Well Worth the Work! June 16, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The basic structure for a visiting student taking Humanities courses is to produce 1-2 essays of approximately 2000-2500 words every week and then discuss these essays, either 1-on-1 or in a small group, with your tutor, who is, effectively, your professor (although their role is more to challenge/prompt you to expand on the work you’ve produced for your tutorial than to introduce you to a topic as a US professor might do in a lecture). I took English Literature and History courses, and while the time needed to complete the reading (especially for English courses) and to structure and write essays is significant, with planning and discipline, it is manageable and highly rewarding. For me, reading most/all of the primary texts on vacation in advance of the start of term was essential. It made an enormous difference between the amount of free time I had in my first term, in which I had not read ahead–I should clarify I did not get my reading lists until very late–and was working all day (excluding mealtimes) from about 9 AM until when I went to bed around 11 PM, and my second and third terms in which I worked a very manageable 5-6 hours most days in weeks where I had 1 essay due or a still manageable 8-9 hours days in weeks with 2 essays. During my second and third terms, I had lots of time to relax and go to social events. My time at Oxford has made me much more comfortable researching and working independently. I learned an extraordinary amount about several topics and in considerable depth in very little time. I will say that my experience, while overwhelmingly positive, did significantly (in addition to my own work ethic) rely on who my tutors were. The consensus among the other students with whom I have spoken is that the quality and style of tutors are highly variable. I was incredibly pleased with 4 out of 5 of my tutors and, in general, with the tutorial system. I enjoyed how personalized tutorials are and how they, in general, foster independent thought. One of my tutors, however, struck me as ambivalent about, if not adverse to, teaching, seemingly putting little effort into the organization of the tutorial content and tutorial discussions. The only other criticism I have of the academic experience is that it can be difficult to get a hold of the necessary readings for essays, as they are sometimes only accessible in physical form for a limited window at a particular library. But overall, the library system is an amazing resource, and Oxford tutorials are well worth the effort and occasional mediocre tutor. So take any of my criticisms with a grain of salt. I had an incredible year and value my time at Oxford immensely!

On-site administration of your program

The administration could be a tad disorganized and last-minute, especially in the months before the start of term in which I found that I was a little in the dark about logistics like when accommodation would become available, how billing would work, etc. However, during term, the admin. went out of their way to make Oxford a wonderful experience for us. The director of the program worked very hard to ensure that we could take the tutorials that interested us. She even arranged two tutorials for me that were not part of the standard curriculum simply because I had an interest in topics that were not covered at length in existing courses. Moreover, the admin. organized social events for visiting students and were diligent and receptive to students' feedback and concerns.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in the Ablethorpe Building, which is about a fifteen-minute walk from the Mansfield College campus. While the building is physically kind of stark, I was satisfied with my room and the building's bathrooms and kitchens. The building and my room were regularly cleaned. I also enjoyed that visiting students and matriculated students lived together in Ablethorpe. I found the location to be safe and close enough to get to college every day with ease. I would definitely recommend Ablethorpe. However, other visiting students were assigned rooms in buildings 30+ minutes away from college and in an area (Cowley Road), which I found to be unsafe at night, especially for students walking alone. I don't think I would have been able to spend so much time at college or to come and go from college or the City Centre at night (which I often did, as I studied into the evenings and attended nighttime functions at college) if I had lived on Cowley.

The food at the Mansfield dining hall is consistently decent. They have a few different main course options and sides, including a vegetarian option, for each meal. It certainly isn't the best food I've ever had at an academic institution, and some days/meals are better than others, but as I say, it was consistently solid. Ultimately, it was the atmosphere that I enjoyed most about the dining hall. Many people go to college meals, and they are, consequently, convivial, almost like little social outings and breaks from work in and of themselves. Suffice it to say, I ate at the Mansfield dining hall a lot. In terms of dining out, there are several good restaurants throughout Oxford, but you have to experiment before you can find them. English cooks and English food itself are kind of hit-or-miss. That said, even as someone who doesn't drink all that much, I enjoyed the pub scene a lot. You can always find a pub that matches the kind of atmosphere in which you feel most comfortable. I am more introverted and was able to find pubs that were both laid-back and made for fun social venues.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Mansfield does some things to integrate visiting students with matriculated students, including housing us together and giving us a college family that includes local students. However, visiting students are generally only in tutorials with one another, and local students, while generally amiable when they do talk to us, do not make a significant effort to do so (but this is understandable, as their workload is staggering). The onus was on me to get to know them. This certainly was not impossible. I made a handful of wonderful, close friends who were matriculated students, but it took until about the second term to do so because I saw them less than other visiting students (with whom I made friends within the first weeks of the first term).

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Visiting students register with the NHS. Through the NHS, I was able to receive medication, consultations, etc. at St. Clement's Surgery, a clinic located conveniently close to Ablethorpe. Getting an appointment there was relatively easy, and all of my treatment was free. I liked it much better than US healthcare for sure. I cannot recommend St. Clement's highly enough.

The vast majority of Oxford is incredibly safe and walkable. Really, the only thing to be mindful of is to take care when crossing the street, especially as bikers and scooters, more so than cars, can be kind of reckless. Also, on some streets, the shoulder between the sidewalk and the road is tiny, so don't walk too close to the edge. But I felt very comfortable walking around as late as 3 AM in most of Oxford. The major exception would be the Cowley neighborhood, which is out-and-out a sketchy place at nighttime. I would not walk on Cowley alone after dark.

Yes, I would absolutely choose the Visiting Student Program at Mansfield again. I felt totally at home at Mansfield–it’s a small college, and I liked always being able to recognize familiar faces. I made many wonderful friends and loved getting to live in and study at Oxford. The long breaks between terms also gave me time to travel extensively throughout Europe, which was incredible. If possible, try to travel throughout the UK and the Continent. I was too busy with work during term time to leave Oxford much, but you can definitely balance doing preparatory work and leisure during the vacs.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans

• the tutorial system
• Oxford social events
• The city of Oxford (it's incomprehensibly beautiful!)

• the integration of visiting and matriculated students
• Communications from Mansfield prior to the start of the academic year