Yes. Different colleges. Ok. Shortcut question for the absolutely clueless: in your son"s experience, how actually different are the various colleges? So, let’s say: we visited the 5 Cs and were surprised at the pronounced differences in the 5 colleges, both atmosphere wise but also in ‘content’. On the other hand, the honors college at UCSB did not actually feel much different from the rest of the college.
So, Oxford admissions answered him - the only set AP is calculus, preferably but not mandatory, BC. Yay.
This helps in so far that we now can see where he can go and then tailor the list accordingly and know that he is taking the right tests. (Our dinner table is covered in stacks of tomes on various AP subjects…).
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That’s great news! For other AP’s: My son found AP Computer Science pretty straight-forward, if your son already programs…? I’ve also heard AP Stats is on the easier side…? But my son didn’t take that one, so it’s all hearsay. His other 5 was in chemistry, after taking the AP course all year— I wouldn’t call that one easy necessarily.
Hey Beekmom
Yes, computer science is on his list - he somehow picked up a bit of coding along the way. We just did a practice test and he got 80% without any practice or looking at the material - I think that one will be fine.
BC is also on the list.
And the next one will be mostly down to where he can take those two and how far away that will be - if we have to drive to the big city it should ideally be one that is on the next day so that he doesn’t loose out on too much school.
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Most people seem to choose a college on how pretty (aka old) and/or close to the center of town it is. The next level of analysis is how good and cheap the accommodation is (it’s less than ideal to have to live “out” in year two in a pokey house that’s 20 minutes away by bike) and more generally how rich a college is (which may mean nicer food, grants for travel, money for social activities etc). Some colleges are known for particular subjects (eg PPE at Balliol and Brasenose) and some are more liberal or conservative by reputation (correlated somewhat with the number of private school pupils and the relative proportions of arts vs science students, arts being more politically aware/involved).
Of course that makes some colleges more popular than others. You can get the admission stats by subject and pick a college that has higher admission rates in your subject. But you may then be giving up on some of the benefits listed above and whether you really are going to get into a poor distant college but be rejected by a rich central college is almost impossible to predict and is not really supposed to happen (since oversubscribed colleges redirect some applicants and interviewees to less popular colleges anyway).
To be on the safe side, I’d aim for BC rather than AB, in case “preferably” might be understating what’s expected in reality.
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Here’s all the background on Oxford colleges:
With my son, it was a combination of factors that led him to choose Worcester which is where he ended up. It has a large cohort each year of maths/joint schools students. I think there were 15 in total in his year. When they would have a maths drinks party, 50-60 people would show up. He liked having lots of peers on the same course. At some of the other colleges, he could have been the only student reading Maths & CS. He also liked that Worcester was very close to the Mathematical Institute and kind of close to the CS department.
In his experience, I think there is quite a difference between the colleges and the “vibe” there. I joked in an earlier post that one of his old housemates who moved to Oriel for his PhD is in a bit of culture shock. Talking to other students during the open days will help your son figure that out.
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I haven’t read all of the posts, but would recommend looking at Furman. They have a great math department. Greek life is on campus, but many kids aren’t involved.
nvm
Sorry for the posting error!
No point trying to game Oxford colleges for admissions: as many as 30% of students are ‘pooled’ or re-allocated to another college, to make sure that the department doesn’t lose a strong student who just happened to apply to an oversubscribed college. As @HazeGrey suggested, just go for the one that seems like the best fit.
Fwiw, you can be pooled ‘up’ as well as ‘down’ (b/c you know that there is competitiveness within the university!). Metrics include: the Norrington & Tompkins tables (an annual ranking of colleges based on the % of 1sts and 2.1s the students at each college achieved that year); as @Twoin18 noted, some colleges have a particular rep for a given subject; older/more traditional/‘richer’ colleges are often preferred- except by students who prefer a less stuffy/old-fashioned environment; some students want to be nearer the sports centre (which is out pretty far), etc. The reality is that pretty much everybody ends up loving their college, but learning more about them is good summer entertainment. All of them have official websites and a separate, student prepared “alternative prospectus”.
