Category: Oxford

When it comes to international students, Oxford could do a better job of explaining the college system and the differences between the colleges. To most aspiring Oxford graduates from abroad, the choice of college is just one of hundreds of boxes to be filled in on the application. More than half of the international graduates who I polled chose their college more on the basis of its location than any other factor.

After a year here, I have come to appreciate differing collegiate cultures. To some extent, that is embedded in a way that really carries over from year to year. At another level, there are fairly wild swings in demographics, temperments, and styles of relationships; this is because a great deal about the graduate intake of colleges is random. If people had a better sense of what (if anything) the Oxford colleges stand for, beyond what reading a few pages in Wikipedia might offer, it might serve both to improve their own experiences here and strengthen and foster the development of distinctive cultures at different colleges.

I chose Wadham College primarily because Sarah P recommended it, and because it seemed to be old, central, and have nice grounds. It has a reputation for being left wing, but I have never seen any actual political energy expended there. The Queer Bop, far from being some kind of affirmation of homosexual equality, is mostly just a self-indulgent and hedonistic heterosexual booze fest. The single best thing about Wadham is probably the beauty of the grounds and gardens but, given that it is not an especially famous college, no Oxford student would have the slightest trouble visiting those unhindered by the kind of bowler-hatted bouncers I have been threatened and expelled by at Magdalen, University, and Christ Church. All things considered, I do not regret the choice, on the whole, even if I do look with envy at the international relations collections held by the libraries at Nuffield and Saint Antony’s.

For incoming graduate students of politics or international relations, I would recommend either applying to Saint Antony’s – if you care about being with a large group of graduates with similar interests and good facilities serving them – or one of the very old, grand colleges – if you care more about the ivied Oxford punting side of things than which books will be in your library. Options in the latter camp include Magdalen (perhaps the most attractive college), Christ Church, University, Merton, and New (founded in 1379). Those are all fairly central, as well. Balliol, Trinity, Exeter, and St. John’s are all nice, central colleges that I know too little about to speak on with any authority.

I am especially interested in what other Oxonians may have to say about all of this. Doubtless, there are many who will disagree, and, quite possibly, some who will take offense to seeing this or that college characterized in this or that way. I only have extensive experience with Wadham, Saint Cross, Nuffield, and Saint Antony’s. Thus, anything written about other colleges should be considered little better than hearsay.

[Update: 7:45pm] All comments above about libraries pertain only to international relations collections. Those studying other things may be presented with an entirely different spectrum of appeal.

Happy Birthday Jessica Berglund

One question I am pondering for the coming year: should I try to write my thesis and prepare for exams at the same time as I am writing the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and submitting applications to doctoral programs? I will not have enough people to serve as references until I have finished at least one optional paper (at the end of November), and I have been very strongly cautioned not to use references from my undergraduate school. Apparently, this suggests to admission committees that you have failed utterly in your master’s program. Given how odd grading at Oxford is, this is definitely not a message that I want to transmit.

In many ways, it would be wiser to finish this year, then work somewhere for a year while completing my application to a PhD program. Of course, if my personal history shows anything, it is that I am much worse at getting jobs than at meeting any academic requirements. Case in point, last year I got into a master’s program at Oxford, but failed to become a barrista at Starbucks.

Long time readers, what do you think?

Last night’s late night laundry-doing brought me into the first substantial contact this year with members of both my program and St. Antony’s College. Having carefully set aside my laundry card and other ‘Oxford only’ cards before leaving for Canada, I have now torn my room apart several times in search of them. When yesterday’s searching proved as hopeless as previous attempts, I managed to trade cash for the use of someone’s card, at a St. Antony’s social event. Having succeeded in activating the machine, it seemed natural to wait out its cycles in the company available.

There, I was lucky enough to see Roham and Iason, Diarmuid – who I showed around Oxford sometime shortly after May Day – and Jessica Ashooh – who is joining the M.Phil this year. The new M.Phils are off being oriented today, as well as learning which supervisors will guide them through this whole complex process. I look forward to meeting them all.

Another upshot of the party was learning about some of the many Antonians who will also be living on Church Walk and adjoining streets during the coming year. Good news on that front arrived yesterday, as well. It now seems likely that I will be able to remain in present lodgings for the duration of the M.Phil program. The prospect of moving during Easter Vacation (when I am hoping to hitchhike to Morocco and at the end of which my thesis is due) was not at all an appealing one.

PS. Mica has a new video online. It is an experimental combination of high action and a stationary camera. Rumour has it that his Arctic Monkeys video has been accepted for the next Google Idol competition. His Hives video won a previous round.

Happy Birthday Emily Paddon

Yesterday evening, I had the chance to meet a group of the fresher (first year) graduates at Wadham. All summer, I had been looking forward to seeing who will be joining the MCR. The rate of turnover is very high, partially because so many of the graduates at Wadham are doing one year master’s degrees in law. As such, there is a new clutch with each successive orbit. Any social gathering where you can discuss the effects of river eutrophication on jellyfish is well worth attending, if only as a pause between bouts of editing.

While I don’t generally involve myself extensively with MCR activities, it is one of the important social groupings that exists in Oxford. When having a conversation with someone newly met, from another college, the first thing you generally try to do is name someone in their MCR who they know and, hopefully, like. Program, department, college, and club membership seem to be the principal links between all Oxford graduates.

Speaking of clubs, I need to get back to trying to fix elements of the Strategic Studies Group website, as soon as my brain ticks back into a mode vaguely approximating normal, after last night’s marathon editing session. I have self-prescribed chai and tomato basil soup.

PS. With neither my supervisor nor the editor from MITIR responding to my emails, I am feeling strangely disconnected.