Oxford open day next week :how are we supposed to fit it all in? How do we know which colleges to look at

[Opendaymaddnes]

Hello I'm trying to get my head around the open day and distances. The subject talk is quite early but it looks like we could spend all day at the subject talk area meeting tutors but we need to look at accommodation options also and colleges.

I've googled the best colleges for her subject and I hope to visit three? Does this sound like a plan? Is this what uther people do?

@WutheringConniption that's how we feel having a lovely day out and seeing how a top uni does it, we have seen some others which she likes for different reasons as well but we have not made it into London yet.

If nothing else it will be really interesting to see inside the colleges and learn more about it

It sounds like your dd got really inspired and has had everything work out for her 😍.

@foxglovetree I was looking at queens for instance which does her subject and they have choirs. Wouldn't being part of choir now help with that application to that college?

@GluttonousHag because I was looking at colleges close to the department and saw St Anthony which happens to have reviews which are terrible.

I wouldn't want her to go through all the selection process to end up ill with respiratory disease due to mould.

@MaturingCheeseball I completely agree and one part of me does think is it wise to show her around these places which no other uni has eg grand dining halls and incredible clubs.

However she does have another she does very much like and would do well at and we would all be thrilled if she got in there.

Everything is a fine balance

I am wondering how packed the open day will be and will millions of tourists be jostling with us, how do they know we are potential students not tourists!

I was looking at queens for instance which does her subject and they have choirs. Wouldn't being part of choir now help with that application to that college?

No, being part of a choir won't generally help an application to any college. The tutors making admissions decisions are exclusively interestested in academic aptitude and potential.

There are choral scholarships that candidates can apply to, but even then they still have to get a place on a course the same way as everyone else. Admitting tutors are not even told that the candidate has been selected for a potential choral scholarship. And no place on the course means they cannot take up the scholarship.

On the other hand, if a candidate is very interested in singing in a college choir it would be worth finding out what is offered at different colleges. I think most college chapels will have choirs, but they will vary in style, standard etc.

@Opendaymaddnes lots of colleges have choirs, some very serious and others less so. But admissions to the college is completely separate from admissions to the choir - it's a purely academic process and extra curriculars don't play a role.

If she's interested in singing and wants to apply for a choral scholarship, she can apply to a college which offers choral scholarships in her voice for that year. She'd have an audition and be told whether she had reached the vocal standard to be considered for a choral scholarship. But that wouldn't have any bearing on whether she was offered a place at Oxford (i.e. she'd still have to go through exactly the same applications process, and be admitted on academic merit). The tutors doing the academic interviews wouldn't know who was separately under consideration for a choral scholarship if they got a place.

@irregularegular thank you.

But wouldn't a college choir or sports team die out if they didn't consider people with those skills trying to get in?

Anyway what a wealth of information, I'm really looking forward to it and feel much better prepared now, unfortunately it does look quite hot and I'm not good at all walking in heat.

I can formulate a plan to get a good idea of what's on offer and she can delve deep to see if it's for her or not.

What I'm reading about what some colleges offer is mind boggling, even the drama side of things I aas reading stuff on brasenose about theatre productions and messing around having fun.
Then the dinners, the music, the sports... It does sound incredible

Thanks Fox

Are there good taxis there I wonder to help with walking and getting around

No I don’t think you can.

The truth is Oxford prides itself on iIts academics not its sport or choirs.

Sport is very much second fiddle and the better choirs have external choristers ( from the choir schools) that are only loosely associated with the colleges.

Taxis around the centre of town would make things far more difficult tbh

And they can provide college accommodation for all three years - not to be sneezed at.

It's a lovely college. Yes I'm biased.

@Opendaymaddnes Thank you, it did work out and so far so good! She's going to be a student ambassador for her college next week so you may well see her :)

Uber does operate in the City now, but tbh I think that could make things more stressful. You are never more than a 15/20 minute walk from anywhere else. Just wear comfortable shoes, top up water frequently and invest in one of those handheld fans from Amazon 😆

Not sure if you've seen, but the main uni page does have advice on planning open days, including a 24 hr/12 hr/6 hr suggested itinerary.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/open-days-and-visits/planning-your-open-day-visit

But wouldn't a college choir or sports team die out if they didn't consider people with those skills trying to get in?

