The Oxford Experience: What It’s Really Like to Study at the University of Oxford

What Studying at Oxford Is Really Like

The history and prestige of the University of Oxford, and the competition to gain admission, mean that a significant aura is generated by the place and the people who study there. Many students wake up in their colleges – perhaps in the very lodgings of J.R.R. Tolkien or William Penn – long after matriculation with a recurring sense of surprise and growing pride that they made it, and a determination to make the most of it. 

Studying at Oxford makes you feel like studying matters. [1]

The Oxford Tutorial System

Oxford’s tutorials put all students through their paces. [2] These close discussions between 1-3 students and professors may take place in any number of settings – in faculty offices, lounges, or even walking around the quad. Participants benefit from tutorials not only by acquiring knowledge and testing their skills of debate and discussion, but also by becoming confident that they can contribute to any conversation and fight their corner under any interrogation. 

Oxford students take their exams in sub fusc (academic dress), and they sport different colored carnations for each exam (white for your first one, for example). [3] This nod to the seriousness of the art and ceremony of study is an apt reflection of the value of the tutorial system.

College Life and the People You Meet

Colleges at the University of Oxford incubate the most diverse range of minds in the world of ideas. [6] Oxford students encounter fellow students along their ancient corridors (today, Tolkien’s floor at Exeter College is as sloped as it was in 1911) from all over the world. The ideas of aspiring leaders are made and mauled alike at the Oxford Union’s notorious debating chamber, where prime ministers have won their first meaningful elections (including former prime minister Boris Johnson) and where votes that have made waves beyond the city have taken place. 

In 1933, for instance, still in the aftermath of the First World War, the students present at the Oxford Union voted not to fight “for King and Country” under any circumstances. [4] Perhaps the debates at Oxford no longer command the public attention they once did, but a sense of responsibility hangs over the words spoken and decisions taken there. 

At Oxford, it feels like words and ideas matter.

Libraries, Colleges, and Study Spaces

A different library every day – that is the mantra I sought to fulfill. Some students manage to meet that goal almost every week at the University of Oxford. Among the “City of Dreaming Spires” and beyond the majestic Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera, Oxford’s 100-plus libraries are situated across the colleges and city, some improved and others underground, some modern and other medieval. [5] Every student at Oxford belongs not only to the university but also to one of more than 30 colleges and halls, which in turn contain hidden gems [7] and secret corridors lined with books. 

Encased in serious, historic buildings, there is little option but to take your studies seriously and to remember, importantly, that exceptional students need not wait for graduation to make an impact on the world.

Visiting Speakers and Scholars

World leaders and seditious comedians alike flock to speak in Oxford and they are often more nervous than their audience. Visiting lecturers continue to deliver tutorials and seminars at Oxford, regardless of the circumstances in economic and cultural trends. The university’s longevity (nearing a thousand years) and reputation has endured to guarantee that leading intellect will pass by you in the street or on their bicycles at every turn. As a student you might scramble past tour groups one moment and come face to face with world-famous scientists the next. In fact, you might leap from giving a tour of your college to locking horns with a world-renowned professor who is spending one of the three 8-week terms at Oxford (Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity). 

Students at Oxford have the opportunity to cross paths and intellectual swords with any number of future world leaders. 

Life in the City of Oxford

A memory in every corner. From punting (boating) or rowing (if you are fond of early mornings) along the Isis river to watching Oxford United play football, every aspect of British history and culture is expressed at the University of Oxford. Moreover, the institution provides some of the most enduring testimony to the international forces that have shaped that history and culture: from the tavern where former U.S. president Bill Clinton (while studying as a Rhodes Scholar) and other famous international alumni gathered to the U.K.’s first botanical garden (founded circa 1621). 

As in any modern city, you can walk down some streets and for all you know you could be anywhere. But in Oxford, this feeling rarely lasts. Finally, from Oxford students can range across England, reaching the Cotswolds and London in an hour and Cambridge, “the other place,” in under two. 

Studying at the University of Oxford is a unique experience. In many ways, Oxford lies at the heart of the UK.  Students may graduate in Latin at the Sheldonian Theatre, and their friends and colleagues will have come from all over the world, but they leave the city more steeped in Britain than many.

How to Apply to Oxford as a US Student

Studying at Oxford starts with an application process that looks very different from applying to US colleges. You apply for one specific course, such as History, Chemistry, or Philosophy, Politics and Economics, rather than to the university in general, and your application should show sustained interest in that subject. If you are weighing both systems, our comparison of US and UK universities explains the main differences.

The key steps and dates are consistent from year to year:

• UCAS application: Oxford applications go through UCAS, and the deadline is 6pm UK time on October 15, earlier than most other UK universities. [8]
• Admissions tests: Some courses require an admissions test taken in October, so check your course page early and register in time. [8]
• Written work: Certain courses ask you to submit samples of written work by November 10. [8]
• Interviews: Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December. Oxford describes them as academic conversations about your chosen subject. [8]
• Decisions: Shortlisted candidates hear the outcome of their application through UCAS in January. [8]

You can choose a college or make an open application, in which case your application is assigned to a college that received fewer applications for your course that year. [7] Your college choice does not change the course you study, so focus first on the subject, then on the size, location, and feel of the colleges that offer it.

The UCAS personal statement is also different from a Common App essay. It answers three questions: why you want to study the course, how your qualifications and studies have prepared you, and what else you have done outside of education to prepare. The three answers share a limit of 4,000 characters, with at least 350 characters for each. [9] Because the same statement goes to every UK university you apply to, and because Oxford tutors read it for academic motivation, spend most of your space on the subject itself: books you have read, problems you have worked through, and ideas you want to explore further.

Is Studying at Oxford Right for You?

Oxford suits students who already know which subject they love and want to study it deeply from day one. Most undergraduate courses run for three or four years, and you will spend far more time reading, writing, and defending your ideas in tutorials than taking a wide range of electives. If you are still exploring majors, a US liberal arts education may fit you better, and there is nothing wrong with that. Before you decide, read the course pages for the subjects that interest you, look at sample reading lists, and talk with current students or recent graduates about what a typical week of tutorials, lectures, and independent study actually looks like.

Ask yourself a few honest questions. Do you enjoy discussing your work one-on-one with an expert who will challenge every claim? Can you manage your own time with few graded assignments along the way? Are you excited to live abroad for several years? If the answer is yes, studying at Oxford can be an extraordinary experience, and the career benefits of studying abroad continue long after graduation. Many students apply to Oxford alongside US colleges, so build a balanced college list that keeps your options open on both sides of the Atlantic.

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