Oxbridge vs top 10 workload

[Mozzarellasticks55]

Sorry I realise this has no doubt been discussed on here before but I am
seeking viewpoints from those of you who have had a DC at Oxbridge and another at a competitive top 5-10 uni ie you can make a first hand comparison. How different an experience was it in terms of workload and work / life balance, esp for essay subjects.

For background I have one DC at Oxbridge currently. Younger is starting to consider options and has high aspirations. Obviously not my decision but I would like them to be a bit less swamped with work and have a little more time for a better work/life balance. Or is there not that much difference?

thanks

I have two dc in the position you describe. There is A LOT more work at Oxbridge, way more. However, the dc at Oxbridge thrives on this (they do also complain it can be too much but they'd also rather be too busy than not busy enough) and does have a very lively social life and the odd extra-curricular. The one at the top-5 uni does virtually nothing in comparison and has had time to pursue a lot of other interests but I'd say has been a bit bored sometimes and certainly has had nothing like the 1:1 attention and academic stimulation of the Oxbridge one. I'm unimpressed by the other uni, but I gather other unis of the same stature are all pretty much the same in terms of under-offering. These are both essay subjects. The scientists do a lot more work at the top-5 uni and I'd say get a better deal all round.

Of my kids and their cousins, three are currently at university - one doing STEM at Oxbridge and the other two doing Arts/Humanities at the kind of unis I think you're asking about.
I think all three of them have a decent work/life balance to be honest. Oxbridge kid is super-smart, but also loves being busy and thrives when there's a lot going on. They are also very pragmatic and not at all a perfectionist. Of the other two, one has a very time consuming hobby and spends a fair amount of time doing that. Has a pretty relaxed attitude to their uni work and seems to have plenty of time to enjoy themself. The third probably works the hardest of the three of them - I think this is as much about personality as it is about the relative demands of the courses though. I don't know if that is helpful.

One DC came away with a first from a Stem subject at UCL, the other did the same at Oxbridge - probably partly personality based as pp said but workload seemed way higher at Oxbridge. Partly because it’s full of people who are v passionate about their subject and want to work on it at all hours (which is a good thing if you share that passion of course) but also because it is full of v competitive individuals (from equally competitive families). Both DC enjoyed university sport (so it wasn’t all about the workload at Oxbridge) but I would say the dc at UCL had loads more free time and fun. Just as a small example - after exams the Oxbridge students get a ranking showing exactly where they are in the year which (if you’re the type of person who cares about that) can be stressful or motivating depending on your point of view.

Thanks all. I do agree its alot about personality type too. Some will manage to find balance at Oxbridge and have a whale of a time. For those who are more anxious or perfectionist I think that balance can be much harder to find. In terms of employment after, there appears to be much less of an advantage to an oxbridge degree than there once was, so I am beginning to think that a bit less stress and a bit more fun might be worth it, even if there is undoubtedly less academic attention afforded to humanities and social science students at the other universities.

I would like them to be a bit less swamped with work and have a little more time for a better work/life balance.

Is there any significant reason for this? Or is it just your preference, rather than your DC's?

Also - Oxbridge terms are short and compact- shorter than most other universities. So during term time it is more intense - though often students will try and come a week early (or stay a week late) to get some more reading in.

One angle to keep in mind - that essay subjects can be very, very low contact time and input. Many struggle with that adjustment coming from a busy 6th form timetable. One persons swamped is another’s structure.

I agree with this. One of my dc is doing an essay subject at oxford and I do feel the structure helps. She has time to socialise, and get involved in other stuff, eg hobbies etc.

I've read on here about her degree subject being very low in terms of contact and expectations (eg 1 essay per term) at other RG unis and I think she could easily drift in that situation.

