Myths and Legends

True or false?

1. Everyone's posh or rich

Statistics don’t lie – Oxford does have a disproportionately large number of students from private school backgrounds. In practice, though, Oxford is an incredibly diverse place, and long gone are the days when you had to speak like the Queen in order to get in. Nowadays, not only is every demographic well-represented, but people mix with whoever they want; any private school snobbery is confined to small groups of people you probably wouldn’t want to hang out with anyway.

2. Nobody goes out/everyone spends all the time in the library/Oxford students are all geeks

Oxford’s workload can be heavier than that of other universities, but it’s generally not your social life that suffers – there’s just less of the sitting around in your pyjamas watching daytime TV with a beer in one hand and Heat magazine in the other. Oxford is quite an intense example of work hard, play hard. While (like everywhere else) there are some students who choose to spend all their hours working, you’ll find that few people who enjoy socialising allow work to stand in the way.

3. People wear gowns

Every Oxford student owns a cap and gown, but that’s only because you need one for matriculation (the start-of-your-degree ceremony). The only other times you’re only ever required to wear academic dress are University exams and when you’re in really, really serious trouble. If you actually enjoy wearing a gown, though, nobody’s stopping you…

4. People speak Latin

Not unless they study Classics.

5. The whole university is made up entirely of head boys and girls who were sports team captains, play piano to Grade 8 standard, speak ten languages and spend their free time saving the world

Oxford University is home to rather a lot of people with more than their fair share of talents, but not everyone here is a musical, sporting, debating and academic wunderkind. You’ll make some incredibly interesting and talented friends, but most of the people you’ll meet will be, generally, normal – just like anywhere else.

6. You’re not allowed out after midnight

We have no idea where this came from, but it’s definitely not true in any way. If you live in college accommodation, the worst that can happen is for the porters (college staff who work on the door) to show up at especially loud room parties and shut them down early. If you’re living out, you’re your own boss.

7. They make you do bizarre things in interviews

It would be wrong to claim that Oxford’s interviews are just like any other university’s – they generally have much more of a lateral thinking slant, and you’re likely to be asked questions about your subject that you didn’t expect. But if there was ever a time when the interview process had anything to do with high-society etiquette, sporting ability or any weird rituals, it was a long, long time ago. See Interviews for more information.