slav4eva

This is a very fair account and gives a balanced picture of what you will and won't get at Oxford. There are definitely some inspiring, brilliant professors who are very supportive- but the overall infrastructure is horrible and can make work very difficult at times. I hope people will read your post when they consider whether or not to go to oxford. The place isn't all about nice gardens and pretty buildings - it has it's major downsides. Especially if you are coming from outside for graduate work. As an education system the place is very unsupportive towards graduates (especially in the humanities): for example, the libraries have very restricted hours when the undergraduates leave. If you are an international student and you haven't made your connections there already as an undergraduate many people won't give a toss about you. Master's degrees are considered "tourist degrees" by some faculty and you won't be taken seriously. That said, there are amazing individuals who will really go all out to help you.

In the words of Flavor Flav: “Don’t believe the hype.” Contrary to what ‘Double Shot’ has said Oxford is a horrible place to live and an even worse place to work. The Oxford Union is an anachronistic, chauvinist, elitist uncomfortable place where once in a while some anachronistic debates will take place. You will pay a ton of money to sit in a stuffy room and maybe get to see Shakira give a motivational speech. The only “ethnic restaurants” are in Cowley – apart from that you are looking at disgusting overpriced pub food and crusty sandwiches. There are many pubs but they all close at 11 and are outrageously overpriced. The “gorgeous parks” are all private and you will not have access to them unless you are part of that college. 12 foot high walls, barbed wire, electric fences and other security systems will ensure that you cannot benefit from the parks– you won’t be able to walk on the grass at most of them even if you manage to sneak inside. There is the University parks which shuts at sundown but it is a soulless boring park. As for the school itself – expect no contact with faculty members and a horrifyingly frustrating bureaucratic system. Your study spaces, while they may appear beautiful on brochures, will in fact be disgusting buildings gutted and “renovated” in the 1970s: many will be filled with black mold and/or asbestos. I’m not kidding – ASBESTOS! The libraries will all have inconvenient hours, shut very early and will be shut for an entire month when you are right in the middle of your dissertation.