<p>I'm applying to study at Oxford (graduate program) and they give us a list of colleges to choose from. I've looked them up on Wikipedia, but would love to hear from anyone who has had a personal experience.</p>
<p>The ones available to me are:</p>
<p>Balliol College
Brasenose College
Campion Hall
Green Templeton College
Harris Manchester College
Keble College
Kellogg College
New College
Pembroke College
Queen's College
St Anne's College
St Antony's College
St Catherine's College
St Cross College
St Hilda's College
St Hugh's College
Trinity College
Wolfson College
Worcester College</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s the best way to go about choosing one. I would think about if you want a graduate-only college or want to mix with undergrads, or the number of people for your subject in a college, or (this is very superficial but i know it was important to me!) the look/feel, ie: old gothic architecture, georgian redbrick, or 60s modern.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Oxford section of the student room dot co dot uk - no spaces. Lots of college specific info - of course most of it outrageously opinionated. . There is also a silly but fun questionnaire/quiz on there which helps match the candidate to the college. I would think as a graduate student though you might want to apply to a college specifically to work with a particular tutor. If you don’t have any strong leanings, why not do an open application?</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. The program I’m working with doesn’t assign tutors to colleges, I don’t think. And they make you choose a college on your application, which can then affect which scholarships you are eligible for.</p>
<p>returningstudent:
As a grad student it is rather unimportant what college you’re in. You will be working with your department/institute, not with tutors in your college. That said, some colleges do have scholarships and research funds you can apply for. However, it is my impression that competitive applicants for these are mainly DPhil candidates. If you want to live in college owned accommodation, you should probably apply for a graduate college as most of them ensure college housing to first year grad students. Grad students in primarily undergrad colleges often live in their own housing. Generally, as a grad student, your main activity in your college will be eating lunch, and depending on your subject, you might also be able to use the college library resources.</p>
<p>Actually some non-graduate colleges have very active MCRs. Privileges for grad students differ widely by college - back in the dark ages when I was doing an M.Phil at Corpus, we were invited to lunch in the SCR once a week - free food! Rubbing shoulders with the great and the good! Unfortunately I think the only way to figure out these differences is to go through each college website…very time consuming and as Oxford like all the UK colleges pretty much makes admission decisions on a rolling basis, the OP should get his application in ASAP.</p>
<p>samuk: Thanks for adding the info on middle common rooms. My response to the OP pertained more to the academic side of choosing a college. My advisor who used to be a fellow at St Anthony’s told me not to worry about which college I get placed in as it will have no impact on my postgrad education. However, I know little about the social aspect of mixed colleges (grad and undergrad) versus purely grad colleges.</p>