Oxford from the Inside

In this week's episode, Nikita (at Oriel), Grace (at Merton), and Georgia (at St. Catherine's or Catz) talk all things colleges, and give some advice on how to choose a college when applying to Oxford.

Timestamps:

0:09 - Introductions

1:18 - Why did you apply to your college?

4:50 - Location of colleges

6:44 - 'Touristy' colleges

7:50 - Accommodation facilities

13:01 - Moving out between terms and storage facilities

15:59 - One advantage/drawback about the colleges

20:45 - Wrapping up

In today's episode, Siam talks to Nikita about her experiences on her year abroad.

Timestamps:

0.09 - Introductions

0.40 - What is a year abroad and what does it involve?

3.36 - How much support do you get from the university?

6.28 - Is there a minimum length requirement for placements?

8.02 - Do students do academic work on their year abroad?

10.19 - What was your year abroad like day-to-day?

12.07 - What does being a language assistant involve?

13.22 - What else does a year abroad give you?

15.44 - Final thoughts and advice to current language students

16.56 - Wrapping up

In the first episode of the term, Grace talks to freshers Luke and Ashley about how they found their first term at Oxford.

Timestamps:

0:09 - Introductions

0:41 - Freshers' Week

3:02 - Balance between college and university events

4:00 - Diversity and Inclusion at Oxford

6:40 - Getting to know other students and college marriages (a way to build a buddy system within your year)

9:18 - Fifth Week Blues

11:13 - Feeling a sense of belonging at Oxford

13:40 - Non-drinking events

15:13 - The vacation and collections (mocks at the beginning of term)

17:35 - Does Hilary feel different?

18:28 - Wrapping up

In today's episode, Nikita talks to Arron O'Connor, the Outreach Officer at Oriel College, about his role, the application process, and how students can get involved in Outreach.

Timestamps:

0:09 - Introductions

0:47 - What role does Outreach play at Oxford?

3:14 - What should prospective applicants be thinking about?

5:56 - What support is available online to help people make the choice about university courses?

9:53 - Choosing a college

14:43 - What is pooling?

20:26 - How can current students get involved in Outreach?

23:53 - Goodbyes

Arron's recommendations:

• Official University websites
• Get in touch with Outreach or Admissions Officers
• InsideUni
• Oxford Outreach Calendar
• What Uni?
• UNIQ (Oxford) or HE+ (Cambridge)

In today's episode, Georgia speaks to Declan and Lottie to hear about their experiences of submitting an open application to Oxford.

Timestamps:

0:09 - Introductions

0:50 - What is an open application?

1:43 - Why did you decide to make an open application?

3:44 - Would you recommend making an open application?

4:37 - Any regrets?

6:12 - Myth about academics at different colleges

6:34 - What advice would you give prospective students about choosing a college vs. making an open application?

8:08 - Oxford isn't that big!

8:45 - Wrapping up

In today's episode, Georgia speaks to Dr Stephen Goddard, a tutor in French at St. Catherine's College, about how to best prepare for interviews.

Timestamps:

0:09 - Introductions

0:58 - What the interview process entails

3:14 - Types of interview questions

4:53 - Do you need to learn your personal statement?

7:25 - How should you answer interview questions?

12:25 - Balancing supercurriculars and extracurriculars on the personal statement

14:20 - Wrapping up

In this episode, Nikita (she/her) interviews Hannah (she/her) about writing a personal statement for an application to study Music.

Hannah adds: "Don’t name or venue-drop more than once or twice! Likewise, don't just list skills/experiences. Whenever you do this, think about how the experiences you have had have changed, challenged, or affirmed your perspective on music. You can then back up your point with some reading!"

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

1:06 - The writing process

5:40 - One way to split up and structure a personal statement

9:45 - The placement of extracurriculars in a music personal statement, especially for Oxbridge

12:43 - Hannah's supercurricular recommendations:

• Music: A Very Short Introduction (Nicholas Cook)
• Guardian Music
• BBC Music Magazine and online articles
• The Oxford Research Centre for the Humanities (TORCH) YouTube Channel
• Adam Neely
• BBC Radio 3

16:24 - Being asked about your personal statement at interview

18:50 - Wrapping up

In this episode, Lucianna interviews Elena about writing a personal statement for a joint degree of History and English.

Timestamps:

0:00 - introductions

0:35 - what is a joint (honours) degree?

