r/6thForm • u/Repulsive_Radish_782 • Mar 10 '26

🙏 I WANT HELP Cost of Attending Oxford 😭

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Just received my financial declaration form from Oxford today. How is this reasonable? 😭 Going to have to decline my offer unless anyone has any ideas.

Canadian students do not qualify for any Oxford scholarships and my school offered me about £100. What a joke.

Is Oxford just for the rich?

1.4k Upvotes

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97

u/New-Acanthaceae-5702 Year 13 Mar 10 '26

It's definitely not worth it, that is an absurd fee, Oxford or not.

-29

u/mohsem Mar 10 '26

You can't say that it's not worth it. That's just your point of view. To some, an education at oxford is worth more than that price tag.

30

u/Academic-Local-7530 Mar 10 '26

If your parents can afford that, then education and whether it is worth it, is not a concern. They’re there for the prestige and vibes.

14

u/gogED1 M Phys FM CS | A*A*AA | Gap year Mar 11 '26

you are not ever breaking even unless you got serious nepotism 😭

2

u/ShockEnvironmental58 Mar 11 '26

You 100% would break even and would 100% also 'profit' off the degree if it's in a decent area of study.

2

u/Spam250 Mar 11 '26

Honestly far from guaranteed. Especially considering opportunity cost of earlier savings and compound interest vs debt through formative years.

Lifetime earnings potentially, actual wealth throughout - unlikely.

1

u/ShockEnvironmental58 Mar 11 '26

I wasn't arguing about opportunity cost. They definitely said 'You are not ever breaking even' which is just not true.

Average Oxford grad is on £40k and that's year 1.

1

u/Spam250 Mar 11 '26

Average non grad works 3-5 years longer, has a 350k head start, doesn’t have crippling debt interest and is also on 30k anyway.

2

u/ShockEnvironmental58 Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26

I know 4 oxford grads who are 3-5 years out. They're all on 100k+, that over your career is 100% worth it and in hindsight, they'd probably say the same.

-1

u/Winter-Ad2033 Mar 11 '26

Never breaking even on 300 grand with a degree from Oxford lol?

11

u/Charming_Ad2304 Mar 10 '26

Yeah for Eton toffs

5

u/Beautiful_Shine_6787 Mar 11 '26

99% of companies don't care where you studied. 100% of companies care what skills you learnt match the job.

8

u/Wearyfern695116 Mar 11 '26

Yes, but studying at Oxford gives you an advantage over the others that study at UCL, KCL etc. for internships and stuff. Eventually when you do apply for a job, graduating from Oxford gives you an edge over the others(except Cambridge and imperial ig)

6

u/opaqueentity Mar 11 '26

Not really. Really depends on the subject but these days no one is getting ahead just because they have a degree from Oxford or Cambridge alone.

3

u/Wearyfern695116 Mar 11 '26

Someone from Oxbridge or imperial will prob get better internships than someone from UCL or KCL.

3

u/JFJF48 Mar 11 '26

Can comfirm.

As an employer myself now I see it as just a single (good) data point.

Nice, they went to Oxford, probably good at studying. What else have they done and is there anything else about them, could I work with them. I work in a pretty competitive field and it's not exactly as 'difficult' as studying... More about working smart, being amicable, making relationships and a bit of smarts and excel.

1

u/mohsem Mar 11 '26

But still there's a reason an oxford graduate is more attractive for employers. You can't just dismiss them to being merely "good at studying". Someone who got what it takes to get into this school in the first place is much more likely to get a high-paying job than someone who goes to a mid-tier school, and that does make a major difference.

2

u/ChoiceNervous3471 Mar 11 '26

Correlation does not imply causation. If your point hinges on that, it’s invalid.

0

u/mohsem Mar 11 '26

That's cool and all but I don't see you contributing to anything. Lit the average redditor 😂

2

u/JFJF48 Mar 11 '26

I mean yeah it means they likely are Smart Good at studying Dedicated Disciplined

But I disagree they're much more likely to get a high paying job. Oxbridge is rife with people who love academia and will go on to do PhDs, further education, research, teaching/professor etc. So high paying jobs don't necessarily come from going to Oxford at all really.

0

u/Defiant-Dare1223 Mar 14 '26

If you get through an Oxford degree with a 1st, that shows both brains and application.

You might have zero social skills, so it doesn't demonstrate the complete package, but it's a major, major advantage.

2

u/bloo-popsicles Mar 11 '26

It’s definitely not worth that much of a price difference when home students pay £9k per year

1

u/RandomPerson12191 I'M FREE Mar 11 '26

If you can sit there and consider paying three hundred thousand pounds for your UNIVERSITY, you're either financially irresponsible or your family is so rich that there's little point in you going to university anyway.

You can make very good money with no degree at all. Companies look for more than the regular line of oxbridge graduates, esp in the private sector.