STEM subjects are a different kettle of fish. You've got labs , daily lectures etc

It’s the course as much as anything - if they are advising that it’s hard to hold a term time job with that course then you know it will be intense

A LOT more in terms of rigour and workload at Oxbridge. My comparators are English at Cambridge and Exeter. The former - two essays self-researched every week then picked apart in supervision. The latter? Less than half that workload and a lot more spoon feeding. Additionally if you study old English texts at Cambridge you’re encouraged to do it in the original. Not in translation (again - looking at you Exeter).

my intel however is a decade old.
therefore a 2.1 from Oxbridge is worth a heck of a lot more than one from elsewhere, sometimes I don’t know why DS bothered!

Thanks all. Totally agree that there are significant advantages to the Oxbridge approach and that the structure provided can be extremely helpful for essay subjects. Just not convinced that it suits all personality types (regardless of ability), hence the purpose of my post was to understand to what extent the workload for essay / low contact hours subjects truly differs from other top/competitive entry unis. DC2 will of course make their own decisions, but needs to do this in full possession of the facts.

Can anyone directly compare Oxbridge with Durham workload for example? Same grade requirements...

It was honestly wildly different between me and my friends studying humanities subjects at other unis - I was doing 1-2 essays a week + language learning and translations, they were doing 2-3 essays a term.

However, people throw themselves into extra curriculars there the same way they do their studying. There’s not really work/life balance in the sense of lots of time to rest and chill, but lots of people manage sports and drama and hobbies to high levels alongside their studying. And plenty of parties/drinking too, if that’s your vibe. What really suffers is sleep tbh, but you can get away with that for 8 weeks at a time when you’re 19.

DS1 was Oxbridge
DS2 at a top 10 uni in London.
Both got Firsts. DS1 did way more work to get his.
DS2 coasted and even took on a three day a week internship in his final year because it was in an industry unrelated to his degree that usually only accepts vocationally trained graduates, and he wanted to get into that career. He got an extension over the summer on some final pieces of work (which I'm not sure is even an option with Oxbridge) as the internship really did eat into his study and essay-writing time.

It worked out for them both exactly as they wanted. But there was no comparison with the workloads. DS1 couldn't possibly have got an Oxbridge First without total commitment to his studies.

Theres a big mindset factor to include.

Oxbridge stem subject. I probably studied 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. If I was a responsible adult that slept 8 hours a day, they still gave me 8 hours a day 6 days a week to do stuff that wasn’t studying or sleeping. And a whole day off studying. Which is a lot of non study time.

I was a fill my time type person, not a procrastinator. There was plenty of time for non study when I wanted there to be. And the amount of time I spent on the river, doing university sport, and scout stuff confirmed that.

@Mozzarellasticks55 very good your DS2 is thinking about what type of Uni might suit them. I've had two very different DC both at Oxford doing different subjects at different colleges (one is still there).

One DC took time to settle and then did work hard but not so focused on what the examiners were looking for. Enjoyed college rowing and some activism but not so busy with extra curricula work.

Other DC is incredibly focused and spent 30hrs a week last year doing Uni level sport training plus captaining their college club and somehow kept their degree on track (1st in Prelims). They will not though do Uni level sport in their finals year.

I suppose I'm saying you can experience the same Uni in different ways

Both would say that the personal nature of the academic teaching through the Oxford tutorial system meant they had a level of academic challenge and support that their contemporaries elsewhere often don't receive. I think this is particularly the case with final year dissertations where the higher ratio of tutors to students means you get a great deal of personal attention.

Doesn't mean academics elsewhere are less intelligent or do lower level research but the reality is Oxford and Cambridge Unis are so much wealthier they can in many cases support undergrads better. I'm conscious this is a generalisation extrapolated from n=2 though correlates with my experience 30 plus years ago.

It really depends on the subject and the university.

What I've found is that if it's a large, popular course (e.g. English Lit, History), then there will be too many students for the lecturers to engage with and scrutinise the students to the same extent as they would in Oxbridge tutorials.
Students submit assignments and they'll be graded with minimal feedback.

However, if it's a more niche subject (Anthropology, Ancient History) with a smaller intake, there is often the opportunity for more 1-on-1 interactions with faculty, for the faculty to get to know the student and their interests and challenge them with relevant extra reading, and to give more detailed feedback

The Durham workload is lower. I know young people doing English at Durham and other essay subects at Oxbridge (my daughter's friends, she is applying this year too). Her friend at Durham has been there longer and not yet had to hand in an essay. The people at Oxbridge have been doing one a week.