0:52 - what should prospective students consider when thinking about applying for History and English as a joint degree?

3:16 - what can be gained from studying History and English alongside each other? (Interdisciplinary work and connections)

5:18 - the link to personal statements! Making sure History and English thread together

6:20 - personal statement juggling! Balancing writing about the joint (Oxford) History and English course, with single honour courses at other universitites in a personal statement

10:02 - suggestions of topics or approaches that thread History and English well

11:52 - wrapping up

In this episode, Hannah interviews Sophie about writing a personal statement for Engineering.

Insight into University (Headstart) website: https://www.etrust.org.uk/insight-into-university

The hard-to-say book Sophie used for super-curricular reading: Professor Povey's Perplexing Problems

Timestamps:

0:00 - introductions

0:55 - advice for prospective students

1:45 - extra-curricular activities/hobbies in a personal statement?

3:40 - finding an interest in engineering (and addressing that there isn't a specific A-Level in engineering, even though some A-Level subjects use similar knowledge and skills)

5:00 - Headstart/Insight into University

6:33 - some recommended/interesting super-curricular resources

9:13 - navigating and understanding differences between the (general) Oxford course, and courses at other universities which might focus on a specific aspect of engineering

15:22 - things Sophie had in her personal statement (structure and breakdown)

17:08 - wrapping up

In our first podcast with the new OFTI team, Hannah interviews Sofia, one of the founders of The Oxford Period, a society aimed at tackling period poverty and raising awareness of period-related issues.Timestamps:0:10 - introductions0:48 - what is the Oxford Period?1:25 - what made you want to start the Oxford Period?3:06 - overcoming challenges5:44 - expanding the team?7:07 - response across the university10:39 collaborations with other societies13:10 - future plans for the society We've defined some of the terminology/abbreviations mentioned in the episode: JCR - Junior Common Room. The organisation which represents all undergraduates in a College. It is also a physical space, where activities are organised. In the video, JCR is only used in the former context. SU - Student Union. The organisation which represents students at the university. There are different branches from the SU, which run campaigns for different groups of students. WOM*CAM (OR WOMEN*S CAMPAIGN) - this is a branch of the Student Union, which works interjectionally towards feminist justice, and represents women and non-binary students across the university. VP - Vice-president Turl Street Homeless Action - an Oxford society which distributes food, drink, and supplies to people living on the streets in Oxford

In this episode, Jurin(she/her) joined us to talk about her study experience from a student with low grades in high school to a masters at Oxford! The talk includes her experience of moving to different countries when growing up, how it influenced her study, her choice of learning Economics, and her suggestions for Economics applicants.

Timestamps

00:11 Introduction

00:56 Family and education backgroud

01:27 How moving to different countries when growing up influenced Jurin’s study

05:13 Gap year experience

08:36 Why chose to learn Economics

10:54 Applying for a Master at Oxford

14:00 A typical day in Jurin’s current study phase

15:41 Suggestions for Economics applicants

In this episode, Juan (he/him) is joined by Rachel (she/her) to talk about her experience as a law student from a South Asian background. What does a typical day look like? Are Oxford’s stereotypes really true? Plus a few tips for law applicants!

It's the start of a new year and a new term at Oxford, and we're back welcoming new interviewers to our team! In the first part of our "Meet the Interviewers" episode this term, meet Rose (4th year Law student) and Juan (2nd year Geographer), interviewed by Junaid.

In the latest episode, Siam (he/him) is joined by Sam (he/him) and Abishek (he/him) to talk about the Maths Admissions Test (MAT). How can you prepare? How is it different for each subject? Tune in to find out!

Timestamps:

0:45 - What is the MAT?

1:35 - What is the structure of the MAT?

6:15 - How similar are the questions to the Oxford course?

8:45 - How does the MAT compare to A-Level?

16:05 - How did you prepare?

23:15 - Do you have any advice to people taking the MAT?

26:00 - How does the MAT compare to the STEP?

In this episode, Olviya (any pronouns) speaks to Clarissa (she/her) about tackling university with chronic illnesses. Tune in to listen to Clarissa speak on navigating university and new diagnoses, dealing with doctors and prescriptions in the middle of a pandemic, and missing her cat!

[NB: Clarissa's experiences with her chronic illnesses are not meant to be assumptive of all chronic illnesses. There is a large range of chronic illnesses, all varying in severity and impact on quality of life - Clarissa speaks for her own experiences, which we ask you to respect!]

