Opportunity of a Lifetime - Oxford is unbelievable! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academics were a challenge, but definitely in a positive way: I felt driven to push myself to new levels of academic excellence and really reveled in my access to the unbelievably vast scope of literary and online resources. Courses are very unstructured as meetings are only once a week, so responsibility is almost entirely on the student to create and execute a research plan and compose a 10-page paper every week (although my tutors were always very helpful and more than happy to point me in the right direction). The tutorial system is a great way to learn self-discipline in an academic setting, and good "practice" for graduate school.

On-site administration of your program

The SSO administrators are absolutely fantastic - I felt like every single person on staff was kind, friendly, and wanted to get to know me personally, They were available to help me in any way, from excellent academic advising to ideas for fun outings outside of schoolwork. The staff built a great sense of community through weekly tea parties, movie and game nights, and optional field trips to other English cities.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was living in a lovely 19th century house with about 35 other American students. The house climate was relaxed, highly studious, and very friendly; rooms were furbished like dorms with two or three people to a room. There were several shared bathrooms on each floor. The house was a few kilometres outside of the city centre, so it was a bit of a long walk to get into town, but bicycles were provided which really helped cut down travel time. The one issue was that the common areas in the house could get a bit crowded at meal times, since we all cooked our own meals and a shared kitchen.

Each person bought and cooked their own food. I really loved being able to cook for myself and be on my own schedule. If the thought of cooking every meal for yourself is a bit daunting, don't worry: many people formed food groups to cut down costs/time spent in the kitchen, so food group members only bought and cooked food once a week or so for the group. (Downside: the nearest grocery store is about a 20 minute walk/10 minute bike ride from the house, so be ready to get your exercise!)

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The nature of the tutorial system is a pretty individualistic experience, so although I spent a lot of time in the same places as local students, there wasn't a lot of interaction. For instance, I attended moderately-sized lectures that were relevant to the topics I was studying, but there isn't a lot of student-teacher feedback like an American seminar-styled class. Instead, discussions are held later, one-on-one with the student and a tutor (professor). It's a great learning style, but not great for getting to know other students in your lectures. Also, I spent many hours in the library working on my papers, in good company with all the other English students also working and researching. However, the library is not the best place to talk and get to know people. Basically, if you want to become friends with local students, you really have to put in personal effort and get involved in university activities and communities. Many people in my program joined choirs, interest groups, sports teams, etc. in order to get to know more people.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I became very ill with walking pneumonia during my time abroad. My program leaders immediately provided me with contact information for a doctor in Oxford, but I was unable to get an appointment since the doctor happened to be overbooked for the next two weeks. I was confined to my room and slowly got more and more sick, so eventually after another week I went and found one of the junior deans (program admin) and told her that I needed to go to the hospital, and she went with me to the A&E and sat with me until I was seen by a doctor.

In any city there is going to be some risk, but it's all about being smart and making safe decisions. Overall I felt very safe in Oxford - I had absolutely no problem walking around by myself during the day, and felt safe at night as well as long as I was with a group. I didn't hear about any issues with crime with any of the students in my program.

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

Oxford is a very expensive city to live in, I found out upon arrival. However, with careful budgeting, I felt like I did a very good job of living well on a student's budget.

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• Other

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• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• the tutorial system - best learning experience of my life
• wonderful community of devoted academics
• full access to one of the best libraries in the world - the Bodleian

• residential living spaces
• fewer lectures & more outings on the British Landscapes course
• more involvement with local students

The Academic or Linguist