Oxford - expensive?

[KurtCobainLover]

Hi, I must preface this by saying that no one in our family has been to university so DD will be first. DD is very bright and her tutors have suggested she apply to Oxford.

My worry is around costs for Oxford. Is it very expensive for accommodation? DD will get a full grant due to my income and is currently entitled to free school meals.

What about all the extras? Someone told me there are dinners they are expected to attend - are these expensive too?

Sorry if these questions are a bit silly. As I said this is our first experience of uni and up until recently DD has planned to go to a university near us and commute in (30 mins each way).

Thank you in advance.

My knowledge is not particularly up-to-date as it is based on when I went >30 years ago. But accommodation can actually be cheaper than other universities as you can avoid private renting by going to a college with enough college accommodation that she’d be guaranteed a place for the entire course. Colleges also have hardship funds. The requirements to attend (and cost of) formal dinners will also vary from college to college.

Some of the colleges are extremely wealthy and that can make Oxford way more affordable than you’d think.

In short, I’d say do not rule it out on the basis of cost, but do detailed research into what the different colleges offer in terms of rooms in halls etc, and make that a factor in which college she applies for.

D niece went to Oxford. My sister was also concerned but found that accommodation there worked out cheaper than many other universities. The shorter terms also helped to keep it cheaper.

There's a table on the Oxford uni website showing the different costs of different colleges - it does vary. Dn was able to self cater regularly as she had a fridge and microwave, though had to be creative, but that kept costs down.

There were very few extras to pay for and the richer colleges offered grants and bursaries which could be applied for.

The only issue is that dd was far too busy for a part-time job, so had to support herself from her loan + small parental contribution.

PS This was 5 years ago

Please don't make the assumption that Oxbridge is more expensive, as this is not the case. My DD is going to Cambridge, and her accommodation costs are SO much cheaper than other universities, and I believe Oxford would be similar. There's variation between colleges, but in general, you are only charged for term time (as opposed to 52 weeks a year) and many of the colleges, having their own endowments, are very generous with bursary funds. Good luck to your DD.

Yes - agree with that - part-time work during term time was not encouraged (other than work in college itself eg. at the college bar) as the workload is intense. But holidays are longer so vacation work may be feasible.

Hi,
Not silly questions! I do outreach for my old school and often get this kind of question.
If anything it's often cheaper, assuming you can house DD in the vacation periods. If she selects a college with accommodation for all three/ four years of the degree then she will only have to pay rent in term time, as opposed to a full year, and the terms are much shorter than at other places. Of course, she could get selected by a different college, but the majority do have accommodation. She should also get something called the Crankstart scholarship, see here https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/student-life/help-with-the-cost/crankstart-scholarships
If her college is a rich one, there may be other bursaries available (some are even just handed out based on student loans information, and there are further hardship funds to apply for, plus book grants, travel grants and similar).
Dinners - she shouldn't have to pay for any dinners she needs to attend, such as admissions dinner at the start of her degree or leavers dinner at the end. She might want to go to formal hall, which is the name for the later and more formal sitting of dinner in the dining hall, for example for a friend's birthday. At most colleges it's much cheaper than eating out so it's a popular option over paying for a meal out with friends.
The only thing that really makes a difference in price I'd say is having to pay city centre supermarket prices, but that can be reduced by going to stock up on storecupboard essentials at lidl out of town on move in day.
In short, as others have said, not more expensive, if anything often cheaper, but have a good look at what's available at different colleges.

I don't know if it's changed but when we were there you were absolutely not allowed to have a term-time job. There were a couple of in-house jobs that were allowed but they were like hens' teeth. However, as the terms are only 8 weeks long it does leave scope for holiday work.

No, Oxford is not expensive. You can pick a college which does not have meals included - ds had 'payg' dinners and had accommodation with a small self catering kitchen which he mostly used. There were no compulsory formal dinners at his college. His accommodation costs were incredibly reasonable compared to other universities and it was available for all years of his course which also helped. He worked in the holidays and supplemented income doing some tutoring

Just to add - the idea of the Crankstart scheme is to ensure that students from low-income families can have the same opportunities to get relevant volunteer/ internship experiences as students from more privileged backgrounds, because it aims to both alleviate the need to work in unrelated jobs in the holidays, and provide access to relevant opportunities. Having said that, when it comes to getting a job afterwards I found there was a lot to be said for having had a "normal" job in the summer. I also found (shh!) that an hour a week of online tutoring could easily make £30 to top up the weekly budget without impacting my studies or social life, if she does (or could teach) a marketable subject, even though it's not really allowed.

DS2 graduated from Oxford last summer. His accomodation was significantly cheaper than his friends who went elsewhere. Shorter terms and accomodation provided by the college for the whole three years.

The daughter of a friend of mine recently got given £5000 a year at Oxford, just because she came from a state school that isn't particularly privileged. (Her father has an excellent job, mum doesn't work.) I think there will be all sorts of resources and help, both financial and otherwise, for someone who is first in their family to go to university. Rich universities actually often have funding available for a student from a less privileged background.

I presume there are still 'battles'? You charge things like events (and beer) to your battles bill which you can pay off even after you finish, so you don't have to pay up front. You were not allowed to graduate until you had paid your battles, but we had friends who intended to do that quite slowly.

