Hi! My name is Deborah, and I am a 2nd year Classics student at Exeter college, Oxford. And whilst I originally applied to St John’s college, I wouldn’t exchange my place at Exeter for the world.
I applied to St Johns mostly because I had heard that it had a lot of money, and though I was surprised to get an offer from Exeter (as I had never heard of the college before), I was thrilled to be going to Oxford either way. Exeter is well-known for being one of the friendliest colleges in Oxford and I couldn’t agree more. I have made countless friends here, and the environment is so friendly which allows me to feel comfortable no matter who I am talking to. The Fellow’s Garden is one of the best places, especially in the summer, to sit and have a chat with people who you don’t know very well, and it has the BEST view of the Radcliffe Camera out of all the colleges. Not only that, but Exeter is a very central college, next to Brasenose and opposite Jesus. I’ve had so many opportunities to meet people in the colleges around us due to my college’s great location.
You should apply to Exeter if you enjoy a homely feeling to your stay at Oxford. If you want to make good friends and strong bonds with the people around you, I would definitely recommend Exeter college. I love the people as well as my tutors, and I love love love our college cat, Walter! I wouldn’t want to apply to any other college to be honest, mostly because my friends from other colleges are always coming to Exeter to use our comfy facilities. There’s this great study space called Cohen Quad over in Jericho (near Worcester college), where the common room is amazingly comfy with a ping pong table, and you can book rooms to study with friends. It’s my regular hangout spot with my friends.
My favourite thing about Exeter is the people. From fellow students, to tutors, to scouts, everyone is just so lovely. My Classics tutor is very kind and understanding, and I hear a lot of people say this about their tutors too. However, I would say that my least favourite thing about Exeter, is the ballot system for accommodation. Classics students must live out in 3rd year, and I just don’t want to! I wish I could just stay in college instead. The accommodation in college varies however, all first years with live in the main college site, and I really liked my room in 1st year, but some of the other rooms like in staircase 9 weren’t as done up. Nonetheless, staircase 9 did look like a fun place to live as so many people lived there, it must’ve been easy to make friends. In 2nd year I now live in a friendship house with 7 other people. My room is quite big and spacious and I’m happy to get to live with my friends in college, but kind of disappointed that the college-owned row of houses are in Iffley, a 30 minute walk from the city centre. There were other options for where to live in 2nd year, and a couple of friends I know are in college accommodation in Cohen Quad or Abingdon, but I quite like it here in the Stapledon friendship houses.
Exeter college is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford and its alumni include J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Phillip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, and Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes. Exeter also boasts a few international prime ministers and presidents, including John Kufuor, a former president of Ghana. On the other hand, it has produced Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings, so you win some, you lose some.
All in all, I would say that Exeter is a great college. I’ve felt at home there as soon as I arrived, and I honestly don’t believe I would feel as at home anywhere else. It has an incredibly welcome vibe to it and is definitely the best college at Oxford.
Visit the Exeter college website for more info!