How to *Effectively* Choose an Oxford Cambridge College // Tools to Narrow Down / Oxbridge Colleges

#University​​​​ofOxford #UniversityofCambridge #College
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Hi!
Welcome to my channel! In this video I am explaining how to effectively pick a college. In the end it does not really matter in which college you'll end up, everyone loves their college. That does not mean that it isn't fun to dive into all of the different college to try and pick the perfect one! My way of narrowing it down is not the only way and there is not one right way of filtering, you may want to filter on different things and that is totally up to you. I just want to share which differences I have run into that might change your experience at different colleges. I hope this video will help you narrow your list down!
The example course that I used was the BA in Modern Languages.
Thank you so much for watching my videos! Please don't forget to like comment and subscribe.
00:00​ introduction & disclaimer
01:00 how to start - make a list
01:31​ does your college offer your course?
02:06 mature colleges
02:45 college looks
03:47 college size
08:07 tradition
09:07 college bar
09:32 24/7 libraries
10:11 research interests
11:22 other selection ideas
12:27 oversubscribed vs. less oversubscribed colleges
Follow me on insta: steffie228
Don't forget to check out my Matriculation vlog:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8EsP...
And my Room Tour:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiQod....
Little bit about myself:
I'm 24 years old and I'm originally from Amsterdam, I currently live in Oxford. At the University of Oxford, I am reading for the Mst in Modern Languages. I've graduated from the University of Amsterdam where I studied the BA in French Literature and Culture.

[@tharushiamaduni5291]

Thank for video its so good

[@Steffie228G]

You’re welcome!!

[@javeriarafiq2449]

Thanks so much! To be honest, I'm looking at this _WAY_ too early, but if i were to go to oxford I would like to go to Magdalen College, but I probably won't even getin to Oxford.

[@Steffie228G]

Honestly, no time is too early to start looking at universities and potential degrees you would be interested in studying. I wish I would have done that. Furthermore, I think it’s safe to say that lots of students at oxford didn’t think they would get in, including myself, yet here we are! So definitely go for it!

[@user-ky7pn7oz4g]

Funny how trinity is not overly subscribed, idk just your course i guess

[@Steffie228G]

Hi! The numbers are general admissions numbers, so not based on course. The only course related filter I used is whether or not a college offers a course. I would suspect Trinity Cambridge to be way more oversubscribed than Trinity Oxford, might that be the cause of the surprise? Don’t get me wrong Trinity Oxford is still a very nice and popular college. The numbers might also slightly vary year on year.

[@its_mil_4816]

Could you suggest some reasons why Brasenose and Worcester (for example) are so oversubscribed?

[@Steffie228G]

In short, the answer would be that both Brasenose and Worcester are gorgeous colleges. Brasenose is next to the rad cam which is right in the middle of Oxford, Worcester is a bit further away, but has massive grounds, they have their own lake... Generally, the very pretty well known larger older colleges receive the most applications, but weirdly enough Christ Church is not as badly oversubscribed as I suspected it would be.

[@its_mil_4816]

@@Steffie228G Thank you for this! In fact, I find myself in a somewhat tricky position, as Brasenose is my favourite prospective college, but I'm not sure if, as a consequence of how competitive it is, I should apply to a less oversubscribed college. The other colleges on my Shortlist are Jesus, Exeter, and the Queen's (not too dissimilar to yours)

[@Steffie228G]

@@its_mil_4816 if you really like Brasenose you can always try. If Brasenose cannot offer you a place but still thinks oxford should take you, you will be pulled to a different college. If I’m not mistaken you can list two college preferences on an undergrad application, however most students pick their first choice and leave the second choice open. The other colleges you list, are very nice colleges as well. In the end it doesn’t really matter where you end up at, nearly everyone loves their college. I would say that if you are really stuck on Brasenose, try it, because if you don’t you’ll never get into Brasenose. On the other hand, if you don’t think it’s worth the risk of ending up at a couple of other specific colleges that offer your subject, which you don’t really like, maybe don’t take the risk. Please do note that even if you pick a less oversubscribed college you can still get pulled to a different college simply based on factors outside of your power, such as the college already took someone from your area, school, too many students on your course, a person with similar stats, or too many females/males etc. So choosing a less oversubscribed college is not a guarantee either. I’m sorry if I’m complicating your choice further.

[@its_mil_4816]

@@Steffie228G No, this has been a very insightful interaction, so thank you for that! I will definitely keep these factors in mind. In actual fact, Brasenose is slightly less competitive (comparatively) in medicine (my chosen course) than a few other colleges, so this oversubscribed nature is far less significant. I was unaware of the ability to list two colleges on one's UG application, and will research this further. However, as you suggested, it doesn't really matter where I end up, as I will likely love it there. Perhaps I'll re-evaluate my choices now though, maybe favouring those slightly less competitive colleges.

[@edward.m.r4390]

Where did you find the information for how subscribed a college is?

[@Steffie228G]

Hi! Oxford releases an admissions/application file every single year, I’m pretty sure that I found it in there :).

[@ameliec8275]

I agree that Brasenose is definitely oversubscribed. Around 6 people from my school applied to Brasenose (our teacher went there) and none of us were made an offer from them. Most of us were pooled to LMH (like me) or a less popular college like st Anne’s and st Hugh’s

[@Steffie228G]

Thank you for sharing that! To be fair, even applying to less popular colleges is not a guarantee for not being pooled, but it is way less likely. I’m sure that you will love LMH, in the end nearly everyone loves their college even if it wasn’t their first choice, it is also what you make of it, I’m sure you’ll have a great time! I didn’t end up in my first choice college and I had an absolute blast.

[@ameliec8275]

@@Steffie228G thanks! I was definitely a little disappointed at first but now I’m really looking forward to going to LMH. I have my offer holders event there next week :) Also this video is really helpful for those still deciding I’ll recommend to some Oxbridge applicants I know

[@Steffie228G]

@@ameliec8275 thank you! I really appreciate it! And that sounds like so much fun! Enjoy!!

[@naomiwood1970]

What is a jcr position

[@Steffie228G]

Hi! The JCR is the junior common room which refers to 3 different things. 1. The JCR is the physical undergraduate student body at a college (essentially all the bachelor students). 2. The physical room, the bachelor students share a common room the junior one is for the undergrads, the middle common room (MCR) is for the grads and the senior common room (SCR) is for fellows and others working at the college. 3. JCR refers also to the committee. The JCR has several positions such as a president, vice-president, social sec, treasurer, etc. This group of undergrads organises activities for their peers and represent their peers in college meetings. < this is a JCR position. At a smaller college you represent fewer students at a larger college you will represent more students. In general the amount of positions are similar which means that these positions can be more sought after at a larger college. But if you don’t fancy any of these positions don’t filter on it. I hope this helped!

[@MCSCMusic]

I thought all undergraduate Oxford colleges have a JCR and a bar??

[@Steffie228G]

Hi! As far as I am aware all undergraduate Oxford colleges have a JCR, I'm sorry if that was not clear in my video. However, unfortunately, not all of them have a bar (most of them do fortunately).

[@MCSCMusic]

@@Steffie228G Hi. That was helpful. Thanks for your reply.