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Let him go to town!
Things to consider:
As an international student, absolutely whether the college offers housing all four (?) years.
Two colleges are pretty far out from the city center: St. Hugh’s and St. Catherine’s.
Some colleges are “posher” than others and rather more dominated by English “public school” types, in British English that’s boarding schools for the rich. This may have changed a little, but generally the older, smaller and more central the college is, the posher it is. Trinity, Oriel, Merton, Pembroke come to mind here. The small, central colleges also tend to have more housing issues, or solutions like annexes beyond the Magdalen roundabout for all first years rather than housing them on college grounds.
The former women’s colleges tend to have a more inclusive ethos. But they’re Victorian in style rather than medieval, and some, like St. Hugh’s and Lady Margaret Hall, are rather far away from the center (though not so far from the science buildings).
He can also look at the Norrington table which lists exam results and highlights a colleges strengths but I’d imagine maths strength is rather even.
Personally, I also like having a cafe or buttery on college grounds where students can meet throughout the day, not just dining hall hours.
I can unequivocally recommend Somerville on all grounds! 
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And Somerville doesn’t offer the joint schools of maths and philosophy, so forget that! 
Balliol College, Brasenose College, Christ Church, Corpus Christi College, Exeter College, Jesus College, Lady Margaret Hall, Magdalen College, Merton College, New College, Oriel College, Pembroke College, The Queen’s College, St Anne’s College, St Catherine’s College, St Edmund Hall, St Hilda’s College, St Hugh’s College, St John’s College, St Peter’s College, University College, Wadham College, Worcester College
This one’s a must visit [page(http://apply.oxfordsu.org/colleges/compare/undergraduate-accommodation/mathphil/)
Thank you so much @Tigerle - I think. 
Here it took me years to wrap my head around the US college system and colleges, now it looks like another deep dive.
Oh, well. I can report that I haven’t seen the kiddo this excited in years. He’s sniffing out every aspect of calculus BC and psychology and loving it. He even overthrew the big activity he’s been involved in for 7 years because he is enjoying himself with the AP studying. (Well, and also because he just was a bit bored with it, I guess). I am kind of excited - this will be beneficial no matter what.
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Compared to the US system, the UK is a doddle. Really.
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Just recall that I’ve been thinking about answering your previous post but haven’t. That happens to me a lot…
I recall hearing that when you ask US students which subject they think is the most important in school, a majority will say English.
If you ask German students, a majority will say math.
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Haha - that sounds about right!
Let him go to town!<< Well - we clicked through some of the links provided together. About 10 seconds per college. Worcester college “has a picture of people playing sports - no thanks!” “Corpus christi sounds very christian!”.
I think I’ll look at them by myself.
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A LOT of the colleges have religious names- comes from when they were founded!
In addition to Corpus, there are lots of Saints (Anne’s, Benet’s, Katz (Catherine), Teddy Hall (Edmund), Hilda’s, Hugh’s, John’s & Peter’s), as well as Jesus, Magdalen, Trinity, and Christ Church (the Slytherin of Oxford), and the ne plus ultra of Oxford colleges, All Souls (fellows only, and famous for it’s entrance exam).
Re: sports- every college (even Merton, which is the UChic / ‘where fun goes to die’ of Oxford) will have pictures of sports on their sites. It’s straight up advertising. IRL the only sporting event that gets attention across the university is The Boat Race, usually held on the first Saturday in April. Worcester is actually a great little college with one of the best locations- @HazeGrey’s son was there if you want more info on it.
Yes, he can completely ignore the college names. They have no bearing whatsoever on the student body, vibe, or education.
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Worcester “advertises” with a picture of sports because they are the only college with enough land to have playing fields within the college grounds. Cricket ground, full size football pitch and three tennis courts. Very convenient as opposed to having to go to Cowley or Iffley Road. As a “newer” college (1714) they got 26 acres on the then outskirts of town. Their gardens are lovely - the Worcester College Gardener is a definite follow in Instagram. Not a “sporty” college at all except for football - they have won the first division “cuppers” a couple of years in a row now I think.
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