Brasenose is a friendly, medium sized college right in the centre of Oxford on Radcliffe Square. There are usually around 400 undergraduates, so everyone tends to get to know each other well within a short space of time. I applied to Brasenose after going to the UNIQ summer school in 2018. Our Schools Officer, Joe, gave us a very honest tour of Brasenose alongside some of the student ambassadors and I knew that was where I was going to apply. I loved the atmosphere at Brasenose – every student I met made a genuine effort to make me feel welcome and the college was really supportive of any extra things I needed to make my transition to university as a care leaver as easy as possible.
Brasenose offers accommodation for all years of your course, which is split between two sites. We have our main site, where freshers and a fair percentage of our finalists stay, and Frewin Annexe which is a few minutes walk away.
Rooms are fairly priced – students are able to pick rooms within their price range in the room ballot and also pick to live in the same areas as their friends. In all honesty, it doesn’t very often matter where you end up because the students are happy to chat and make friends with anyone. Accommodation is also maintained and looked after by Scouts, Porters and the Workshop staff, who are genuinely some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met. Our main site college accommodation doesn’t have kitchen facilities, but this is offset by our cheap and cheerful hall options and the infamous Brunch, which is the best meal to have after a night out – particularly when they offer scrambled eggs over poached..
Brasenose has lots of unique events throughout the year. One of our traditions is Ale Verses, which takes place on Shrove Tuesday. A few weeks before, students are invited to write lyrics to existing songs that reflect life at Brasenose. Sometimes these are songs we all know and love, like Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ or Green Day’s ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ and sometimes they’re more traditional songs. On Shrove Tuesday, after a fancy three course formal, we assemble in hall for an hour’s worth of singing and a very reliable ‘whichever song gets the loudest clap wins’. We also boast a big Arts Week festival 3rd Week of Trinity, which everyone can get involved in and includes drama, music, dance and even baking and a tradition of running through to Lincoln College for ivy beer on ‘Ascension Day’.
Before coming to Brasenose, I think I’d been sucked into the belief that everyone at Oxford, and Brasenose, was going to be posh posh and rich and private-schooled and that Brasenose, with its Prime Ministers, authors and actors as alumni, was not going to be friendly and there’d be no opportunity to relax. Every single one of those beliefs was shattered within days. There are students at Brasenose from a variety of backgrounds and the vast majority of our students are state school educated. Brasenose is actually known as one of the friendliest colleges in Oxford. There is plenty of time to relax and always someone willing to go for a walk, head down to a pub or restaurant, or come for a cuppa in your room.
I’m obviously biased, but I really would recommend applying to Brasenose. I’ve looked at other colleges, and yes, some of them might have bigger grounds, and some of them might have a college cat or tortoise but I’ve never walked into another college and felt so at home and happy. The Brasenose community is fiercely loyal and supportive of everyone. I’ve loved getting involved in Brasenose’s access work, because working with students and seeing their sincere passion for their subjects and love for college is unmatched. College is dedicated to supporting students individually and collectively, and has offered a lovely place to call home for the last year and a half
Visit the Brasenose college website for more details!