Changing Colleges (Migration)

Most students are very happy in their college, though there are a few occasions every year when individuals wish to switch colleges.  This is known as migration.

The formal position for college migration is set out in the Statutes, Decrees and Regulations. There is no pro-forma (form) involved in the application process.

A student wishing to change college will need:
• Written permission from their college.
• A certificate from the Proctors saying that they have seen these documents and know of no reason why the student should not be allowed to change college.

The Proctors also ask for a letter from a senior officer (e.g. the Senior Tutor) of the receiving or ‘new' college confirming that they are willing to accept the student. Once these two sets of documents have been supplied, the Proctors will issue the certificate of migration: they exercise very little discretion, except in the rare case that they know something against the student's character that casts doubt on the college's testimonial.

It is often difficult both to persuade your college to release you and to get another college to accept you if your application does not show evidence of a compelling need to migrate for academic reasons - although there may be exceptions (for example, welfare reasons which are impacting on academic performance). There are also underlying issues that may influence a college. Admissions decisions are made by colleges, so they tend to have faith in the choices that they have made, rather than those made by another college. There may also be an underlying assumption that a student who didn't fit in to one college won't fit easily into another.

If you do wish to change college, you should approach either your Common Room Academic Affairs Officer, your Common Room President, the Student Advice Service or your Senior Tutor.