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This week, Sophie Manning, who is reading English at Worcester College, Oxford, gives us her lowdown on the oldest and probably most famous university in the English-speaking world.

Being a student in Oxford:

Although the dominance of the university it impossible to miss, Oxford is just big enough to feel like a city of its own. The centre is packed with impressive and ancient architecture, and it soon becomes easy to take its beauty for granted as you walk through it every day.

The single exception to this is Cornmarket, the city’s ugliest street, which nonetheless makes up for its unsightliness with a good selection of clothes, music, books and home stores. It’s also minutes away from two shopping centres and a massive Primark – great for the student budget. In addition, Oxford houses a handful of boutique or alternative shops, and a large market on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Although people are quite willing to complain about Oxford prices, they vary hugely. Cinema tickets, for example, are extortionate, and a meal out can set you back. Chinese takeaways though start at £5.50 for a main, and there’s always a pizza chain or a curry house (with live-in rugby team) around the corner, but elsewhere, restaurant food can be costly. The big Sainsbury’s right in the centre makes a home-cooked meal and cheap wine a much better bet. After dark, the costs plummet. Competition from college bars drives the price of a pint down to £2 in some cases, and clubs range from £3-5 entrance fee with good drinks deals.

In the summertime though, Oxford is best enjoyed from the outside. Its parks, quads and meadows fill up with students pretending to revise and having picnics or punting late into the evening. If this ever gets dull, it’s always possible to cycle out to Blenheim palace or to one of the big old pubs on the outskirts for a lazy lunch. For a real getaway, train travel from Oxford is efficient – it takes 55 minutes to get to London – but in the eight weeks of term, you never need leave the city if you don’t want to. For travelling within and around the city itself, cycling is the favoured option for many students - it's cheap, quick and enables even the most ardent gym-phobe to get at least some exercise.

The college system:

Oxford University is made up of 39 colleges, 30 of which offer undergraduate degrees. Whilst overall matters of development, education and resources are dealt with by the university, its colleges have quite a lot of freedom and take care of students on a personal level. Whereas the University departments are responsible for the least pleasant parts of student life – lectures and exams – college is where you’ll normally live, eat and have tutorials.

Each college has its own character, although of course these are hugely overplayed for the purposes of rivalry and college spirit. Big, traditional colleges like Christ Church and Magdalen tend to be popular, but newer colleges like Somerville and St Anne’s, admittedly less beautiful on the outside, are famously friendly and fun-loving, while others – such as Merton and St John’s - boast formidable academic reputations. You only have to scratch the surface of each college, however, to get below the stereotypes to a quite diverse student population.

If you do narrowly miss a place at the college of your choice, the college will send you to be interviewed at a second choice or even third choice college. And wherever they end up, people always seem to feel they’ve chosen the best one. See here for more info.

Study time:

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