**Note - the Oxford Outsider's Guide is written by an American living in Oxford whose husband is a post-graduate student. This guide is intended for entertainment value and, if you want, a little information. It should not be used as a basis for selecting a college or for a decision about applying to Oxford. The guide is written by an Oxford newcomer and meant simply to convey things as I see them.**
Let's face it. The University of Oxford is one of the world's oldest and most respected Universities. And rightly so, in my opinion. I mean, they've been doing this for a very long time. So the focus here, unlike many colleges (::cough, cough:: Florida State ::cough, cough::) is ACADEMIC! Students here are smart and they're here to learn. That said, is the place as intimidating and, well, as GREAT as it's cracked up to be? And if so, are the students total geeks? Snobs? Little Lord Fauntleroys?
Okay, okay! I will try to address those issues. First of all, I think most places with huge reputations don't really live up to them. In a place like Oxford, even as an outside observer, it's hard to say whether it lives up to the hype. No doubt this place is amazing. It is the first place I have ever been that I can truly say is bathed in history. No matter where you go, you are surrounded by incredible architecture, art, and wisdom. The coursework is very intensive and demanding, and it's set up differently than any other university in the world. So, yeah, I guess the best answer is, it IS all that.
But, like lots of amazing "things" you are dying to be a part of in your life, once you get here and meet people, you kind of realize that they are, for the most part, just very normal people. Yes, they are probably all incredibly smart, but when you are first walking around and going to functions and meeting each other, you're just like, "Hey, this isn't so scary!".
We are in a college which is particularly social and friendly, so this may not be the case for other schools. In fact, I have heard from some students that some other colleges (particularly Christ Church) have a reputation for being stuffy and elitist - sort of flaunting their academia. Most colleges and students, however, have been amazingly normal and down to earth. I have yet to see a single forehead tattoo OR neon sign reading "GENIUS." In fact, in social circles, the talk does not revolve around academia all that often. At Hertford, the students study a very wide variety of topics, so somebody in Geography is probably brilliant, but they won't be able to have a particularly in-depth conversation with Andrew about the conversion of the Anglo Saxons in early Medieval England. As a matter of fact, people are usually much more interested in the fact that I'm writing a novel than what Andrew is studying (I feel a little bad about that sometimes). So, although "What are you studying?" is a very common question, in-depth philosophical discussions are no more common in general conversation here than at any other university.
It _is_ nice to know that the others around ARE smart, though, because you can discuss your studies or a topic with them intelligently. This doesn't mean that either of you are necessarily experts on the topic, but basically everybody here has a lust for learning, so we like to hear about what one another are studying (usually told in the vernacular) and things like that. For example, at the sporting day shortly after we arrived, Andrew and I had a fascinating discussion with an astro-physics DPhil cadidate from Merton College. He told us, in an obviously well-rehearsed and often repeated explanation, about his research into star deaths and the rings they give off. He didn't use technical terms with us, but felt comfortable explaining it to us knowning that we, too, are interesting in learning and research. Also, there are similar pressures on all of the students here, so that is helpful in putting everyone on a level playing field.
I have yet to observe much if any of the alleged tension between "town" and "gown" here. I would say that, for the most part, students stick with other students and with the college areas and businesses. This is the way with any university, though, and as much for convenience and safety as anything else. As far as I can tell, the students here do not see themselves as "better" than the townspeople. In fact, most of them seem to feel pretty fortunate to be students here, and thankful for the townspeople who work to make the university function.
Posted by Erin at October 19, 2002 05:35 AM