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Original poster

Oxbridge degrees - worth it?

235 replies

Pombearsandnaiceham · 05/08/2017 00:14

What do you think? Would be interested to hear your thoughts :)

OP posts:
VladmirsPoutine · 05/08/2017 16:38

I have a 1st from Oxbridge and I honestly think it did open doors for me early on in my career when the most work experience I'd ever had was a weekend job in a chippy.
At uni it was a major shock to the system realising that in actual fact I was rather mediocre - not the cleverest child at school anymore. I worked tirelessly just to maintain an average grade.
I had a very successful career always pushing myself and riding on the Oxbridge degree then had a mental breakdown and lost it all. Even now if it comes up in conversation that I went to Oxbridge people change their tone around me. Of course there are / were downsides but all in all an Oxbridge degree does have the potential to set someone up for life.

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 05/08/2017 16:51

If you have a disability, are from a BAME background, come from a working class background or go through any illness Oxbridge is not the place for you.

That's quite a set of generalisations.

bananafish81 · 05/08/2017 17:04

If you have a disability, are from a BAME background, come from a working class background or go through any illness Oxbridge is not the place for you.

I had the most amazing support through my health issues

I was able to defer my finals to have spinal surgery

I got priority accommodation in college in a building specially designed for accessibility, with a disabled friendly wetroom opposite (I'm not disabled but my mobility wasn't spectacular, and there were no other students with greater need at the time)

The same building was also adapted with a special fire alarm for deaf students

I had back supports kept for me at the Bodleian library, history faculty and exam schools building where lectures were held

I did my exams in college with my own invigilator with extra time

A friend with severe dyslexia got funds so he could photocopy all his library books and highlight them as he wasn't able to make notes. He did his exams on a computer and was given extra time. He got a first.

I don't have personal experience of more life limiting health issues, but I felt nothing but supported. The pastoral care of the college system was amazing, as I had my personal tutor who looked out for my welfare throughout my time there. Every student had a personal tutor for pastoral care - someone who knew you and your situation, you weren't an anonymous cog in a large machine

Deadsouls · 05/08/2017 17:06

In what context?

Deadsouls · 05/08/2017 17:09

Doesn't it depend on what you want to do?

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 17:10

bananafish81 What college was that? You were very lucky then, because that was not at all like the experience of me and many others that I know. Security escorting off the premises people rusticating due to eating disorders and anxiety. College counsellors excusing racial abuse and sexual assault. I could go on with the horror stories.

bananafish81 · 05/08/2017 17:24

@TamaleHot I was at Somerville

Which was a very very 'right on' college

Absolutely no kind of intolerance was tolerated in any way.

I felt part of a caring community and the support throughout my health issues was amazing

My personal tutor was the one who lobbied for me to be able to defer my finals, get special dispensations etc - he fought my cause all the way.

What college were you at?

VladmirsPoutine · 05/08/2017 17:33

If you have a disability, are from a BAME background, come from a working class background or go through any illness Oxbridge is not the place for you.

I find this very offensive. I'm mixed race, no disabilities but that's irrelevant. It's an incredibly sweeping nonsensical statement. If you attended one of the colleges and felt unsupported due to those factors then say that. Don't write off an entire institution with mindless generalisations.

bananafish81 · 05/08/2017 17:38

Echoing @VladmirsPoutine

I would say @TamaleHot that you were exceedingly UNlucky rather than me being exceptionally lucky

I'm sorry you had such an awful experience but it's offensive to write off two entire institutions on the basis of your own experience

I'm sorry your college was so shit but doesn't mean others are!

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 17:39

VladmirsPoutine I have every right to write it off. The experiences I've mentioned above are the tip of the iceberg. The excusal of rape on several occasions by such an 'esteemed' institution is something I find offensive.

Eolian · 05/08/2017 17:41

I had a wonderful time at Oxford. I was state school educated (albeit grammar school in a very mc area). Didn't find it at all stressful or unwelcoming and didn't really work super hard either, until just before finals.
I too am confused by the 'worth it' question- worth what? It was no more expensive. More effort to get in, I suppose - entrance exams and interviews. But I got an EE offer, so rested on my laurels a bit after that! Not sure if it opened any doors for me - how would you know? People don't tend to say "We employed you because you went to Oxford". I'm an MFL teacher, and if anything the old-fashionedness of my course was pretty poor preparation for teaching in secondary schools (not a lot of call for mediaeval literature and prose translation really).

