Oxbridge Colleges and Funding?

[Ayerbender]

Not sure if anyone knows about the Oxbridge college system  - but as an American applying to the schools, I was very, very confused, and am wondering if I screwed up royally

The applications say you don't need to pick a college, so I wasn't really looking at the colleges closely for the longest time.  A couple days before I applied to Oxford, I selected College A as my "preferred college", because the atmosphere and college seemed pretty nice to me.  I did very little research on the college system, because I didn't think the college system was a big deal (it wasn't in my undergrad institution) and because I didn't realize how closely funding was tied to a specific college (I thought all funding was automatic - again, like my undergrad institution).  I now realize, however, that College B has a good funding package for my degree (if I'm accepted), and College A does not.  I can apply for College B's funding.  But I'm worried I now might be cycled in to College A...

Does anyone know about the college system, and what my options are?  (I'm pretty sure college assignments are made after decision, if that makes a difference.)

[Sartori]

Some years graduated and not entirely au fait with trends, so take this fwiw: Nuffield and St Anthony's probably make the most sense as colleges for grad study in Politics, and Nuffield now offers guaranteed funding to those it admits; I'd be surprised if it wasn't a disadvantage in getting funding at Nuffield not to apply to Nuffield. Beyond those two, I think choice of college is mostly aesthetics/quality of housing/life stuff, though you may know of some other college specific funding sources I don't. 

As to your actual question, I don't know whether you can ask to be considered by Nuffield at this stage. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask. The downside of that is you don't get a second choice request -- if Nuffield turns you down, which is likely regardless of your background since it takes 15% of those who list it as their choice, you could end up at any college, and in practice will most likely end up at one of the least popular colleges. 

[Ayerbender]

3 hours ago, Sartori said:

Some years graduated and not entirely au fait with trends, so take this fwiw: Nuffield and St Anthony's probably make the most sense as colleges for grad study in Politics, and Nuffield now offers guaranteed funding to those it admits; I'd be surprised if it wasn't a disadvantage in getting funding at Nuffield not to apply to Nuffield. Beyond those two, I think choice of college is mostly aesthetics/quality of housing/life stuff, though you may know of some other college specific funding sources I don't. 

As to your actual question, I don't know whether you can ask to be considered by Nuffield at this stage. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask. The downside of that is you don't get a second choice request -- if Nuffield turns you down, which is likely regardless of your background since it takes 15% of those who list it as their choice, you could end up at any college, and in practice will most likely end up at one of the least popular colleges. 

Yeah, the fact that I might not get a "good" college is what led me to select one rather than select "No Preference".  I didn't think it mattered that much :[

Is there any harm in selecting "no preference" at this stage?  I can't imagine Oxford would have too much a problem with it - college selection doesn't affect admission - but I'm not entirely sure

[Dirichlet]

Don't worry. A college preference is just that -- a preference, nothing else. If there is a college that is happy to fund you, this will take precedence over your preference anyway. The only downside is that getting into Nuffield / St Antz will be difficult, as so many students will have selected them. (There are also a few pots of money available for students at other colleges who selected this college as their first preference, though I am unaware of any such instance that politics grad students would be eligible for.)

The variance in how colleges can affect your social life is huge -- some are very grad-oriented, international, and provide a great community (and housing!), whilst others offer little beyond a common room and the basics of the collegiate structure. In those cases, though, you can still have a great time in Oxford outside of your college. Research- and course-wise, though (again, with the exception of Nuffield and St Antz), none of the colleges is likely to give you a significant advantage as graduate-level teaching and supervision is organised at the departmental level.

[Ayerbender]

33 minutes ago, Dirichlet said:

Don't worry. A college preference is just that -- a preference, nothing else. If there is a college that is happy to fund you, this will take precedence over your preference anyway. The only downside is that getting into Nuffield / St Antz will be difficult, as so many students will have selected them. (There are also a few pots of money available for students at other colleges who selected this college as their first preference, though I am unaware of any such instance that politics grad students would be eligible for.)

The variance in how colleges can affect your social life is huge -- some are very grad-oriented, international, and provide a great community (and housing!), whilst others offer little beyond a common room and the basics of the collegiate structure. In those cases, though, you can still have a great time in Oxford outside of your college. Research- and course-wise, though (again, with the exception of Nuffield and St Antz), none of the colleges is likely to give you a significant advantage as graduate-level teaching and supervision is organised at the departmental level.

Would you recommend I try to swap to Nuffield or St. Anthony's, then?   Do they really offer a significant advantage?  (Ironically, I was thinking of applying to Nuffield, but decided against for some reason I don't remember - probably because I don't really understand the system.)

[Dirichlet]

I doubt you'll be able to, to be honest. They are unlikely to change your preference after submitting your app.

[Sartori]

1 hour ago, Dirichlet said:

I doubt you'll be able to, to be honest. They are unlikely to change your preference after submitting your app.

Yeah, probably not. But it's probably worth entering the lottery for Nuffield funding if they'll let you -- it's a fairly sizeable cash prize. Or to St Anthony's for a better social experience with more social science students (but no extra shot at funding) if that's appealing. (Or to Worcester, if you like ducks.) 

[Ayerbender]

18 hours ago, Sartori said:

Yeah, probably not. But it's probably worth entering the lottery for Nuffield funding if they'll let you -- it's a fairly sizeable cash prize. Or to St Anthony's for a better social experience with more social science students (but no extra shot at funding) if that's appealing. (Or to Worcester, if you like ducks.) 

Ok, well I'll email about Nuffield and funding, then.  Thanks for your and @Dirichlet's advice!

 

[dr.strange]

What about Cambridge? I'm currently at the GAO stage and I'm anxiously waiting for funding info. The fact that only 22% international students are funded by Cambridge Trusts is extremely alarming..