Apparently not! The purpose and focus of the college is academic study. But when you get lots of smart, motivated young people together you tend to get lots of sport/music/drama/politics activity even when you don't select for that.

The colleges will vary in how active different sporting and other societies are, but on the whole the purpose of college sport and other societies is to be pretty inclusive and encourage people to particpate at different levels. It's one of the nice things about the college system. University sport etc is a different matter - but again, they have enough talented students to choose from without going out recruiting them.

As someone else said, a few more serious college chapel choirs include young choristers from local choir schools and also some adult choristers employed specially, alongside students.

I wouldn’t set much store by reviews, @Opendaymaddnes . It’s like Tripadvisor, generally only people who’ve got a really strong gripe bother to post.

One tip though: try to see which colleges have building work scheduled in the next three years. The students in the college adjacent to dd had no dining room/common room/bar for two years and had a tent thing for dinners. And, being super picky here, but it’s a shame if there’s scaffolding obscuring the old buildings. Obviously that is being very fussy as at the end of the day it’s not about the aesthetic (well, ok, it is a bit!).

You can easily join a choir other than the one at your own college, my D1 went to her own college's choir and one at another college for a while.
I wouldn't bother with taxis, wear trainers, take water and enjoy Oxford, it's a beautiful place to walk around.

Colleges are closed to tourists on open days, and it's quite obvious to see who belongs to which group.

Building works are a good point - could be noisy/disruptive during tutorials (and lie-ins). But not the end of the world if it's there.

On looking into tutor specialisms, this is useful to see what the course might focus on, general calibre and what's available in department, but not worth making it the be all and end all - aside from reallocation, tutors change jobs and retire.

Hope your visit is both fun and useful OP and your DC.

TenSheds I suspect that your DD hasn't been affected by building works. They can actually significantly dent a student's experience depending on their scale and which areas of the college have to go into temporary accommodation etc. There have been some really bad situations in the past few years at certain colleges.

DD attended department talks and a mock subject interview in the morning. She shortlisted six colleges to visit in the afternoon based on an eclectic mix of priorities from proximity to department to the offer of a free afternoon tea. She ended up as a fresher at a college she hadn’t visited but had a fantastic four years there.

DS just finishing his 4 yrs at Hilda's. He's loved it. If you work there, then thank you for contributing to an amazing, friendly College. If you go/went there, then thanks for being part of an amazing and friendly cohort!

Re College choice, I wouldn't worry too much. For example...
DC applied to New College.
Was allocated interviews with New College and St Hilda's.
Felt a better vibe with the Hilda's tutors.
Offered a place at Hilda's. Very happy
Had tutorials at both Hilda's and Lincoln.
Loved being at Hilda's.

DC really didn't care which College gave him an offer - just really happy to be accepted into Oxford. What an achievement. To think then a student might think "yeah, I got an offer but I don't fancy the offered College" is not very realistic I think.

@OpendaymaddnesWhich are not great colleges? All are great? You have to get in to be offered anything! I agree with others, college doesn’t matter that much. I’ve no idea if you can appeal but most people are grateful to be offered a place. They just say yes!

For psychology 1:8 get in.Only 50 places. It’s very competitive. 20 colleges offer it. I’d just pick 3 at random to have a look at. 6 students studying it is quite high at one college! I’d maybe look at where most places are because you won’t get 20 anywhere.

@TizerorFizz thank you

It's all a learning curve apparently St hildas does pyscology and that's not popular for some reason and they need to fill spaces so that's a possibility and also new college takes 4.

I think has just a good chance as any getting in but we don't know if she even wants to try yet and we know even if she does try it's also down to luck etc.

But it's fun to be in a position to even legitimately look!!
I'm loving the historical aspect of it and of course have read a few evelyn waugh books that have been set there.

What we need to know is how many essays for pyscology she would have to write.

@blanketsnuggler thanks we will definitely look at that one.

The college rejection is comment was because someone said look at places close to the faculty and when I did that st Antony came up and it happened to have a shocking review about accmd standards. That's why I mentioned not liking the college

The thing is that St Hilda’s will be allocated students to interview from other colleges if they get, say, 6 outstanding candidates for 4 places. This is why precise college might not matter that much and they will offer to the candidates they rank the highest. At 1:8 it’s not easy to get on this course at any college.

This data and analysis for 21/22 was published by Somerville College.

Also only 71% of offer holders were uk. The rest were international.