For more help and support as a disabled student in Oxford, do check out Oxford DisCam here: https://www.oxfordsu.org/campaigns/disabilities/

TIMESTAMPS:

00:40 - Clarissa’s chronic illnesses

01:49 - Initial concerns about moving 

03:19 - Applying to university + open days

06:43 - Experiences with college

09:41 - Experiences with department 

12:09 - Impacts of the pandemic 

14:11 - Isolation food….

15:58 - Advice to incoming students with a chronic illness

In todays episode Siam is joined with Alice to talk about how to tackle your personal statement if you're applying for Law? Stay tuned for some great tips and personal anecdotes if you're interested in applying to Law at Uni! 

In this episode, Aidan, Emily and Riya join us to talk about freshers' week. Find out about their work and role as JCR (Junior Common Room) reps during that week. As welfare, access and equalities and "enter" (entertainment) reps, they are in charge of many of the events taking place. 

Introductions: 0:10

What events are you going to organise during freshers' week as JCR reps? 2:28

What are college families? 9:53

What is your favourite or least favourite memory of your freshers' week? 12:00

What's your advice to freshers? 20:30

On a specifically requested episode today, hear about a day in the life of a biochemist! Leah talks about the structure of the course, her workload, and extracurricular activities. 

In today's episode Siam discusses with Freya all about how to go about writing your personal statement for Classics. Stay tuned for some very interesting insights, potential topic choices and Freya's own story of how she wrote her Classics personal statement.

In today's episode, Olviya (any pronouns) is joined by Sam (he/him), the treasurer of the Doctor Who Society. Join us as they discuss the society field trips, Sam's favourite doctor, and the creepiness of the Weeping Angels!

Link to the society website: https://users.ox.ac.uk/~whosoc/index.html

Doctor Who Society Discord sign-up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBoz4t1uukUcCTlE-HEm0L5tpLyJ1NBzVhBx1DCsNbOx0Tiw/viewform

TIMESTAMPS:

00:37 - What is Doctor Who Soc?

01:42 - Society field trips

02:45 - Sam's role in the society

03:00 - How soc decides on episode (feat. a memory with an iconic guest speaker!)

04:40 - How Sam got into Doctor Who

07:26 - Classic Who vs New Who

9:33 - Sam's controversial opinion

9:54 - Favourite Doctor?

11:10 - Memories of the show, featuring terrifying Weeping Angels and very strange Oods

15:00 - Favourite episode

15:51 - Where to find Doctor Who Soc (links in caption)

16:46 - Where to sign up!

17:20 - Final words for budding enthusiasts!

In today's Quickfire Question Siam asks Megan what she found to be the most stressful part of her application process for Chemistry. 

In this episode, Siam (he/him) asks Ella (she/her) about writing a personal statement for maths. Tune in to find out more!

In today's episode Siam discuss with Ella about all the different ways you can go about writing your maths personal statement. Stay tuned for some wise words and good further reading suggestions for those thinking of applying for Maths!

Website mentioned in the podcast: https://personalstatement-examples.com

In today's Quickfire Question, Hardeep gives us all her useful tips and tricks on how she deals with the stresses of studying a Maths degree at Oxford.

In today's Quickfire Question Siam asks Jo what her favourite thing about her college was? Stay tuned for some inside information that most students only get to find out once they're at Oxford! I do have to admit, if I had known this beforehand I would have applied to Exeter College too...

In this episode, Olviya (they/she) speaks to Grace (she/her) on her first year experience at uni while navigating student life with ASD. Join us as Grace gives an insight on being neurodivergent at university, her experiences with the application process (and whether it was any different to the process for neurotypicals) and starting her first year in the middle of a pandemic. 

[Please keep in mind that Grace's experiences is not indicative of all experiences with ASD! ASD will present differently in individuals and therefore what we discuss in this episode is simply just Grace's personal experiences, thoughts and views, which we ask you to understand and respect!]

For more help and support as a disabled student in Oxford, do check out Oxford DisCam here: https://www.oxfordsu.org/campaigns/disabilities/

TIMESTAMPS: 

00:56 - What is ASD?

