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been to both, but try <a href=“http://www”>www</a>. the student room. co .uk (remove spaces for link to work). A board for the UK similar to this.</p>
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Lectures are taught centrally (same for everyone) and supervisions/tutorials are taught in colleges by their staff. However, after my first year I was taught in lots of different colleges and could request particular staff if I wanted. If there is one particular person you really want to be taught by, apply to their college. But that doesn’t guarentee it because they may not even teach undergrads. or a great researcher may not be the best teacher. </p>
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This matters little in the UK, and zero in the US where most people will not be able to name a single college anyway (this is why there are hundreds of foreign students at the other uni in Oxford city, Oxford Brookes. So they can go home and say they went to Oxford Uni - which they didn’t. Brookes is ranked about 50 in the UK - at Brookes college and no-one will ever know). The most well known are those which have appeared in the latests Harry Potter film usually!</p>
<p>There are actually college league tables based on the number of student at each college getting firsts (the top grade). google “norrington table”. bear in midn this is pretty meaningless due to the small numbers of students taking each subject at each college. i.e. 25% of English students failing is probably just one person. Some colleges do advertise they specialise in certain subjects eg chruchill cambridge = sciences.</p>
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Social is what you make of it. You are of course allowed to socialise with whoever you like, in other colleges to your own. Some colleges have reputations for being more political (usually those with many PPE students) than others, but to me it makes little difference. You can join in-college socities and clubs (these are for what are known in the US as ECs. But hobbies/fun in the UK.) or university wides ones. Generally if it’s sports you’re after playing in a college team is not so competitive, but if you want to represent the university it’s hard.
Both Oxford and Cambridge have web-sites where you can browse their stunning brochure shots at leisure. Bear in mind every ancient college has hidden somewhere a concrete “new block” montrosity from the 1960s. This is usually where first years live. Also bear in mind you will rarely live in the most fancy buildings - they’re often libraries or chapels.</p>