Hi, I’m Meg, and I am the Access and Admissions Rep at Corpus Christi College, Oxford! Even though you can make an open application, I decided to apply for Corpus after my open day experience. The college was positive, chill and had a really friendly vibe. Everybody seemed to know each other, and most importantly, I really got the feeling that everybody loved what they did and were passionate about their subject. I am a second-year law student, but at the time, I was interested in medicine and chemistry, and the same small and friendly vibe (basically Corpus’ tagline) came across in my conversations with tutors, porters and students alike. Approximately 65% of students at Corpus went to a state school, which was more than I had expected for Oxford but definitely needs to be improved. My biggest fear was that I would be so different to everybody else: my northern accent makes me stand out as well as my state school background. At the freshers formal, my first thought was worrying about how to eat the bread. I also thought everybody would already know each other. However, Corpus really is evidence that there is no Oxford mould.
My favourite thing about my college is the community – the benefit of a small college is that you really do get to know everybody. Before Covid, the Beer Cellar (our college bar) was busy most nights, whether you were pre-drinking before a night out or taking a break from the library between study sessions. The most popular drink is called a Pelican, which is also our college mascot and features on our incredible sundial in the centre of the quad. University can feel overwhelming but having that community to fall back on stopped me from feeling lost in my first few terms. Obviously, a small college can occasionally feel a little bit cliquey, and everybody always seems to know what everyone else is up to. I think Corpus especially can sometimes feel a little bit too small, but I tend to take my tutors’ advice and, in fifth week, make sure I get away from Oxford for at least a day or two. Corpus is also quite an academic college, so it’s important to have time away to realise essays aren’t everything.
I didn’t go to the open day knowing what I wanted from a college or even that I was going to apply to Oxford in general. However, as I walked around lots of different colleges, the biggest checkboxes of my imaginary list became a 24/7 library, a grand and beautiful college with modern accommodation and a central location. Corpus ticks all three! Our roof terrace is really unique and has spectacular views of Christ Church Meadow. Corpus provides accommodation for all years of your undergraduate degree, and it is generally very good. In first year, most freshers get rooms in Oldham Building, and all rooms on the first three floors have an ensuite and those that don’t have a fantastic balcony. The best thing about accommodation though is that all freshers are in the same building, making it incredibly easy to get to know people. Plus, the limited kitchen facilities in first year encourages everybody to eat together in Hall (which does breakfast, lunch and dinner in the week and an infamous brunch at the weekend).
Our college pet is a tortoise called Foxe, and we even have a position in our JCR (stands for Junior Common Room which is both a room in college and our undergraduate student body) called tortoise welfare officer. The quirk of Corpus is our tortoise fair, basically a summer fete or barbeque with a famous tortoise race. I still haven’t managed to go to one of these yet (Covid times), but all I know is that Foxe is actually relatively slow.
My advice to anyone thinking about applying to Oxford is to create a list of what you wantfrom a college (the college suggester on the Oxford SU website is also an excellent tool), check out social media (most college JCRs have an Instagram) but also to try to get a vibe from each college and see if it’s somewhere you could see yourself. I loved Corpus from the moment I walked into the quad, and all in all, I’m really happy I applied here.
Visit the Corpus Christi website for more details!
