<p>After completing my first semester at Oxford, I thought it would be appropriate to share my views and experiences.</p>
<p>Background:
I'm am an OOS student who came from a medium size high school. I'm fairly sociable, like to have fun, and am for the most part serious about school. Before attending Oxford this past fall I never had the opportunity to visit it but I had an idea of what it might be like.</p>
<p>Oxford was not my first choice school, it was somewhere in the middle. I got wait listed from Emory main and was subsequently rejected so I ended up doing the next best thing...OXFORD.</p>
<p>Campus:
Saying that Oxford is small and in the middle of nowhere is an understatement. You can literally see the whole campus in about 5 minutes after having driven the 45 minutes outside of Atlanta to get there. With all that being said there are several pros and cons to this campus.
<pros>
-Every morning I was able to roll out of bed 10 minutes before class and get there on time.
-When it rains (which it does a lot) its only a short walk to where you need to go.
-Its easy to visit all of your friends cause you'll never have to walk far.
-(If you are in to this) The woods right behind campus provide a decent smoke/drinking spot.
<cons>
-Will need a car (plus DD) to get to good parties and social events.
-You run into the same people ALL the TIME.
-On weekends campus is almost a ghostown, a lot of people go home.</cons></pros></p>
<p>Academics:
I enjoyed all the classes I took this semester. The profs were all good, some exceptionally great. For the most part they care and will really help you as long as you ask. None of my classes exceeded 30 students. I did well finishing the semester with a 3.86 . This is not hard to do as long as you make sure you give yourself enough time get your work done. Most people that I know that didn't do well was not because they weren't smart, but because they spent too much time having fun instead of getting their work done. I was able to work during the week and have "fun" on the weekends. Classes have some rigor but they are not cut throat competitive. Most students study together and help each other with work. I think this is a good work environment for pre-med/law/business students because they can focus on learning the material rather than just beating the next guy. When comparing the material of my classes with a friend's from Main its virtually the same. The only thing separating us is that I had smaller intro classes than him which was to my advantage. </p>
<p>People:
Oxford is refreshingly diverse. A lot of Indians, Chinese, and Koreans. Also a decent amount of African Americans. The diversity isn't superficial either. Of course you have the lunch tables of people all from the same race but those are not very common. On the contrary, there is a lot of mixing of the races in groups of friends and dating. Most of my friends are of a race not of my own.</p>
<p>Although racially diverse most people are instate from the ATL metro area. That's not necessarily a bad thing as these people usually have cars. They also tend to know more about the ATL and can show you some pretty cool places. You also have a lot of people NY, NJ, and Boston; a few Cali kids. Some people are cliquey but you'll find enough that aren't. Most people dress very casual; t-shirts, sweat shirts, jeans, etc. If you put a little effort into your wardrobe you can look like something out of GQ compared to the people here (no offense). While most people say the girls here are ugly thats pretty much a overplayed generalization. We don't have state school quality but you'll find a handful of talent and a barrel of average. Depending on your level of intoxication these levels may fluctuate. I haven't met many snobs, most people are generally pleasant. Since it is a small school just remember that your business is never just your business. People talk.</p>
<p>Social Life:
As cliche as this may sound the social life is really what you make of it. If you want to have "fun" (whatever definition that may be for you) you can, BUT you must find it. If you like to drink you can definitely do that here. You can find someone drinking almost ever night of the week. Some people like to have small chill get togethers in their rooms. Others will setup beer pong in their rooms and spill out drunk into the halls. Oxford is a dry campus by law but don't let that label fool you. There is nothing much to do here so a good amount of people gravitate towards booze and weed. Just remember that if the RAs catch you or hear to much noise you will be written up and have to appear before the conduct board. Although Oxford doesn't have greek life we do have social clubs which act as frats and sororities. These organizations have varying degrees of cliquiness and severity of initiation process. Be mindful of your studies when deciding to join these organizations as I know some people whose grades suffered because of them. However, these organizations contribute to the social life of Oxford and make it more fun whether you are in them or not. Im not in a social club but have attended many of their on and off campus events. You can also take the cliff shuttle down to Main and hit up a frat party or attend a special event like Ridgewood Halloween Block Party or a free concert ( Sean Kingston and Third Eye Blind came this semester).<br>
If you don't drink you can still find things to do. Most of the non drinkers hangout and play board games, watch movies, go out to eat, and play sports. I know a few non drinkers that like to hangout with the drunk people on the weekends. It really is about whatever floats your boat. You'll find some people that like to party all the time, some just on the the weekends and others never. I've found that the weekend only option works the best, maybe a thirsty Thursday here and there.</p>
<p>Bottom Line:
Oxford has its flaws but I think its strengths outweigh them. Most people benefit from the small classes and flexibility of profs. Because of its size it has a community feel which I hear carries on to the main campus. At first I was not sure if I made the right decision coming here, but now after the first semester I think that I did make the right choice.</p>
<p>If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me!!!</p>