Battels is still what they call the termly bill, but it only has rent and an optional charity donation on it now. You pay in the bar upfront, and events would either be paid via bank transfer/ sum up machine to the JCR (if it's a student organised event - OP, JCR stands for Junior Common Room and means both a literal common room and the body of undergraduate students in the college), or via the payment system for meal booking.

And of course if she gets in, she could also ask to defer for a year and spend 14 months earning, to give herself some funds . . .

Not all subjects/ colleges will be happy with this

Sad times! Beer-on-battels was a staple!

DD1 is in her first year at Oxford at the moment.

On the whole I would say it is no more expensive than elsewhere. Accommodation is MUCH cheaper than her friends elsewhere are paying, mainly because you only pay for the 3x 8 week terms. Plus with careful (and fortunate, as they can reallocate) college selection you can get college accommodation for all 3 years, which saves a lot compared with the private rental market. DD1's college is pay as you go for meals, and everyone has a kitchen - again this varies by college. Supermarkets are not great - the world's smallest, crappest Sainsburys and a Tesco Extra but we drive her to ALDI if visiting. She plans to check out the Asian grocers next term.

Formal meals are available, but are mostly opt in, and the very few compulsory ones have been free. Libraries are ridiculously well stocked and so she hasn't had to buy books. Travel is on foot or bike so free. Pubs are £££ compared with the North, but they all drink in college bars or Spoons instead. Grants are available to students from households with lower incomes.

This needs to be be balanced against the fact that working in term time is very difficult indeed due to workload, so unless you already have a really flexible employer back home that really only leaves the long summer break to earn money. But on the whole it balances out ok. It's certainly much cheaper than London, where regrettably we had to discourage her from applying.

@MoggetsCollar Beer-on-battels is still very much a thing at DC1's college, to my horror and her delight.

Ds graduated from Cambridge this year. Based on what I hear on here or from friends’ parents at other universities, it’s cheaper to study at Oxbridge by a really significant amount - also the accommodation situation is barely stressful at all. An Oxbridge college is a machine designed to clear the mental decks ruthlessly so that your dc can study plus/minus do one major hobby, ALL the time. Ds’s college even had a free laundry service (this is unusual even at Oxbridge). It’s demanding in non-financial ways.

Hi. My DD is first year at Oxford (from comp I. Toxteth). Accommodation is much cheaper than at other unis and is guaranteed for 3 years. They are expected to attend 2 'formal' dinners a week - these are £8 each for 3 course and wine and they also need to take out a very heavily subsidosed meal plan - the work is very full on so not really much time for shopping and cooking. If your DD gets free school meals, as others have said, she should also qualify for extra support for things like the Crankstart scholarship and Opportunity Oxford. My DD is also autistic and gets massive support - special software, counselling etc. as a disabled student. Really couldn't recommend Oxford highly enough! Feel free to DM if you have any particular questions.

Thank you everyone! You’ve been really helpful and I’ll be encouraging DD to go for it.

Echoing the pp. Oxbridge is definitely not more expensive. Short terms and subsidised food help, and there is time to pack in work hours in the holidays if wanted. Financial support varies by college. My child is at Christchurch which has a very extensive bursary set up - see below. The season ticket they refer to is the ability to pay for a term’s suppers upfront at a big discount although one can also pay as you go. However, the college has no kitchens, just a pantry with a microwave, but all rooms have a fridge. Some colleges have more kitchen facilities but the basic model in the first year is to eat in. Thereafter, some colleges put them in flats with full kitchens.

Quote:
Students with household incomes of £32,500 or less will normally benefit from a 50% subsidy on accommodation and on the ‘season ticket’ for college dinners. Students with household incomes above £32,500 and up to £50,000 will normally benefit from a 25% subsidy on accommodation and on the 'season ticket' for college dinners

plus there are general university bursaries, wth the Crankshaft for households under about £33k and another scheme that pays a diminishing amount up to about £50k income https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/oxford-support

Depends on the college to a certain extend, but on average it's cheaper.

Terms are only 8 weeks, so normally up for less than 9 weeks, and if you have college accommodation all three years (and a lot of colleges offer that) you then only pay for about 190 days rather than 365 when living out.

Even without bursaries many colleges have grants that you can claim (eg for books) and hardship funds that people can apply for.

My term "battles" was less than dsis' monthly rent (and no she wasn't London)

D1 was at Oxford (graduated 2 yrs ago) and her accommodation was about a third of what D2 is now paying in York. ( Partly due to the much shorter terms and because you really have to vacate in the vacations - the rooms are used for conferences, literary festivals etc) Her battels bill also included an amount to be used in the college dining room. She got a generous Oxford bursary and a travel grant of £500pa as we live over 200 miles away. There were also funds available for eg help to buy a new laptop etc. as well as general hardship funds. Free use of the university sports facilities and swimming pool... I think Oxford tries extremely hard to level the financial playing field as much as possible.

Is DD in year 12? She can still apply to the Uniq summer school and as someone who is in receipt of FSM has a good chance of getting a place. The deadline is 13th January so she would need to act quite fast, but it would give her a great taste of Oxford life and really helps people make strong applications. Uniq is completely free by the way and includes a week long residential.