02:29 - Applying to university with ASD

04:21 - Thoughts on first year overall

06:55 - Studying from home + online uni with the chemistry department

10:15 - Experience with college accommodation

14:23 - advice for incoming students with ASD

17:22 - how neurotypicals can support neurodivergents 

20:03 - final words of advice on results day

Laurel (she/her) discusses with recent English literature graduate Lola the most difficult part of her application process. Do you really need to write 7 drafts of your your personal statement? How do you get started? Who should get to read it? Tune in to find out more! 

Megan (she/her) is joined by Hardeep (she/her) to discuss what she's up to after finishing her maths degree! What is an actuary, and how did Hardeep find out about it? How can you skip some of the (many) exams needed to qualify? And why does Hardeep want to become an actuary in the first place? Spoilers: she likes maths!

Siam (he/him) talks to Junaid (3rd yr, medicine) about what part of the Oxford admissions process he found the most stressful and how you can deal with it.

In this Quickfire Question episode, Jess talks about her day in the life as a music student. 

00:10 Introduction

00:39 What does a day in your life at Oxford look like? 

02:17 How is the music course structured?

In today's Quickfire Question episode Siam asks Anthony if he could do any other degree than History, what would it be? Stay tuned for not the most conventional answer to this quickfire question, as Anthony shares us all the various avenues he would consider if he could do undergraduate studies all over again. 

In this episode, Ariana talks about a day in the life of a medicine student. How is the course structured? How is the workload? And what is Oxford like? Check out this episode!

In today's Quickfire Question episode, JP (he/him) talks to David (he/him) about his role as a Year Representative. Join us as we talk about what the role entails and how the demands of the role have been altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when discussing arrangements for Finals for the year cohort.

In the latest episode, Megan (she/her) is joined by Junaid (he/him) to talk about oKay Kpop Dance Society, the university’s only Kpop dance and culture appreciation society. Tune in to find out about K-Dramas, competitions, and much, much more! 

In this episode of Quickfire Questions, Junaid (he/him) chats to Yijia (she/her) about what a day in the life of a Musicology (MSt in Music) is like! Already an award-winning singer-songwriter, listen to find out about what Yijia's focus for her academic career is, and what sort of things you can explore within a Musicology degree.

 ‘Exams aren’t about writing great answers, they’re about writing great answers according to a very specific specification’ - Conrad.

Tune in for an extraordinary episode where Conrad shares his wisdom on how he tackles humanities exams. He discusses how important the it is to align your revision alongside the exam criteria, looking for common trends on what comes up in past papers, and his very detailed personal approach to how he tackled his Humanities Exams. 

In today's Quickfire Question episode, Siam (he/him) talks to Ella (she/her) about dealing with stress. Join us as we talked about how Ella learned to cope with stress throughout her two years of studying Maths, what her methods are for tackling stress well, and a few things she wished she was aware of before starting university. 

Today we are joined by Caro and Julia to talk about the Oxford German Society- How can you join? What's it like being on the committee? And how can they help with your application? Join us to find out all this and more.

00:15 Introductions

00:52 What does the German Society do?

03:11 What motivated you to get involved in GermanSoc?

06:15 What's your favourite memory so far? Is there anything that you're planning right now that you're particularly looking forward to?

09:40 How do you manage to deal with the workload and your role in the committee?

15:35 How does the German Society reach out to applicants/offer holders from Germany?

Quickfire Questions: In this Quickfire Question, Olviya (she/they) asks Megan (she/her) what she got up to in the final week of vacations. Join us as we talk about Megan's ways to procrastinate and revise in the run up to Trinity term collections!

Check out our latest episode where Abbie (she/her) interviews Lily (3rd year, English) about how to rent a house in Oxford. This episode is useful for prospective and current students alike. Where are the best places to live in Oxford? How do you begin renting? What are the costs involved? Watch this episode for the answers to these questions and more!🤩

Quickfire Questions: Siam is joined with Megan to talk about her top study tips. Tune in for this one to hear Megan's unique take on approaching studying!!

In the latest episode, Megan (she/her) is joined by Siam (he/him) to discuss methods for managing stress in the long term, how to change your mindset around stress, and some tips for dealing with stress in the moment. Tune in to find out how Shawshank Redemption can help you manage stress, and much, much more!

