's a shame Oxbridge is often portrayed as narrow and exclusive and 'not for the likes of us'
Sorry, was off topic, but yes the workload is intense but ds found it manageable

My DD is loving her experience at Cambridge 3 rd year medicine). She’s had a terrific time in all aspects. She worked out pretty quickly she couldn’t keep up with absolutely everything, so learned to prioritise her workload. She was told a first in other universities is the same as a 2:1 in Cambridge (no idea whether this is correct). She’s not hell bent on going for a first (although that would be nice if it happens) as she doesn’t want to sacrifice her social and sporting life to such an extent she’s spending all her time in her room studying (her words). That’s her outlook and I can’t argue with that. She attends lectures with all the other medical students from other colleges and they share the same curriculum. She’s keeping up well with course work, getting great results and good feedback from tutors, plus she’s meeting fascinating people from all backgrounds. Not sure however it would suit my other DD, who copes less well with pressure and has applied elsewhere but the Oxbridge system has certainly suited my DD1 so far. I’m not sure about ‘exclusive and narrow minded’ as mentioned in a post above. I think you really have to experience it for your self to judge whether that is true or not.

I have a dd at Oxford. 14 A stars at GCSE. All A stars at A level. ( normal comprehensive school) . The essay load is very heavy compared to other universities, the terms short but extraordinarily intense. She is constantly exhausted and stressed. However she does love the college system, and the fact that she can live in college for her whole degree.
There are pros and cons to be honest. It feels a more protected environment than many universities, but the workload is brutal and the skim reading for every essay doesn’t suit her style of working very well.