31,286 discussions, 145 guides
Oxford University
31,286 discussions, 145 guides
Oxford University
University of Oxford
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
Tel: +44 (0)1865 270 777
1150
Oxygen FM
A commercial company bought out the radio station a few years ago and, over a period, kicked out all the students. Apparently any involvement there now is as unpaid labour. Still could be useful experience though.
Altered Radio 87.7FM
Established in 2003 following the death of Oxygen FM, this station adopts an 'if it's good enough, we play it' attitude regardless of genre, resulting in an eclectic but top quality playlist. Sounds like local radio hell! Gradually rising in popularity, Altered Radio has showcased some talented student DJs and presenters.
Cherwell
Just about the best known and most popular, this is a newspaper in format and comes out weekly. It has won loads of awards and is certainly worth getting involved in if you want something good for your CV. More real than...
Oxford Student
Again a newspaper, but it is less popular and is published by the SU. Tabloid format with some decent writing, watched by the broadsheets so good to be involved with if you want to go further in journalism.
The Word
This is still a newspaper but tackles more meaty subjects. Articles are generally features. There is a more significant arts influence as well.
Isis
A magazine this time. Quite pretty, fairly well read and with a huge tradition that pulls in top interviewees.
Phoenix
This is really just a platform for student expression. It collects the best in poetry and prose. The standard is very high, but it should be at Oxford! It comes out once a term.
The Owl
Criticises all the rest for being dumbed down and maintains an aloof and academic style and thus a low readership.
There are also loads of publications that come from individual colleges. These change quite regularly. Some are quite large and deal with current affairs in well written articles, others are just crap and good only for paper plane making. You can find out a bit about them by reading the individual college guides.
To rule the world! Ha ha ha ha haaaa (evil laughter) There are actually some plans to increase the social role of the Oxford University Students' Union. Currently most activities are organised by the colleges. Also, the Said School of Business comes ever closer to opening!
I'm not even going to try this one. Just be assured that pretty much everyone famous, ever, anywhere went to Oxford. OK, not the Beckhams.
There are no bars that can be attributed to the university as a whole, they are all college based. To find out a little bit about them take a look at the individual college guides. What it is important to remember though is that most bars are run through the JCR system. This means Junior Common Room and is essentially a mini-students' union for each college. They organise the vast majority of events and activities. Given the size and number of students at some colleges this can get very claustrophobic. The atmosphere is great and it makes it really easy to get involved but everyone will know what or who you did last night. To escape, many students use other colleges' bars. This isn't supposed to be allowed but noone ever checks. There is also the rest of the city at your feet.
See individual college guides
See individual college guides
Any persuasion, any preference, anything goes. Although individual colleges might be a little limited in selection the university as whole will provide something for you.
Attracting top sportspeople is big business at Oxford so they do win awards quite regularly. Cycling, boxing and fencing have all done well lately. Although you might think rowing would be the best around the Oxford team has consistently refused to compete with teams from The University of London, because they're scared. What's that..? Well yes I am a London Student but what does that matter?
100
See individual college guides
The city of Oxford is beautiful, its as simple as that. Even the addition of a few 60's monstrosities can't dampen the image that you are in a special place. Aside from the architecture there are some great places to shop and the combined student population is pretty high so there are plenty of student friendly places. There are pubs galore but hunt out the gems from the touristy crap. Start with The Purple Turtle For night spots, try the traditional student haunts of Parkend, Fifth Avenue. Hardened clubbers will have to make the hour's train ride to London. 60 000 students has given all of Oxford's club DJ's the idea that nothing but cheese will do, which, to be fair, is true. Po Na Na is a favourite and does manage to raise itself occasionally. As a general rule drunkeness is the best way to appreciate the clubs in Oxford. For food you really should try the Mongolian Wok if you want to go out for a meal that just has that edge - everyone knows the Wok.
Given that most of the colleges have fairly limited social facilities for late nights, the local area is all there is for real night owls. You might well get bored quite quickly. If so then don't despair as London is not far and very accesible by both train and an excellent coach service called the Oxford Tube. It's inexpensive and convenient.
Nothing in colleges. The city is also quite crap and car parks are pricey. There is a decent park and ride scheme.
As there isn't a students' union building there really aren't facilities such as banks. The local area has plenty of each branch though.
As with any of the older universities access is pretty poor. There is a specially adapted accommodation block called Taylor House and an SU access guide. Unfortunately facilities are unlikely to get a great deal better.
There is a central OUSU-run shop that sells stationery and offers fax and binding services. They supply the other SU-run shops that you will find in some colleges.
Blackwells have a bit of a monopoly in town and they have specialised branches to deal with certain subjects. As you would expect they work with the colleges to order in what's needed. The branch on Broad Street has a second hand section. Waterstone's is also present in the city. Although both do sell popular (i.e non-academic) titles you should proabably feel ashamed to be buying something with gold writing on the front cover.
There are some university-wide facilities and some colleges have their own. For details of these see the individual college guides. The University has playing fields, hockey, football and rugby pitches, sports halls, tennis and squash courts, a gym, and an athletics field. The town has an ice rink and the rivers are where wet stuff goes on. There is an excellent
None. Bikes are heavily encouraged and heavily used.
There are parks around the city and many of the colleges have grassy quads where you can lounge to your heart's content. There are also plenty of fields and meadows around the city, many of them owned by colleges.
There are a staggering 8 million books attributed to Oxford in The Bodleian Library. As a student you can't look at them though! There are actually something like 860 000 books available for student use. The imposing 17th century Bodleian Library building is just one of the locations though. There are other subject specific sites dotted about. Colleges and subjects have their own lending libraries. If you can't find a book that you want here then you are doing something wrong!
Over 2000 workstations are available. These are mostly in colleges apart from 100 terminals in The Computer Teaching Centre. Access is 24hr and some rooms have internet connections.
The incredible academic pressures of Oxford inevitably take their toll on some students. There are of course plenty of horror stories but don't be fooled by hype. Coming to Oxford is not going to put you life at risk. The counselling set up runs through colleges and through the main students' union. Help is always at hand.