Useful links:

The Happiness Trap book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happiness-Trap-Based-revolutionary-mindfulness-based/dp/184529825X/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=52136689334&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKC

The Daily Stoic book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daily-Stoic-Meditations-Perseverance-translations/dp/1781257655

Why Worry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YRjX3A_8cM

Timestamps:

0:50 - How do you manage stress? Introduction

1:45 - Changing your perspective

5:10 - Managing a stressful moment 

7:15 - Stoicism

10:10 - Mindfulness and meditation

14:30 - Using hopefulness as a tool 

20:56 - How do you deal with stress in the moment?

In the latest episode, Megan (she/her) is joined by Alice (she/her) and Ana (she/her) to discuss what life is like as an international student at Oxford. How can you navigate UCAS and personal statements? Can you easily make friends with other students? What was the biggest surprise arriving in the UK? Tune in to find out more! 

For more information, here is the university website for international applicants: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/for-international-students

You can also check out department and college websites for more information!

In this episode, Olviya (she/they) asks Sofia (she/they) why she chose to study biochemistry, the supercurriculars she did and her advice for anyone wanting to study biochem at Oxford. 

In this interview, JP Ay (he/him) interviews international Law student Jessie Chung (she/her) about being a OCD mental health advocate (@ocdxo on Instagram) on a mission to break the stigma surrounding discussions of mental illnesses.

Jessie shares her own struggles with OCD and being an international student, and shares some great tips for how to improve and maintain a healthy mental health while stuck at home during lockdown.  Definitely one to watch if you have ever struggled with depression, anxiety, OCD or would like some tips on how to deal with intrusive thoughts!

00:09 Introductions  

01:23 What kickstarted you journey to being an OCD activist?  

03:31 How would you define OCD? Why is it important to understand?

07:30 How do you think student's working environments have changed over 

          lockdown? How has this impacted their mental health?

09:13 What has your experience been of university work load on your stress 

          levels and mental health? 

12:02 Do you think it has been harder to adapt to university lifestyle from 

          home as an international student?

14:15 Can you share any methods or resources that you've used to promote a 

          good mental health?

19:00 Why do you think there is still such a stigma around mental health?

22:55 Do you have any talks coming up on mental health? Were there any that 

          you really enjoyed? 

24:15  Where can we find your social media posts and more mental health 

           tips?

25:19 Closing Statements

For lots of additional mental health resources do check out Jessie's Instagram page (@ocdxo), the OCD UK page: https://www.ocduk.org/ and the Oxford University Counselling Service's podcasts: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/counselling/self-help/podcasts

In this episode of the Quickfire Questions series, Siam asks Laurel, 3rd year English student at Jesus College, if she could do any other degree, what would it be and why! Have a listen and find out a bit about what Oxford students could be interested in, besides the course they ended up choosing!

In today's episode Siam talks with Andrew about how to go about writing a personal statement in Theology and Religion. Stay tuned for invaluable advice, Andrew's experiences and different topics you can mention in your Personal Statement.

In this episode Siam talks with JP all about how to go about how to publish your own book! JP, an already self-published author, tell us his experiences of publishing his book, what the process is like, his relationship with his editor and much more! 

For all those aspiring academics and authors - stay tuned!

Quickfire Questions: In today's episode, Megan (she/her) talks to Eilidh (she/her) about what Eilidh is doing after graduating from Oxford. Do you have to become a lawyer if you study law? Do you have to have a strict career plan? How can you decide what you want to do? Tune in to find out all this and more!

Olviya (she/they) talks to Nélson (he/him) and Leo (he/him) about volunteering: how and why they volunteer, the access schemes they run, and how much of an impact student participation can make on widening access at Oxford.

Find Target Schools at: https://www.oxfordsu.org/activities/target-schools/

Join OxPath: https://www.oxpath.co.uk/

Timestamps:

00:15 - Introductions

01:00 - How did you begin in volunteering?

02:27 - Leo talks about OxPath 

06:03 - Nélson talks about Target Schools

08:22 - The impacts of COVID on experiences of volunteering

11:40 - What it's like to volunteer in access during Hilary term.

13:19 - Is your scheme partnered with the Crankstart Scholarship scheme?

14:15 - Where to find Target Schools and OxPath.

14:55 - Final words of advice about volunteering 

15:30 - Closing statements

Check out our latest 'Quickfire Questions' episode where Abbie (she/her) asks Ana (2nd Year, Earth Scientist) about what a normal day in her life looks like as an Earth Scientist. How does Earth Sciences differ from other degrees? Are the days very full? Is there a lot of work involved? What sort of things do you learn about? Get all your answers and more in this short episode.