What Students Say
Likes
- I get to take courses only in my major which enables me to specialize early on.
- Bachelor's degree is awarded in 3 years with an optional masters in the 4th year which means I save a lot of money and can start working sooner with more qualifications.
- One on one tutorials two to three times a week with professors who have a lot of research experience enables me to learn the course material in greater depth.
Dislikes
- Unable to take courses outside my major but I chose Oxford specifically because I was sure I wanted to do only Computer Science in college.
- Sports facilities are decent but because everybody is academically focused there is not much investment in the sports teams.
- No investment in the infrastructure and most of the laboratory buildings and even the CS department has outdated infra that should be upgraded considering the amount of money they receive.
Course Curriculum
- Mostly theoretical with a focus on the mathematics behind computer science (linear algebra, multi-variable calculus, probability)
- Positive aspects are that the courses are entirely dependent on your major so if you pick the major you are interested in you will have a great time studying only the most interesting courses in that major.
- This can also be a negative since you might be unsure which subject you want to study and there are very limited opportunities to switch your major.
Admission Experience
- I was admitted into Northwestern, UIUC, Purdue, RIT, UW Madison, IIT Gandhinagar, University of Waterloo and I was waitlisted (and ultimately rejected) at UPenn, UMich and rejected from Cornell.
- So a total of 10 applications across three countries.
- I was rejected from Cornell mainly because I did not have sufficient extra-curriculars outside of my subject area.
- I chose Oxford because of the academic rigor as well as the career opportunities that arise because of the brand name.
- Admissions Process: Maths Admissions Test followed by interviews with the professors of your chosen subject.
- Any standard 12th grade curriculum is accepted (AP exams for American curriculum, ISC/CBSE for Indian, A Levels for UK, etc)
- The main challenge was preparing well for the admissions test and making sure I am regularly practicing math and CS problems for my interviews. Communicating the ideas with my friends and thinking out loud was the best way to prepare.
- There is only one intake with the application deadline somewhere in the month of September.
- You have to sit for your admissions test in mid-October and you are invited for interviews in mid-December if you successfully pass the admissions test.
- The only factor that influences the admissions decision is your problem-solving ability in the subject you are applying for.
Class Schedule
- The lectures are typically from 9 am to 11 am every-day, practicals from 2 pm to 4 pm once a week and tutorials (one-on-one with the professor) from 2 pm to 4 pm thrice a week.
- There are about 50 students in CS out of which only 2 are from India.
Faculty
- 1:1
- This means the tutorials are extremely personalized and you can learn in-depth from experts in the field.
- Some professors are good at teaching and others are better at research so you have to make the best use of the professors who teach well and ask them for further reading material and further guidance (which they are more than happy to provide)
- The course content provides the foundational material required to understand the subject well but it does not directly give you the tools to get a job.
- You have to learn the job related skills on your own but most people find that fairly easy because they have their basic understanding of key concepts sorted out in the courses.
- Faculty members are happing to help students find part-time positions depending on the interest of the students because of the personalized teaching.
- I admire Professor Bernard Sufrin the most because he was one of the earliest contributors to the creation of the internet so every tutorial he takes I come out with a much deeper understanding of Computer Science. He also gave me a MacBook for Christmas to use to do some of my practicals and he gave me reading material from his lectures from thirty years ago that are still relevant and used by the industry today.
Campus Life
- Oxford has just one campus with many colleges inside (about thirty)
- Each college has their own library for the use of people inside the college and each college has their own sports facilities although there is also a central sports facilities for students from across the entire university.
Part Time Jobs
- Most masters students can work as teaching assistants or take part in research with faculty as a research assistant. I am unsure of the pay (if there is any pay) but most of the 4th year students get invaluable research experience while in this position that helps them get PhD spots in the top universities.
- It is not usual to work on-campus (only 20 hours a week is allowed) because the terms are only 8 weeks each and the academic rigor is usually quite high.
- However it is fairly possible to work during holiday times in internship roles when there is no limit on the amount of work you can do (and the holidays are the remaining 28 weeks of the year)
- CS students typically earn about 30-50 pounds per hour in the part-time jobs. Most dedicated students who are interested in their field end up getting the best part-time jobs.
- There is no formal process and most of these jobs are advertised by the university through the careers page or they are made known through contacts within the university. The subject societies also advertise various internships for students.
Placement
- Most of the graduating batch secures employment immediately upon graduation because of the brand name as well as the knowledge gained by undergoing the rigorous curriculum.
- For CS the average salary was about 80K pounds about 5 years ago but it has been increasing a lot so the current stats could be closer to 100K pounds per annum.
- Most students get interviewed at all of the companies they apply to (because of having Oxford on their resume) but the final result depends on their candidacy.
- The biggest companies in the world come to Oxford (Meta, Amazon, Google) as well as the highest paying ones (trading firms such as Optiver, Hudson River Trading, SIG, Five Rings)
Accommodation
- All accommodation is on-campus although you can rent your own apartment and live outside (more expensive than the cheap accommodation provided by the university)
- The rent is about 30 pounds per night so it comes out to 5500 pounds per year.
- The food, rent and living facilities provided (laundry, kitchens, etc) come at a great subsidized cost and there are enough people around to help you in case of assistance.
- I would recommend future students to stay on-campus especially if they are not from the country because it is much cheaper and much easier to manage.
- My accommodation is right opposite the library and most Indian students live nearby to me in similar rooms.
Exams
- The admissions test specific to the subject you are applying for (MAT for Maths, CS candidates, PAT for physics, engineering, etc.)
- No other documents are necessary and the personal statement is not important at all
- Technical interviews are conducted for those who clear the admissions test and the admissions decision depends entirely on how well you demonstrate your knowledge and aptitude for the subject in the interview.
- The interviews are conducted by the professors who will teach you one-on-one in the tutorials so they are important for the professors to know if you are teachable and you can learn from them.
Events
- There are no major campus festivals celebrated by there are many societies (clubs) that everyone can join for a nominal fee (example the different sports societies and the societies for each subject)
- The extracurricular activities also mainly take place through the various societies (I am a part of the Computer Science society which has free pizza night twice a week and a coding competition every two weeks.
- I am also a part of the Squash team which is part of the Squash Society and I get to play matches representing the University and travel around the nearby universities)
Fees
- 48 lakhs (INR) for the first year, 52 lakhs for the second year, 56 lakhs for the third year and 60 lakhs for the fourth year (optional)
- You can request to have your fees paid across the three terms by applying for financial aid - otherwise you have to make the entire payment at the start of the year.
- Monthly expenses is about 30K (INR) and transportation is 80K for the return flight twice or thrice a year
Scholarship
- There are no scholarships or financial aid available for any international students in the UK.
- The only bursaries and need-based financial aid is available for UK citizens.
- There are no merit scholarships and the only one that used to exist for IMO Gold Medallists was removed this year. Hence it is important to be able to cover all your expenses on your own.