Oxford University - Student Life

Housing: Colleges provide accommodation for 2 or more years, either in college or in flats/houses nearby (rents vary greatly between colleges). Private accommodation very expensive (second only to London); east Oxford saturated with students. University Accommodation Office produces good info.

Eats: Huge variety ranging from five star to kebab vans, £5 a head to £50. Meals in college about £2.50, food varies in quality but vegetarian food universally available.

Drink: College bars much less expensive than town equivalents; about £1.50 a pint. Loads of good pubs, traditional and themed.

Nightlife: Many nightclubs, most with student nights; best bands at Zodiac; 1 gay night at the Coven. Colleges hold sweaty events called 'bops'.

Locals: Few problems; worse on the outskirts where students don't go anyway.

Sport: Good provision at college level; university sports federation operates. University swimming pool just built.

Travel: College travel grants sometimes generous.

Financial help: Very good. Many sources. Lots of cash. Oxford Bursary Scheme; also all colleges have bursaries and are keen to help students (loans, grants, combinations).

Jobs: Students can find work in college during term but aren't supposed to look elsewhere. Oxford has a huge student population but is an important tourist destination so not too much competition for holiday employment.

Annual living costs: The minimum amount students say you need to live on each year (covering all living expenses but excluding tuition fees) is £6100 (in college accommodation), £7000 (in private accommodation).

Oxford-speak: Lots: JCR (Junior Common Room - undergraduate or junior members of a college), MCR (ditto but Middle - graduates) and SCR (Senior - fellows); subfusc (cap and gown over formal suit worn for exams), sets (set of rooms, usually 1 or 2 bedrooms with a sitting room), hall (college dining hall), battels (college bill), come up (to arrive at Oxford), go down (to leave), collections (termly mock exams), boatie (rower), Norrington Table (league table of colleges by finals results), PPE (philosophy, politics and economics course) Greats or lit hum (classics, ancient history & philosophy), Bod (Bodleian Library, the university library), Blue (someone who played for the university against Cambridge in a major sport eg cricket blue; minor sports warrant a half blue).

Best features: The teaching; the opportunities; busy lifestyle; diverse, interesting people from all walks of life.

More info: Get a free Alternative Prospectus from OUSU, Thomas Hull House, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DH, Tel: 01865 288450, Fax: 01865 288453, email: enquiries(at)ousu.org, website: www.ousu.org

Past students: Oscar Wilde, Margaret Thatcher, Roy Jenkins, Tony Blair, Michael Heseltine, Denis Healey, Benazir Bhutto, Roger Bannister, Rowan Atkinson, Dudley Moore, Willy Rushton, Melvyn Bragg, Tony Benn. Kris Kristofferson, Bill Clinton.