Oxford is Quintessential January 24, 2023
By A student (English with Creative Writing, Media Arts and Sciences, Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/04/2022 to 12/02/2022 with
Worcester College, University of Oxford - Visiting Students Program
Worcester College’s Visiting Student program is an amazingly worthwhile experience. My tutors cared about our tutorial together and continually inspired my interest in graduate studies; I loved the individualisation of the tutorial system. I learned a lot about tackling essay topics and reading a lot of texts in a week.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Overall, I loved my time at Oxford. I loved the people I met, the knowledge I was exposed to, and the professors and facilities I had access to. I benefited greatly from the individualization of the tutorial system. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Worcester College’s Visiting Student Program, in particular Program Director Michael Mayo, takes a lot of care in providing a supportive and welcoming environment for us. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Most of us received singles with our own bathroom and our rooms are cleaned by the College once a week. I’ve never received better housing. |
| * Food: |
Formal dinners are a fun Oxford experience! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The September Seminar really helps Visiting Students to get it know each other over the first few weeks, and Oxford’s clubs and social events offer a lot of opportunities to integrate with matriculated students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
My tutors and Dr Mayo were great with providing accommodations and understanding when it comes to the mental crises I experienced. There isn’t a lot of reliable systems in place for health care. For example, the College Nurse is only available a couple of days a week and took two weeks to respond to a request for Covid testing kits. |
| * Safety: |
Overall Oxford is a really safe city and access to all Oxford colleges are by student ID only after dark. The porters are on site 24/7. There was a murder committed right outside of Worcester College’s main entrance in early November, but overall crime doesn’t seem to be a concern. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The program director Dr Mayo is supportive and takes a great interest in our wellbeing, adjustment to Oxford, and academic life. The group of Visiting Students at Worcester became close friends in large part due to the learning environment that Dr Mayo curated. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had a more informed grasp of work/life balance in the Oxford academic environment |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
