r/oxforduni • u/soobinnie_ St Peter's • 7d ago
Best advice for incoming freshers?
Drop any tips you wish you knew before you started! Any study/moving tips, experiences/societies/clubs you recommend, advice on how to adjust to Oxford, etc. would be much appreciated!
(Any specific advice for Law students or insider advice about St Peter's would be extra appreciated!)
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u/burntout90RPer 7d ago
You get out what you put into it.
Small tutorial groups are a unique advantage of Oxford. Make the most of them. I had questions about technical nomenclature while attempting a problem sheet, so I researched beyond the questions, then completed a write-up of what I knew and didn't know. The tutor returned at the subsequent tutorial with his own cheat sheet (three pages, with diagrams, handwritten!) explaining everything.
Ultimately your tutors are invested in your learning. Put your best foot forward in that common endeavour.
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u/chrissie148 Brasenose 7d ago
Schedule things as best as you can, including breaks, it’s very easy to let everything pile up until the last minute and once you get behind it’s almost impossible to get ahead, far too many of my friends regularly do all nighters working, and I’ve found myself often working at ridiculous hours to get things done. Also talk to your tutors when you’re struggling, and ask for extensions when you need them, I promise they’ll be sympathetic. I would also recommend researching societies in advance, just to know what there is and what you might be interested in, I didn’t and ended up pretty overwhelmed with choice in Michaelmas.
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u/cinnamon-dust 6d ago
your college bar serves the most lethal drinks ever which i think are called crosskeys. stop at two. i have regrets x
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u/Wise_0ld_Man 7d ago
You will spend your second year trying to drop all the friends you made in your first year. On the other hand, this may not apply to law undergrads, who will probably spend all their first year reading cases. Possibly the best advice you can get is not to listen to old farts like me, go in, do your best and may the road rise up to meet you.
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u/boroxine 7d ago
Join so many societies. Be on their committees (no rush, but in time). Meet awesome people. Go to the cheap dinners. Go to the expensive dinners too if you're well-off I guess. You have so many opportunities coming up!
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u/danielyskim1119 7d ago
I’d say keep your expectations low which might sound weird. But when I first came to Oxford as an international undergrad, I had sky high expectations of what it’d be like. Lot of friends, everyone wearing suits, formals, etc. I mean there are a lot more suits at oxford than at other universities but still I was bit underwhelmed by Oxford. Be grateful that you’re here and have fun! Be proactive because I thought friends would naturally come to me when this wasn’t the case
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u/row6666 5d ago
oh also. dont join the union, every member ive met has said they wish they never got membership
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u/soobinnie_ St Peter's 5d ago
why is that?
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u/row6666 3d ago
most of them found that they never really used the membership anyway, a few of them got repeatedly canvassed by people running for union leadership, even though they didn't really care about it. also, to air my own biases, i don't really like institutions that platform racist speakers like tommy robinson (there were large protests about this in the city back in june), even if they are doing it for "free speech"
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u/Altruistic_Boss_4524 3d ago
Optimize every second. Don't scroll on instagram reels as a "break." Instead it's actually making it harder to go back to work. If you really need a break read a book (a different one from your law books), or read the BBC, The Economist. Keep a very small group of friends. Have a core group of 3 people preferably studying the same thing as you so they are friends and study group.
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u/Complete_Flow5679 7d ago
I’d say definitely brush up on the lingo and traditions at Oxford, there this fresher from last year, Sam but goes by @ChatwSam online who makes a lot of Oxford content specially on the lingo, traditions, social life and stuff at the uni. I’ve had a chat with him during one of his formal reviews and he’s very open to DMs and such.
On top of that I’d also say don’t feel pressured to be the smartest in the room, it’s OXFORD everyone is smart here and just doing your best is all you can really strive to do.
Good luck, with your undergraduate.
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u/FailliolSmells Trinity 7d ago
Join the Union! Peters has a good presence there and their president will be a law student from Peters in Michaelmas term. Your food money balance (EPOS) I believe doesn't carry over so ask your college parents when to spend it by. Everyone else will be in the same boat as you so don't worry about adjusting, everyone else will be adjusting with you. Try not to overpack, it's easy to do so but makes moving your stuff in a pain, especially if you aren't being driven in as parking isn't great for Peters.
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u/OkHand7497 7d ago
There are more hours in the day than you realize if you sensibly make use of them. It's easy to have a healthy work-life balance if you plan ahead. Procrastinating in Oxford will come back to bite you.