Hey! I’m Natalie, a final year student studying History at Jesus College. When I applied to Oxford, I didn’t really take much time researching colleges, to be honest. I was told by a helper at UNIQ Summer School that it was known as ‘the Welsh college’ and thought that was a good enough reason to apply, being a Pembrokeshire girl. I will always recommend Jesus College to any prospective student because it really lives up to its name ‘ the friendly college’. I think the study body is a great size which means that it’s small enough that pretty much everybody ends up knowing each other. Most people would strike a smile or have a little chat with you as you pass each other in the quads, this also means that the community spirit is rife and inter-year bonding is easily achieved!
The close-knit feel also makes for great vibes at college events, which are my favourite things about Jesus. We have a LOT of events to look forward to each term, which I didn’t realise was unique and uncommon across Oxford colleges. Every Michaelmas term we have ‘ Dinner Dance’ which is a fancy Christmas dinner and you guessed it, a dance, in a fancy hotel. Every Trinity term we have our ‘Cocktail Dance’ which is less formal but includes hiring out a club, dancing, eating lots of fun food like candy floss and hotdogs and drinking from a vodka luge ( non-alcoholic drinks available too!). Finally, in Trinity term, we have our ‘Summer Soiree’ which is a bit like Cocktail Dance but in the summer. So we have all of this, not to mention formal halls, bops and balls to look forward to! These events bring the whole college together in such a lovely way.
I know a lot of people will be worried about how to fund these events (I was) but luckily Jesus has great financial help. On top of the university-wide means-tested bursaries, Jesus College also offers access bursaries of up to £850 per year depending on your household income and many other bursaries available depending on your individual situation. Personal highlights for me have been receiving the book grants and Dodd Fund, the latter providing every student with a one-off payment of £250 to go towards a holiday abroad for non-academic reasons!
In terms of accommodation, I think Jesus does it well, although some may slightly disagree on that. So, first-years live on the main site which is on Ship Street and Turl Street and you can’t fault this location, it is smack bang in the centre of town and really provides that proper Oxford experience. Although, there are no kitchens, so be warned, you will be eating in hall/ from the array of places on Cornmarket. Second years move to a block of flats in Jericho called Stevens Close and I personally loooooved this accommodation but I know some flats had issues with mould and coldness etc so I guess it depends on what flat you get. Stevens was very sociable and the layout really lived up to that community feel that I spoke about previously. Then, third years and beyond typically live in Cowley at a place called Barts. I won’t lie, Barts is DEEP Cowley, which is very far in comparison to 1st and 2nd-year accommodation (about 30 mins walk to main site college and 10 mins bike ride). Initially, I was disappointed when I heard how far Barts was, but since being here I must admit it is lovely and I was being so dramatic about it. We’re surrounded by beautiful greenery, sunsets and the flats/houses are generally better quality than in the second year. It is great to have college accommodation provided for you for the whole duration of your course, not to mention in both central Oxford, Jericho and Cowley. This means that you get to explore more of Oxford than you otherwise would, and you get to move as a year group which I like but I guess it’s not for everyone!
Overall, I’m very grateful to be at Jesus and to have met so many amazing friends along the way. I feel like the tutors and many of the members of staff genuinely care about the students. I think that in terms of diversity, Jesus is trying, but the college must do more. Initially, not meeting many students from similar backgrounds to me definitely made my imposter syndrome worse and I hope that in the imminent future, Jesus will be the exemplar to all other colleges. We need more students from underrepresented groups to apply so that the college can flourish as a more inclusive and accessible place.
Visit the Jesus College website for more details!