I applied to Brasenose initially. I was attracted to its location in the centre of Oxford and to the fact that for all years of my course, I could live in college-owned accommodation (and avoid Oxford private rent!) However, I was pooled to another college during my interviews and ended up receiving an offer at Mansfield. This was really a blessing, and I wouldn’t change my college or the people I became friends with for the world!
Mansfield is slightly more out of the centre than Brasenose but is still near all the important things and isn’t far from the centre at all. It’s a brief 10-minute walk to my lectures in Exam Schools (when they’re in person, and not on Zoom due to the pandemic), and is also really near University Parks, a lovely green space that makes for a great de-stressing walk or run. Especially in COVID times, its proximity to green spaces and its big open quad has been one of my favourite things about my college. We also have two college cats – Basil and Bea – both of whom will show love and affection to anyone who carries a pouch of Dreamies treats around in their back pocket.
In terms of accommodation, all onsite and offsite rooms have kitchen access. Onsite, most rooms are ensuite and although the older blocks don’t, they tend to be much larger which makes up for it. Offsite, most rooms have shared bathroom facilities but there are more kitchens – they’re not shared between as many people as the onsite ones. I’ve found that having kitchens is really useful because you can make cheap meals, but it is possible to eat lunch and dinner (and brunch on weekends) in the Chapel Hall, where lunch is usually around £3 and dinner is £4/£5. Food in Hall is on a pay-as-you-go basis (in normal non-COVID times) which is useful because you have a lot of freedom to decide between cooking or buying a meal depending on how you feel.
Overall, Mansfield is a small college in terms of undergraduate admission with just over 70 undergrads per year on average. If you’re looking for a college with a very large undergraduate body, Mansfield probably isn’t the place for you. I will say that gossip travels very fast when there are fewer people for it to get around, but fewer people also make for more homely vibes and it’s easier to get to know everyone quicker. When it comes to social events and societies, however, despite having fewer people than some larger colleges, Mansfield has plenty to offer. The sports clubs such as rowing, football, and netball are classics you’ll find at most colleges, but we also have an Ultimate Frisbee society and a roller-skating club, so there’s really something for everyone, at every level of ability as well. We have two bops (big college parties) held in our large, hall-like JCR every term, as well as a termly C&Cs evening. C&Cs stands for champagne and chocolate – this is a night where everyone dresses up in suits and dresses, drinks wine, and eats chocolate until late in the JCR. I’ve really missed these events, which haven’t been able to go ahead due to COVID over the last year – hopefully, we can get back to stupid outfits and endless chocolate soon!
At Oxford, I study PPE, well-known for being an apparent fast-track to jobs in government or becoming Prime Minister, and even more so for being the subject of choice for private-school applicants. This was something I was aware of when applying and it felt rather daunting as if the odds were stacked against me getting in. Not all PPE undergrads have this background, but there are certainly a few who do, and coming from a state-school background where your experience of education has been very different from the private school experience, this can be intimidating. Mansfield’s state-school intake is the highest at the university and has been consistently high for years at over 90%; at Mansfield, whether you’re applying to Oxford or settling in, there’s less of this intimidation going on and the atmosphere is very comfortable and friendly. We’re known for being ‘the access college’ and you can tell from the statistics that this is very true.
My first formal dinner at Mansfield, our Undergraduate Dinner, was an opportunity to have some nice food, a chat, and if you chose to drink, to get drunk on some nice wine. There are a few formal dinners each term, all of which are held in our Chapel Hall and are around £12-£15, depending on the number of courses. At this first meal (which was free), we were seated and ate alongside all our tutors and fellow students. I remember being scared because I didn’t know which glass to use for water and which for wine, or which forks to use for certain courses. When my tutor told me that she had no idea which to use either, I remember breathing a sigh of relief. A lot of the pomp and splendour you see is really just for show – the academics who teach you have no clue what’s going on with the cutlery or the numerous glasses in front of you either. They’re super-duper smart and they read a lot, but this reading really doesn’t usually cover formal dinner etiquette
Mansfield’s taught me that regardless of your background when you’re all gathered around a table at a meal or sat at a desk during a tutorial, all that really matters is that you love your subject and are willing to talk about it for hours. I think that lesson is the most important one Oxford can teach you, and I will say that at Mansfield especially, it’s really emphasised from the start that your background does not matter; so long as you have a passion for learning, you can achieve anything.
Visit www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk for more details!