KimmySchmidt1 · 05/08/2017 17:41

I'm 37 and mine still reaps rewards, though I am in quite a traditional, intellectual profession.

I loved it, it was much harder work and more intense than other universities, but that did not bother me. There was a lot of funding for all the extra curricular clubs. Lots of focussed attention due to teaching in groups or 2 and 3, and easier to get a job at the end.

DH did not go to Oxbridge and is now highly successful in a career around peop,e who did - but still regrets the richness of experience he missed.

kittytom · 05/08/2017 17:44

Two relatives of mine went to Oxford, both are now very successful academics. So it worked for them. I think I would have been one of those who was overwhelmed and depressed, of which I know several. So in my relatively informed view it can of course be very 'worth it' but, not for everyone.

piglover · 05/08/2017 17:54

Absolutely loved my time at Oxford, also at Somerville which was the perfect fit for me. I am old enough that it was still all women. I gained a lot of confidence in that environment and I met some quite amazing people there who are still my friends 30 years on. It's still one of the less stuffy colleges. But I certainly knew people who were quite unhappy there and went elsewhere and did fine.

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 05/08/2017 18:05

Tamale, it sounds like you had a very difficult time and that you were badly let down. I'm sorry to hear it and I hope that you have since been able to access the support that you needed.

However, surely you recognise that your experience (and even that of your friends) does not qualify you to dismiss whole swathes of society from Oxbridge, just as my positive experience (and that of my friends) does not qualify me to recommend it unreservedly.

I'm not directly aware of the rape incidents that you mention and I don't feel qualified to comment on them. By your logic, however, your anger at this issue would also determine that no women should go to Oxbridge, either.

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 18:10

YippieKayakOtherBuckets If you're a victim of sexual assault whilst at Oxbridge, then I would definitely say you will get hardly any support or help.

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 05/08/2017 18:12

Tamale that saddens and disappoints me.

It doesn't mean that Oxbridge is not for the entirety of the working class.

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 18:15

YippieKayakOtherBuckets Yeah I guess. But I have my reasons for warning people against Oxbridge.

Useranon123456 · 05/08/2017 18:15

I recently received over 100 applications for a sought after job. I'll admit I thought 'wow!' When I saw a few 1st's from oxbridge in the pile. However, I didn't score them any higher than any other 2.1 degree, and someone with a masters and 2.1 degree from anywhere, scored more. For me, although there were many many well qualified applicants with excellent degrees from well regarded universities, a lot of applicants simply did not have enough experience, wrote poor application forms, or could not be bothered to write a decent personal statement. I find those things more important than whether you r oxbridge or not!

YokoReturns · 05/08/2017 18:16

I'm an Oxbridge grad.

HATED my degree, useless tutors, was TERRIBLE at it and felt utterly intimidated by everything. I sailed through the interviews but it just wasn't the right degree for me.

It's served me moderately well career-wise (Head of Dept in a secondary school) but I'm so disillusioned with my experience of it that I'm planning to convert to a psychology degree at Oxford Brookes and do a PhD in a completely different area.

I would counsel against going there unless you've thoroughly researched the courses and are absolutely sure they suit your needs and aspirations. Chat to admissions tutors etc., get a feel for a few of the colleges.

Decaffstilltastesweird · 05/08/2017 18:18

No, I don't think they are (generally speaking).

bananafish81 · 05/08/2017 18:18

@TamaleHot that saddens me also. I'm sorry you experienced such woeful support

However given your sweeping statement about every college in Oxford and Cambridge being hostile to anyone working class, BAME, disabled or suffering health issues, when that's patently a massive generalisation and very evidently not true across the board - how can you possibly know that other colleges wouldn't offer the kind of support that you were sadly lacking

Unless you've been at every college at both universities, I'm not sure how you can possibly make such a sweeping judgement about the support available

YokoReturns · 05/08/2017 18:20

I share experiences with tamale. No support for students with mental health conditions (the person having a psychotic episode 'moved in' with a tutor and problems swept under the carpet), my best friend got no support with her chronic illness, I've got some horror stories. I expect things are much improved 18 years on they'd better be

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 18:21

bananafish81 Fair enough. My bad. Although when things go wrong at Oxbridge, you are left extremely jaded.

TamaleHot · 05/08/2017 18:22

YokoReturns I was there in the last few years. It definitely has not improved.