Oxford University Open Day

[pinkloo]

DS and I are going to go to the University of Oxford open day on Thursday. There’s also one tomororw.

We’re arriving by rail as I’ve heard parking is a nightmare.

How much space should I give him? Shall I go off to waterstones and find a new book and leave him to it?

He’s drawn up a list for what he wants to do.
He’ll be going to the subject talks for his course which include his chosen course and also one he’s interested in.
He wants to visit 3 different “types” of college, a modern ex-womens, one of the ‘big boys’ and a town centre oldie.

He’s got down to visit LMH, St John’s and then Lincoln.

Does fitting all this in sound feasible?

LMH is beautiful but just to warn you their pastoral care does not have a good reputation. The number of students rusticated (suspended/expelled) for poor performance in exams/essays due to mental health issues is worrying...if you go I would ask what they provide in regards to counselling services. I'm sure your DC would be fine but in case they have any wobbles LMH might not be the best..

Right thanks for the college advice! I hope you understand, would rather not say which course as may be outing. I look forward to it, and have suncream at the ready.

Gosh, Rose, that is worrying. Do colleges vary on the level of MH support? Any good ones?

Hey OP, yes the colleges vary greatly in the services they offer. I'm afraid I have heard bad things from people v close to LMH about their mental health issues and provision, but I'm not sure which specific colleges are better. This is definitely something to ask when you go round. It is such a high pressures environment and any student could be vulnerable. Sorry I can't be more helpful!

TheThirdofhername - for physics I'd say it's worth you/your DS checking out Keble - more victorian brick style of architecture - but it's very convenient for the Physics/Engineering depts.

Also worth considering if avoiding a year living out in a shared private sector rental is important, some but not all colleges can accommodate all students - even if it's off the main college site.

If they’re doing Classics they should go to University College. Also, the college is right next to the exam schools so you can roll out of bed and into your lectures, or examinations. Perfect for any student. The mental health provision was pretty good there - a couple of undergraduate welfare officers, the junior dean tends to be supportive, there was a peer supporter network as well, and the chaplain is a good pastoral support (irrespective of your own religious denomination.)

Not all colleges offer lunch unless you have booked in advance. We planned a route taking in a mix of colleges as OP suggested but being sure to be near one with a free lunch at midday. The Oxford website says what all the colleges offer.

For classics I would also suggest Corpus Chrisit as they are well recognised for the subject and I think have one of the larger intakes.

For Classics, how could you resist this bloke, currently at St Hilda's? (He was also a course II undergrad, so sympathetic to those not learning Latin and Greek since age 8.)

I did suggest the gardens at Trinity and the cathedral at Christ Church! Definitely for everyone.

Hamish we do have a list of colleges where students have to live out for part of the course. DS2 would be doing an application for DSA and appropriate adjustments for ASD - might this include accommodation in college for all three years, or does Oxford have too many students on the spectrum to accommodate this?

Definitely don’t drive - traffic was chocca today. There were loads of helpers on street corners / outside Colleges / outside departments, so anyone visiting please do ask someone if you need directions etc.

It was a lovely atmosphere today in the streets. Most potential applicants I passed had a parent (occasionally two) with them.

Train is actually the best option. Or any coach that goes to the Park and Ride car park on the A40. Even the park and Ride car parks get full. Traffic is always chocca in Oxford.

St Johns or Keble are close for Physics ( and Sciences in general). I'd recommend St Johns for all three years actually in college rather than a far flung house (most colleges offer 3 years accommodation nowadays).
There are some special sessions for parents.

The Open Day Information centre is on the High (High Street), and if they can't answer questions they should be able to direct you to someone who can.

Thethirdofhername - I don't know re:your query about reasonable adjustments/accommodation, sorry. I suspect it would be a decision on a college by college level rather than at University level.

Update:
We got a space at park & ride, but it was a bit faffy once we got there; a queue to pay and then a bus queue around the entire terminal building. Luckily they had laid on extra buses and we got on the second bus to arrive.

We spent nearly three hours in the Physics department. He looked around the labs and attended informative talks about the admissions process and the physics aptitude test. Parents/carers could watch the same talks in an overflow lecture theatre.

