| Product: |
Oxford University in general |
| Date: |
24/09/00 (594 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Intellectual and academic excellence, wonderful place
Disadvantages: None
Not terribly poor, but certainly more so than most of my comtemporaries, back in the early 70s when I studied at Oxford (Merton College).
Did it matter - no, not really. I always seemed to have enough in my pocket to have the odd pint or two in the college bar at 15 pence a pint.
Did my working class background matter - again, I would say not. Oxford then (and I suspect now) was divided into fairly separate universes - the public school boys and the state school boys (most colleges were not mixed then, hence my natural tendency to refer to boys). Of course there were exceptions and overlaps, but by and large one found company and friends among people with whom one had something in common.
What is Oxford like as a place to live and study - wonderful! I expect it's good to be a student anywhere, but Oxford's mixture of beauty and tranquility, alongside intellectual stimulation and activity, make it a very special place to be.
Current league tables place Cambridge ahead of Oxford in most respects, and they may well be justified. In truth, for any scholar who has the opportunity or potential to go to one or the other, there is probably no bad decision you can take.
Go for it - if you study there you will experience a period of privilege that nothing can ever take away.
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 13/10/00 Dan - thanks for your comment on my opinion. I never meant to imply that any kind of discrimination existed in my day, simply a natural tendency for similar types to come together.
Incide ntally, we had to sit a Use of English paper in my day. "Seperation"??? :-) |
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- 12/10/00 As someone who is at Oxford now, I should be able to bring this a bit uo to date. Whilst there may have been a seperation of public school and state school in the 70s, this certainly isn't the case now. Ok so some people will continue just to spend time with their friends from school, but there is no discrimination of any obvious sort. I think I can say all of this from a reasonably objective position, havinf come from a comprehensive school, I now find my group of friends to be an eclectric mix of all backgrounds, and where I have come from has never overtly affected me, or stopped me from striving for anything.
Hope this helps.
Dan |
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