Huge difference in workload between ox and Durham in my experience (albeit the courses were 4 years apart and engineering). Durham much more like other unis workload with the addition of some tutorial prep.

Oxford can be insane at times, I genuinely found going to work (in a competitive graduate environment) so chilled afterwards, whilst some of the other graduates struggled with the workload. It was great for my CV, but probably not great for my mental health and I think (particularly for science/engineering) I could have gotten an almost equivalent CV boost from elsewhere. I am now very careful pacing myself and very aware of work life balance as I was pretty burnt out by the time finals arrived.

Would be interesting to see how much difference Oxbridge makes if you are hard working/motivated. My DD might only have needed to turn in 12 essays a year but she'd have done all the readings etc (and more), prepared for seminars with notes/discussion points and would have participated, would have went to office hours if she wanted advice on something academic etc. Had plenty of time for paid work, hobbies, holidays, applying for internships, grad jobs and a bit of political work. So no need to take time off to recover, could go straight from undergrad to a job. Plenty were like her (although there were probably plenty like my DS2 who did the minimum).

I've got 1 kid in her 1st year at Cambridge doing a humanities subject. She has between 10 to 12 hours contact time per week and is working around 40 to 48 hours a week overall.

I have another kid who has finished a humanities degree at a well regarded uni that isn't Oxbridge, and the workload was nowhere near as intense.

We know kids at Durham who, again, have a much more reasonable workload than Cambridge students.

I think that - as others have said - it is a lot about personality type, esp for the humanities subjects where the difference is, I think, most pronounced. One student's enjoying talking to their tutors about essays every week is another's too much pressure.

But I think the real key is enjoying the subject. If you are doing it because it's what you are 'supposed to do', it would be an almost unbearable grind, but if you are genuinely interested and engaged, it's much easier.

Can’t do a direct comparison as none of mine choose to apply to Oxford or Cambridge ( we are in Scotland and it’s not as common to even consider them for various reasons). My DS went to St Andrews to do an essay subject and was kept very busy as they have to chose three different modules per term and there are tutorials, lectures and essays for all three. It’s less pressured as it’s a four year degree so marks in first and second year don’t affect you degree grade ( obviously they affect other things like progression to honours and other academic opportunities). There was plenty of contact time at St Andrews, more than most anecdotally (less intense than Oxbridge though)I think this is one of the reasons St Andrews achieves high student satisfaction scores.
DS was certainly never twiddling his thumbs or staying in bed until lunch, he always had masses of reading to do!

No one's compared the workload vs Imperial yet but it's probably the closest in workload to Oxbridge for sure... (similar)

I’m surprised by all those claiming Durham is easier - most of them seem to be working ridiculously hard to me (unless it’s Sports Studies, Liberal Arts, Business or Classical Civ), particularly maths, physics and history. They’re definitely doing way more than my DS and his peers in Bath. A friend has one at Cambridge and one in Exeter and the Cambridge one is wondering if they made the right choice as their sibling has so much less work and more fun and will still get a first.

Only one dc, though I did a degree myself within living memory at a very much not top ten uni, plus another degree at Oxbridge long ago.

At the moment I can’t regret that ds went to Cambridge because he had an absolutely wonderful time, worked hard, did well and is now sailing into adult life. It was extremely tough though, and nearly broke at least one of his friends (think significant health event, hospital stay, year out). It is noticeable both that ds got offers for internships every year and got offered jobs from all of them, and now is finding well-paid work an interesting and pleasant way to spend his time. He would have liked to do a Masters but didn’t get a First - I feel that he could probably have progressed to a Masters in almost any other university (and if it had been his main focus he could of course have applied, but he was left feeling a bit intellectually inadequate). That could be a consideration depending on the field your dc want to work in, if a Masters is becoming standard for their work.