We popped into a couple of colleges but he seemed much less interested in this aspect. We did watch a demonstration interview at Wadham (not physics but another science subject) where the interviewer verified what the physics department had said about what they are looking for in at interview, and it was interesting to see this 'live'.

pinkloo how was your day?

Thethird, sounds like you had a fairly successful day?:) I bet seeing an interview ‘live’, must be quite beneficial! Shame I didn’t see that. How does your ds feel about an application now? Gosh the place was heaving wasn’t it? I can see how you had issues getting in.

It was a brilliant day! I think the lovely weather may persuade jugement a tad. The golden stone just looks wonderful in the sun

DS is now feeling a tad confused, as the other course he was interested in appealed to him more than he thought. The department talk was very good.

I left DS to it mostly.
I got around quite a few colleges! Wadham, Oriel, Magdalen and St Edmund Hall (teddy hall).
Wadham seemed very edgy but nice. Oriel was lovely, just what I have in mind when I think “Oxford”. St Edmund Hall, quaint but (for me) a tad small, geographically that is. Magdalen was just wow, the new library bit was super. Dining hall was gorgeous! The deer park looked very pretty, but I was called by ds to meet him so had to leave.

He said LMH was nice and pretty but a bit like St Anne’s felt (boarding) school like. Although he did like that he had space to roam.

Loved Lincoln, think it may be a bit like Oriel. The ivy (?) at front quad was lovely! Seems very him. He was a bit concerned abour size.

It was a draw between Lincoln and St John’s for him. He called me to go and look at St John’s with him. It was mahoosive. The front 2 old quads are nice, the one at the back was simply breath taking. I felt as if I could be centuries ago. The gardens looked nice through the gates, didn’t see though. Accom looked like all, a bit dated, but he was v impressed by being able to live in college houses in 2nd year. I must admit that I preferred the hall at Magdalen! The wealth that the college has is obscene.

So it’s Small central and cosy vs big rich and a tiny bit out.

Only thing about St John’s is that it seems to be one of the academic powerhouses like Merton. Whereas Lincoln may be less pressured.

Wow, you and your DS did well on the college front!

DS2 only picked Wadham to visit because of the demonstration interview. It seemed inclusive and the current students were friendly.

We looked v.briefly at a couple of colleges as we passed, but DS2 was much more interested in the course and the application process for his preferred subject, so I took my lead from that.

I was surprised at how many tourists there were, especially as some of the colleges weren't open to tourists today.

On your college tours, did you see any of the student accommodation?

Sorry, just reread and seen that you saw the rooms at St John's.

One of the students told me that the colleges which don't have room to accommodate second years on-site often have 'annexes' a bit like student halls.

If you pick a college with a good pastoral reputation, three years in the same room for a student with ASC shouldn’t be a problem third.

Anybody able to say what Christ’s is like? DS just applied to go on one of their access open days (English).

There's only a Corpus Christi at Oxford. One of my DC was there so if you do mean Corpus I can certainly tell you!

My mistake. It’s a Cambridge college!

Lincoln is lovely and very pretty and central and all three years 'accommodation are good and central v close to the college. It is small so check how many students there will be for that particular subject. For some subjects they have a relatively large no. given their size , but don't know your DS's. Food good , 2 sittings in hall which is practical and handy , a pretty well off college so most things are pretty good value. What it does not have ( compared to e.g. Pembroke - as I recall ) is the ability to choose more or less expensive room and pay more or less accordingly. No deer parks. The ivy is Virginia Creeper . DS loved it. But most people end up loving their college and , you will know this , may very very well end up at one they did not apply to if they get through the applications. Others are better at advising about this than I am though .

St John's is less of a powerhouse than it used to be. Did you see any of the modern rooms?
The Garden probably isn't it's best as they are still building the Library extension.

Oxford is always full of tourists all summer. The quietest month is September.

Oh and what subject is your DS going for? Because St John's is closer to a lot of departments than Lincoln (not by much as even St John's people stagger to the van for Cheesy Chips on the Broad).