I actually didn’t apply to Magdalen originally. I applied to Brasenose because I thought I wanted a small cosy college and the location next to the Radcliffe Camera library was perfect for a history student like me. When I got reallocated to Magdalen before interviews (this happens sometimes when a college might be oversubscribed or wants to redistribute candidates) I was really worried. I hadn’t visited it before and hadn’t even considered it because I read some silly article online that said ‘getting in for history at Magdalen is harder than flying to the moon. Whilst the college has a good reputation for History (there are lots of amazing history tutors there), in reality, it takes a large cohort of history students, around 17/18 students per year, including joint school courses like History and Politics.
In hindsight, I think I might’ve felt too claustrophobic at a smaller central college. I come from a relatively rural area so Magdalen gives me all the green space I’m used to. It has two deer parks- which I can see from my bedroom window- and there’s a 30min walking route round the grounds when you need a break!
If I could go to any other college, I think it might be New College. It’s located just next to Magdalen so I know it’s a good location (in between the old city centre and the more ‘normal’ area of the city in Cowley). It’s on a really cute street of coloured student houses called Holywell and they’ve filmed lots of stuff there like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials because the architecture is lovely.
Some people have told me they applied to Magdalen because they googled ‘prettiest Oxford college’ and Magdalen came up as the no.1 result- and clearly Google doesn’t lie! It is beautiful and every day when I walk through college I am completely blown away that I live here; whether I’m feeding the deer, eating dinner in the Hall, or visiting my friends’ huge 2-room sets in New Building. It’s very much the ‘traditional’ Oxford experience with Hogwarts-style dining halls and cloisters that I didn’t realise I’d love so much.
In hindsight one of the best things is the generous financial and practical support we get from college. For example, some colleges make you move out into student houses or off-site accommodation after your first year but at Magdalen, we are guaranteed college accommodation for all 3 / 4 years of our degree. All the first years live together in an accommodation block opposite college so that they all get to know each other. Then we live in the beautiful college buildings where you could get anything from a piano to a 2-room set to an en-suite to a fireplace (or even in one of my friend’s case, a secret passageway behind her wardrobe!). This means you are living together with your year group most of the time and it feels like a proper community.
You are also paying one price for rent, which is held down at a lower rate by the college. No rooms are more expensive than any other so it’s not like the richer kids all live in the ‘nice’ accommodation block. On top of that, Magdalen has a huge Student Support Fund which they’re really generous with, and every student has just over £1000 for loosely ‘study-related’ travel during their time here.
I think sometimes I’ve felt a little like Magdalen is too stuck in the past. It is quite traditional in how it does things so the JCR (undergraduate student body) has to push quite hard if we want big changes making in college. Some colleges are certainly known for being more radical and active.
I would say though, that it has started to change since we got a new president. Dinah Rose is our first female and Jewish president and has made lots of really positive changes like reviewing the welfare system and focusing on outreach work. I think she will definitely bring Magdalen more in line with the times!
I’m not sure what other people think of Magdalen but I guess the main stereotype- a bit like with Christ Church- is that it’s very grand and full of posh people. I also thought this before coming here! The truth is that Magdalen, for a long time, was a bit behind on intake diversity and you still meet lots of people who went to private school. However, in the time I’ve been here I’ve witnessed a humongous effort to change that and every new year group has been visibly and statistically much more diverse than the last. My other realisation has been that posh people are nice, normal people too (shocking, I know), and that I can find stuff in common with everyone!
I have an amazing community in Magdalen and even though there are over 350 of us undergrads living in college accommodation I still know almost everyone I see walking around. Everyone just feels so ridiculously lucky to be there and that really shows.
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