Tufts in Oxford Past Review
By Rachel K (History, Tufts University) for
Tufts Programs Abroad: Tufts in Oxford
At the moment, I'm planning on getting my PhD in history. If that happens, it will be much more than a cliche to say that Oxford changed my life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Absolutely fantastic. The tutorial system really gives you a chance to get to know your professors, and a few good papers earns you some good will toward a bad one. The tutors like visiting students because they don't have to worry about curricula or exams, so anything you want to take, you can find somewhere at Oxford. For history, I wrote fourteen papers a term; one for each tutorial for weeks 2-8 (I think it would have been fifteen third term had it not been for the Icelandic volcano disaster of 2010). Each was about 2000-2500 words. Since it's just a paper a week, you really have to manage your time well and be self-motivated. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program coordinators (both British) were technically based in London, with the UCL program, but they came up to Oxford whenever they could to check on us. They planned trips, got us sports and show tickets, and always answered emails promptly and fully. In short, wonderful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
It was a dorm; not much more to say about it. Everyone had a single room with a bed, dresser, desk, shelves, and a sink. You could pay more for a better room, but not many people did. It was a bit like being a freshman again, but it definitely helped in getting to know everyone, visiting Americans and Oxford freshers alike. Pembroke, also, is very close to the city center in Oxford, which was really convenient for restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs, etc. |
| * Food: |
Visiting students are automatically billed for the fresher meal plan, which means a lot of meals in Hall. There's a lot of reasons to come to Oxford, but the food isn't one of them. I won't complain here about the portable classrooms we ate in while the regular kitchen was under construction, since they should be gone by fall 2010, but they didn't add to the experience. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Oxford is work hard, play hard. Tufts didn't plan a whole lot for us, but we definitely had fun on our own. And the six week breaks between terms provide ample time for traveling, which everyone took advantage of. On the other hand, since the program is fundamentally an academic one, "social and non-academic aspects" inevitably sometimes have to take a backseat to studying. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | In all probability, you're going to spend a lot of time by yourself: in your room, in the library, walking from your room to the library, etc. This is not a culturally or geographically exotic study abroad experience. Odds are your attitudes about geopolitics won't be terribly different as a result of being in England. Oxford, more than anything, is what you make of it. It's hard. Everyone turns in a terrible paper, but they rebound. It's not for everyone, obviously, and it is, above all, an academic program. But I imagine anyone looking to study at Oxford understands that. If you've got the GPA for it and you're up for a challenge, I say do it. |
