Ceri Holloway (English, 3rd year)
I did apply to St John’s, although not for the reason everyone thinks! It was only when I arrived for interviews that I found out it was the richest college in the university, and the benefits that this brings for its students. Honestly, my decision was entirely based on the Alternative Prospectus’ College Suggester. I plugged in the features I thought were the most important for accommodation: kitchen access, low rent, and central location; then, I just picked the college with the lowest annual rent!
In line with my other results from the Buzzfeed-esque quiz that led me to John’s, and the reports of a legendary JCR room and bar from my friends, I’d probably apply to Catz. Plus, it would save me the 10 minute walk to the English faculty – crucial for all those early morning lectures…said no English student ever!
Slightly lacklustre JCR room setup aside, I genuinely can’t imagine being anywhere else other than John’s now. Where else would I get free printing, cheap food, and an annual £350 grant? Despite not knowing that it was the richest college, the financial assistance that I’ve received from John’s over my two years here has been so important to my overall experience at uni. The grant and other hardship funds available to students have helped me when I needed a new laptop for the increased online learning due to the pandemic. Also, being an international student, I quickly realised that I couldn’t endlessly buy physical copies of all the books I need in my course as I had no way of packing them away at the end of every term. Luckily, I had enough of my grant left to also buy a tablet which I now use to read all of my texts.
The reputation of John’s being a rich college is sometimes misconstrued as its students all being ridiculously posh, perhaps creating the dreaded stereotypical image of what an ‘Oxford student’ is. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As one of the bigger colleges, its students come from such a range of socio-economic backgrounds, including a good number of international students as well. I found this to be very comforting, having come from Malaysia myself and being unsure about how culturally diverse Oxford would be. With college accommodation guaranteed for all years of our degrees, John’s still feels like a close community despite its large number of students and sprawling seven quads along St Giles.
Following that, I think the best thing about John’s is location, location, location. Trust me, when the heavy workload hits in term, the last thing you want is to have to walk any more than five minutes to get your groceries (or you know, that tub of hummus). My friends and I made a habit of doing walks together in the late afternoon, and John’s is perfectly placed for this. Within reach of ‘town’ (Cornmarket and High Street) as well as University Parks, there are several combinations of walking routes to take depending on how much free time we have, or how little we feel like doing work. In the good old pre-Covid clubbing days, John’s is also well-placed for nights out as the clubs are an easy walk, even when you’ve lost your friends in the Bridge smoking area or the Park End cheese floor. And what could be better than having Solomon’s right across the road from your porter’s lodge? The combination of chicken strips and greasy chips has never tasted as good as it has than when you’re stumbling back into college.
Of course, what follows – flopping into bed in the palatial college rooms – is much needed upon one’s return. Alright, so the rooms are relatively luxurious in terms of size, in comparison to most student accommodations; however, the biggest gripe of any John’s student is the unreasonably tiny beds we’re given in our rooms. My second year room had enough floor space to have around ten people stay over, yet I still had to be mindful of turning around in my sleep lest I took a rather undignified fall to the floor while doing so. Speaking of unreasonably tiny, the kitchens we have access to also fit this description. For someone who loves to cook, it took ages for me to get used to having virtually no surface to work with! There are much nicer kitchens in some of the third year accommodation (Kendrew Quad), along with ensuite bathrooms, but the competition for these rooms is fierce in the room ballot that determines what room you will get in your next year.
From free food events to phenomenal water pressure in the showers (everyone in John’s will attest to this), cheap bar drinks to college-provided burnt orange coloured sheets, John’s has truly become my home away from home – comfortable, a little annoying at times, but most of all a place I’m happy to go back to at the end of any long day.
Visit the St John’s College website for more details!