RIDE AROUND : University of Oxford

The difficulty- It is a blend of theory and practical but a higher level of importance is given to the practical side. Students are encouraged to constantly write and comment on works of other students.

The difficulty level is between moderate to advanced. What's challenging is the fact that assignments take place right after the units are over and units resume right after the examination.

Positive aspect of the course- the course uses unconventional methods of teaching. Rather than just stating what is better or what sorts of techniques are better, most often than not we are given the chance to try all methods and decide for ourselves.

I only applied to the University of Oxford for my course and I got accepted in the first go. I did not apply to any other university or any other course. I did research universities that provided courses in creative writing but I found Oxford's blended structure to fit my needs perfectly. I knew what I wanted- a blended course from a reputed university and only Oxford could suffice me with this particular demand.

The reasons why I chose Oxford and the Creative Writing course-
- I started my career by being placed from LSR as a content writer and further got into client management and became the associate director of content. During my 3-4 years in corporate, I learnt everything from scratch as I never studied literature but was a student of Philosophy. I wanted to pursue a course that would give me some base knowledge in my field and further satiate my interest in creative writing. As a result, I started researching colleges abroad that gave emphasis to creative writing. After realizing there is an enormous scope of creative writing abroad, I started shortlisting all the courses that would let me work alongside as I did not take a huge loan and leave my job. That got me to shortlist Oxford as I found it to tick all my boxes-
- Will let me pursue my job.
- Will not be totally remote- will give me a taste of the university.
- Would have a good name attached to the university, preferably in the field I am applying

The admission process was simple. There were no costs involved in submitting the application. The students were required to submit the following-
- SOP
- 3 LORs
- an assignment- I chose to write a story of 2000 words but there were 2 more options, one pertaining to poetry and one for screenwriting.

The eligibility criteria looked at the following-
- 12th grades.
- 10th grades
- GRE was optional
-ILTES (but students who have studied in English medium schools didn't have to take ILTES)

The overall experience was quite smooth and hassle-free.

Filling out and submitting the application did not take more than a week. My first round took place in June when I submitted my application. My interview took place in July, with the course director and one of the senior professors. I got the acceptance letter in August. So, in my opinion, the entire process was pretty smooth and timely. They gave this timeline way ahead, during the submission of the application and followed the timeline throughout the application process.
 

So there are no online classes with one teacher teaching all students. We are given weekly tasks which are units. In each unit there are 10-12 modules which are a mix of video, text and mini assessments to complete in that week.

As its a writing course, this kind of methodology becomes useful as it provides ample opportunities to write.

The average number of students in my class is 12-15. In other cohorts the number is similar.

I am the only Indian, there are two more students, one is from Indian origin but is second generation citizen in US, and another is a fourth generation citizen in South Africa with one side of Indian origin.

Faculty to student ratio during the online classes were 1:15 which gave us an opportunity to connect with the teachers and exchange ideas.

The classes used to happen at a round table where the teacher had some kind of handout and presentation. But, nothing about the lectures was purely theoretical. Never was a day when our teachers came, spoke and left. Usually, we were given some or the other task or experiment to work on in class. For instance, one of our screenwriting classes, our professor sat and made us write the complete pitch to present to production houses. Individual answers were read, commented on, analyzed and refined together in the class.

Regarding finding a part-time and full-time job, it really depends on the students if they have an interest in such matters. When it came to our class, we are more enthusiastic to know about competitions and agents and our teachers usually try to assist us in different ways.

One of our fiction teachers and one of our literary non-fiction teachers stand out the most. The first one is always motivated, has profound knowledge and resources and tries to always understand different perspectives. Her ideas and concepts are unique and she tries to provide comprehensive input. Even though she is one of the more stricter faculty, her finesse in the literary field overshadows everything else. The latter is also an extremely accomplished teacher but the reason she stands out for me is because before an examination I told her about my writer's block and rather than reprimanding me, she understood my challenge and gave the most empathetic solution. It felt like she understood what it feels like to be on this side of the table and valued my academic worth beyond the grades
 

As the course is online, part-time job opportunities are rare. However, there is a placement cell and career network that sends updates daily to ensure students are aware of different opportunities. Rest, as the students are from all over the world and mostly already working, none of my batchmates have started working part-time from the job. However, for the students doing the course completely offline have part-time opportunities available to them.

As explained earlier, none of my batchmates work part-time during this course as most of the students are already employed. However, if someone wants to find a job, part-time, all they have to do is sign into their career connect page and then filter part-time jobs, select their expertise and geographical area and they are good to go. They will find all the jobs available for them

IELTS is required by the students but if the students can provide attested documentation of from their school that they have studied in an English medium school then the examination is not required.

A statement of purpose is required where the students need to explain why they are fit for the course and how the course will benefit them.

Two to three LORs are required from either teachers/managers/co-workers who can explain how you have performed in their organization.

12th, 10th marksheet/degree are required.

If you have studied further, in my case I had already completed my undergrad and postgrad. So, I had to provide mark sheet/degree for both.

There was an interview after the application which was taken by the course director and one of the faculty. They usually check if you have the right skills, ideas, and interests and if you can fit in the course well. The questions vary from as simple as what books one is reading to something technical like how the book's ideas can be utilized in one's writings. As the application process is highly competitive, the interview carries decent importance in the overall selection.
 

As mentioned earlier, there are two ways for fee submission-
- In one go- here the students can submit the entire fee for the year at once.
- Installments- here, the students can submit the free in 3 instalments spanning over a year with no additional interest or charges.

The fee is usually taken for one year at a time and the second year fee is usually different from the first year and revealed after the first year is done.

There are no additional monthly expenses during the online course but while visiting Oxford for classes, the tuition is covered in the overall fee, but the hostel/BnB is an additional expense that varies each year. The hostel is very hard to secure due to high demand. BnBs which are shared with a family (this is something most students chose in my course) varied from somewhere 60,000 to 1,50,000 for fifteen days.

Additionally the fee each year varies but a round figure would be somewhere around 7 - 8 LPA.