Although New College is one of the older oxford colleges, it manages to fuse its historic architecture with an atmosphere that is modern and fun. Alongside the traditional events – formal dinners, balls and ‘mint julep’ day (look into its weird history if you fancy)- there is a lively college culture, with frequent ‘bops’, LGBTQ+ drinks, open mic nights, and the annual New College panto, to name but a few.
When I applied to New College, I didn’t really know much about it. I knew it had a good modern languages intake, the buildings were (obviously) gorgeous, and it was located very centrally. But even when I first visited, on an open day, it felt homely, despite the fact it’s a big college, and the people I met were so friendly. It didn’t seem intimidating in the way I would have expected.
Having now spent a year there, it hasn’t disappointed. Despite Covid, the college atmosphere has still been lively; freshers’ week was still packed with nights out and college bar events, and throughout the year there’s been arts week, formal dinners and bops. But it’s not just a fun place to be, it’s also supportive.
There is a big focus on welfare here at New, the welfare reps are always around, and during freshers’ week there was a room full of ‘sober angels’, who were on hand if any freshers got too drunk, or for people who didn’t feel like going out. There’s a welfare week every term with cute events (free ice cream in the cloisters was a highlight), and the welfare rep also acts as our very own college ‘cookie fairy’ (you can have free cookies put in your friends’ pigeonholes). My favourite thing about New, though, is probably our tortoise Tessa – you can sign up to take her for a walk round the college gardens.
That said, it isn’t perfect, and not suitable for everyone. Students here definitely have a very work hard, play hard attitude, with tutors pushing hard on academia (hence its high position in the Norrington table), but there also being a big drinking culture. It also has a higher-than-average intake of private vs state school students, and it’s also slightly below average in terms of ethnic diversity (but there is a big push on outreach to try and tackle these issues).
As with many of the older colleges, it does have a bit of a ‘posh’ reputation which I struggled with at first, but it genuinely has a lovely, comfortable atmosphere, and there’s a whole team of people (who I’ve had really good experiences with) to support you if you do ever suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’.
In terms of accommodation, people’s experiences are mixed. My first-year room was gorgeous, with massive windows, a high ceiling, and an ensuite. Indeed, a lot of rooms have beautiful views of the gardens, and some even have double beds. However, some of my friends lived in much smaller rooms. In particular, rooms in the part of college called the ‘cottages’ are a little stuffy, though they still have ensuites, and aren’t really smaller than an average room at a lot of other unis. The main thing I struggled with was the fact most people don’t have access to kitchens. It is catered accommodation, but it’s only dinner that is already included in our battels (the money we are charged each term), which meant I ended up spending quite a lot on eating out. We had a kettle, and a mini fridge, so I could make myself some things, but a kitchen would definitely have made things easier. It’s also nice to have a shared space with other students. In New College you don’t really live in flats at all, which means you aren’t automatically put together with people. Of course, this means you end up mixing more widely with other students, and between year groups, as a lot of the time flats form social groups. Also, the system of allocation means if your room in first year isn’t great, you’ll have your pick of all the best rooms in 2nd year, which includes the ‘sets’ (rooms with a living room as well as a bedroom and bathroom- basically your very own flat in college).
That said, aside from New College, I really like the look of Wadham. There’s a nice mixture of old and more modern buildings, and it has a reputation as being one of the most liberal colleges. Also, it’s right opposite New, so it’s also very central.
Visit the New College website details for more details!