<p>My son was accepted for Engineering Science 4 years at Christ Church as well as Princeton University. Any comments to help him decide?</p>
<p>What did he study? Any issues with being one of the few from the US? I’m guessing that the typical US undergrad experience was more than made up for in Oxford.</p>
<p>He studied PPE (Philosophy, Politics, Economics).
No issues with being one of the few from the US. He had a great time, really!</p>
<p>Are you fullpay at Princeton? Oxford gives no money.</p>
<p>There is a difference in how the schools work. Oxford will require your son to concentrate on the subject he chooses with little deviation and very little chance of changing majors. They also have a study, study and more study policy with little importance to ECs. Your grades are mostly the finals you take and not built through the course of the semester.</p>
<p>Full pay either place.</p>
<p>I would say Oxford but it all depends on what your son wants to do in future. What comes after engineering science?</p>
<p>We are guessing law school in the US</p>
<p>Princeton for sure. Hugely underrated engineering program (because of rankings methodologies that put a lot of weight on # of PhD students graduated each year and other size-related metrics - yes, Princeton has a smaller engineering department than Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, Cornell etc., but that’s just because those places accept a ton more students into their programs; Princeton’s the student faculty ratio is stronger than all four).</p>
<p>If you are aiming for a top law school in US, Princeton might be a better choice. I read in one of the threads that Yale admits more of her own graduates in the law school. Attending Oxford might get him into Harvard or Yale law anyway.</p>
<p>Are you waiting on RD admissions before making the choice or is it basically down to Princeton and Oxford?</p>
<p>Oxford maybe cheaper because it’s 3-year vs 4-year. D2 said she would pick Oxford over Princeton. :D</p>
<p>I gather he wants to pursue law after the first degree? If that’s the case, I’d say Princeton. Oxford, like all UK unis, are geared towards a single discipline even at the undergrad level. So it’s Engineering Science all four years with absolutely nothing of humanities/social sciences, etc. But you already knew that (having gotten in).</p>
<p>For a potential law school applicant, Princeton hands down. Also, I’m quite certain they have undergrad law degrees in UK; the same way medicine is taught from the undergrad level and not as a grad degree like the MD that comes after college in US.</p>
<p>Fees
In 2010, international student fees are £12,200 or £14,000 per year depending on the course (£25,500 for clinical medicine). There is also a college fee of £5,692 per year. We estimate living costs in Oxford to be £6,900 if you just stay during term time, or £9,200 for the full academic year.</p>
<p>OP said 4 years but the annual cost is still expected to be cheaper due to much lower tuition.</p>
<p>It’s down to these 2. He pulled back the other apps. From conversations I’ve had with ox grads it’s a more intellectual place but that as with all other comparisons there are only small differences at the margin. It seems like their tutorial system will suit him…</p>
<p>for fun princeton. for career oxford. simple as.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son to be able to make a choice between two fine universities. Actually, he may be able to have the best of both worlds. Princeton has an exchange program with Oxford. Your son could attend Princeton and spend his junior year at Oxford. See: [Oxford</a> Exchange -*Civil and Environmental Engineering](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/cee/undergraduate/oxford-exchange/index.xml]Oxford”>http://www.princeton.edu/cee/undergraduate/oxford-exchange/index.xml) </p>
<p>If your son is interested he should contact Princeton University to ensure that the Princeton Oxford Engineering Exchange Program will continue.</p>
<p>Here is a comparison written by Landis Stankievech '08, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.</p>
<p>What are the differences between my Princeton and Oxford undergraduate experiences? The first thing I should say is that, at Princeton, I studied mechanical and aerospace engineering, while at Oxford, Im studying philosophy, politics and economics. So right out of the gate were not comparing apple to apples here; some of the differences between Oxford and Princeton that I have emphasized below have been exaggerated in my personal experiences just because of the nature of the two subjects that Ive studied. That being said, the two places really are rather different.</p>
<p>A lot of differences stem from the structures of the two institutions. Princeton is a smaller, centralized university, with virtually everyone living on campus. Its easy to get to know a lot of people, and there is a strong feeling of community and a sense of allegiance to the university as a whole. Oxford is composed of many colleges, each of which has a few hundred students. Members of the colleges are usually tight-knit, but it can be difficult to get to know many people outside of your college. Allegiances tend to be to the colleges, which compete against each other in many forums, including recruiting, sporting activities and examinations.</p>
<p>The style of undergraduate education is also completely different. Princeton is similar to most North American universities in that the majority of the teaching is done in lectures. Students generally receive a standardized curriculum for each class, where they are told what they need to learn. Oxford has lectures as well, but they are largely optional and provide only a loose framework for the knowledge that will be required for the exams. The majority of teaching is done in tutorials, which are one-on-one or two-on-one sessions with a tutor. These tutorials occur in the colleges, and the curriculum of each is set by the individual tutor based on some loose guidelines.</p>
<p>Another big difference is the method of evaluation. At Princeton, each class usually has a series of exams and assignments that count toward the overall grade for the class. This grade shows up on a transcript, which provides an overall depiction of your academic performance. At Oxford, it all comes down to a series of final exams that are written at the end of your undergraduate career. These exams are graded and aggregated into one final grade that represents your overall performance at Oxford.</p>
<p>This is related to what Id say is one of the biggest differences: the mindsets. At Oxford, learning is more self-directed. I think it has to be any time you study for two years without being formally evaluated. As I said above, the curricula at Oxford are a little bit less well-defined. The reading lists are practically infinite. It truly is up to each individual student how much they want to learn during the years that they are at Oxford. Of course, at Princeton you can learn as much as youd like, but there is more structure to the system, and there are more checks in place to make sure you are doing work along the way. Both of these mindsets have their pros and cons, and I wouldnt say that one is better than the other. Nor would I say that I prefer one school over the other based on any of the other differences that Ive mentioned. Ive been fortunate enough to experience undergraduate life at both universities, and Ive enjoyed both immensely. Each has provided a unique environment for me to grow and learn, and each has challenged me in different ways.</p>
<p>Pton Alumnus provides a great analysis. I agree with the “best of both worlds” idea. My older daughter read history at Oxford for her junior year and then returned to complete her undergraduate degree. Whilst she loved Oxford, she remained committed to the importance of a liberal arts education as an undergraduate. She then applied to Oxford’s international relations program for her MPhil and was admitted. Rigorous does not begin to describe the experience she had. She loved it. She was recruited by numerous top US-based and UK-based law firms whilst at Oxford for graduate school, hired as a solicitor-trainee by one, and put through law school in London. Law school in England v the US is entirely different thread, but suffice it to say, Oxford opened unbelievable doors for her.</p>
<p>So…Princeton has an “Engineering Science” major?</p>
<p>since when?</p>