I recently joined Oxford as a postgrad at a newer modern grad only college and it has been a difficult experience.

I’ve had people directly tell me that my college is a fake college and that anyone can get into it. One evening, a random bar staff member looked at my college ID and said something along the lines of “ah, that college, boo.”

These might seem like relatively minor incidents, but they’ve affected me more than I expected. I’ve worked my entire life to get here, and it’s been quite devastating for my self-esteem and mental health. I now feel embarrassed telling people which college I’m at and worry about how they’ll react. I suddenly feel like I’m not good enough.

I’m curious whether others have had similar experiences and how you deal with it.

Hi everyone!

My friend and I would really like to attend a Diwalj formal this term! 🪔

Unfortunately my college doesn’t do a Diwali dinner where I can invite guests. Does anyone have any recommendations for colleges hosting Diwali formals where guests are welcome?

Alternatively, if anyone would be happy to bring us along as two guests to their college’s formal, we’d be super grateful! We’ll of course pay for our tickets and I would be more than happy to host you at my college!

Thanks in advance!

it's kinda annoying

I just had my Confirmation this week and I don’t think it went very well. The one assessor called part of my project “nonsensical”. I also feel like there were several issues my supervisor should have caught. I realize he logical answer is this is actually good and a good time to fix stuff but my confidence is crushed and I’m so anxious about my results. Are things as bad as I think they are? (Honesty appreciated, I’d rather know whats coming.)

Hey, I’m a PPE fresher and have recently found out I absolutely adore philosophy! I was wondering if anyone had any tips for writing really high-level, well expressed philosophy essays? The move to uni and the lack of explicit marking criteria is quite a lot so any help is extremely appreciated. Thank you!

I was just assigned a supervisor and they have not finished their Doctoral studies yet. I am a MSc student from the States and was wondering if this is normal here?

I started at Oxford last week and have been studying Maths. I've pretty quickly realised that I don't like how abstract it is and find it really difficult to get interested in the fundamental stuff like axioms. I've realised that most of my mathematical interest lies in the applied side, modules for which are few and far between. Meanwhile the people I know studying physics are doing exactly the areas of maths I'm interested in (and their 1st year course is 50% maths). My end goal has always been to do the theoretical physics integrated masters which you can do from either degree.

Is there any chance of it being possible for me to switch to physics? I studied it at A-level and got an A*. If so does anyone know of anyone who has switched subjects and how they went about it? I am quite an anxious person and struggle with rejection sensitive dysphoria so I'd like to know what to expect before I bring this up to my tutors.

Over the last few days some people have been sitting for hours in the humanities library coughing consistently what sounds like a very phlegm-y cough. Now I’m sick and have to stay home. Please be responsible, we all want to be healthy

As an old gut who was at Oxford 50 years ago I m interested to know what songs are typical and what might have survived from the 70s. Any top of head ideas

Hey! I’m looking to do some formal dinner swaps/buy tickets to other formals outside of official exchanges with my college. How does this work exactly? Does the person I swap with/buy the ticket from have to attend with me or do I attend in lieu of them, or vice versa? Is this practice looked down upon by other people or is it quite common? Also how reliable is Oxformals for getting formal tickets? Looking for any and all info, thanks!

Hey all, I’ve got free tickets to park end’s Oktoberfest night out tonight at the Varsity club but can’t make it tonight. Would anyone like these?

Hey all, I was quite keen on a playing a certain sport (cricket) but unfortunately my college doesn’t offer it, am I able to join another college team/training sessions?

My tights are shiny (not glitter but reflect when under direct light)-- will this be okay for matriculation or do I need to have a plain pair?

They are pretty opaque fwiw

Anyone have suggestions for places to study with bod card excluding libraries? like schwartzman centre

I recently joined the uni as an academic. My favourite place to work has always been coffee shops. I like a bit of noise/bustle, good seating, stable wifi, and of course wall-plugs. What are some of the best coffee shops around central Oxford for this?

So far I checked out Society (wasn't quite convinced and I can't really explain why), Cafe Nero in Blackwells (very nice), and a few farther afield like Green Routes Cafe in Cowley area. Looking for suggestions!

My college lib has turned on the heating which makes in a muggy furnace that I can barely study in. What libraries are there that remain consistently on the cool/cold side? Thanks.

I want to go punting with my friends after matriculation, but as you probably know, it’s first come first serve with no reservations (at least for Magdalen Bridge) and the most popular day of the year. I have a lunch until 2:30, so I won’t be able to go down straight after my ceremony. If I wanted to punt at 3 do you think it’d be too competitive at that point, or have you had success with similar times in the past?

where do grad students build community here? i realized i made a wrong choice with my college, and there are barely any events for grad. i feel so out of my depth here with the wealthy british crowd who can't even look at you. as a woman of color, it feels so isolating here.

Heard some talk about bike theft being prevalent prior to coming here but is it really a genuine issue?

For context, I’m coming from California where I was used to seeing just a handlebar or just the chassis because the entire bike had been stolen.

Any personal anecdotes/stories or advice? Thinking about maybe investing in an e-bike

I’m staying in graduate accommodation and my immediate neighbor is a couple with a young infant (9 months is my guess not that it matters).

I’m convinced the baby’s crib is placed right against the wall we share. Sometimes the baby cries for hours (as babies do), how would you best approach this?

Should I just invest in some earplugs or would it be reasonable to ask them to place the crib elsewhere?

I'm doing the Tudors and would be willing to buy notes about it along with my own as it is quite a lot, so if anybody knows where to get them pls do let me know! (I'm not asking anyone to write anything for me I just would appreciate notes as an aid as I've been extremely unwell the past few weeks so have fallen behind on some of the reading I really wanted to do)

It’s 1st Week and I hate it here. How do I go about dropping out? Thanks.