The College System

Oxford University is made up of several colleges, of which 30 are for undergraduates. They come in many shapes and sizes, typically ranging from 200 to 500 undergrads, and from a few decades to almost a millennium old.

Learning

While lectures, labs and exams are at a university level, the real learning experience takes place in tutorials. The tutorial system is college-centric – your tutors are based there and most of your work will be submitted to them. With two tutorials per week, you’ll get to know them – and the people doing your subject at your college – pretty well (there are usually around five to ten students per subject, per college). Your tutors have a responsibility for your welfare, and are a good first point of contact when it comes to career advice, stress and illness.

Living and eating

Your college is where you live in your first year, and possibly later years. You will generally be offered college accommodation for at least two years (first and third being the most common, depending on your college). First years almost always live on-site whereas it’s common for others to live in college-owned property elsewhere in Oxford. Rooms vary in quality but are usually impressive by student standards, and some of the older colleges’ rooms are frankly palatial.

As well as housing you, your college also feeds you – each one has a cafeteria (known as Hall, usually because that’s what it is), catering for its students at varying prices and quality depending on where you go. Whether or not you choose to eat there will depend both on your access to a kitchen and on how good you consider your Hall food to be. However, in colleges with limited kitchen facilities, eating in Hall every evening is standard and you’ll be sure to see most of your college friends there.

Socialising

Your college is also a social hub, with its own bar and JCR (Junior Common Room – this refers both to the room and the undergraduate student body). Involvement in college life varies widely – some people spend a lot of time in the bar or JCR, while others find friends at different colleges and spend more time in the city. However, the University currently has no central student venue (ie a Student Union bar) so if nothing else, your college bar is at least likely to feature heavily in your first few weeks while you’re still getting to know the people you’ve just met.

A college is a small community in itself, and this really eases the settling-in process at Oxford. Much like in a hall of residence, you’re grouped with a smaller pool of people (typically 50 to 150 undergraduates per year, plus some graduate students, and then tutors) to meet, so you won’t get lost in a sea of faces. At the same time, if you ever want to meet more people, you’re part of a much larger student community across Oxford – it’s the best of both worlds!

This is one of the great things about the college system: the community spirit is there when you need it – which is especially nice when you’re starting out – but it’s by no means the only way to live your life!  If in time you begin to find your college claustrophobic, not cosy, you have Oxford’s 30,000-strong student population at your disposal. Most colleges have a few societies of their own – sports teams, orchestras, film societies – but these activities can usually be pursued further at a University level anyway.

Pastoral Care

Welfare services are offered both at the collegiate and University level, by college nurses, doctors and peer supporters, and the student union’s (OUSU’s) welfare services respectively. A welcome feature of the college system is parenting – each incoming fresher is given a volunteer college parent (or two) in the year above, and therefore some siblings in their own year. It’s a first chance to relax and meet new people, and college families often grow into lasting friendships.

Choosing your college