Oxford Open Day - any advice?

[missinglalaland]

I am taking DD2 to the Oxford open day on Wednesday. DD wants to study engineering, so the department taster lectures and talks are obvious. The colleges are overwhelming, though. I assume she should try to see a couple to get a feel for the unique Oxford system. But how should she choose? It’s not possible to see them all!

Definitely don’t try to see them all.

Is there any branch of her subject that particularly interests her? She should have a look at the teaching staff at each college and see whose research interests match her interests. Other things to consider- do they offer accommodation for all 3 years? How central are they? How many people do her course? I’d aim to see 5 or 6 colleges.

OP my advice would be for your DD to do the departmental talks and to use the rest of the day wandering around the grounds of the various college, not worrying about trying to fit in college talks. I’m very sceptical about trying to match research interests for a number of reasons. I would honestly simply pick a college to apply to based on vibe, buildings, welcome etc. Take in as many as you can.

Good advice from PP. Also, how close to the Engineering dept? Science/technical subjects have lots of taught content so being close enough to get up later/ get home quickly if an evening and go back to college for lunch was a plus for me. The vibe is v different at each college - there used to be an alternative Oxford prospectus - maybe the same info is available online now? - which explained some of that - good to see why appeals.

*various colleges

I’d pick just a couple of colleges to look at. If you want to spend time in the engineering dept I doubt you’ll have time for more.
When I went to an Oxford open day years ago, I only went to one college - it was an open day just for my subject at that particular college.

People pick colleges for a HUGE number of different reasons (size, applicant % success rate, tutors, proximity to department, number of students, accommodation, political leaning, wealth of the college, sports opportunities). It’s a mind boggling task - better if she reads up on each college in advance and picks 1 or 2 she likes the sound of before she visits. What is important to her? If money is a factor, some colleges have cheaper accommodation than others.

DD looked at the online alternative prospectus which has a college suggester tool. You can select criteria which are important to you - in her case it was being able to live in college for three years, good food and a decent number of students doing her subject.

This narrows the options down quite a bit and then you can can have a look at the individual college websites to narrow it down further.

Well if you're going to select a college based on whether you can live in for all the years of your degree be wary: 'living in college' often means living in college accommodation and that can hide a multitude of sins. Or it might mean there's that option for a restricted number of students and so you can in theory live in, but unlikely to in practice.

Much better to nip into all the colleges before and after or between the talks. The taster lectures will absorb a fair bit of time so if the uncertainty around Oxford is much more than college than the course then maybe think about going to the departmental talk, but skip any lectures, and set off round as many colleges as you can fit in. It's very easy to get round pretty much all, just dipping in at each gate and asking the student helpers any questions you have.

DD4 and plenty of her friends are helping on Wed and Thurs - all the student helpers are very approachable and will give honest answers to any questions.

we need to drive to the open day _ are the park and rides likely to be full?

Try this - https://apply.oxfordsu.org - written by students for prospective students and she can research the colleges, see what sounds good, and then visit her top choices.

@3kids2pets Some useful travel advice here: Travel advice | University of Oxford I'd definitely recommend getting to the Park and Ride as early as you can. They are very busy because of the current Botley Road closure

In terms of visiting colleges, I would suggest picking a few that are closest to the Engineering Dept to avoid having to walk too far - Keble, St Johns, Somerville, St Annes are all quite close to the Dept and would provide a mix of old, traditional and more modern. Or head to Broad Street and you could easily walk between Balliol, Trinity, Exeter, Wadham and Jesus. Probably worth concentrating your time on two or three colleges and getting as much info as you can from the student helpers.

Not all colleges offer engineering, so check that too before visiting. Also worth remembering that prospective applicants can be reallocated a different college to the one they apply to, so better to get a general flavour of what different colleges are like than get too closely attached to one.

Thank you all very much for the tips. It’s truly appreciated!

All the colleges are running their own selection of events eg meet the tutors, sample interview, admission test workshop etc, at idfferent tims, so that might influence which ones you look at too, and in what order.

DD3 has selected three colleges she likes the look of (based, I think, on the size of the gardens!), and I doubt we’ll be able to fit in much more.

When I went to the Oxford open day (many years ago now), I went to a college that I liked the grounds of. One of the tutors there said that 2 particular colleges were good for my subject.

I looked into them and saw that the food was better at one, plus they offered accommodation for all years, so applied to that one. (Merton) It really wasn't a very scientific process at all! I was happy at Merton for my course.

The most interesting things about the Open Day are the Department Tours and mini lectures, but each College has a different culture set it is definitely worth looking round.

Firstly check which Colleges offer Engineering and how many places in each college. DD chose a college that had the highest number of students from her (very small) course. Though this is unlikely to be an issue with engineering!

I went with DS and looked around 5 colleges, DH went with DD and did about the same. Some colleges offer accommodation every year some you live out for one or more years. Would your DD have a preference? Some are huge, some really small.

If you're shown around by the students they can tell you what is 'special' about their college.

In the end, while DD chose a particular college, DS couldn't pick so went for an open application!

Lots of good advice here. I'd add not to get too hung up on colleges, because a lot of people get pooled. I would ask at the department talks as well, just in case they have an inside info. (I looked at quite an obscure subject at Cambridge years ago and was given a list of colleges to avoid by the professor who gave the talk.)

I chose my (Oxford) college (30 years ago) on the basis that it was central and didn't have 'keep off the grass' signs on the main quad. I liked the idea of sitting on it in the summer. You still had to keep off the grass though - they just didn't have signs!

Thank you for all the good advice. We saw more than we thought we would be able to. We are heading home now weary, with our heads spinning.

DD4 has just messaged to say that over 6000 visitors went to her college over the two days. It is one of the most applied to tbf but even so - sounds a lot.

We felt the same. Really liked Oxford as a uni possibly for DC, but think they need a better railway station. We were on the 17:32, very busy.

The station is being upgraded; should be done next year (or maybe year after). Trains are always going to be busy at rush hour though.
https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/oxford-station-redevelopment-uk/

think they need a better railway station

Probably not the best criterion for picking a uni, especially not on an Open Day! If there were 3k extra people just at one college on one day, maybe give Oxford a break on the transport communications front! Not saying it's a great station but....

Just an observation really, it’s not a criteria for uni choices but as a world leading uni with loads of international visitors a smart station improves initial impressions as well as general functionality. We live in Cambridge and the update of the station here has been a major plus given how out of town it is

Looks like access from a different side of the station from now given where Said Business School pictured